The Best StarCraft 2 Players of All Time

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Looking for the best StarCraft players out there can be tricky, there’s a ton of incredible talent in this game. Being objective is difficult, there’s always a degree of opinion in here. We’re basing our rankings mainly on the prizes these players have earned, the top earning StarCraft 2 players. Along with their tournament wins.

#RankIDNameRacePrize Earned
1SerralJoona SotalaZerg$1,507,081
2MaruCho Seong-juTerran$1,317,000
4DarkPark Ryung-wooZerg$1,103,700
3RogueLee Byeong-yeolZerg$1,061,971
5INnoVationLee Shin-hyungTerran$811,251
6ReynorRiccardo RomitiZerg$777,519
7TYJeon Tae-yangTerran$691,427
8ZestJoo Sung-wookProtoss$683,274
9sOsKim Yu-jinProtoss$644,860
10SolarKang Min-sooZerg$639,379

Best Starcraft 2 Players

The Best StarCraft Players of All-Time

Let’s take a closer look at the players.

10. Kang ‘Solar’ Min-soo

Solar SC2 VIT

Solar is one of the best-known StarCraft players out there. He’s a Korean player currently with Team Vitality. He’s taken the win at three different DreamHack opens in the past, and the 2023 Global League.

Solar is one of the top players who is still on the rise. His recent results across the end of 2023 and 2024 include some impressive feats, like winning the Winter World Team League. He could definitely rise further up this list in the future.

9. Kim ‘sOs’ Yu-jin

Kim “sOs” Yu-jin
Image Credits: Kings of SCII YouTube

As the only StarCraft II player to have more than one WCS Global Finals win, the retired Kim “sOs” Yu-jin is next on our list. Between his 2013 and 2015 WCS Global Finals victories, he also walked away as the champion of IEM Season VIII World Championship. Basically, for three years straight, he was the best StarCraft 2 player without a doubt. His two WCS Global Final feat especially has stood for quite a while, he might end up the only player to ever hit this height in the game.

8. Joo “Zest” Sung-wook

best sc2 players of all time
Image Credits: IEM

There aren’t many players like ‘Zest’, who every year had claimed at least one Premier Tournament win between 2014 and 2017. Having since retired, the peak of his career came in these years, when he earned his World Championship to cement himself as one of the best of all time. His earnings over these years still rank him as one of the top players.

7. Jeon “TY” Tae-yang

The Best StarCraft Players of All-Time
Image Credits: IEM

Commonly referred to as one of the “Four Horsemen of Terran” (a race not so commonly played), TY’s playstyle is rather particular. Moreover, his long career took a while before it started taking off, with his first tournament win recorded after competing for eleven years. His time spent grinding definitely paid off though.

This built up to a deadly few seasons, such as in 2017 when the veteran netted his very own IEM Season XI World Championship trophy. He’s gone on to win two of these World Leagues, as one of the best StarCraft 2 players.

6. Riccardo ‘Reynor’ Romiti

reynor-best-starcraft-player
Image Credits: ESL

As one of the few Europeans on the list, ‘Reynor’ from Italy was a breath of fresh air when he stormed into the scene. Now developed into a veteran, his career features several European victories together with his own IEM Katowice 2021 win which is highly celebrated. Moreover, he’s earned a spot here thanks to his victory at Gamers8 2023, with a massive prize on the line.

Reynor is one of the most decorated StarCraft 2 players. He’s also living proof that players that aren’t Korean can still manage to play StarCraft 2 competitively! He’s a trend setter and a prodigy, having played since he was under 11. In that time, he’s amassed tons of earnings at some of the biggest tournaments.

5. Lee ‘INnoVation’ Shin-hyung

innovation-best-player-starcraft
Image Credits: GSL YouTube

When he made his name in competitive StarCraft, INnoVation was one of the youngest players on record. However, it wasn’t until StarCraft II came around that INnoVation began scoring victories all over the landscape.

As one of the best SC2 players of all time, his main claim to fame is a plethora of regional victories in South Korea between 2013 and 2017, with the highlights being an IEM Season XI Gyeonggi victory together with a dominant showing at WESG 2018. Now 30, he’s still competing at the top level of the game. He’s won multiple IEM finals, Global StarCraft Leagues, and a WCS.

4. Lee ‘Rogue’ Yeol

Rogue best starcraft players
Image Credits: StarLeague

Recently dethroned from being the highest-earning StarCraft II pro, his career between 2017 and 2021 boasted eight Premier victories, two Major victories, and more than forty minor wins.

Most recently, his crowning moment was defined by a massive $150k win at the IEM Katowice event in 2020 and his World Championship in 2018.

There can be no doubt that Rogue is one of the best StarCraft players of all time – and certainly one with the most titles. The StarCraft betting sites quite simply love him. He stepped away from the game in 2023, but is coming back. Now back in the fold, we might see Rogue rise back up this list across coming tournaments this year.

3. Park “Dark” Ryung-woo

best SC2 players of all time
Image Credits: WESG

Crowned as Rookie of the Year back in 2015, Park ‘Dark’ Ryung-woo is anything but a rookie in 2024. As one of the most influential players in all of StarCraft 2, his approach to the Zerg race popularized the race throughout the entire community.

Performing exceptionally both locally and internationally, his extensive career is still running wild, with a recent signing to Talon Esports, hoping to return to his dominant form of 2019.

2. Cho ‘Maru’ Seong-ju

best-starcraft-player-maru
Image Credits: Maru

There are many who will happily claim that Maru is the best StarCraft 2 players of all time. He’s certainly one with impeccable achievements, claiming the title of the youngest GSL player of all time.

When he was just thirteen years of age, he competed in a televised event, making history in one of his first competitions.

At the time of writing this piece, Maru boasts over $1.3 million in StarCraft earnings. In the eleven years he has been competing, Maru has claimed a huge number of wins. Throughout 2023, the veteran earned a few more GSL victories.

Maru definitely deserves a spot on this list, with some suggesting that when he plays, it isn’t TvT, but TvM.

1. Joona ‘Serral’ Sotala

serral-best-starcraft-player
Image Credits: ESL

In a competitive scene dominated by South Korean talent, the best StarCraft 2 player of all time is Joona ‘Serral’ Sotala, a veteran from Finland.

Dominating a variety of StarCraft 2 tournaments in his decorated career, naming them all here would certainly be a tall order.

The defining moment of his career came in 2018, when he scored the grand victory in the 2018 WCS Global Finals, landing a massive $280k in one sweep. However, that certainly wasn’t the end of the line for Serral, who would go on to win many more victories, such as winning IEM Katowice 2022.

Today, he remains one of the best in the world and is still motivated to stay on top.


Our list and information could contribute to you identifying the best StarCraft betting odds when used appropriately.

Gabriel Sciberras
Gabriel Sciberras

Since: February 7, 2023

Gabriel is a content writer and editor at EsportsBets, covering every related esports scene and topic under the sun, apart from plenty of experience in the realm of technology and gaming. When he's not covering international news, he's focused on the local Maltese scene.

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