Today saw the beginning of the Intel Extreme Masters gamescom StarCraft II competition with parts one and two of the open bracket. With 16 StarCraft players having traveled to Cologne, Germany, to battle it out for a US$25,000 prize pool and some all-important WCS points, the fight started out fierce.
Open bracket one
The day kicked off with open bracket one, seeing old hands face off against relative newcomers in order to try and secure a spot in the group stage. When the dust settled, it was Patience and HeRoMaRinE who succeeded, but it was a journey to get there!
Winners’ bracket
| Matchup | Result |
|---|---|
| Patience vs. InZaNe | 2-0 |
| Rail vs. Bly | 1-2 |
| HeRoMaRinE vs. Tarrantius | 2-0 |
| BlackCat vs. MaNa | 0-2 |
| Patience vs. Bly | 2-0 |
| HeRoMaRinE vs. MaNa | 2-0 |
| Patience vs. HeRoMaRinE | 2-0 |
Losers’ bracket
| Matchup | Result |
|---|---|
| Rail vs. InZaNe | 2-1 |
| BlackCat vs. Tarrantius | 0-2 |
| MaNa vs. Rail | 2-1 |
| Bly vs. Tarrantius | 2-0 |
| MaNa vs. Bly | 1-2 |
| HeRoMaRinE vs. Bly | 2-0 |
Open bracket two
The second open bracket saw both long, drawn-out slogs and lightning-fast skirmishes. However, it the end it was TLO and Ret who won the chance to advance to the group stage. In addition to the rest of the bracket, Bly and uThermal also fought to decide who would take Rain’s vacated spot. In the end it was uThermal who triumphed 2-1, to take the empty group stage slot.
Winners’ bracket
| Matchup | Results |
|---|---|
| TLO vs. CPU | 2-0 |
| Jade vs. PtitDrogo | 0-2 |
| uThermal vs. GoOdy | 2-0 |
| Ziggy vs. Ret | 0-2 |
| TLO vs. PtitDrogo | 2-0 |
| uThermal vs. Ret | 2-1 |
| TLO vs. uThermal | 2-0 |
Losers’ bracket
| Matchup | Result |
|---|---|
| Jade vs. CPU | 1-2 |
| Ziggy vs. GoOdy | 1-2 |
| Ret vs. CPU | 2-0 |
| PtitDrogo vs. GoOdy | 2-1 |
| Ret vs. PtitDrogo | 2-0 |
| uThermal vs. Ret | 1-2 |
This is just the beginning...
Join us tomorrow for the start of the Intel Extreme Masters gamescom group stages! Who will triumph over groups A and B at the ESL studios here in Cologne, Germany? Tune in to find out!
Watch here tomorrow from 12:00 CEST!
For all the latest information about standings, streams and more, head over to the official Intel Extreme Masters gamescom site, and be sure to follow Intel Extreme Masters on Facebook, Twitter and keep an eye on the #IEM hashtag!
