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The group stage is over and we're ready for the bracket stage of the FnaticMSI Rookie Draft!

RESULTS (Round of 8)

• Tarson 2 : 0 DeSka
• Kr 1 : 2 Fenix
• Asterrix 2 : 0 CastrO
• Kabal 2 : 0 Oystein

RESULTS (Round of 16)

• Kabal 2 : 0 Pike

• Oystein 2 : 1 KawaiiRice

• Kr 2 : 1 LeeYH

• Fenix 2 : 0 Angel

• Tarson 2 : 0 Merz

• Shauni 0 : 2 DeSka

• GosuDark 1 : 2 CastrO
• Praetor 1 : 2 Asterrix

The group stage of the FnaticMSI Rookie Draft is now over and we have reached the bracket stage! The players who have made it to this stage have not only shown the highest amount of skill, but dedication as well. Of course, the players are playing for four contracted spots on the new FnaticMSI Starcraft squad, as well as a brand new MSI Wind U135 which will be awarded to the winner (see  below for picture). 

Here is what the groups ended up like after 2 weekends of competition!

A few notes about the Groups:

Group C had a tie breaker for 2nd place and GosuDark came out on the winning side. 
Group G had a tie breaker between the top 3 players in which Asterrix and AngeL came up on top. GoOdy chose to drop from the competition, hence the 3 way tie.  

Let's take a minute to meet the top 16 contestants:

• Fenix: Arguably the most accomplished player on this list, he has represented Peru at the WCG Grand Finals and traveled to Korea and China for tournaments. Most recently, he finished top 8 in the Pokerstrategy TSL. His Terran is one of the most feared outside Korea and he made it known in the group stage by rolling through, only dropping a single match. 
• CaStrO: Possibly the second most known participant, CaStrO is also a former WCG Peru winner, who fell to Ret in the Ro16 of the Pokerstrategy TSL. Throughout 2009, CaStrO finished among the top in nearly every tournament. He is one of the foreign scene's best Zerg players. 
• TT1 (Kabal): The aggressive Canadian Protoss has quite a history, but in 2009 has reformed his image and his valuable community contributions (replays against top korean players and game insight) have solidified his acceptance back into the community. TT1 also advanced to the Ro16 of the Pokerstrategy TSL, losing in a nail-biter to the beast from the east, White-Ra. 
• Kr: Another feared Protoss player, Kr has been low key for quite some time, always popping up to qualify for major tournaments and then receding back into the shadows. In the most recent TSL, Kr fell to CaStrO in the group stage. He now has his chance to prove his skills in one of gaming's greatest organizations. 
• Oystein: Possibly Norway's strongest player, who has been around the scene for quite awhile now. Although Oystein has yet to place in any important tournaments or events, his name can always be seen atop foreigner ladder rankings and in clanwars at the highest division. He plays multiple races and can be a dangerous opponent for anyone. 
• merz: An old school Swedish Terran, merz has been arond forever it seems. He is another player without major accomplishments but has recently seemed to hit top form and showed it in the group stage, where he went undefeated to take the top spot in Group H. 
• Tarson: One of Poland's most feared players, and its #1 Terran user, Tarson has competed in WCG Poland and LANCraft in the Czech Republic multiple times! He is also an up and coming Starcraft 2 top player, in the running in the first few SC2 Zotac Cups. 
• DeSka: Mexico's second best player and one of the most streaky zerg players out there. He has yet to make any huge accomplishments, but has played very well on ladders and is looking to make a name for himself!
• PiKe: An ever-solid Polish Zerg, he has been a member of the Polish national team and a member of the Spanish-based LRM for quite a long time. He is another player seeking to make a name for himself.
• Shauni: A very strong and underrated Swedish Protoss player who has built quite a nice community fanbase over the past year or so. Although he has no major accomplishments yet, Shauni is well known amongst the top players as being a very dangerous opponent and this will be his first major chance to shine. 
• Praetor: An up and coming Protoss player from Romania, he has attended and earned top 3 at several local LAN events and has been a competitor in LighT and NrT, playing against the very top teams outside of Korea. He is ready to show that he can compete and be a part of the new fnatic team.
• Gosudark: A third Peruvian player joining in the mix, his Protoss is very aggressive and strong. With no major accomplishments and one disappointing result at WCG Peru this past year, Gosudark has shown glimpses of being a very strong player and will seek to show that in this tournament. 
• KawaiiRice: One of America's top Terran players and a Starcraft 2 prodigy, KawaiiRice has built a fan following for his unique style of play and Japanese unit sounds - he qualified for the Pokerstrategy TSL, and was the youngest finalist ever for WCG USA Starcraft. 
• Mate (LeeYH): A very young and unorthodox Protoss, he is making his first big jump onto the foreign scene. This unknown Hungarian player has yet to achieve any major results and has worked hard to qualify for the top 16 here, and will continue to try and prove himself worthy of this stage. 
• AsteRRiX : Possibly Poland's second best Terran and coming off a nice Lancraft performance. He has been around the community for quite awhile without major accomplishments but has played strongly throughout the group stage. 
• AngeL : A very unknown Canadian Protoss, AngeL has made great strides in skill lately and it has paid off - getting him into the Ro16 of the Rookie Draft where he hopes to show that he deserves to be mentioned amongst the top foreigners. 

The Ro16 matches will take place this coming Saturday, March 20th beginning at 20 CET in channel op Fnatic.MSI on ICCUP. The first two rounds will be played Saturday, with the semi finals taking place on Sunday the 21st of March at 20 CET as well. More details on the Grand Finals to be held on the 28th of March will be put up later. Select matches in the Ro16 will be streamed live by Duran 'Xeris' Parsi, the link to the stream can be found here. The broadcast will go live approximately 15 minutes before the start of the matches. 

Below are the matchups for the Ro16:

Map Information:

• Ro16: Destination (Bo3, each player thumbs down 1 map)
• Ro8: New Tornado (Bo3, each player thumbs down 1 map)
• Semi Final: Outsider, Destination, Moon Glave, Fighting Spirit, New Tornado
• Grand Final: Fighting Spirit, Moon Glave, Outsider, Destination, New Tornado

The FnaticMSI Rookie Draft is finally coming to a close, good luck to all participants and to all our fans, enjoy the show! This tournament is made possible by MSI for providing the amazing laptop to the winner, and all of our sponsors: Steelseries, Bigfoot Networks, UGAME, and Slappa.