For those of us that are familiar with Starcraft should be well aware that South Koreans dominate. Whether or not this is because of the amount of practice they put in, their culture, or undying love for the game is not for me to say. What is true is that a Korean player has managed to take home a gold medal at every World Cyber Games competition since its creation many years ago.

Some of you might be wondering why these players are just so much better than everyone else. Well, they answer is simple. In South Korea, these players do not just play the game as a hobby, it is their job. Major cooperate sponsors fork out millions of dollars to sponsor these players with money, a well-furnished home, and food. In return, the professional’s spend anywhere on average of eight to twelve hours of practicing and competing on live television.

When they are not practicing, they are either on television or doing photo shoots. They live like celebrities, and that is exactly what they are in their home country. Some have even admitted not liking to go out into public since they are almost guaranteed to be bombarded by their several adoring fans.

So do non-Koreans have a chance in defeating them? The answer is NO! Seriously though, it is very possible that a non-Korean can defeat a Korean professional, but highly unlikely.

While the best non-Koreans can compete with a majority of the semi-professionals in South Korea, they cannot really hold a stick to the top tier players that will be competing in Seattle. A team that is without a doubt the strongest ever put together.

However, there is a glimpse of hope for the non-Koreans…

Mirror Matchups

If you are not sure what a mirror matchup is I will explain. Mirror matches are when identical races are chosen prior to the beginning of the match. You might still be curious. How does that matter? Well, it does and it doesn’t. If a non-Korean player is able to use a counter build properly it will not be easy for the Koreans to recover. However, the experience and raw skills of the professionals can still easily overcome a player that was able to gain an advantage in the game.

Let us take a look at the statistics of these professionals back in South Korea:

Byung Goo “Stork[gm] Song

38-19 versus Protoss (66.67%) – stats from TeamLiquid

He is currently sitting in Group F, a group that is made up of four Protoss users and one Terran. Seeing how Stork’s Protoss versus Protoss is statistically his best, he really could not have asked for a better group. There is still the lone Terran, Ex from Russia, a very solid player who with near flawless play may very well have a chance in causing some sort of upset, but I would not count on it.

Jae Yoon “sAviOr[gm] Ma

38-27 versus Zerg (58.46%) – stats from TeamLiquid

One of the best players in the world can still lose…just not that often. If you look at his stats, Zerg versus Zerg is his worst. You might remember back at WWI in South Korea where he almost lost a series to the Taiwanese player SEn. This could be a problem for him seeing how he has two very strong Zerg players in his group along with a random player that can certainly play Zerg as well. If luck is not on his side today he may very well lose.

Yung Soo “HwaSin[S.sIR]” Jin

28-28 versus Terran (50.00%) – stats from TeamLiquid

Luckily for HwasSin, he does not have any Terran’s in his group. Another fact is that he is also competing in the smallest group that only consists of two other players. Because of his group arrangement, he should almost be guaranteed a spot in bracket play.

Cheese Builds

When I say "Cheese Builds" you are probably wondering what I am talking about. Well, a Cheese Build is when you depend on one swift and brutal attack on your opponent which is generally done within the first couple of moments in the game. The only downside to these builds is if your attack does not work, you will lose.

This type of strategy has been used several times in the past against the Koreans. Sometimes it has managed to pay off while at other times these builds have failed miserably. Nonetheless, I would still almost count on seeing these particular builds used against the Koreans.

Contrary to what many believe, these professional gamers are still human and certainly capable of losing. The two major points above will just increase their chances in earning a victory.