EPTStarcraft 2 players are often sorted in various different categories. Zergs, Terrans, and Protosses are the easiest one to see as it’s what they play. Champions and B-teamers. Kespa and non-Kespa. But probably the most common distinction, and the most interesting, is that of Koreans and foreigners. Usually, when we describe someone as a foreigner, it’s someone who’s not native to the country are born to/reside in. But in Starcraft, no matter where you live or are from, it’s unanimously agreed that foreigner refers to a player who isn’t Korean. It’s indisputable that the best players are from South Korea; they have built a culture and industry around e-Sports for 15 years. Foreigners have always been underdogs, and it only makes sense that when facing fierce Korean competition, people around the world will support their favorite players from around the globe.
It’s unfortunate, but
Jim was totally overshadowed by Canadian hero and Protoss expert 
Scarlett. It makes sense, as she’s popular and has been one of a few foreigners able to compete at the highest level. But after her early exit in her own Challenge match, Jim is the only non-Korean left in the Korean individual leagues. If he were to advance here, it would make a statement that Korean’s aren’t the only players that are able to compete in Korea. Jimcredible has had some great showings in the past, doing well in WCS America Season 2 in 2013 (and being stopped by unfortunate visa issues). He went under the radar for quite a while until he had an absolutely insane run in his home country at IEM Shenzhen, in which he beat Life, 
TaeJa, and San before falling to Solar in the semis. It was an absolutely amazing run but one has to wonder if he’ll be able to reproduce such a result once again. He looked pretty shaky against Bomber and HuK who eliminated him out of the most recent WCS season. The Chinese scene is a very isolated one, and it often creates for a completely different metagame. Phoenix Colossus styles has always been popular with Jim and his teammate MacSed. Jim’s also a very tricky player, not afraid to break out a very ballsy all in every now in then. Whatever he decides to do, he’s gonna have to keep his opponent on his toes.Unless of course
Maru just kills him. If Jim represents foreigner hopes and dreams, Maru represents the poster-boy Korean that’s meant to crush those dreams. After debuting at 13, Maru has found success in the past year or so and elevated himself to a terran that can never be left out of the conversation. His strength in TvP when most of everybody agreed that Protoss was too strong in the Blink Era of early 2014 was unseen of, save Polt fighting for freedom overseas. The only terran hope in Code S for the first half of 2014, Maru’s constant multitasking and impeccable control of units made him one of the best players in Korea. Unfortunately, he seemed to really only do well when Terran was struggling. An early exit from GSL Season 3 and failure to qualify for Hot6ix cup made Maru practically disappear off the radar for months. It seems he spent those months practicing though, as he looked in great form in his proleague debut against Zest. Maru is champion in Korea, and he has eyes set on making 2015 his year. With two leagues and Proleague to compete in, Maru is looking to reclaim his lost throne of best terran in the world.The second match of the night pits former teammates against each other in an intense ZvP.
Dark has gathered a lot attention in the past few months, looking stronger in every game he plays. The young zerg player started for SK Telecom and looked in great shape, defeating MarineKing very convincingly. His unique ZvT style doesn’t translate to ZvP, where it’s just good but not great. Similarly, PartinG has been on an upswing, but unlike Dark, he’s been competing with the absolute best. A recent victory at HSC X shows that the former SKT player is still strong since his rise in 2012. His vZ has looked pretty good as well, beating a lot of players that are arguably worse than him and losing series to great players like Solar at MSI Beat It or Life in CaseKing Christmas Cup. But PartinG should be confident in his skill to beat Dark. Either way, it’ll probably be a close and entertaining series.The final match of the night is a mirror match between two protosses who’ve had very different stories.
MyuNgSiK has been performing decently in Korean tournaments and very well in online tournaments ever since joining Prime. As a player, he’s been showing constant improvement and has beaten plenty of high profile players, showing he’s able to go toe to toe with some of the best. San on the other hand has been travelling around the globe and showing his might in weekend tournaments. The Blizzcon quarterfinalist had a very good year, winning ASUS ROG Winter at the beginning of the year and finishing top 4 twice and the finals once of WCS Europe. San’s form seems to be strong, as he eliminated soO from the GSL Qualifiers and was sent out as the ace to beat MyuNgSiK’s team on the opening of day of Proleague, so Legend sees that he’s definitely strong right now. Both players’ PvP hasn’t been stellar as of late, both having losses to middling opponents in the past few months. However, they’re both solid enough that the series should be very close. Can San make his return to Korea a fantastic run, or will MyuNgSiK continue to further his quest to be a top protoss?Predictions: Call me crazy, but I think Jim can do it. It’s gonna have to be one of the hardest fought victories ever, but if he shows his A-game and with some cheeky play, he could totally blindsight Maru. I am confident that PartinG and San’s experience will give them a considerable edge against their opponents as well, but both matches will be a close battle.
Maru 1-3 Jim
Dark 2-3 PartinG
MyuNgSiK 1-3 San
