Stephano (Ilyes Satouri)
Race: Zerg
Team: Evil Geniuses
Stephano is my favorite Zerg player. I saw him very briefly at the 2011 Lone Star Clash; however, at the time I was just starting to watch Starcraft II games and didn't know who he was. Had I known he was going to become one of my favorite players, I definitely would have tried to snag an autograph.
Stephano is known for his awesome play style against Protoss players. At the time when he started to become famous, many Zerg players had trouble withstanding Protoss players with fast expand builds. Stephano gained ground as he was able to counter these builds with a build consisting of speedings, roaches and infestors. The build requires an amazing micro ability that only Stephano has, as it requires:
- Excellent positioning of speedlings to surround units
- Landing perfect fungals from infestors
- Quickly targeting down specific units (specifically, Protoss sentries) with roaches
Stephano, who is French, recently transferred to Evil Geniuses and has a stuffed dog, Cujo, that he takes to every tournament. He's the rock star of Starcraft II, as he's known for partying at tournaments and has gotten in trouble a few times with the game's officials. However, he is very kind to his competition, always wishing players luck before their games and often joking around with them. He even congratulates players who beat him, because according to Stephano, if someone manages to defeat him, that person is clearly a good player and deserves to be congratulated.
TeaJa (Yoon Young Seo)
Race: Terran
Team: Team Liquid
For a long time, my only favorite character was Stephano. One of the first times I watched TaeJa play was against Stephano, and I instantly disliked TaeJa because he beat my favorite player. However, the more I saw TaeJa play, the more I realized how awesome he was, and I even started cheering for him. Now, he's one of my favorite players.
TaeJa, who is 17 years old, is a Korean Terran player. In my opinion, Terran is the hardest race to play, mainly because:
- It requires excellent positioning. If Terran units are attacked while out of position, it often means the end of the game.
- It is extremely difficult to reinforce units. If you lose units in battle, it is hardest for a Terran player (more than any other race) to get more units back in the fight.
TaeJa is known for having extremely solid, all-around play. He is able to adapt to all situations quickly; however, most of the time, players are trying to adapt to him. His play style keeps other players constantly on their toes while trying to keep up with him. Plus, he is able to micro his units (especially marines) very near perfection to keep them alive as long as possible
Since TaeJa is so young and fairly new, people are predicting him to go far in pro gaming, and I agree. I'm excited to see his career continue. We'll keep cheering, Taeja!
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Race: Protoss
So, I have yet to find a favorite Protoss player. I wasn't looking when I found Stephano and TaeJa, so I'm sure one day I'll see a Protoss player whose style I really like!