On Saturday, May 31st the top four Starcraft players from last year in Orlando will face off, each hoping to finish in the top two. The top two finishers will both be guaranteed a spot in the USA finals later this year.

Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski will be the only player returning from the US Open last year. This year, he has strong hopes to improve on his 3rd place finish in 2007.

The defending US Open champion, Tyler "NonY" Wasielaski will not be returning to defend his title due to his inability to make it past the group stages in Orlando. His absence will mean that we will not be seeing any protoss users in this field of players.

Before the actual event takes place, I will help you become a little more familiar with the competition.

Geoff "RedeemeR[Media]" Robinson
Formerly known as iNcontroL, this defending WCG USA 2007 Champion is looking to show the world that his victory was not a fluke. Months ago, he made the decision to leave his former team Templars of Twilight to join up with the American organization Micro Media. Since being recruited he has proved to be a pivotal asset to the team in both 1v1 and 2v2 play.

His strength lies in his ability to gain a psychological edge from his opponents. He depends more on trickery, deception, and well timed attacks to earn victories rather than rapid mass production. Against terran, he plays a much older style, generally opening up with lurkers instead of mutalisk, pressuring his opponent while he continuously secures resources all over the map.

He is the lone zerg, stuck in a pool of terran's who want nothing more than to take his crown away. If he is able to show the kind of play that we had the pleasure of viewing in Orlando, he will be very difficult to take down.


Daniel "Nyoken" Eidson
He was the second representative for team USA Starcraft at the WCG finals in Seattle who just barely missed out in breaking into the top sixteen. A veteran in the American Starcraft community, he seems to always to put a strong showing at WCG events. Back at the first US Open in 2006, he was able to come in 1st place even with the field being made up of eight players instead of four.

His play style resembles that of a Korean professional gamer. Strong mechanics and lightning fast speed on the keyboard contribute heavily to his success.

Last year in Orlando, he was placed in a group of all terran users. His seeding, was one of the main reasons for his strong finish he claims due to his ability to play in his most comfortable match up all the way up until the finals.


Alex "Skew[Media]" Brola
To much of the community outside of the United States he is considered a rising star. However, he has been one of the top terran's in the United States for several years.

The year of 2007 marked the height in his success. His strong play in various events earned him an invite to BlizzCon to compete in the Starcraft tournament. Unfortunately, he was unable to make a mark at this event and was knocked out the tournament early on.

He has been criticized for playing very poorly in a LAN environment which he contributes to his nerves. Even with that being said he is still one of the strongest players in the country with the skill to come out with a victory at this event.


Dan "Artosis[Media]" Stemkoski
Perhaps the oldest and most recognized name in the American Starcraft community. Since the World Cyber Games conception, he has been right there competing in every single event. Along with his past experience with WCG, he is known throughout the world as a famous commentator for Ascension and most recently TeamLiquid StarLeague.

In the past year, his game has transformed his game from being rather one dimensional to a player that is well-rounded in just about every aspect of his game.

At the US Open in 2007 he just missed out in finishing in the top two, but would later still manage to earn a spot in the USA finals through the Atlantic regional.

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