The Intel Extreme Masters V Gamescom was the first big StarCraft 2 tournament since the game’s release one month ago. The tournament took place live at the Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany and brought together some of the top StarCraft 2 players from around the world. $15,000 was at stake. If you didn’t keep up with the event at all, here is a sample of what you missed:
Click-through for a full report.
Six players qualified by participating in online tournament events, while 10 players were invited for their notoriety. Here is the full roster:
| Player | Race | Nationality | Qualification |
| Dimaga | Zerg | Ukraine | Go4sc2 #24 cup |
| LucifroN7 | Terran | Spain | Go4sc2 #24 cup |
| Sarens | Terran | France | Go4sc2 #24 cup |
| ClouD | Protoss | Italy | Go4sc2 #25 cup |
| Tarson | Terran | Poland | Go4sc2 #25 cup |
| Naniwa | Terran | Germany | Go4sc2 #25 cup |
| White-Ra | Zerg | Ukraine | Invite |
| DeMusliM | Zerg | UK/Germany | Invite |
| Huk | Protoss | Canada | Invite |
| Idra | Zerg | USA/Korea | Invite |
| TheLittleOne (TLO) | Terran | Germany | Invite |
| Strelok | Terran | Ukraine | Invite |
| Artosis | Zerg | USA | Invite |
| roxkisBratOK | Terran | Russia | Invite (withdrew) |
| HasuObs | Protoss | Germany | Invite |
| MaDFroG | Zerg | Sweden | Invite |
| MorroW | Terran | Sweden | Invite (replaced BratOK) |
BratOK was unable to attend due to visa problems, and MorroW was added at the last minute to replace him. In total, there were 7 terran players, 3 protoss, and 6 zerg.
The tournament started with a group stage, where the players were split into four groups and played round-robin against all other players in their group in a best of three. Kind of like how the World Cup starts off. The players with the most match wins (ties broken by game win/loss stats) proceeded to the playoff stages. Here are the groups and results:
Group A
| # | Name | Points | Matches | Score Diff. |
| 1. | TheLittleOne | 9 | 3-0-0 | 6:0 |
| 2. | MaDFroG | 6 | 2-0-1 | 4:3 |
| 3. | White-Ra | 3 | 1-0-2 | 2:4 |
| 4. | ClouD | 0 | 0-0-3 | 1:6 |
Group B
| # | Name | Points | Matches | Score Diff. |
| 1. | Tarson | 6 | 2-0-1 | 5:2 |
| 2. | MorroW | 6 | 2-0-1 | 4:2 |
| 3. | Artosis | 3 | 1-0-2 | 2:5 |
| 4. | HuK | 3 | 1-0-2 | 3:5 |
Group C
| # | Name | Points | Matches | Score Diff. |
| 1. | dimaga | 6 | 2-0-1 | 4:4 |
| 2. | Sarens | 6 | 2-0-1 | 5:3 |
| 3. | LucifroN7 | 3 | 1-0-2 | 3:4 |
| 4. | HasuObs | 3 | 1-0-2 | 3:4 |
Group D
| # | Name | Points | Matches | Score Diff. |
| 1. | IdrA | 9 | 3-0-0 | 6:2 |
| 2. | DeMusliM | 3 | 1-0-2 | 4:4 |
| 3. | Naniwa | 3 | 1-0-2 | 3:4 |
| 4. | Strelok | 3 | 1-0-2 | 2:5 |
5 terran and 3 zerg players advanced to the playoffs. Notably, all protoss players were eliminated in the group round. HuK, currently the #1 player on North American servers, was eliminated with losses to Artosis and MorroW. IdrA, the winner of the recent King of the Beta tournament known for his temperament and for moving from the US to Korea to play StarCraft professionally, was one of two players to go undefeated in the group stage. The other was TLO, a Team Liquid member headed to Korea right after the IEM to compete in a televised show match. Both players were heavily favored in the tournament, and many consider IdrA to be the current top player in the world. Other highlights from the group round include Morrow, the “17th invite”, advancing to the playoffs.
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Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Winner
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TheLittleOne 1.
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MorroW
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MorroW 8.
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MorroW
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DeMusliM 5.
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dimaga
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dimaga 4.
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MorroW
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Tarson 3.
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Tarson
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MaDFroG 6.
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IdrA
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Sarens 7.
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IdrA
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IdrA 2.
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Game for 3rd Place:
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Round 1
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Third Place
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Tarson 3.
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dimaga
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dimaga 4.
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The tournament concluded with MorroW, the dark horse of the tournament, taking the first prize. By far his greatest accomplishment in StarCraft 2, and marks his transition in the eyes of the community from a strong EU terran to one of the top terran players in the world.
When IdrA was interviewed about whether MorroW’s strategy would be counterable in the future, he stated, “yeah, probably, I don’t know.” A poignant response.
If you didn’t see the tournament, there are lots of videos on the ESL Youtube page, as well as archived videos of all matches with live commentary by day[9] and d.Apollo. I recommend the following matches:
There were great games all around; explore to find your favorites.
If you just want a sample, here are some highlights from the Youtube channel:
Interview with MorroW:
Interview with IdrA: