Banner photo by Daniel John Riedl

The eighth season of the Intel Extreme Masters began its journey in Shanghai, starting with the "open bracket" phase of the tournament. With 12 players seeded into the group stage of the tournament, four more spots were still up for grabs in a couple of eight-man, double-elimination brackets. Unfortunately, things didn't end up going as smoothly as everyone had hoped, with top Chinese player iG.Jim being disqualified just one series win away from qualifying for the group stage.

Click for full brackets on Liquipedia

Unfortunately for the host country, things didn't get any better as no Chinese players managed to make it through the open bracket, leaving only MacSed (the winner of the online qualifier) to represent his country in the group stage of the tournament. Instead, the three Koreans MVP.DongRaeGu, WW.Daisy, and SK_MC earned spots in the group phase, with the final spot being decided between Grubby and EG.Oz tomorrow (pushed back due to venue closure).

KT_MyuNgSiK, RoX.KIS.TitaN, EG.Revival, MVP.DongRaeGu
"GSL Style" double elimination. Top two advance to round of eight tournament

Countdown:

KT_MyuNgSiK - The Sleeper

KT benchwarmer MyungsiK showed us that Proleague isn't everything by making an impressive run through the IEM Shanghai Korean qualifiers to earn his spot. Playing a gauntlet of best of three matches seemed to suit Myungsik better than the Proleague style of games, and he beat Shine, Dear, Trap, aLive, HyuN, and San before being stopped by INnoVation in the qualifier finals (even then, he stole a game off Innovation). While the IEM Shanghai main event affords the players more preparation than the qualifiers, it's still closer to the marathon format of the qualifiers than the extremely preparation based Proleague where Myungsik has done poorly so far (0 - 4).

Besides playing strong macro games, MyungsiK showed he could be creative as well, even showing off a three-stargate phoenix PvZ strat in one of his more entertaining wins. While we're excited to see more of MyungsiK and what kind of strategies he will bring, we have to wonder how he'll handle the pressure of playing on the big stage.

EG.Revival - America's runner-up

Barely more notable than aLive by the margin of a better haircut, Revival is the other "kinda good but mostly unnoticeable Korean player" on EG's roster. It's hard to blame Revival for that, since it's hard for a Korean to get noticed without being one of the best in the world, or going out of their way to perform arrogant interviews and taunting ceremonies. Even Revival's second place finish at last season's WCS America hasn't done much to bring him into the spotlight.

Despite his lack of notoriety, Revival is still a decent player, with his 4 - 7 record in HotS Proleague making him a fairly average 7th or 8th man on a Proleague roster (EG-TL's problem was that they had to play him as a regular). While the later rounds will be tough for Revival, he should feel okay about his chances in this group stage. His strong ZvZ (21 - 11 HotS) gives him an edge vs. DRG, MyungsiK has even less wins in Proleague than himself, and TitaN is a foreigner.

MVP.DongRaeGu - On the Redemption Circuit

For a player who was famous for his muta-ling-bane ZvT more than anything, it's flat out bizarre to see DongRaeGu struggle so much in HotS. Sure, he was on a slow decline even before HotS came out, but the switch to HotS was supposed to revitalize his career, not send him spiralling down in flames. After nine seasons in Code S, he was finally forced to sit a season out in Challenger League after losing to SuperNoVa, Maru, and Bunny. He had multiple chances to gain some confidence and pick himself up in GSTL, but each time he only ended up taking painful defeats.

After all his recent suffering in Korea, Shanghai could be a good opportunity for DRG to get back up on his feet. After all, the foreign circuit was vital to giving DongRaeGu some exposure and establishing him as a top player before he was able to make it into Code S. While the Shanghai lineup isn't that much softer than the opponents DRG has struggled against in Korea, the change of scenery could prove to be all the difference for DRG.

RoX.KIS.TitaN - Back in Business

TitaN was unimpressive for the first few months of HotS, but recently he's been recovering to his old WoL level. While TitaN never did become one of THE top foreigners like we predicted in 2011, he did at least become a fringe title contender capable of taking games off Koreans. Without really wowing anyone, TitaN is starting to put up some good results again, beating many of Europe's big names like Kas, Happy, SortOf, BabyKnight, etc. to reach the Ro16 of WCS Europe and qualify for IEM Shanghai.

While TitaN can clearly hang with his European peers, beating Korean progamers is another challenge altogether. There are, however, some reasons he might be optimistic in this group. DRG has been on a big slump, and his form fluctuates a lot. MyungsiK had a strong online qualifier run, but has yet to win even a single match played in a live setting. And Revival, for all the praise he receives from his teammates, has never really been that good at international tournaments. It will be rough for TitaN, but it's by no means hopeless.

EG.aLive, VPBenQ.sLivko, iG.MacSed, WINNER OF Grubby vs. EG.Oz
"GSL Style" double elimination. Top two advance to round of eight tournament

Countdown:

EG.aLive, the Invisible Man

Alive’s career has been one of being the invisible man. He plays a strong standard Korean Terran style that mixes in just the right amount of 11/11’s to make it dangerous to take risks against him, making his opponents' lives miserable the way only a Korean Terran can. However, he has never had an awe inspiring performance that could hold the esports community's attention for more than a week.

By the end of WoL, his championship run at IPL4 was all but forgotten, and it was hard to tell whether it was his own fault or of that tournament's poor format. EG then made a surprise move to recruit aLive to play in Proleague, where he did fairly well going 6 - 7 and providing some relief. But even with EG behind him and making Ro8 of the WCS Season 1 Finals, Alive has yet to capture the public’s imagination. Can Alive finally make people love him? Or at the very least respect his play? Maybe, but the more likely outcome is that Alive will perform just well enough to kill some of your favorite players, but not well enough to make anyone remember that he did.

VPBenQ.sLivko, The Last Ling of Wings

At the end of WoL, the entire public was screaming bloody murder about brood lord-infestor. It had dominated the game for the last half year, killed off interest, fermented hatred, and generally made WoL un-fun. So when HotS came out, it was not surprising to see a slew of changes made to destroy the much hated strategy. All Zergs were forced to abandon the strategy and leave it die, even the most prominent beneficiaries like JonnyRecco, SortOf, and VortiX.

Everyone but Slivko. Maybe it was for nostalgia, maybe it was because of his gratitude, or maybe it was because he was just too stubborn to change. But for whatever reason, when HotS came, Slivko became the last standard bearer for infestor broodlord. In a world of mutas, ultras, vipers, lings and banes, Slivko had become an anachronism with his archaic infestor broodlord style. The last Ling of Wings. And he proved its worth as he made it to WCS EU, and though he eventually lost, he was still able to eliminate Shuttle with the strength of WoL TvZ. He then died in anticlimactic fashion against MC, thus proving that Slivko truly was some kind of living shadow of the past. While European opponents may be used to his strange ways, Slivko's odd style might actually see him gain an unexpected advantage against the Korean and Chinese players in his group.

iG.MacSed, the Sole Chinese Hope

Among the Chinese players, Jim had the most hype around as he had all-killed EG, hit #1 on KR GM, and ripped through the group of death in WCS AM. But if Jim seemed like the Rain of the Chinese scene, then MacSed is most certainly its PartinG. He had a longer period of dominance in China and was known as the country's best Protoss for longer before being overshadowed by his teammate.

MacSed's recent games in the WCS America Premier League have revealed him to be a very strange but interesting player. Against puCK, he went up 70 supply in PvP, and somehow made the throw to end all throws by allowing a comeback. He played a macro PvZ against Snute and failed miserably, after which he fell back on gateway all-ins to defeat him anyway. Forced to play puCK yet again in the final match, he pulled out one of the craziest PvP strategies seen to date as he went proxy oracle into DTs, back into oracles, back to DTs, back into oracles, and then back into DTs. This build, which I have dubbed "the Chinese fingertrap," worked solely because MacSed could predict his opponent's next move and play one step ahead of it. With it, he was able to earn a spot in the live rounds of WCS America (although, his failure to obtain a visa seems to have defeated him in the end).

So going into IEM, what will MacSed do next? Will we see the madman just pull out strange build after strange build as he one-ups his opponents in complex mind games or will we see the player that seemed to self destruct against Puck the first time around? He's shown us a lot of varying quality, making him one of the most interesting players to watch in the Ro16.

Grubby and EG.Oz, The Warrior and the Wizard

The fourth player of this group will be the winner of the match between Grubby and Oz. There just wasn't enough time to finish their qualifier bracket yesterday, and it has been pushed back to be the first match of the morning.

What sets apart Grubby from many of his contemporaries, more than his legendary status in WarCraft III or his immense popularity, is his warrior spirit both inside and outside the game. Grubby just does not give up. It held true during his time in WC3 and it holds true now. Grubby is a consistent performer who fans can always rally behind as he always gives it his all in everything he does. He may not have the awe-inspiring mechanics of Rain, the execution of Parting, or the creativity of sOs, but Grubby makes up for that with his willpower. And Grubby’s games all have a magic of their own as he plays his own style that seems to just pluck at the heartstrings as he often makes electrifying comebacks. But Grubby will need all of his tenacity against another magical opponent.

Oz has probably one of the most peculiar and strange story arcs of any player in Korea. Much like Nestea, he was a former coach turned player and unlike Nestea he wanted to travel. To see the world and to enjoy his life before his mandatory military service could take a hold of him. This is why Oz eventually parted ways with FXO as they became more focused on Korea, and he moved onto Fnatic before eventually settling at EG.

At the beginning of his career, Oz really seemed like his namesake Wizard. He had huge success with PvP during a time when PvP was considered all coin flips. He won with intelligent decision making and skill and his winrate was nearing the point of MC’s and Inca’s dominance in that matchup. And then Oz spoke those magic words, “PvP is all skill, if anyone disagrees I will challenge them and beat them.” And like a curse out of an old fairytale, Oz quickly plummeted down to earth as he made strange build after strange build, even opting for some doomed nexus first openers. HotS has finally allowed him to break his PvP curse, and after beating Rain in a Proleague match, Oz has been playing much better. So this will be a classic battle between Grubby’s warrior spirit against Oz’s magical skill in PvP.

Prediction: Grubby will try to get Oz to say “PvP is 100% skill.” before the games start

Liquid`HerO, coL.qxc, EG.Jaedong, SK_MC
"GSL Style" double elimination. Top two advance to round of eight tournament

Countdown:

EG.Jaekong - The artist formerly known as Jaedong

Poor Jaedong, getting jetted around the globe by his team to almost every international tournament only to come up just barely short of a championship. He has come second in two consecutive Dreamhacks against players that many people expected him to beat - Hyun and Stardust - placed top four in Dreamhack Stockholm and top 8 in the MLG Spring Championship. While there is definitely an upward curve in his results, the lack of a defining SC2 championship places him in the Kong line for now.

While Jaedong has performed extremely well in tournaments over the past few months and become a strong championship contender, there are just too many Protoss in this group to assure a first place finish, so for the moment it seems that Jaedong will continue his kongish tendencies even in group stages.

Liquid`HerO - The Roller-coaster Toss

The best way to describe HerO's skill level would be a roller-coaster. He has ups and downs and never seems to settle at one level for long, always fluctuating between disappointing and being virtually unstoppable. Recently the roller-coaster has made a steep downward dive, as HerO got eliminated from his WCS AM Ro32 group with losses to both Oz and Scarlett. While it was not entirely unexpected given the qualify of his opponents, it was still jarring to see the defending WCS America champion dumped out so early. While the loss could be considered an anomaly, it shows that there are weaknesses in his game to exploit (excessive predictability being one of them).

Nevertheless, this group shouldn't prove to be too much trouble for Hero. Jaedong is known for his historically bad ZvP in HotS (it's so bad we can call it historic in the present), and if HerO is on form he can easily take down both MC and qxc. HerO is a top contender for winning IEM Shanghai, and this group is his first step to doing so. While he has shown in the past he is easily capable of reaching a level to take this group without dropping a single map, the end of the roller-coaster isn't in sight, and this group could see him go either up or down.

SK_MC - President in Exile

There was a time where MC would be expected to top this group easily, and go on to win the tournament while publicly shaming all of his opponents with amusing dances. However today's MC is not the MC that earned over $350,000. Today's MC is a mere shade of his former self who is struggling to put on convincing performances even in WCS Europe. For better or for worse, he has maintained his WoL style in HotS. He still loves to two base all in, as well as come up with outside the box strategies to catch unsuspecting opponents off guard.

He qualified for this group through the open bracket and took down Shuttle, Xigua and Top along the way with a loss to Daisy. The players he beat are all solid players, however none of them are on the level of Jaedong or HerO, and MC will have to show he still some gas left in the tank to overcome either of them. While JvP may cause games against Jaedong to go in his favour, it will be rough going against HerO who has been training in the ring of PvProleague for the past half year.

coL.qxc - You've probably heard of him

Rounding off a group very similar to one you might see in WCS AM is the lone American qxc. He came through the Americas qualifiers beating the cream of the NA crop - Major, Apocalpyse, goswser, State and Hendralisk. In any of the other groups, there would be a chance that he could actually advance. However this is arguably the toughest group. It's a shame, because qxc's qualification for IEM Shanghai offered him a rare opportunity to shine after a period of mediocrity. A top 16 finish at MLG Anaheim suggested that he was making some upward progress... ...and then he got stuck in this group.

There still is a chance, an extremely small one, that qxc might pull off a feat almost equal to his all-kill of IM many years ago and take down some of the strongest foreign-Koreans in the world right now to advance from the group. But that's all it is, a chance.

Quantic.HyuN, CMStorm_Polt, Fray`iaguz, WW.Daisy
"GSL Style" double elimination. Top two advance to round of eight tournament

Countdown:

CMStorm`Polt & Quantic.HyuN

Things have worked out quite nicely for IEM, as they've attracted both Polt and HyuN as they approach what might be the highest points in their careers. In pure StarCraft II terms, there have been periods where they played better. But in terms of fame, popularity, and prestige in the international scene, they've never been in a better place as they are now, coming in having won DreamHack Valencia and MLG Anaheim.

It's no question that these two are the strongest players in the group, and they are perhaps the strongest two players in the tournament. More than just pure skill, they have so much experience and success playing in international tournaments. While players like DRG, HerO, and Jaedong are certainly strong challengers, the current title holders are definitely the ones to beat. Now, the real question is, will Polt plant the American flag in China if he wins?

WW.Daisy

Daisy was one of the most overlooked members of the Korean invasion. Despite living in Europe for a while and taking many, many tournament qualifier spots away from European players, fans seemed to forget about Daisy fairly quickly once he returned to Korea. Perhaps it's because he wasn't dominant like other Koreans, and merely a very good player. After a long time in the shadows, Daisy has returned to remind us that he's still here, and he can still break your heart. In the open bracket, he already defeated MC and sent him down to the losers' bracket, where MC faced the danger of elimination if not for Jim's unfortunate disqualification.

Fray`iaguz - Marked for Death

IEM clearly don't want any foreigners to reach the ro8, seeing that they've done their best to surround the foreigners with three Koreans. There was no mercy, not even for Iaguz, the Australian pro who received a rare opportunity to play overseas by winning the SEA qualifier into Shanghai. We're just in the Ro16, and he's already stuck playing the MLG Anaheim champion and the DreamHack Valencia champion.

The only thing going for iaguz in this group is that Daisy's worst match-up ins PvT, which means he might take that series. However, it's extremely unlikely he's going to be able to play Daisy twice - he needs to be able to beat Polt or HyuN at least once if he wants to go to the Ro8. The last player who beat Polt was TaeJa, and the last player who beat HyuN was Polt. Yeah, it's not looking so good. (if iaguz advances, he should change his clantag to "at least as good as Polt and Hyun`iaguz")