After three days of CS:GO action at Intel Extreme Masters Taipei, it was finally time for the StarCraft II pros the take the stage. The quarterfinals had quite the players lined up for us with six Koreans and two Foreigners battling for the US$25,000 prize pool. In case you missed it, check out who came out victorious on day one.

Lilbow vs ByuN

Even though Lilbow enjoy a great run in the WCS in 2015, he was very much the underdog coming into the series against ByuN and the Korean didn’t waste any time underlining his status as favorite by taking control of the series quickly. And when we say “didn’t waste any time”, we mean that ByuN was not messing around. At. All! If you tuned into the livestream 20 minutes late, you actually missed the entire series as the Terran knocked out the French Protoss is the most convincing fashion, thereby securing himself a slot in the semifinals.

Lilbow 0-3 ByuN

Soulkey vs Polt

The second series of the day was very different from the first, needing the full five games to determine a victor. Both players had their time to shine in this closely contested series, with Polt getting off to a great start in game one, but Soulkey returning the favor in games two and three. The Zerg was already on the verge of reaching the semifinals when Polt managed to deny him a third win in a row, pushing the series all the way to five game. But on Ruins of Seras, Soulkey regained momentum and with the win on the final map he punched his ticket to the semis versus ByuN.

Soulkey 3-2 Polt

sOs vs MC

sOs put on quite a show versus the retired StarCraft II legend MC in the third series. The Boss Toss didn’t see any light against the two time BlizzCon winner, who impressed with immaculate sentry control. In the end MC didn’t suffer defeat quite as quickly as Lilbow earlier, but the difference is strength became abundantly clear.

sOs 3-0 MC

Snute vs herO

The final series between Snute and Intel Extreme Masters’ golden boy herO was another chance for Snute to advance past the quarterfinals of an Intel Extreme Masters tournament while herO was eyeing his fourth trophy. The Korean started off strong and was on track for the third 3-0 of the day, but Snute wasn’t going to go down without a fight. With a victory in game three, the Norwegian attempted the impossible reverse sweep against one of the best Protoss in the world, only to unfortunately commit some fatal mistakes in game four which ultimately sealed his fate.

Snute 1-3 herO

All in all you could say the favorite prevailed on day one of StarCraft II at Intel Extreme Masters Taipei. But what will happen when the favorites all clash in the semifinals? Tune in at 10:30 CNST (UTC +8) to catch day two’s action!