Photo: Team Liquid
The STX SouL ace and the KT Rolster Protoss youngster emerge as the top two in the Korea/Taiwan qualifier for IEM Shanghai, arguably the most stacked prelimiary for the Season VIII opening event.
Ten days separate us from the first IEM event of the eighth season of the franchise as the premier event returns to the streams on July 25th. Effective today, three out of four qualifier tournaments have been played and the slots are being filled fast.
The two victors of the Korean and Taiwan qualifiers are the WCS Season 1 champion Innovation - a player who needs little introduction - and Myungsik, a KT Rolster B-Teamer who upset not one or two players during his run, including HyuN, Alive and San. The two join the winners of the SEA, NA and EU qualifiers - namely Iaguz, Polt, qxc, Titan and Slivko - and will represent their country at the end of the month.
Four more players are expected to join the IEM Shanghai coming from the top four of the WCS rankings, which is currently in the hands of Innovation, MVP, Soulkey and HerO. As Innovation is already qualified, however, the invite spot is likely to go to Woongjin's sOs, currently fifth in the ranking and almost a thousand points before the #6 Stephano. One more qualifier spot will also be given to the victor of the Chinese qualifier.
