It was a show of South Korean dominance in Intel Extreme Masters Taipei StarCraft II groups A and B on day two. The number of non-Korean players in the tournament could be counted with one hand, but after just two days the ‘foreigners’ are no more.
Group A
| M | G | ||
| 1st | herO | 2-0 | 4-1 |
| 2nd | HyuN | 2-1 | 4-2 |
| 3rd | Polt | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| 4th | Sen | 0-2 | 0-4 |
Group B
| M | G | ||
| 1st | Rain | 2-0 | 4-2 |
| 2nd | Classic | 2-1 | 5-2 |
| 3rd | Harstem | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| 4th | Check | 0-2 | 0-4 |
Group B saw Rain and Classic advance over open bracket players Check and Harstem, the latter originally an open bracket player before replacing Kas in group B. However, it wasn’t easy for Rain to secure first place. He needed three games against both Classic and Harstem, who both came close to upsetting the group favorite. Check was the only Zerg player in the Protoss-centric group, and failed to win a single map after getting through the open bracket loser’s bracket on day one.
Overall, it can be said that the group stages transpired the way there were expected to so far, with the favorites in each group managing to advance to the next stage without falling to any upsets. Harstem did get close in his 1-2 series against Rain, but eventually the Korean prevailed and knocked out the only European contestant.
Tomorrows group games are a little more tricky to predict. There are no clear cut results to expect, which should make for an array of exciting games, so be sure to watch groups C and D battle it out tomorrow from 11:00 to 17:00 local time (04:00 to 10:00 CET)!
Tune in here!
As usual, all the tournament VODs can be found in the Intel Extreme Masters Taipei playlist, so feel free to rewatch any of the group A and B matches if you feel so inclined.
If you missed out on yesterdays open bracket qualifiers, we have a handy recap ready for you right here.
Check out our survival guide, which covers everything you need to know about StarCraft II in Taipei!
