Last night during the Afreeca Starleague semifinals in South Korea, iconic StarCraft: Brood War players Flash and Jaedong matched up once again for what turned out to be an incredibly thrilling series. Yes, it’s 2017 and StarCraft: Brood War is still an active esport. What does that say about StarCraft II?
Flash (Terran) and Jaedong (Zerg), two players who helped build esports in South Korea and transform StarCraft into a cultural phenomenon, might best be compared to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. For years in the 2000s they were hard-fought rivals, battling back and forth in various tournaments and making it clear to everyone else that when it came to StarCraft, they were in a class of their own. But it’s been years since they’ve matched up in a proper tournament—until now.
The winner of this matchup gets to face Sea (Terran) in the Grand Finals on Sunday. And the winner of that matchup will take home roughly $18,000.
The best place to watch the Flash-Jaedong match is over on Afreeca. Game one starts at around 31:00. It’s well worth your time.