Intel® Extreme Masters Taipei kicks off this week with the some of the world’s best Counter-Strike and StarCraft® II gamers fighting for US$75,000 in prize money. Premier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams from the surrounding Asia-Pacific region open the tournament on Friday (29 January, 11:00AM CST). The StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void™ invitational tournament joins the stage on (30 January, 11:00AM CST) with the semifinals of its all-star tournament. – Previous rounds will be streamed live, along with all other matches across both esports titles, and will be available for viewing on the official Intel Extreme Masters website.
The StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void invitational tournament will showcase games from not only the reigning world champion (Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin), but also the 2015 #1 player on the official WCS Global Standings (Kim “herO” Joon Ho). Many other legendary players and crowd–favourites will also be in attendance:
- Kim “herO” Joon Ho (Korean)
- Choi “Polt” Seong Hun (Korean)
- David “Lilbow” Moschetto (French)
- Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin (Korean)
- Jens “Snute” Aasgaard (Norwegian)
- Kim “Soulkey” Min Chul (Korean)
- Jang “MC” Min Chul (Korean)
- Byun “ByuN” Hyun Woo (Korean)
On-air talent include Shaun “Apollo” Clark, James “Kaelaris” Carrol, Yoan “ToD” Merlo, Susie “Lilsusie” Kim and Jared “PiG” Krensel. The tournament will be an eight-player single elimination bracket with the quarter- and semifinals played out as best-of-fives and the final a best-of-seven.
Meanwhile, the Valve Regional Minor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition is set to award US$50,000 in prize money across the best Asia-Pacific teams. Household names and 2016 ESL Pro League contenders, Renegades, will face off against hopeful teams from China, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Mongolia – and fellow countrymen from Australia:
- Invite China: CyberZen (Chinese)
- Qualifier China: Tyloo (Chinese)
- Invite Oceania: Renegades (Australian)
- Qualifier Oceania: Chiefs eSports Club (Australian)
- Qualifier West Asia: Risky Gaming (UAE)
- Qualifier South East Asia: MVP Karnal (Malaysian)
- Qualifier East Asia: The MongolZ (Mongolian)
- Qualifier Taiwan: EYA (Taiwanese)
The on-air broadcast crew includes Daniel “DDK” Kapadia, Anders Blume, Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat, Lauren “Pansy” Scott, Jason “Moses” O’Toole and Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam. The tournament will be split into two groups of four and begin as a best-of-one double elimination bracket. Playoffs, along with the semifinal and final will be played as best-of-threes.