Los Angeles will play the host of the 2008 WCG USA Finals. This particular final boast one of the most stellar group of competitors to date.

Greg "IdrA" Fields remains a heavy favorite since moving to South Korea several months ago to pursue a career in professional gaming. Although, the professional gamer is not the only one expecting a high placing. Tyler "NonY" Wasieleski has Germany in his sights as well. Wasieleski, a finalist in the Spirit Tournament also might just be the second non-Korean to become a professional gamer after his near flawless performance in the tournament thus far.

Other potential players to cause an upset are the WCG veterans Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski, Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson, and Sherwin "Yosh" Mahbod. These three individuals have all gone on to represent their country at the international level.

Dan "88)Artosis" Stemkoski
Race: Terran
Last WCG Appearance: 2007 (3rd place)

The American veteran turned popular commentator has been a regular at just about every U.S. final since WCG began. For the past couple months though he has taken his voice and Starcraft knowledge over to South Korea where he works as a commentator. He is perhaps most known for his casting in Ascension, Razer TSL, and Spirit Tournament. While he might not be quite as prepared coming into this years event as past, he is still a huge threat to entire the field.

The former leader of Micro Media has since put the project aside to play under the controversial 88) tag, which possesses some of the top talent America has to offer - IdrA, iNcontroL, and NonY.

David "KingDino" Kent
Race: Protoss
Last WCG Appearance: N/A

He will be competing in his first U.S. finals, replacing Daniel "Nyoken" Eidson. A couple years ago, just as he was beginning to dominate the scene, he was caught using a maphack. The once respected player has turned into one of the most disliked individuals in United States.

Hack or not, he was able to still knock out Geoff "iNcontroL" Robison, the WCG 2007 U.S. champion, out of the pacific regional. Although, he only placed in third, thus not qualifying, he did manage to earn a little respect back from his haters.

Rich "Future[LighT]" Almand
Race: Protoss
Last WCG Appearance: 2005 (Failed to advance past first round)

While not really known outside of the United States, Almand has been playing Starcraft for many years. He advanced to the U.S. finals in 2005 in New York, but was unable to secure a high placing. In this go around he will be hoping for a slightly better finish even in this years stellar field. The longtime member of LighT will have his hands full in this event, but he certainly has the ability to cause an upset.

Eric "iG.G5" Rothmuller
Race: Protoss
Last WCG Appearance: 2006 (Failed to advance past first round)

Like Almand, this will be his second appearance at a U.S. final. In 2006, he failed to advance from his group after losing in the tiebreaker.

For years he has been considered one of he top protoss users in country, but has generally road the back burner to Wasieleski. One of his most notable achievements is winning the second New Hampshire LAN by defeating both Fields and Wasieleski.

His style is very high risk, high reward. He tends to be the aggressor throughout the entire game while dictating the pace. He is also a master at using maps to his advantage, displaying unique strategies meant to throw his opponent off.

Greg "88)IdrA" Fields
Race: Terran
Last WCG Appearance: 2007 (Failed to advance past first round)

The only non-Korean professional gamer will enter into this tournament well-prepared. After just recently switching teams from eStro to CJ Entus he will be looking to impress his coaches with a victory at WCG. While he might not be the most respected players in the community, he has come a long way in his play since he first entered into the professional gaming world.

Along with Wasieleski, he has without a doubt the strongest mechanics and possibly best macro in the entire field. If his opponents are not able to slow down his unit production, he will not be stopped.


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