Only four players remain in the StarCraft GOMTV Star Invitational, whittled down from the original 16 contestants.

Today’s quarter-finals decided those competitors in best of three matchups. The maps were, as always, Blue Storm, Katrina and BaekmaGoji.

Here’s the video on demand list:

Flash vs. JaeDong (Blue Storm)
Flash vs. JaeDong (Katrina)
Flash vs. JaeDong (BaekmaGoji)
Much vs. AnyTime (Blue Storm)
Much vs. AnyTime (Katrina)
Iris vs. Bisu (Blue Storm)
Iris vs. Bisu (Katrina)
Sea vs. Stork (Blue Storm)
Sea vs. Stork (Katrina)

Any English VOD counts toward Nick “Tasteless” Plott’s future employment opportunities with GOMTV, so get to clicking.

Results below (spoilers): Continued…



Group play of the StarCraft GOMTV Star Invitational has concluded, with the two best players from each group advancing to the single elimination brackets. Four Protoss, three Terran, and one Zerg continue to duel for prestige and honor. Only the top players will survive, facing a best of three match in the Round of 8.

The map set follows (as reported by TeamLiquid) :

Blue Storm
Katrina
Baekmagoji

Quick analysis: It’s interesting to see two maps with 1v1 setups, sandwiching Katrina, a very controversial map.

The Matchups

Flash (Terran) v Jaedong (Zerg)

Flash really surprised me. Not only did he win out of his group 3-0, but he managed to really rise up and show everyone why he’s here. Jaedong took a strange loss and came out of his group 2-1. Some experts claim he threw the match to avoid playing his teammate so early on. Either way, these players aren’t going down easy, especially with Jaedong as the only Zerg making it out of group play. Both of them are not ready to back down.

With Jaedong on fire and Flash in shape, expect this to go to three maps.

BlueStorm: Jaedong > Flash
Katrina: Flash > Jaedong
Baekmagoji: Flash > Jaedong

Flash advances (2-1). Continued…



Video on demand from Group B matches of the GOMTV Star Invitational is now available. These matches are not English VODs–the English voiceover seems to have disappeared from the Group B games.

Group B consisted of six games in total, with the Emperor Lim “Boxer” Yo-Hwan returning to action.

Jaedong vs. Nada (Blue Storm)
Much vs. Nada (Katrina)
Much vs. Boxer (Blue Storm)
Jaedong vs. Boxer (Katrina)
Jaedong vs. Much (BaekmaGoji)
Nada vs. Boxer (BaekmaGoji)

Video on demand views from the GSI site count toward Tasteless’ views, and any further employment for him by GOMTV. If you want to support the only truly specialized English StarCraft caster in existence, get to watching. Tasteless is casting every match.

Hit the GSI match page to view all the video on demand from the GSI competition, as well as the full schedule.



The StarCraft GOMTV Star Invitational is underway, with groups A/B completed. Tonight, Group C will play to see who advances, with Group D matches set for tomorrow.

Live stream information and VODs of every match can be found at the GSI homepage.

Also keep in mind that these matches are all being shoutcasted in English by Nick “Tasteless” Plott. GOMTV considers this a test-run for Tasteless, and future employment for him (and English StarCraft enjoyment for us) hinges on his viewership numbers. So, hit the GOMTV GSI video on demand page to view completed games, as well as the match schedule page to see when the next battle begins.

Tasteless is casting every match!

Hit the jump for Group A and B results (spoilers!).

Continued…



Every event features a group of death where players who should all make it out of group play won’t. Only two players can advance, leaving no room for error. In the GOMTV Star Invitational StarCraft tournament, one slip up–a mis-struck key, a poorly micro’d unit–could be the downfall and an early end to any member of Group B.

Cast of Characters

Name: Jae-Dong Lee
Alias: n.Die_Jaedong
Race: Zerg
Team: Lecaf OZ

Strength: Jaedong’s stock has been rising as of late. Fans believe he will fill sAviOr’s shoes as a Zerg superstar. Jaedong is nicknamed “Legend Killer,” bringing down veteran after veteran consistently. His record stands at an amazing 90-43, a 67.67% win rate. Additionally, his Zerg mirror is heartstopping: 30-9. Against Terran, he stands at 38-16, winning over 70% of the time.

Weakness: They don’t call it the group of death for nothing. He faces a decent Protoss and two players who eat Zergs for breakfast. Continued…



IloveOOv on Monday, Bisu on Tuesday… The time has come for Lee “NaDa” Yoon Yeol, the only three times Starleague winner on the planet. Today, he was another giant to be eliminated from the Korean World Cyber Games qualifier for StarCraft.

Two out of the remaining four top 16 matches were played today. In a Terran mirror match, NaDa lost 2-0 to Yum “Sea” Bo Sung. The current number one in StarCraft, Ma “sAviOr” Jae Yoon, has gone through at Park “Yellow[ArnC]” Myung Soo’s expense. Continued…



The legendary Kim “Bisu” Taek Yong and the World Cyber Games 2006 bronze medalist Jun “Midas” Sang Wook will not be going to the U.S. consulate in Korea any time soon. They were knocked out of the WCG qualifier for StarCraft today and will not be going to the finals in Seattle.

Tuesday was the second day of the WCG Korea top 16 stage. Two matches took place: Bisu lost to MBCGame HERO teammate Lee “Light” Jae Ho 1-2 after taking the lead in maps. Midas lost to Yoon “Free” Yong Tae, also 1-2. Continued…



Choi “IloveOOv” Yun Sung, the World Cyber Games 2006 champion for StarCraft, was knocked out of the 2007 WCG qualifier today by Park “Much” Yeong Min in the top 16 stage. The champion of last weekend’s WEG e-Stars 2007 tournament, Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong, will not live to see the quarterfinal as well. Continued…



The Korean World Cyber Games qualifier for StarCraft is now well underway with sixteen players left playing for tickets to the finals in Seattle. It is a preliminary that defies the meaning of the word “qualifier,” as it is the only national tournament that is actually more difficult to win than the WCG itself.

Only a handful of players from abroad would have made it to the top 16 of this competition. A good indicator of this qualifier’s difficulty is the fact the winner and the runner up of Starleague, Kim “GGplay” Joon Yung and Byun “IriS” Hyung Tae, are already out at this stage. For those that do not know, Starleague is one of the two most prestigious events in StarCraft for solo players. Continued…