Intel Extreme Masters which was held from October 1st to 3rd, was a remarkable tournament is many ways.
Twelve Wacraft III players from around the world were gathered in Chengdu, China to compete for a total prize money of $10,000.
Among the attendees were the most achieved WC3 player Jang "Moon" JaeHo also known as Fantasista and 5th race, two times WCG winner XiaoFeng "Sky" Li, Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen also holder of two WCG titles and the tower master Xuwen "Infi" Wang.
Group D saw the first shock, where Grubby lost both his matches versus Infi and ReMinD and was eliminated earlier than his fans had hoped. As the best European player, he failed to keep up with the expectations.
Grubby disappointed his fans
There were no other surprises during the group stage and Lyn, Sky, FoCuS, TeD, Moon and Fly100% joined ReMinD and Infi in the playoffs.
Playoff phase was this tournament's true peak as fans got to see some of the best matches of WC3's late history. The leading light was none other than Moon of course, who seemed to be in his prime shape again. He played almost perfect in every single match and brought about some of the most amazing moments we had seen recently.
Moon being paid $16,000/month to play video games
Moon defeated the in-shape Lyn in the first round of playoffs and made it to the semi-finals where he had to face FoCuS who had overcame Infi earlier. The epic match on Turtle Rock between these two will be remembered for a long time amid the fans. Moon won the match and stepped to the finals.
Beside Moon, there was another player who kept stunning spectators with his performance during the tournament. Sky who was paired with ReMinD in the first round of playoffs, defeated him easily and advanced to the next round to meet Fly100% who had managed to beat the Undead prodigy TeD in the previous round.
Fly100% has always been Sky's nemesis and this time was no exception. Despite losing one map, he managed to win the other two in a best-of-three series and moved to face Moon in the finals.
Strangely enough, Moon played really sloppy against him and lost the series in two really fast games. Leaving the title and the first place prize money to the Orc player.
I have been following competitive Warcraft III scene for 6 years and I have seen many many tournaments and this one was among the best. You can find all the replays here. They are all worth watching in a way. If you always wanted to get into WC3 but didn't know where to start, let this be the beginning. This is simply the best WC3 has to offer at the moment.
Final Standings:
- Fly100% - $5,000
- Moon - $2,500
- Sky - $1,500
- FoCuS - $1,000
Fly100% with his cheque
- Photos courtesy of ESL's Julia Christophers