EPT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/esm734.jpg)
Day 1 of ESL Masters Winter/Atlanta saw the pool of 48 players cut down to 24, with the survivors finding their places in the knockout and open brackets (read our format explainer).
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/knockoutbracket_1.png)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/playoffs_1.png)
While previous EPT open brackets have featured major upsets, this time there were no major surprises as Creator, herO, Lambo, SHIN, Elazer, Bunny, HeroMarine, and Harstem advanced to the knockout bracket. herO had the closest brush with disaster after losing 1-2 to MaNa in the winners' bracket, but came back to advance from the losers' side.
Open Bracket Results:
+ Show Spoiler [Click to show] +
Open Stage bracket #1
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/openbracket1_2.png)
Open Stage bracket #2
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/openbracket2_2.png)
Open Stage bracket #3
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/openbracket3_2.png)
Open Stage bracket #4
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/openbracket4_2.png)
Open Stage bracket #2
Open Stage bracket #3
Open Stage bracket #4
The winners' bracket ended up being the unpredictable part of the tournament. Both Maru and Reynor suffered a string of losses, and were thus seeded into the lowest rung of the knockout bracket (herO and Harstem were the unlucky open bracket players who drew matches against the duo as a 'reward' for advancing). The four top performers in the winners bracket were Cure, Dark, Clem, and Serral, who earned direct seeding into the RO8 as a result.
One of the more peculiar (or is it?) Winners' Stage results came late in the day, as Reynor played entirely Protoss in his final match against Solar. While Reynor suffered a 1-2 defeat in the end (while playing with illness), he still earned praised from Solar as one of the best PvZ players in the world in a post-game interview.
Winners' Stage Results:
+ Show Spoiler [Click to show] +
Winners Stage bracket #1
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/seedingbracket1_2.png)
Winners Stage bracket #2
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/EPT/winter2023/seedingbracket2_2.png)
Day 2 of EPT Winter/Atlanta will see the entire knockout bracket AND the playoffs round-of-8 played. Day 3 will feature the semifinals and grand final.
