This is a strange and exciting time. Tournaments from around the world seem to be running all day, every day. More and more players and viewers are being drawn to e-sports than at any time in memory. StarCraft is a phenomenon gaining speed in many new corners of the world.

Some things have remained the same. South Korea is still the mecca of e-sports. It still produces the most prestigious tournaments, still lives in the dreams of the most ambitious players.

However, no longer is it the case that all the world’s best are Korean. The days of presumed utter Korean dominance have, at the very least, lapsed. One Swede and one American are trading blows with the best in the world and they remain standing, ready to fight on. Their success has been an inspiration for viewers across the globe and, most interestingly, for many non-Korean teams. The realization that a non-Korean can thrive in that environment has led many important players within the industry to wonder, ‘Why not me? Why not my team?’

The game at hand

We’ll only be able to accurately assess their full impact in and out of the game years from now. From here, it seems their legacy will be considerable.

On this day, we focus on the upcoming meeting between the two great foreign hopes.

Jinro and Idra will meet on Wednesday for the right to advance to the GSL semifinals and to be called arguably the best non-Korean in the world. The stakes are high and the fangs are out.

If you’ve been following Jonathan Walsh and Greg Fields in the GSL, you know this is a monster movie. We have two beasts, two freakishly powerful beings looming large over the StarCraft landscape. They are unique, fighting for survival in a foreign land and they’re going to battle to the death (but surely will be reincarnated in time for a sequel to hit theaters next season).

The movie is for mature audiences only: adult language and unrestrained violence are certainties. Who will survive and what will be left of them?

The monster from the North

Hailing from wintry Sweden, we have Jonathan “Jinro” Walsh. He is the gorilla Terran, King Kong, a giant with the power to destroy. In recent months, his macro game has ascended to among the best in the world and has won him a number of games and thousands of fans. In this battle, Jinro has the perceived edge in the breadth of his arsenal: he can competently play the short and long game as well as anything in between and be a threat at all times.

Jinro is coming into this quarterfinals match on the heels of a semifinal appearance last season. Last week, he completed one of the biggest upsets of this season when he defeated his teammate and former champion oGsMC. MC had eliminated Jinro last season in a one-sided 4-0 sweep.

The Villain

Originating in the toxic sludge that is New Jersey, Greg “Idra” Fields is poised to advance to the best GSL result of his career thus far. He is the horror of the deep, a joyless Kraken (affectionately called the Gracken) and the longest-tenured foreigner in Korea. He has qualified for every GSL held thus far, a feat which places him in elite company.

It is fair to say that Idra has a monkey on his back. A week ago, he lost to Jinro on Jungle Basin in a long game (once considered Idra’s exclusive domain) where the Swedish Terran successfully denied the American Zerg’s expansion attempts again and again. However, Idra showed that he is not one to wallow in self-pity: just three days later, he defeated the legendary Terran NaDa, the Protoss Genius and the Terran Clide to convincingly advance in first place from his group.

With both competitors coming off some of the most impressive victories in their respective careers, the momentum is palpable on either side. The question now is, what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? I’ll venture a guess: something spectacular.





Theaters of war

Match 1: Xel'Naga Caverns

Idra is 4-0 against Terrans on Xel’Naga Caverns including impressive wins last week against Clide and Ensnare, Jinro’s housemate. Jinro himself has only played the map once against Zerg, winning against the Warcraft 3 legend and now middling Zerg, Moon.

The map boasts one of the most balanced histories in the GSL for TvZ. While the smart money tends to be on Jinro as the favorite for the opening game due in no small part due to the shorter nature of games on two player maps, Idra’s stellar history on Xel’Naga Caverns hints that this should be no walkover.

Match 2: Metalopolis

Metalopolis is quite another story as Terrans hold a considerable advantage over Zerg. The game is heavily influenced by starting positions: the closer the positions, the better for Terran. The further the starts, all the better for Zerg. For an macro-oriented Zerg (to the point of being inflexible) such as Idra, this would seem to be doubly true.

Idra is 1-2 on the map against Terran, including the loss against MVP that ended his season 3 run. His lone win came against Nada last week in a game that even Idra himself described as a throwaway by the Brood War legend.

Jinro lost his lone game against Zerg (Drug) on the map at the beginning of season 3.

The starting positions and Idra’s ability to perform will dictate the action in this one. If Idra is granted far positions, expect him to take advantage of it. If he’s not so lucky, hope that he stays focused on the game while he’s rolling his eyes. It will be an uphill battle from there.

Match 3: Shakuras Plateau

The third game will take place on Shakuras Plateau. Zerg generally hold the advantage here, a fact which should be no surprise on a map which encourages longer macro games. As always, Zerg is a race easy to stop early and nearly impossible to stop once it gains momentum.

Jinro has shown that he is more than capable of winning a decisive victory against Idra even in a longer game but this is a map where Idra’s need to expand will be met readily. Unlike during his victory on Jungle Basin last week, Jinro will have his hands full here and the money is on Idra.

Match 4: Jungle Basin

Last week, Jinro beat Idra decisively on this map. Jungle Basin puts Zergs (especially those of Idra’s style) at a significant disadvantage. Taking a third base, a necessity that bears repeating when Zerg enters mid and late games, can be an extremely challenging task. As Jinro’s excellent constant denials of expansions proved, defeat is imminent when a Zerg cannot stay ahead of the Terran.

The money is overwhelmingly on Jinro for this map. He’s demonstrated an understanding of the map and has even publicly pointed out that the map ought to be removed because Zergs cannot beat Terran here.

Match 5: Lost Temple

The common consensus is that this map could spell trouble for Idra. Mid and late game drops from Terran against Zerg are potent enough to turn the tide of battle in Jinro’s favor should the game come down to that.

The GSL statistics do give Terrans an edge. However, even if drops don’t come into play in a significant way, starting positions certainly will. Just like on Metalopolis, close positions are advantageous for Terrans who can wage an aggressive early game war. Far positions will reward a macro-oriented Zerg as they can more easily focus on the mid and late game.

If Idra is able to push this series to a game 5 by surviving through Jungle Basin and Metalopolis, he may very well walk away the victor here. Drops and close positions are the biggest threats posed to the American Zerg, both of which can be avoided with a bit of luck and sound play.

The whole world is watching

Last week, as Idra advanced to the round of 8 and the best performance of his GSL career, he cracked a smile for only one moment, after he defeated Terran legend Nada to take first place in his group.

“I get kind of numb when I play,” Idra explained to myeg.net. “I wasn’t even that excited.”

It is an odd thing to hear Idra say he is numb when he plays. His past says otherwise. For years, Idra’s reputation has been built around his tendency to lose his temper, throw tantrums and insult his opponents. He may indeed be numb when things are going well for him - his leather jacket and stone face reaction to victories support that - but, the fact remains, Idra is known for his emotional outbursts during games more than any other player.

For almost two years leading up to StarCraft 2’s release, Idra was considered the best non-Korean in Brood War. He won almost every foreign tournament he entered in 2009 but fell short in the TSL, losing to Liquid`Nony in one of the most thoroughly hyped matches in foreign Brood War history.

His inability to translate his foreign success to any remotely significant professional success in Korea was widely criticized. It wasn’t until February 2010 with the release of the StarCraft 2 beta that Idra’s play was considered truly world class. By the end of the beta, especially with his victory over Protoss Tester (Trickster) to win Day9’s King of the Beta tournament, Idra’s play was held in the highest esteem. He is now, finally, the world class player long hoped for around the world.

Thanks to his consistently high level of play and his emotional outbursts, Idra is the most polarizing figure in StarCraft 2. The enormous size of his fan club is surpassed only by the legion of anti-fans he’s attracted over the years.

A sudden ascent

On the other end of the spectrum is Jinro. A visible and well-mannered member of the StarCraft community for almost a decade, Jinro’s recent ascendance and relatively emotional celebrations have won him the support of fans worldwide. His demeanor is perceived as steady and humble to a fault.

Long a competitive player in Brood War, his ambitions have recently been realized with his switch to Team Liquid and his move to Seoul. Although his first two GSL seasons ended in disappointment when he didn’t qualify for the 64-man bracket, the third season saw him advance to the semi-finals and command the attention of the world.

His lifeless 0-4 exit to eventual champion MC left a number of skeptics. However, this season’s solid play has led him at the doorstep of another semifinal appearance and possibly greater achievements. Even the skeptics are too busy cheering to care. Jinro's fanbase is expanding rapidly.

Something worth remembering

Worldwide fan support has its uses. In furthering their careers as players and beyond, each competitor's relationship with the community and their past behavior may well affect the professional relationships they forge.

However, once the countdown starts and the spawns have been chosen, our opinions effectively cease to exist. They are of no consequence at all. It is the players and their armies that go to war, not our theories and ideas.

This is not a rivalry - not yet. Jinro and Idra will have to work to stay on top for an extended period before we call it a true rivalry. They will have to fight off challenges from Koreans and foreigners alike, will have to face off in many more important matches before it earns that title. Still, it has the look of the start of something special, doesn't it?

Rivalry or no, this is undoubtedly important. Two non-Koreans meeting in the round of eight is a major milestone in the development of Western StarCraft. This may be the first step in what will undoubtedly be a lengthy journey toward parity between East and West. These players and this match have commanded respect from Koreans and inspired greater ambition among foreigners.

It is the most important StarCraft match involving a foreigner in years. When we look back, this may well be a milestone worth remembering. The only question left is, who will be remembered on top?

Credit: TLPD, Liquidpedia, myeg.net, Fomos, MYM, Fighter Forum, Scipion