'Sai'-storm Hits CEPL Qualifier; 256-Defeated

Sai Wins CEPL Qualifier.

The finals for the "knock-out" phase of the CEPL qualifiers conclued on Jan. 08, 2011 with Sai in first place. As previously listed: here, the CEPL qualifiers consisted of 10 rounds of individual matches, followed by a 256 seat "knock-out" tournament. Since full coverage this tournament would be unwieldy, this article will only cover the "knock-out" portion of the qualifier.

1. Big Name Losess; Unorthodox Play
Plenty of well-known players fell to unknowns during the "knock-out" rounds after "off-racing" and engaging in highly unorthodox strategies. Notable collapses in the round of 256 included TeD, who was hellbent on tower-rushing:

LAOT 2:0 TeD
LAOT	1:0	TeD	VG	Replay
LAOT	2:0	TeD	SV	Replay

Yumiko's games also featured some oddball strategies. In game one, his opponent, Moonstarer, opted for hippogryph riders. In game two, Yumiko opened with a 3-AoW rush:

Moonstarer 2:0 Yumiko
Moonstarer	1:0	Yumiko	VG	Replay
Moonstarer	2:0	Yumiko	SV	Replay

The round of 64 saw the addition of Infi's name among the ranks of the eliminated. The former 2009 WCG winner, employed two highly unorthodox Night Elf openings, including a proxy AoW attack:

APM_STAR 2:1 Infi
apm_Star	1:0	Infi	DF	Replay
apm_Star	1:1	Infi	TS	Replay
apm_Star	2:1	Infi	EI	Replay

Finally, TH000 was eliminated during the round of 32 after "off-racing" as Undead. In both games, ACam's Warden left TH000's heroes severely "under-leveled." Blast was also eliminated by Vshow.

ACAM 2:0 TH000
ACam	1:0	TH000	DF	Replay
ACam	2:0	TH000	TM	Replay

Vshow > Blast

No Data; No Replays

2. The Round of 16 and Beyond
China's newest Warcraft darling, Una, continued to turn heads during the CEPL qualifiers. During the round of 16, the young upstart defeated both his team captain and Fly100% before being felled by a 'Sai'-storm in the finals. Sai, a 2-1 victim of Una during the 2010 World GameMaster Tournament, managed to avenge his prior loss.

CEPL Qualifier Round of 16 and Beyond
Round of 16	Quarter-Final	Semi-Final	Finals	Winner
Una
2-1	Una
Sky
	2-1	Una
Fly100%
2-1	Fly100%
Zhou_Xixi
		2-0	Una
haha
2-1	sbwfz
sbwfz
	2-0	ForDream
Cloud
2-0	ForDream
ForDream
			2-1	Sai
SunS
2-0	SunS
008
	2-0	SunS
STAR
2-0	Howl
Howl
		2-0	Sai
hanye
2-0	Vshow
Vshow
	2-0	Sai
ACam
2-1	Sai
Sai

Replays for the round of 16 and beyond, can be found in the GosuGamer's Warcraft III replay section: here. In the wake of Sai's victory lies a a trail of elven blood. Sai's path to the top resulted from four-straight wins in Night-Elf mirror. For his efforts he'll receive 1,500 RMB ~$226 and a one year membership to the Holdfast Battle Platform, a Beijing gaming center. The prizes will be distributed as follows:

CEPL Qualifier Prizes
Rank	Name	Cash	Additional Prizes
#1	Sai	1500 RMB	1-Year Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#2	Una	1200 RMB	1-Year Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#3	ForDream	900 RMB	1-Year Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#4	SunS	600 RMB	1-Year Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#5-#8	Vshow sbwfz Fly100% Howl	200 RMB	1-Year Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#9-#16	Many	0 RMB	6-Month Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#17-#32	Many	0 RMB	3-Month Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform
#33-#64	Many	0 RMB	1-Month Membership at Holdfast Battle Platform

Congratulations to Sai on winning the CEPL Qualifier and best of luck to all players in the actual upcoming CEPL.

Links
TATA - Round of 16 and Beyond
GosuGamers - GosuGamer's Replay Section