The real-time strategy (RTS) computer game StarCraft has a professional competition circuit that is especially active in South Korea. In the past, two major TV channels in South Korea, Ongamenet and MBCGame, each hosted a Starleague (Ongamenet Starleague and MBCgame Starleague), which were watched by millions of fans.

Around 2003, professional StarCraft players began forming teams sponsored by large South Korean companies such as Samsung, SK Telecom, and KT. StarCraft is the most popular game in the annual World Cyber Games because of its strong fanbase in South Korea. It is also one of the largest computer and video game competitions worldwide in terms of prize money, global coverage, and number of participants.

More than $4 million in prize money has been given out in total, with most of it coming from tournaments in South Korea. After the release of StarCraft II, competitive play of StarCraft: Brood War was not shown on TV for several years. However, in early 2015, StarCraft: Brood War returned to Ongamenet’s TV schedule.

The professional competition for StarCraft has mostly stayed separate from that of StarCraft II. However, both games’ largest Korean competitions, the Afreeca StarCraft League (ASL) and Global StarCraft II League (GSL), are organized by Afreeca TV. Some players have competed in both games over the years, but except for the 2012 season of Proleague, no player has competed professionally in both games at the same time.

Participation outside of South Korea

There have been several efforts to show live professional StarCraft matches to people outside South Korea. GOM TV hired Nick "Tasteless" Plott, an American who previously provided commentary for StarCraft matches at the WCG and other international events, to give English commentary for the 2008 GOM TV Star Invitational and the 2008 Averatec-Intel Classic tournaments. GOM TV reported that more than 1 million viewers watched the GOM TV Star Invitational matches with English commentary. Many StarCraft fans outside South Korea download video files of professional games to watch on their computers. This created a small group where fans share the videos on websites like YouTube, but add their own English commentaries alongside the original Korean commentary. Well-known English-speaking YouTube commentators include Tasteless's brother Sean "Day9" Plott, KlazartSC, Diggity, Moletrap, NukeTheStars, and Rise.

The Collegiate Starleague is a league for college students that happens each season and is based on Korea's ProLeague. It was started in 2009 by students at Princeton University. Its fourth season (Fall 2010) marked a change from StarCraft: Brood War to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Over 100 colleges in North America, including Harvard University, Yale University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and Case Western Reserve University, participated. Notable contributors and players include Day9, Kevin "QXC" Riley, and Andre "Gretorp" Hengchua.

List of professionalStarCraftteams

The Korean professional scene had eight teams. Six teams were supported by companies, and one team was supported by the Korean Air Force. All teams either stopped operating or moved to StarCraft II in 2012.

• Air Force ACE (공군 에이스)
• CJ ENTUS (CJ 엔투스) – previously known as Hite Entus, Suma GO (Greatest Ones), Hite Sparkyz, OnGameNet Sparkyz, and KOR
• Woongjin Stars (웅진 스타즈) – previously known as Hanbit Stars
• KT Rolster (KT롤스터) – previously known as KT Fingerboom, KT MagicNs, and KTF MagicNs
• Samsung KHAN (삼성전자 칸)
• SK Telecom T1 (SK텔레콤 T1) – previously known as 4U and Orion
• SouL (소울) – previously known as STX SouL
• Jin Air Green Wings (진에어 그린 윙즈) – previously the eighth team; was managed by KeSPA on behalf of others in response to OZ, MBCGame HERO, and WeMadeFOX ending their teams.

Because of the match-fixing scandal, all teams except Jin Air Green Wings ended their operations.

Match fixing scandal

A cheating scandal in the sport was discovered in South Korea on April 13, 2010, when it was found that popular StarCraft players intentionally lost games. Because professional gaming has an official status in South Korea, the consequences for these actions were serious: 11 players were banned from all professional StarCraft competition for life and faced civil and criminal lawsuits. All 11 players had their prizes and rewards removed, such as the Player of the Year Reward, Proleague Player Reward, and Weekly/Monthly MVP Reward.

As of June 9, 2010, 11 players had been banned from professional gaming due to the scandal: sAviOr, Hwasin, go.go, Type-b, Luxury, YellOw (ArnC)*, DarkElf, UpMaGiC, Justin, By.1st, and ShinHwA. In October 2010, court sentences were announced.

*Note: This player should not be confused with Hong "YellOw" Jin Ho, who played for KT Rolster. The involved player’s full name is Park "Yellow[ArnC]" Myung Soo, who played for Hite SPARKYZ.

• Pro gamer (T) Justin – 18-month prison sentence, 3-year suspended sentence, 3 million won fine, 120 hours of community service, and 40 hours of gambling treatment program.
• Pro gamer (Z) sAviOr – 1-year prison sentence, 2-year suspended sentence, and 120 hours of community service.
• Ex Pro gamer (T) By.1st – 6-month prison sentence, 1-year suspended sentence, and 40 hours of gambling treatment program.
• Ex Pro gamer (Z) ShinHwA – 6-month prison sentence, 1-year suspended sentence, and 40 hours of gambling treatment program.

A suspended sentence means the players can avoid going to prison if they do not commit any other wrongdoing during the specified time period.

Transition toStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Even though StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released, KeSPA, OGN, and MBC Game chose to continue using Brood War for their competitions. KeSPA and OGN later began discussions with Blizzard and GomTV about the rights to broadcast StarCraft II. After these talks and negotiations were finished, it was announced that the SK Planet Proleague season would be a tournament that included both Brood War and StarCraft II. Over time, professional Brood War competitions were no longer used in Proleague, although many fans still enjoyed the game.

Resurgence andStarCraft: Remastered

After KeSPA stopped organizing professional StarCraft tournaments, cash prize events for Brood War continued. In 2014, two years after KeSPA’s last official competition, OGN broadcast StarCraft tournaments for two seasons. In 2016, Afreeca TV started hosting the Afreeca StarCraft League (ASL) and the Global StarCraft II League (GSL). In 2017, Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered, which updated the game’s graphics and systems but kept the gameplay unchanged. Because the gameplay remained the same, players adapted easily to the changes. In 2018, during StarCraft’s 20th anniversary, Blizzard launched the Korea StarCraft League (KSL). This brought the total number of professional leagues for StarCraft: Remastered in Korea back to two, matching the number from 2011 when the final season of the MSL was held.

Notable professional players

Boxer, known as the "Emperor of Terran" or "The Emperor," became the first of two StarCraft players to win the World Cyber Games (WCG) twice. He also won the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL) twice, a feat only eight other players have achieved. He was the first of three players to win two OSLs in a row. Boxer held the record for being number one in KeSPA's rankings for 17 months straight. In 2005, he returned to competition, finishing second in the So1 OSL 2005. However, he retired from professional gaming to join the Korean military, which is required for all Korean males. On October 3, 2006, he defeated his rival [NC]…Yellow in a match called "Superfight," winning 3–2. One of his famous strategies was the "SCV rush," where he used SCVs and a few marines to win quickly. Before joining the Korean Air Force, Boxer had 500 wins and 338 losses in televised matches.

Boxer joined the Korean Air Force pro-gaming team ACE, where he continued to play as a pro-gamer. In 2007, he participated in the GomTV 2 MBC Game Starleague but was eliminated in the group stages. When his military contract ended on December 24, 2008, he re-joined his former team, SK Telecom T1, and played in the Pro League in July 2009. In October 2010, he switched to StarCraft II and competed in GomTV GSL 2. In November 2010, he retired from KeSPA's pro-gamer status to focus on StarCraft II and form a new team sponsored by Intel.

The "Genius Terran," also called "Tornado Terran," began his career by defeating ChRh (Choi In Kyu) on a TV show called "Amateur vs Pro." He is known for his strong macro and micro skills. Nada, who played for teams like IS, KTF, and Wemade FOX, won three OSLs, three MSLs, and the first KT-KTF invitational tournament. In late 2006, he became the first player to win the OSL three times, earning the "Golden Mouse" title. He qualified for his tenth MSL but failed to qualify for the next OSL. In 2008, he reached the final sixteen in both the MSL and OSL but lost to Hwasin and Jangbi. As of December 2008, he was ranked 18 in KeSPA. By June 2009, his rank dropped to 31, the first time he was outside the top 30 since 2002.

In October 2010, after his contract ended, Nada retired from StarCraft: Brood War and focused on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. He joined Complexity Gaming but retired in June 2012 due to financial issues, health problems, and family matters.

After Boxer and Nada, iloveoov became a successful Terran player. His macro skills were even stronger than Nada's, leading to the nickname "Cheater Terran" because he could build large armies quickly. He was also called "Monster" for his dominance. He won the MBCGame Starleague (MSL) three times in a row and the OSL in November 2004. He won his second OSL title in March 2006, defeating JulyZerg. He retired from professional gaming and now coaches the SKT1 squad with Kingdom. In 2008, he returned to coaching and played his first match on November 17, losing to Kim Myung Un. He had a close relationship with Boxer, who mentored him. He also won the WCG in 2006, defeating JulyZerg.

Flash, nicknamed "The Little Monster," "God-Young-Ho," and "Ultimate Weapon," entered the scene by defeating Bisu with a "cheese" strategy. Though criticized for using tricks, he dominated the scene. He helped his team KTF (now KT Rolster) win the 2010 Proleague. Flash holds records like the longest TvT and TvP winning streaks, youngest Starleague winner, and highest KeSPA rank. He won four golds in one year and defeated Kal (Goojila) in the 2010 WCG to become world champion. He returned in 2017, winning ASL season 2 by defeating Sea. He also beat Jaedong in the semi-finals after a five-game series.

Hong Jin Ho, known as "Storm Zerg," was an early rival of Boxer. He lost several Starleague finals to Boxer and was known for his aggressive style. Though he finished second in major tournaments six times, he never won a championship, earning the title "King of Silver." His notable wins included first place in the 2003 ITV Starleague and the 2005 Snickers All-Star league. He lost to Han "Casy" Dong-wook in the 2006 OSL semi-finals and finished third. After poor performance, he struggled to recover. In 2009, he defeated Bisu after 735 days of silence. He did not qualify for OSL or MSL since 2006 but ended the 2009–10 season with a three-game winning streak, including a victory over Jaedong. He retired in 2011, and Boxer gave him an empty StarCraft II box. He now appears in a reality series on GOMtv, trying to return to competition.

sAviOr, nicknamed "Maestro," won three MSLs and one OSL. He reached five consecutive MSL finals

History of pro-level tournament winners

The two most important and profitable series of tournaments were the Ongamenet Starleague and MBCgame Starleague.

The following winners are listed from oldest to most recent. Note that many Starleagues are named after the company that sponsored the event that year. Finalists are listed in order of their finish. The letters P, T, or Z after a player’s name show whether they played Protoss, Terran, or Zerg. Most players are from South Korea, except when noted.

• Freemura (Z) defeated TheBoy, Ssamjang (99 Progamer Korea Open)
• Grrrr… (P) (Canada) defeated H.O.T-Forever (Hanaro Communication Tooniverse Starleague)
• GARIMTO (P) defeated Skelton (Freechal 2000)
• BoxeR (T) defeated JinNam, Grrrr… (Canada), Kingdom (Hanbitsoft April – June 2001)
• BoxeR (T) defeated YellOw, V-Gundam, Tis)Isaac (Coca-Cola July – September 2001)
• GARIMTO (P) defeated BoxeR, TheMarine, YellOw (Sky 2001 October – December 2001)
• Sync (T) defeated Hanbitstars (KTF Ever)
• Sync (T) defeated Toona SG (Neowiz Pmang)
• Round 1: Hanbitstars defeated SK Telecom T1
• Round 2: Pantech & Curitel Curriors defeated SouL
• Round 3: KOR defeated KTF MagicNs
• Grand Final: Hanbit Stars defeated Pantech & Curitel Curriors
• Season 1: SK Telecom T1 defeated KTF MagicNs
• Season 2: SK Telecom T1 defeated Samsung KHAN
• Grand Final: SK Telecom T1 defeated KTF MagicNs
• Season 1: SK Telecom T1 defeated MBC Game Hero
• Season 2: MBC Game Hero defeated CJ Entus
• Grand Final: MBC Game Hero defeated SK Telecom T1
• Season 1: Samsung KHAN defeated Lecaf Oz
• Season 2: Lecaf Oz defeated CJ Entus
• Grand Final: Lecaf Oz defeated Samsung KHAN
• 2008 Shinhan Bank: Samsung KHAN defeated Ongamenet Sparkyz
• 2008–2009 Shinhan Bank: Winners’ League: CJ Entus defeated Hwaseung Oz
• Grand Final: SK Telecom T1 defeated Hwaseung Oz
• 2009–2010 Shinhan Bank: Winners’ League: KT Rolster defeated MBCGame Hero
• Grand Final: KT Rolster defeated SK Telecom T1
• 2010–2011 Shinhan Bank: Winners’ League: SK Telecom T1 defeated KT Rolster
• Grand Final: KT Rolster defeated SK Telecom T1
• Season 1: SK Telecom T1 defeated KT Rolster
• TheMarine defeated I.LOVE_STAR (1999)
• [GG99]Slayer (Norway) defeated I.LOVE_STAR (2000)
• TheMarine defeated PRO_NT.SONJJANG (2001)
• Winners of the OGN King Of Kings tournament:
• Grrrr… (Canada) defeated TheBoy (2001)
• YellOw defeated V-Gundam (2002)
• Winners of the MBC Winner’s Championship:
• MuMyung defeated YellOw (2002)
• YellOw defeated BoxeR (2003)
• Winners of the KT-KTF Premiere League:
• NaDa defeated BoxeR (2003)
• July defeated GoRush (2004)
• Winners of BlizzCon:
• YellOw defeated Reach, NaDa, Nal_rA (2005)
• sAviOr defeated Nal_rA, Iris (2007)
• sAviOr defeated NaDa, Jangbi, ForGG (2008)
• Effort defeated Zero, sAviOr, NaDa (2009)
• Winner of the CKCG (China-Korea Cyber Games):
• iloveoov defeated NaDa (2005)
• Winner of the Snickers All-Star league:
• YellOw defeated NaDa (2005)
• Winners of WEF (World e-sports Festival):
• sAviOr defeated iloveoov (2005)
• sAviOr defeated NaDa (2006)
• Winners of Blizzard Worldwide Invitational:
• Nal_rA defeated YellOw (2006)
• Bisu defeated sAviOr (2007)
• Stork defeated Sea[Shield] (2008)
• Winner of IEF (International e-sports Festival):
• NaDa defeated iloveoov (2006)
• Bisu defeated sAviOr (2007)
• Bisu defeated Stork (2008)
• Stork defeated Terror (2009)
• Bisu defeated Stork (2010)
• Bisu defeated Stork (2011)

Spectators

The activity of watching StarCraft games as a sport in bars became known as barcraft and spread to bars around the world. As barcraft grew in popularity, bars named themselves "esports bars." These bars are similar to traditional sports bars, but instead of showing sports like football and basketball, they show a variety of esports games. They also serve drinks with themes related to gaming.