StarCraft II history is made as an American reigns in Korea

[Xiphan]

StarCraft II history is made as an American reigns in Korea
A win with consequences for the entire scene.



The unthinkable has happened. Korea, the country that created professional StarCraft, has been conquered. The 18-year-old American Alex ‘Neeb’ Sunderhaft qualified through a North American qualifier, traveled to Korea, and won a tournament against a field of the best players in the world. Something like this has never happened in StarCraft II. In fact, if a non-Korean player won a tournament anywhere against Korean opposition, it would be considered a huge deal—and this happens very rarely. The simple fact that non-Koreans are referred to as ‘foreigners’—even by the ‘foreign’ community—should tell you everything.

To put into perspective just how monumental Neeb’s achievement is, have a look at Premier tournaments before 2016—as in, before the region-lock. Between 2012 and 2015, one single Premier tournament was won by a non-Korean. That happened in Taiwan against what was considered a very Korean lineup. In September of 2016, Neeb came to Korea and defeated the best players in the world in front of their home crowd. North America has always been considered the weakest region in StarCraft II. The last time an NA player won a Premier tournament? Chris ‘HuK’ Loranger at MLG Orlando in 2011.

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I actually watched the finals between Neeb vs Trap and the level of play is just bewildering to see! In the replay you actually see their APM at the top of the screen and the amount of things they are doing at any one point in time is insane!

Neeb won 4-0 and he absolutely crushed Trap in Game 3 which I will leave below for your viewing pleasure.



Or you can watch from Game 1 here.

[z1oc]

too pro for me

im glad more and more people are beating the asians

[Tom]

That game 3 was mad!

I love strategy games, But this really is next level stuff... The amount of things these guys are doing while still engaging in combat, and winning, is insane...

Thanks for the post! Im enjoying the eSports!