The Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen qualifier roundup

The first stop of the tenth Intel Extreme Masters season is on the horizon, and we now know the eight open qualifier players who will be heading to Shenzhen in two weeks. Find out what transpired in the global qualifiers!

The qualified players

The global qualifiers were split into three major regions: the Americas, Europe/Africa and Asia/Oceania. The fight for the coveted Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen spots left us with some very exciting players to look forward to in China.

Americas qualifier

  • StarDust
  • Jaedong

With Polt not taking part in the Americas qualifier, all eyes were on the bracket’s remaining players, mainly StarDust and Jaedong - and the two powerhouses did not disappoint. StarDust especially used the qualifier to flex his muscles, knocking the Tyrant down into the lower bracket. Another strong threat, Kelazhur, played an incredibly strong qualifier as well, but ultimately could not find a way to get past Jaedong, who beat the Brazilian in both the upper and lower bracket.

European and African qualifier

  •  uThermal
  •  Snute

uThermal picked up a huge victory by winning the European qualifier! After fighting through stage one of the qualifiers, the Dutchman defeated the very best Europe had to offer. Lilbow, Bunny, Harstem and Snute didn’t have any answers for the rampaging Terran. Despite falling down to the lower bracket, Snute was able to lock down the last slot available for the main tournament in the lower bracket finals against ShoWTimE, whose lower bracket surge almost landed him his first Intel Extreme Masters appearance.

Chinese qualifier

  • XY

As the host nation, China was granted a direct qualifier slot for their regional open qualifiers. XY managed to set himself apart from the rest in the ruthless single elimination bracket, forcing second and third placed MacSed and Ezrc into the very high skilled Asian final qualifiers.

Asian final qualifier

  • herO
  • Classic
  • TY

herO is returning to the Intel Extreme Masters! The three-time Intel Extreme Masters champion has yet again punched his ticket and is on the hunt for trophy number four. Joining him will be Classic and TY, who can both look forward to their first ever appearances in the tournament. This leaves a lot of big names out in the cold, with the likes of Zest, Dark and Life failing to qualify.

Now that we have our open qualifier players for Intel Extreme Masters Shenzhen, we await the final eight players who will round out the best of 16 bracket. This selection will be based on WCS ranking, and you can follow @ESLSC2 and stop by the Intel Extreme Masters website to get the latest news regarding Shenzhen.

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