March 7, 2005 - Mystery-Map Invitational Highlights
A player-made highlight video of the Europe vs. Asia Mystery-Map
Invitational has been created by McCoRmIcK. It can be downloaded at the German Brood War fan site, Broodwar.de.
February 26, 2005 - Teams Europe Defends Title!
Team Europe has defeated Team Asia by a score of 3-2 to defend its Mystery-Map Invitational title!
The original match-ups had to undergo a few last minute changes. Fisheye[pG]'s original opponent Xellos had to withdraw from the event. However, Fisheye
agreed to play Korean Protoss pro-gamer Pusan[s.g] as a replacement. 3wD.Christian and LinYu)Pj attempted to start their match several times, with Christian
moving locations to try a different connection, but unfortunately neither player was able to establish a good connection to the other. After a few attempts at finding an
alternative solution, eventually that match-up was cancelled. Team captains Eriador[pG] and Legionnaire, each with a member having connectivity issues, played what would
be the deciding game in this very close set of matches.
ToT)Mondragon( vs. Zeus
While all matches were played concurrently, the first to end with a conclusive result was ToT)Mondragon( against Zeus. This match was
considered to be the most anticipated match-up by many players. German Zerg player Mondragon is widely considered to be one of the world's best amateur players, and
there was a great deal of speculation about how he'd perform against Zeus, who is a professional gamer in the Korean televised leagues. Mondragon played strongly and put Team
Europe ahead with a 3-0 victory over his Korean opponent.
Breakdown[pG] vs. ToT)SEn(
Following soon after was the result of the match-up between two Zerg players, German player Breakdown[pG] and Taiwanese player ToT)SEn(. With the players similar in
skill, and Zerg mirror match-ups extremely difficult to predict, the result was up in the air prior to the match. With some hard-fought games, SEn evened the score with a 2-1
victory.
x6AMD.Zelotito vs. July[z-zone]
While the match-ups were quite favorable to Team Europe, there was no getting around the fact that one of their players would have to tackle JulyZerg, one of the
very best StarCraft players in the world, and among the top Korean professional gamers. This task fell in the hands of the Protoss WCG competitor from Spain,
Zelotito. The Spaniard put up a good fight, especially on the tricky Ash Rose map, but JulyZerg emerged the victor with a 3-0 score and Team Asia with a 2-1 lead.
Fisheye[pG] vs. Pusan[s.g]
Fisheye was originally scheduled to compete against a Terran opponent, but availability problems left him with another pro-gamer opponent, the Korean player
Pusan, who filled in on short notice. The experienced German was able to overcome his opponent and win with a 2-1 score. It was clear that the fate of the two teams
would be decided in the Invitational's fifth and final match-up.
Eriador[pG] vs. Legionnaire
After several attempts to establish a playable connection between 3wD.Christian and LinYu)Pj, the match had to be aborted. Both teams' hopes rested with their
captains, the Norwegian Eriador, who plays Random, and Australian Legionnaire, who plays Protoss. Eriador was able to secure a 2-1 victory that propelled
Team Europe to its second Mystery-Map Invitational title, after the previous 3-2 win over Team Americas.
We'd like to thank the competitors on both teams for the close set of matches, and congratulate Team Europe on a close and hard-fought win!
Audio Commentaries by Manifesto7
Replays
February 23, 2005 - Europe vs. Asia Match-ups
We'd like to thank those who took the time to vote for their preferred match-ups on the Battle.net forums. Those votes and the preferences of the
captains have been collated and run through our MVU system (see the F.A.Q. for an explanation). The match-ups are as follows:
(Team Europe) 3wD.Christian vs. LinYu)Pj (Team Asia)
(Team Europe) Breakdown[pG] vs. ToT)SEn( (Team Asia)
(Team Europe) ZelotITO[MA] vs. JulyZerg (Team Asia)
(Team Europe) Fisheye[pG] vs. Xellos (Team Asia)
(Team Europe) ToT)Mondragon( vs. Zeus (Team Asia)
February 22, 2005 - Mystery Maps Unveiled!
The time has come to reveal the three mystery maps to be used in the next Mystery-Map Invitational! Community map-makers Bill307 and
Mora, who both created maps used in the first event, have returned to help create two brand new maps, with the third map having been
created by Blizzard.
The philosophy behind the Mystery-Map Invitationals has been to create a platform for maps that differ from what players are used to
seeing, while retaining the balance elements essential to today's competitive StarCraft games. We hope that players will enjoy
developing new strategies tailored to each map's characteristics and quirks.
- Umbra Locus designed by Mora
- Ash Rose designed by Bill307
- Desolate Platform designed by Blizzard Entertainment
February 18, 2005 - Last Slot on Team Asia Filled!
We are happy to announce that the Protoss player Zeus has been chosen as the final member of Team Asia. However, due to his commitment to professional gaming leagues
in Korea, we will be unable to finalize Team Asia until Tuesday, February 22. In the event that there is a scheduling conflict, another Protoss player will be chosen to
replace Zeus on Team Asia.
Now it's up to the team captains and the members of the StarCraft community to vote for which opponents the members of Team Europe and Team Asia will face on
February 26 in this thread on the Battle.net forums!
February 17, 2005 - Team Asia's Fifth Member Revealed
We'd like to welcome Xellos to Team Asia. The Korean Terran player has a history of success in the televised Korean professional StarCraft: Brood War leagues
and recently emerged as champion of the 2004 World Cyber Games in San Francisco.
February 16, 2005 - Audio Commentaries
Manifesto7, the commentator who created mp3 audio commentaries for the Team Europe versus Team Americas match, will be creating a new batch of commentaries for the
match between Team Europe and Team Asia. This time he'll be joined by Belgian commentator GroT, who also has experience creating entertaining StarCraft audio
commentaries. These will be made available soon after the games are completed on February 26, and will be released alongside a replay package of all the action.
February 11, 2005 - Team Asia Welcomes New Member!
The latest addition to Team Asia is Korean Zerg pro gamer POS_JulyZerg who joins teammates Legionnaire, ToT)SEn(, and LinYu)Pj. The two remaining open positions
on Team Asia will be filled and announced in the near future. Two weeks remain before Team Europe faces Team Asia.
January 26, 2005 - Prize Packages Revealed
While the motivation for Team Europe and Team Asia remains pride and fun, we've put together a prize package for each member of the winning team. Thanks to long-time e-sport sponsor, Razer Inc., players on the winning
team will enjoy a top-of-the-line gaming mouse and mousepad as well as assorted Blizzard paraphernalia. Prizes and their descriptions can be found on the updated Prizes section.
January 7, 2005 - Team Asia Grows Stronger
The newest member of Team Asia is ToT)SEn( from Taiwan. He will be joining captain Legionairre and LinYu)Pj to take on Team Europe in February. In the
coming weeks, we will be announcing which players will fill the remaining three positions in Team Asia. All three will hail from the mighty Brood War
nation of Korea.
January 6, 2005 - Mark Your Calendars
The StarCraft Mystery-Map Invitational: Europe vs. Asia will be taking place on February 26, 2005 at 1 p.m. CET / 9 p.m. Seoul time.
Prior to the first Mystery-Map event, Swedish player TreK[cF] withdrew from competition and Team Europe Captain Eriador[pG] played in his stead. Eriador has selected
the German player BrEaKdOwN[pG] as the replacement for TreK. He will be joining Eriador, Zelotito, Fisheye, Christian, and Mondragon as the newest member
of Team Europe!
January 4, 2005 - Mystery-Map Invitational: Europe vs. Asia
We're pleased to announce the upcoming second Mystery-Map Invitational, where the champions from the first event, Team Europe, will defend their
Mystery-Map title against new opponents from Asia. The original concept of Team Asia has been expanded to include the greater Asia-Pacific region, so that the best
StarCraft players among the vast legions of fans in nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Saint Kitts may be considered for inclusion too.
The first two members of Team Asia have been selected: Australian player Legionnaire, who will be Team Asia's captain, and Chinese player LinYu)Pj. The other players that will comprise
the team will be announced in the coming weeks, when we will also declare a roster change to Team Europe, the prize package, and the final event date.
December 11, 2004 - Congratulations Team Europe!
Congratulations to Team Europe who defeated Team Americas in a close set of matches with a result of 3 to 2!
- rS.Veg (Team Americas) defeated 3wD.Christian by a score of 2-1
- ZelotITO[MA] (Team Europe) defeated SW)DAy[9] by a score of 2-1
- Fisheye[pG] (Team Europe) defeated Hellghost[pG] by a score of 2-0
- rS.Testie (Team Americas) defeated Eriador[pG] by a score of 3-0
- ToT)Mondragon( (Team Europe) defeated Hero[pG] by a score of 3-0
Europe captain Eriador[pG] substituted for TreK[cF] who withdrew from the competition a few days prior to the event. The third match on Astral Eclipse between Fisheye[pG] and Hellghost[pG] was not
played.
A replay collection of all matches has been compiled and is available to download here.
Manifesto7 has selected the most interesting game of each match and created audio commentaries. These consist of a replay bundled with an mp3 file, designed to be played concurrently.
To use these files, extract the replay to your StarCraft/maps/replays folder and the mp3 file to a location of your choice. Open StarCraft: Brood War and load the replay without starting it. Then start the mp3 with your favorite audio program
and alt-tab back to StarCraft. Manifesto7 will cue when to begin watching the replay, allowing you to listen to his commentary synchronized with the replay.
- rS. Veg vs. 3wD.Christian - Game 2 on Astral Eclipse - download
- ZelotITO[MA] vs. SW)DAy[9] - Game 1 on Coulee - download
- Fisheye[pG] vs. Hellghost[pG] - Game 1 on Coulee - download
- rS.Testie vs. Eriador[pG] - Game 3 on Hawkeye - download
- ToT)Mondragon( vs. Hero[pG] - Game 1 on Coulee - download
The second iteration of this event, Team Europe against Team Asia, will take place early next year. More news with rosters, dates, formats, maps, and other information will be
posted on this page in early January. Blizzard Entertainment wishes all StarCraft fans a safe and happy holiday season. We'll see you in 2005!
December 9, 2004 - Two Days and Counting...
To help foster a fair playing environment in Saturday's Mystery-Map Invitational, we're re-releasing the observer versions of the event maps with
tournament icons attached. Hawkeye, Coulee, and Astral Eclipse remain unchanged with the exception of the icon authentication. These versions of the three mystery maps
will be those used during the event. As with the previous observer versions, these will require Use Map Settings enabled to play. Participants and others interested may download
these versions by clicking here.
Experienced StarCraft news writer and commentator Trevor "Manifesto7" Allen will be creating audio commentaries of some of the most interesting matches in the days following the
event. These are designed to be watched alongside the replay files and allow the viewer to pick up on things they might be missing during the action as well as hear some of the tactics
and strategies involved. Manifesto7's audio commentaries will be available to download on this page as they become available.
December 6, 2004 - Final Opponents Determined
Captains Eriador of Team Europe and Rekrul of Team Americas have submitted their preferred match-ups and the votes on the Battle.net StarCraft forums
have been tabulated. Below are the final match-ups for the first StarCraft Mystery-Map Invitational. For those interested in learning exactly how these match-ups were determined, please refer to
the new entry in the FAQ.
(Team Europe) 3wD.Christian vs. rS.Veg (Team Americas)
(Team Europe) TreK[cF] vs. rS.Testie (Team Americas)
(Team Europe) ZelotITO[MA] vs. SW)DAy[9] (Team Americas)
(Team Europe) Fisheye[pG] vs. HellGhost (Team Americas)
(Team Europe) ToT)Mondragon( vs. Hero[pG] (Team Americas)
December 3, 2004 - Mystery Maps Unveiled!
Today we present the three maps for the first of two StarCraft Mystery-Map Invitationals. Just as the StarCraft community was invited to vote on which
match-ups they'd like to see, we've also invited two members of the community to work with Blizzard to create the mystery maps. We're pleased to unveil the two well-known map makers today who
have worked diligently to create their maps and have worked closely with Blizzard to fine-tune and test them: Bill307 and Taylor "Mora" Fales.
The maps are available in both observer and melee modes. Please note that to play the observer maps games must be started with Use Map Settings enabled.
December 2, 2004 - Maps Coming Soon
We will be releasing the three StarCraft Mystery Maps tomorrow, December 3rd, in both UMS (Observer) and Melee versions. We apologize for the slight delay.
November 22, 2004 - Match-ups: Have Your Say
Along with each of the team captains presenting their preferred match-ups, the final and most important part in deciding who will be playing who will be left to Brood War fans. Have your
say by voting on what specific player matches you'd like to see in the StarCraft Forums.
November 18, 2004 - Mystery-Map Invitational Rosters Announced
We're proud to announce the competitors for the Mystery-Map Invitational. With many talented players on both sides of the Atlantic, choosing who to invite was a
daunting task. There were many other players who would also have made excellent additions to each of the teams. Team Asia will be announced sometime in January.
November 17, 2004 - StarCraft: Brood War Mystery-Map Invitational Announced
On December 11, 2004 Blizzard will be hosting the first of two Mystery-Map Invitational events for StarCraft: Brood War! The first event will feature
two teams consisting of top players from Europe and the Americas, while a second event in January will pit the winning team against a team of top players from
Asia. As a twist from the competitive standards in the Brood War community, the games will be
played on three entirely new maps created specially for this event. These new maps will be revealed on December 2nd, which means players will only have a
short period of time to acquaint themselves with these new battlegrounds and adapt their strategies.
Each invited team will feature a team captain, who doubles as an alternate, and five players. On December 11th the two teams will meet on Battle.net and play a
series of five best-of-3 matches with each individual game being played on one of the new maps. All the members of the winning team will be awarded with a
prize package of StarCraft gear. Stay tuned for more news updates on this page as the player list will be finalized and posted soon!
Eriador[pG] (Captain)
ToT)Mondragon(
TreK[cF]
3wD.Christian
ZelotITO[MA]
Hexatron_Rekrul (Captain)
rS.Testie
HellGhost