Let’s count the ways Koreans are known for StarCraft, shall we? On a list of the top 10 StarCraft II players by prize earnings, nine of them are Korean.  Brood War is broadcasted on Korean television across multiple channels. While the militaries of countries elsewhere in the world play football or American football, South Korea for a long time had a professional StarCraft team. In November alone, Koreans took first place at IEM Singapore, DreamHack Winter, the IPTL and the Battle.net World Championship. 

Whether it’s their intense work ethic, their love of computer games or just something magic in kimchi that does it, Koreans are notorious for their skill at the game. But could the combined forces of the rest of the world match them?

Fans will have the chance to find out this weekend, when a five man team of Koreans will face off in up to three matches against an all-star team of the best “foreigners” from anywhere  off the Korean peninsula. The first of three matches will be “head-to-head” style, with a pre-selected lineup for both sides. The second will follow a GSTL-style “all-kill” format, where the winner of each game stays around to take on the next contender. If after these two matches the score is tied, there will be a final best-of-three match between a single champion from both sides.

Below are the players and their profiles:

Korean All-Stars:

Name:  LG-IM_Seed

Race: Protoss

Age: 21

Recent Awards: 2012 GSL Season 3 Code S (Grand Champion)

Ahn “Seed” Sahng Won’s strategies are even less predictable than his ever-changing hair color. Known for his genius play, his victories often come from his opponent having no idea what to expect out of him. In a famous example taken from wiki.teamliquid.net, Seed started a game by expanding into a new main base, but used Hallucinate to make his opponent,Kim Hyperdub Yoo Jong, see a nonexistent Immortal early on, making him believe there was a Bunker-busting Immortal rush coming in. This caused him to hunker down and play defensively while Seed expanded into a third and gained a massive economic advantage. Who knew smoke and mirrors had a place in StarCraft II?

Name:  MVP_DongRaeGu

Race: Zerg

Age: 21

Recent Awards: 2012 MLG Spring (Champion), 2012 GSL Season 1 Code S (Champion)

When you argue with the guys at the barcraft argue about the best Zerg player in the world, one of your drunken friends is sure to mention Park “DongRaeGu” Soo Ho’s name. He’s captain of Team MVP, our own StarCraft II partners, and is their most valuable asset, having carried the team in its younger days to several top placements. During team games, he often sits on the MVP bench with his arms crossed, often the team’s failsafe if they lose four games. He waits, ready to lay on the punishment with his powerful macro and timings.

Name:  StarTale_Squirtle

Race: Protoss

Age: 20

Recent Awards: WCS South Korea Nationals (2^nd Place), 2012 GSL Season 2 Code S (2^nd place)

When this up-and-coming young lad faced off against  Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun in the GSL Season 2 Grand Finals in May of this year, it didn’t matter that he was up against Korea’s most famous StarCraft II player (not on this roster due to health reasons). The crowd, especially the international one, cheered his name throughout. He showed his appreciation by giving fans what is often called the best GSL Finals ever, with six long macro-focused games that pushed spectators to the edge of their chairs. Even the casters couldn’t help but scream when he came back from a huge disadvantage by using his Mothership’s Vortex ability to separate Mvp’s maxed army of Battlecruisers to shatter his supply score and earn a GG minutes later. The games were so close that the Terran player chose to go for a proxy Barracks all-in in the final match, winning the series but meaning no less fame for Squirtle.

Name:  StarTale_Life

Race: Zerg

Age: 15

Recent Awards: 2012 MLG Fall (Champion), 2012 GSL Season 4 Code S (Champion)

Every young man can recall his first kiss, be it in a school parking lot or a movie theater. But Life will remember it like no other, because it was on a raised podium in front of the entire world, and his lover was the GSL Code S Championship trophy.

On October 20, 2012, a young middle school student left his school with his backpack on, waved goodbye to his friends and got into a van to leave. Loose in figure and slightly awkward in manner, this kid wasn’t heading home: He was being taken to be interviewed. Sitting next to him in the van was  Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun, the world’s greatest Terran player, and in front of him was Mr. Chae, manager of the GSL. This middle school student was  Lee “Life” Seung Hyun, and Mvp would be his opponent that weekend at the GSL Season 4 Code S Finals. Using his trademark Speedling and Infestor play, this shrimp of a kid gave the fans a great series and managed to be victorious at the end.

Name:  SK_MC

Race: Protoss

Age: 21

Recent Awards: ASUS ROG Summer 2012 (2^nd place), 2012 GSL Season 3 Code S (2^nd place)

“The Boss Toss.” “The Protoss President.” “The Obama Toss.” We get it, this guy’s in charge. And the respect he commands isn’t just because his beautiful girlfriend uses his massive prize earnings to buy the GSL audience pizza when he plays; in the booth, this guy is dangerous. His macro and mechanics are legendary, and he is best known for his Blink Stalker control, where the early Gateway unit can change the tide of battle even as Thors and Brood Lords cover the map.

Foreign All-Stars:

Name:  LucifroN

Race: Terran

Age: 21

Recent Awards: Stim to the Win Online (Champion), 2012 WCS: Spain Nationals (Champion)

This young Computer Science major along with his brother was imported straight from WarCraft III, where he played Orc.  Pedro “LucifroN” Moreno Duran takes his name from a PvE boss in World of Warcraft, but this guy’s APM would make you wonder if he has even heard of the MMO. He took down some serious competition at the recent “Stim to the Win” tournament made up mostly of Terran players, culminating in a 4-1 victory over the renowned Zerg player  Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri for the championship.

Name:  Acer.Scarlett

Race: Zerg

Age: 21

Recent Awards: 2012 Battle.net North American Championship (Champion), 2012 WCS Canada (Champion)

When this Zerg player gets momentum, Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn doesn’t give it up. Earlier this year at the Battle.net North American Championship, she lost one game in her first match against  Michael “theognis” McClelland, but then won every single game following that, right up until she was crowned champion of the continent, taking down such players as  Dan “ViBE” Scherlong and   Chris “HuK” Loranger. What do you do against a player who just doesn’t seem to lose? It’ll be up to  DongRaeGu to find the answer this Saturday.

Name:  Acer.Nerchio

Race: Zerg

Age: 20

Recent Awards: 2012 DreamHack Bucharest (Champion), HomeStory Cup V (Champion)

You know a guy has a handle on things when he repeatedly turns down placements in big-name tournaments all over the world to focus on his school studies. But despite not letting StarCraft II consume his life,  Artur “Nerchio” Bloch has quite the reputation taking top placements all over Europe and beyond. Nerchio’s sharp tongue might be just as famous as his gameplay, however, as the Zerg player has shown little restraint in criticizing StarCraft II and the Heart of the Swarm beta for its balance, especially believing Terran to be significantly overpowered. Luckily for him, there will be only one Terran player competing at this match, and he’s playing for the same team.

Name:  Mionix_NaNiwa

Race: Protoss

Age: 22

Recent Awards: 2011 MLG Providence (2^nd place), 2011 MLG Global Invitational (Champion)

Though Koreans and foreigners occasionally face off in international tournaments, it’ll be Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi who will know the competition the best. NaNiwa has spent the better part of this year living in Korea, one of the few foreigners to compete regularly in the GSL. Though he never made it to the Finals in Korea, NaNiwa makes it a habit to stop by the United States every now and then to tear up the competition at MLG. Last year, the Swedish Protoss championed two of the three MLG tournaments he participated in, taking 2^nd place in the third. With his experience against Korean opponents combined with his record at American tournaments, NaNiwa might just be the ace in the hole this weekend in Las Vegas. 

Name:  EG_Stephano

Race: Zerg

Age: 19

Recent Awards: 2012 WCS Europe (Champion), North American Star League Season 3 (Champion)

In case his curly “wafro” doesn’t clue you in,  Ilyes “Stephano” Satouri is a real character. From the energy in his voice to the smile he constantly wears during interviews to his confident boasting, the French Zerg player is nothing like the quiet, conceited  progamer  in the minds of many spectators. But when his monitor is switched on and his mouth switched off, the man is a legend, being the highest earning foreign StarCraft II progamer in the world.

Known for having excellent macro while relentlessly pressuring his opponent with Speedlings, Stephano’s play is often stylistic but at little cost. He was also the first to perfect a Zerg opening that gets a 200/200 supply army of Roaches by the 12 minute mark, strong against the Protoss “Forge Fast Expansion” opening most commonly used against Zerg in the current metagame. If the world had a heavy hitter, Stephano would be the man.

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The first match will be broadcasted this Saturday, December 1 at 2:00 p.m. PST, while the second and possibly third matches will be broadcasted the next day at the same time. Matches can be viewed at GomTV.net. (Scroll down to the bottom right of the page to access the English version of the site.)