Into the Stars: the Players of Starcraft

Introduction
The success of Dune 2 introduced the PC to the real-time strategy genre and spawned great titles such as Total Annihilation, Red Alert and Warcraft. Twelve years ago in 1998, Starcraft was released with the inclusion of an online matchmaking network called Battle.net. What was the big deal when TA offered a grand scope of units, and physics engine? Well Starcraft had fast game play, 3 unique playable races all with a great learning curve and required not only strategic thinking, but a high technical ceiling for which may never be reached.
In this article I will not tell you the changes in game play over the many patches Blizzard has released which has changed the meta game many times but rather introduce you to the players of Starcraft. The greatest strategists and mechanical players to grace the worlds of Aiur, Tarsonis, and Char.

Humble Beginnings
The beginning of online tournaments drew large crowds and the popularity grew especially in South Korea where PC bangs (LAN centers) took to the game of Starcraft because of battle.net and the ease of learning the game. These PC bangs were cheap to visit and were popular due to South Korea’s economic situation. From every PC bang emerged their top player and these top players would compete in tournaments run by PC bang owners, eventually money was involved and leagues were created. Foreigners (non-koreans) took notice and moved to South Korea to take part in these events. Television stations realized the popularity of these events and decided to broadcast these tournaments dubbing them “StarLeague”, sponsors created teams to get their products noticed by the huge market of gamers interested in these tournaments and one player from Canada rose above all to dominate with natural skill and intellect.

Terminology
OSL = OGN StarLeague: regarded as the most prestigious Starcraft tournament in the world. Ran by the television company OnGameNet.
MSL = MSN StarLeague: another greatly recognized Starcraft tournament in the world. Ran by the television company MBC Game.
Golden mouse: Special trophy awarded to winners of 3 OSLs.
Micro management: ability to control individual units.
Macro management: ability to produce units, keeping production buildings busy, and ability to expand to keep production flowing. Good macro is being able to keep increasing production capability while having the resources to support it.


Guillaume Patry, was a Canadian Protoss player (and the most accomplished foreign starcraft player) who developed the earliest of Protoss build orders and was the best player in the world. He attributes his success to his understanding of all races. He was the winner of one of the first broadcasted OSLs and continued to be a presence for 3 more years until his unwillingness to practice caused his retirement in 2004. He is currently a professional poker player.


After Giyom, GARIMTO was the Protoss that took Protoss to the next elvel especially versus Zerg whom many Protoss naturally struggle against. He won 2 OSLs (the only Protoss to have done so) and retired to commentate for the OnGameNet team league called, Proleague. He eventually left the progaming world and is a consultant for game design companies in Korea.


Lim Yo-Hwan is one of the most successful progamers in Starcraft and most popular. He is regarded as an e-sport icon as his micromanagement style brought Starcraft to the mainstream audience in South Korea. He is often attributed to resurrecting the Terran race (thus earning the title of “The Emperor of Terran” with the Starcraft community) where after he gained prominence, the number of Terran players surged. Boxer was the man to beat for 2 years winning 2 OSLs. Boxer is a gamer with constant self motivation to innovate and entertain. In South Korea, there is mandatory military service and when it was time for Boxer to serve his duty, they allowed him to create an army team called ACE (Airforce Challenge E-sports) consisting of players who were currently serving their military duties. 2 years later he finished his service and returned to the original team he built and is currently the oldest Starcraft progamer.
For an in-depth look at Boxer’s career go here.



Nada was the next big Terran, and is statistically the best player in history. In total, he has won 3 MSLs and 3 OSLs (thus being the 1st of 3 to win the golden mouse) and was ranked number 1 in the Korean E-Sports Association for 17months. He was one of the first to introduce a style that involved heavily involved micro management, macro management, and innovative strategy. For this, he was the man to beat because no one could match his mechanics. He developed the “SK Terran” style in Terran versus Zerg and the “Tornado Terran” style in Terran versus Protoss.



A beloved idol of Protoss, he was the first Protoss player to win an MSL and has also won 1 OSL. Known for his creative and unpredictable style of play he was the pioneer of standard Protoss strategies in the Protoss versus Zerg matchup. He is now a commentator for OnGameNet.

First time the spell hallucination had been used on television where rA hallucinates Arbiters to get into a heavily defended Terran base then recalling his army to where the Arbiters are.



This guy won his first OSL the first time he tried. To date, he has won 3 OSLs being the 2nd player of 3 to win the golden mouse. He dominated to proscene in 2004-2005 being ranked #1 (first Zerg to reach #1) for 11 months. He was known for his aggressive style, earning the nickname God of War, and became famous for being the first to showcase supreme Mutalisk micro.



The hero of Protoss, he earned the name in a time when maps were unbalanced against Protoss and he was the only Protoss to qualify for an OSL at the time. He was also known as Mantoss for his incredible macro, recklessness, and cavalier micro style. He was a fan favourite because of his good looks and being one of the only players to match the macro management of iloveoov during his dominance. He has won 1 OSL, and currently plays for the ACE team during his military duties.
Recklessness at it’s best

Zealot sacrificing for the better:




Boxer’s pupil, he displayed unparalleled macro management to the point where his nickname was “Cheater Terran” or “Monster Terran” (because he’d rape his opponents due to having many more units). For 1 year, iloveoov was considered unbeatable managing a 33-3 record, an unprecedented feat which has not been matched since. This man is considered the most influential player in Starcraft history, changing the meta game to a more macro oriented style while demonstrating unmatched strategic understanding. Many Terrans owe much of their success to his strategies. Iloveoov has won a total of 2 OSLs, 2 MSLs and is now a coach for the team him and Boxer created, helping young Terrans and developing innovative strategies in the Terran versus Zerg matchup.
A great article highlighting his career can be read here and here.


Beloved by many now, but was a favorite to hate because of the authority he had in games. He was considered to be the first “perfect” player to play Starcraft. He could play standard and unorthodox. His mechanics, understanding, fundamentals were solid, efficient, and unmatched. His control over the game, and his units earned him the name “The Maestro”. From 2005-2007 he was the man to beat during which he won 3 MSLs, and 1 OSL. He revolutionized the Zerg versus Terran matchup and his strategies are the norm in the current generation meta game, in addition he statistically had the best Zerg versus Protoss win rate in history. He was the first to utilize the Defiler often barely holding off attacks until he reached the last tier of tech. He won his OSL title in a time where Zergs were suffering due to map imbalances, but Savior maintained a high win rate to eventually win the title.
An EXCELLENT article about Saviors career can be read here.



At the height of Savior’s career, Bisu was an unknown and a HUGE underdog in his first MSL attempt against Savior, Bisu went on to win 3-0 in the best of 5 series. You can read a well written article about his beginnings here. Bisu represented the pinnacle of Protoss, having amazing micro, macro and innovative strategies that changed the Protoss versus Zerg matchup and often utilized the Dark Templar to harass his opponents. He was the 1st Protoss to reach #1 on the rankings, and to date has won 3 MSLs. To date, he is considered the best Protoss player in the world, despite being inconsistent in major tournaments.

English commentary of the 1st game in Bisu’s first MSL win versus Savior – MUST WATCH as well as the 2nd and 3rd games.



Stork is known for his consistency, because he has been in the top ranked progamers for the longest and has consistently managed to place 2nd in major tournaments before finally winning an OSL in 2008. Before that, he was the only player that was ranked #1 without winning any MSL/OSL. He is known for his Protoss versus Terran play helping define modern styles.



Considered the greatest Zerg player of all time is currently ranked #1, a title he has held on to for 10months. Jaedong exemplifies the pinnacle of Zerg play with micro and macro management no Zerg player has ever demonstrated before. He currently has 3 OSL titles, being the 3rd player to obtain the golden mouse. He is currently a finalist of the ongoing MSL facing his main rival, Flash.
An excellent article created early on in Jaedongs career can be read here.
A more detailed biography can be read here.



Lastly, the best of the Terran race is only 17 years of age, he won his first OSL at the age of 15 against Stork in 2008. Because of Bisu, Stork, Jaedong, and Flash being the top rated progamers they are often seen as rivals as they play each other often. He has won 2 OSLs, and is a finalist along with Jaedong in the upcoming MSL finals.
An excellent article about his career can be read here.
A more detailed biography can be read here[img][/img]

OH NOES E-SPORTS!

I was saddened to hear that the Destructoid staff frown upon competitive play. So I will share to the community the joy of foreign competitive Starcraft. Last night, the 2009 EVER OnGameNet StarLeague came to a close in South Korea (To get a taste of the scope of Starcraft in South Korea, watch the 5 sets here:



Credit: http://www.teamliquid.net
TSL: What is it and why should you care?
At this very moment the biggest foreign Starcraft tournament to ever grace the history of the internet is being played and hosted by Teamliquid (http://www.teamliquid.net/) and sponsered by Poker Strategy.

This tournament is the second of it's kind and is called the Teamliquid StarLeague (TSL or TSL2 since it is the 2nd one to date). For all the information you can check out this link: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=105284

TL;DR version the bullet points are:
- Largest prize pool of any foreign starcraft tournament
- 1st prize of $10,000
- 2nd prize of $5,000
- 3rd prize of $2,500
- Demonstrates the best foreign players
- Streams of games with high level commentary by the community members of Teamliquid
- Introduces you to the game/community of Starcraft and thus an entry into the upcoming Starcraft 2

I am not on the staff and thus not obligated to advertise this for them. But I feel this tournament is a good way for the gamers and Destructoid staf to get a glimpse of competitve Starcraft. You don't have to like it, but what this tournament offers for the Starcraft community should be respected because no other online tournament has ever been done to this scale.

TO WATCH THE TSL LIVE STREAM THAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW GOTO:
http://www.teamliquid.net/live/

for a glimpse of some TSL action: