In light of this, it’s easy to see why it doesn’t hurt ESL for the Koreans to qualify. Unfortunately, the participation of the Koreans meant that Europe’s next stars-in-waiting were going to have to wait a little longer, as the spotlight once more courted their veteran Korean counterparts. Lyn, in particular, was in dominating form at the three-day event, annihilating the competition with prime Zacard-like efficiency and gusto on his way to the title.

Did Lyn deserve to win? Absolutely. Did he deserve to participate? That is debatable. It’s hard to argue with the ESL, which has expanded from its base in Germany to solidify its standing as the pre-eminent, e-sport organization outside Korea, having succeeded where countless other organizations have failed. However, if the ESL’s goal is, as they say on their website, to offer “open tournaments, where everyone can participate and win a slot for the finals,” then the answer is no. Why? Because Lyn is not “everyone.” He is the best of the best, as are his Korean brethren, and their presence, for better or worse, greatly reduces the chances of other players winning.

The fact is, the ESL had a chance to do something different here, something new and original—no more long, overdrawn preliminaries, relegations or playdowns; no more dubious selections based on meeting national quotas. Just a ticket and an invite to Hannover, Germany for the chance to have a “changing of the guard” on the big stage, for the current stars to either prove their standing against a hungry crop of challengers, or relinquish it. Instead, we were treated to the same game of musical chairs amongst the Koreans and Grubby and ToD, the only two Europeans that can hang with the Koreans game after game.

Sure, watching Lyn, Lucifer, Grubby and ToD slug it out made for compelling entertainment, but haven’t we seen this before? Haven’t we felt that same anti-climactic feeling?
When all was said and done, players such as mouz.Happy, mTw.protois and hoorai.elfittaja—players that might have finished behind only Grubby and ToD—were humbly relegated to the 5th-8th positions, and worse, to footnotes on many WC3 news sites. So much for the next MaDFroG.

The thought of having a bully-less playground for these struggling Europeans might be too idyllic. Europeans don’t need to be coddled by any means, as many would say that competition stands by its value. There is no excuse to losing if you deserve the win—Koreans or otherwise. Without Lyn and the likes of him, EM ends up being free money for ToD or Grubby anyway, even with a few good upsets.

Money aside, you could make a case that the EM meant more to these players, more for their confidence, drive and self-esteem, than it did to the Koreans, for whom winning is all but a birthright. You could argue that, yes, to be the best you have to beat the best, but even MaDFroG had to earn his stripes on various local and online tournaments before wading into the blood waters of the MBC and OGN. Sometimes, young players need to get a few brass wins under their belt before going for the gold. And that’s hard to do when you’re forced to wait your turn.. and wait.. and wait…