The Rules of the Game at IPL5

Koreans must have a special relationship to IPL, because in no other tournament, excepting GSL, are they ever so numerous. Of the original 72 participating players, less than half come from outside Asia. Last April’s IPL4 saw the Championship Bracket become a miniature Code S, with only Stephano making it anywhere near the finals. This time the tournament is looking much the same, even bringing the same caveats in the form of Naniwa, Stephano and HuK. Of course, it’s not exactly a rerun. MarineKingPrime, then the most dangerous player in the world, is not here; neither is Mvp or Nestea. This won’t be much comfort, however, if you’re going up against DongRaeGu in the first round.

But it’s not as grim as it looks. People continue to improve. Players who were middle of the road a year ago are at the top of the ladder today. Just as the face of Code S has changed, so too have the foreigners.



Scarlett, who was the breakout player of IPL4, and a strong performer in every tournament she has been in since, will be a Stephano-esque impediment to anybody who crosses her. Her fans keep growing in number, mirroring her reputation, but then again Scarlett isn’t quite a Nerchio, a DongRaeGu. Like them, she will have to produce victories that amount to more than beating this guy or that. She needs a big trophy. Maybe once this tournament is over, we will have crowned the first true Queen of the Swarm.

Stephano himself, meanwhile, is doing the weird dance of alternately losing early or dominating. Last time he was the final hope. Now: who knows? It’s a pattern not unlike that of the early Idra, who seemed to always come in determined to play terrifically or bomb out of the event. The analogy isn’t perfect, but watching the old Idra was a little like watching Stephano today: seeing Zerg at its best, seemingly impregnable. The ultimate Zerg plays like water: eliminate all unnecessary motion, dissolve all attacks by simply embracing them, and respond with impunity. We used to look up to Nestea and Idra as embodiments of this ideal. Stephano has matched and exceeded them.

Naniwa is here to be Naniwa, which is to say, fall valiantly but only after getting a higher kill count than most. Nani’s performances are objects of mystery. Everything about his play, from build execution to micro, has an aura of beauty that few people approach. He often seems invincible, showing play of diamond-like toughness and elegance but also an Achilles’ Heel that is always his downfall. His patience rarely ever wavers: he pulls off attacks that shouldn’t break through and deflects aggression that shouldn’t have failed. Among Protoss players he is one of those deserving few (like HerO and MC) who bring something totally unique to the fore. This makes him worth your attention. It might make him worth another championship.

Major. Call him whatever you want, he knows Terran in an age when Zerg and Protoss have figured out how to deal with them. He has trained in Korea, regularly showing off his skills, and he took a spot in TSL4. Sadly the most famous thing about Major is the sheer number of handles he has employed over the years, as well as his tendency to leave one team for another with little discernable reason. IPL5 will be another chance for him to shine. Along with with Lucifron and ThorZaiN, he is the best non-Korean Terran.

ThorZaiN is one of those dangerous players who must never be underestimated. Sadly, he’s not in Las Vegas. Lucifron is. Around the time of last year’s Dreamhack Valencia, casters were eagerly reminding people that Lucifron was very strong but usually invisible. That time he didn’t have much luck, going up against DongRaeGu, but he resurfaced earlier this year, winning The Gathering and a couple of other small tournaments. The Lucifron we now know is the player who showed up at WCS Europe and, along with his brother, swapped everybody aside.

Vortix is a Nerchian Zerg, meaning he is about as good as he can get without truly transcending his race. The best part of his participation will be his squaring off against more than Europeans, whom he can handily beat. Like his brother, Vortix is one of the new kids. Yes, they’ve both been around, but only now are they coming into their own. This will be their ultimate testing ground. They don’t lack for targets.


You can’t talk about DRG without talking about Genius, and you can’t mention either without going into the merits of TheSTC, Ryung and Ganzi, who in some way are better or worse than Symbol, MMA and Crank.

The big ridiculous fact about Code S is that it is generally composed of players who are all plausible Code S champions. The Brood War tradition was one composed of winners who possessed unapproachable levels of skill, but Starcraft 2 is far from that kind of mastery. Usually players reach a maximum point, after which training seems to get diminishing returns. So far there have been many tournament winners, so the most accurate predictor of skill is consistency. Who then to look to? The obvious ones: HerO, DongRaeGu, MMA, Leenock, Taeja, Symbol? The list is getting a little long. These players are arguably the best, but then again, you can make a case for many Koreans. There is aLive, there is Squirtle, there is HyuN. There are Shine and CreatorPrime and farther down the brackets there are Seed and viOlet. There will be no quarter, but of course none will be asked. These are the rules of the game.