The unimaginable has occurred. Korea, the country that created adepts in StarCraft, has been vanquished. The 18-year-old American Alex 'Neeb' Sunderhaft competently played through a North American qualifier, traveled to Korea, and won a competition against a field of the best players in the world. Somewhat like this has never been transpired in StarCraft II.
In fact, if a non-Korean player won a tournament wherever against Korean opposition, it would be deliberately a huge deal-and this happens very seldom. The straightforward fact that non-Koreans are allude to as 'foreigners'-even by the 'foreign' society-should tell you a lot.
To put into outlook just how immense Neeb's achievement is, have a look at Premier tournaments before 2016 -as in, ahead the region-lock. Between 2012 and 2015, one single foremost tournament was won by a non-Korean. That befell in Taiwan against what was intended in a very Korean lineup.
In September of 2016, Neeb came to Korea and foiled the best players in the world in their home crowd. North America has always been considered the weakest area in StarCraft II. The last time an NA player won a Premier tournament? Chris 'HuK' Loranger at MLG Orlando in 2011. He displayed calm, sensible decision-making, something non-Koreans across the board have always struggled with.
To break down just how Neeb was able to achieve what he did, we have to look at the region-locked organization for WCS in 2016. He himself, as well as most other 'foreigners', keenly as a major factor in their revolutionary motivation. Instead of working out the certainty of being knocked out on every event by Korean players, they now have a pragmatic chance at winning tournaments.
The system is certainly not without critics, but the effects have been evidently clear. The 'foreign' scene has made gigantic paces in just half a year, particularly compared to its very restricted improvement before.
So when Neeb entered KeSPA Cup, all eyes were on him. He was set in one of the difficult groups, and he delivered. And he kept going until there was no ceasing him anymore. A 4-0 victory in the grand finals peaked off a performance that no other non-Korean had put jointly in StarCraft II's history. When Guillaume "Grrrr..." Patry won the Hanaro OSL in 2000-the last foreigner to win in Korea, albeit in the original StarCraft-Neeb was still a child. Sixteen years later he found oneself kissing the KeSPA Cup trophy in front of a Korean crowd.
Year after year, the community was questioning how 'foreigners' would fare when finally, faveolated opposing top Koreans. Mostly anticipated them to be beaten down yet again, despite obvious advancements in the international scene.
The players itself were quite positive that the skill gap had constricted, the community was more important. But a month before the WCS Global Finals, Neeb made the biggest asset that the 'foreign' scene has ever issued. There's a championship quality player outside Korea. Looking towards the Global Finals, Neeb's KeSPA Cup triumph may be the best outcome the StarCraft II scene could have hoped for.
