Best StarCraft 2 Players – Who is the best StarCraft player going into 2022?

StarCraft Esports

January 31, 2022

StarCraft 2 might not be the newest esports title around, but its longevity and continued popularity so long after release is pretty impressive. It still has one of the most active and exciting esports scenes, over a decade since the game launched. Some of the best StarCraft 2 players ever are currently still active in the game. There are a few individuals who really do stand out above the competition, those who tend to come out ahead in most competitions. The answer to who is the best StarCraft player is still a difficult one, which changes a lot.

The competitive environment for StarCraft II is pretty wide, there are a lot of active players. If you’re looking at StarCraft 2 betting then these are the top players to look at. We’ve based the list on the recent tournament results and standings in the game. Rather than attempt to judge hypothetically non-active players against current ones, we’ve looked just at the “newer” players who are currently playing to find the best StarCraft 2 players. This ranking is based on their wins and their recent performances.

Some players have pulled off impressive feats in this past, this is more weighted towards more recent tournaments. This isn’t a fully objective list. However, it is based on the most recent results with a look at longer-term performance. For example, a number of major players lost their high ranking at the last major. This has resulted in quite a bit of a change in these rankings even if they performed very strongly in previous years.

Rogue winning GSL 2021 Season 1

Best StarCraft 2 Players

StarCraft has a lot of players in competition at any one time. Typically, Korean players tend to dominate the top flight. This can leave things like the best StarCraft 2 players kind of lopsided since the other regions like Europe don’t attract as much attention. However, when thinking internationally there are quite a few players who stand out. These are the top StarCraft 2 players, looking at all players internationally and their recent performances in the game:

1. Maru

Maru retains his #1 spot from our previous rankings with ease. He still retains the glory achieved from his youth and is one of the veteran prodigies of the scene. His biggest accomplishment is being back-to-back champion at the GSL, but this year he looks to finally claim the IEM Katowice trophy after finishing bronze two years in a row. He still remains the only player with three domestic titles to his name.

Maru isn’t sat here at number 1 because of his past accomplishments. Even in 2022, he’s already won a major event. Maru came in 1^st at the DH SC2 Masters 2021: Last Chance. He took the same top spot at the Winer Season Finals, a pretty big achievement for the year. Maru is definitely the player to beat at the moment in StarCraft.

Maru finishing second at GSL 2021 Season 1

2. Cure

Cure is a Korean StarCraft 2 player who has been active since 2011. In that time, he’s racked up some decent accomplishments and risen to the top flight of the game. Cure is currently with Dragon Phoenix Gaming, but he previously stayed with Jin Air Green Wings for over six years. Cure’s long career in the game has taken a while to rise to the very top. He’s won a few accolades along the way through, like regular-season MVP at the World Team League last year.

In terms of his recent performances, Cure is kind of an up-and-comer. He came in 2^nd at the 2022 DH SC2 Masters Last Chance. This is an impressive showing but it wasn’t a one-off. Cure took joint 3-4^th at the 2021 AfreecaTV GSL Super Tournament 3. Along with 1^st at the 2021 Global StarCraft II League Season 3. These are three very impressive results coming in the last few months.

Before the end of 2021, Cure was a player who hasn’t quite broken into the top batch. He pulled off a 3-4^th finish at the Summer season finals and the result for 2020 StarCraft II League Season 1. While he was in the top part of the community, Cure seems to have broken through that barrier to winning major events. 2022 looks set to be an interesting year for Cure.

3. Solar

Solar is another Korean player that has been a part of KaiZi gaming. He’s been active since 2011 and has amassed nearly half a million in prize money along the way. In recent performances, he has achieved a lot of consistency. While it was been a little while since he had a big win, his 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th placements have been very consistent.

Solar took home 3-4^th at the recent DH SC2 Masters 2021 last Chance, AfreecaTV GSL Super Tournament 3, and the 2020 AfreecaTV Super Tournament. His second-place results included the NeXT 2021 S1, where he came out just shy of victory 3-4 against Trap.

Solar needs a bit more of a jump to get up to the winner’s spot at these major tournaments, he’s lost out to Maru on a few occasions. However, he’s definitely one of the best StarCraft 2 players in 2022.

Kang “Solar” Min-soo

4. Reynor

Reynor is an Italian player who proves that there are still chances for international players in StarCraft 2. He’s been a major part of the community for a while but has been active since 2013. In the past, he’s taken looked like one of if not the best StarCraft 2 players. He’s been achieving major wins pretty consistently. He is slightly down this list at the moment, after a few weaker performances.

His strongest results to date have included 1^st at the DH SC2 Masters 2021 Summer Final and IEM Katowice 2021. He’s also taken 2^nd at the 2021 Summer Europe DH SC2 Masters and 2020 Winter. More recently, he’s been a bit slower though. He came in 5^th-8^th at the 2021 Masters Last Chance 2022. This is a bit of a disappointment. However, it isn’t enough of a drop to warrant downgrading expectations of him. Reynor is still one of the top players in the game.

5. Serral

Serral still retains his spot in the top 5 coming into Katowice 2022. Continuing his decade long pursuit for Starcraft dominance, 2022 may be the year he finally climbs to the top of the scene globally. He’s cleared second place in DH SC2 Masters 2021 Fall in Europe, in the Masters Last Chance 2021, and won the Masters 2020 Winter season finals. Serral puts in consistently outstanding performances across the board even as a “washed out” veteran.

6. Rogue

Rogue is another Korean player who is currently a part of Dragon Phoenix Gaming. In most recent seasons, he’s sat pretty high in StarCraft 2 rankings. Out of the StarCraft 2 best players, he has some impressive results. He won the Global StarCraft League’s first season in 2021, the Global StarCraft II League Season 2 in 2020, and IEM Katowice 2020. These are some of the biggest events of the season, and he won them convincingly.

The player rankings for StarCraft are more of a snapshot of the game’s current competitive balance rather than a definitive ranking. However, they are important for looking at who is the best StarCraft 2 player. Rogue’s consistent big wins in tournaments both put him high in the rankings, and show what he can do. Rogue has the performance to clearly set himself apart from most other StarCraft 2 players.

There you have it, six players worthy of your attention for the rest of 2022. There’s plenty more Starcraft to be played by the end of the year, and our ranking order might change drastically by the end of it.

Rogue winning the World Championship Series 2017

Best SC2 players in 2021

1. Maru

In terms of who is the best StarCraft player, Maru might be the single best one around at the moment. Maru originally came to prominence as being one of the most successful players at the youngest age. He won a televised game at only 13. One of Maru’s biggest accomplishments was being back-to-back champion at the GSL, as well as the youngest player with four GSL titles. He is one of very few players to achieve this feat, and the only one with three domestic titles to his name.

It all shows his strength in the game as one of the best StarCraft 2 players. Maru’s accomplishments stretch out pretty wide. However, the player isn’t done yet. His shoulder issues are being addressed, and he is still a big contender for the top spot at major competitions by end of year.

2. Clem

When looking at the best StarCraft 2 players, Clem is one of the first players that come to most people’s minds. Clem is notable for being probably the best non-Korean StarCraft players since they do tend to dominate the top end of the player base. His recent results have included taking first at the DH SC2 Masters Fall Europe 2021 and Summer. Prior to this, he took 3-4^th at the Last Chance and the Winter Season Finals, while winning the Europe finals for 2020 too.

Clem’s results speak for themselves. He is an outstanding player who is still very much at the top of his game. While Europe isn’t as competitive for StarCraft, Clem can compete with just about any player in the game.

3. Rogue

4. Serral

If you’re wondering who is the best StarCraft player in the world, Serral easily hits the top 5. He’s a player for ENCE esports. Serral is the only one of the “elders” listed here. Having been active since 2011, he has been instrumental for the SC2 scene for over a decade. In that time, he’s had some great results. He’s cleared second place in DH SC2 Masters 2021 Fall in Europe, in the Masters Last Chance 2021, and won the Masters 2020 Winter season finals. Serral puts in consistently outstanding performances across the board even as a “washed out” veteran.

5. INnoVation

INoVation rounds out the top five best StarCraft 2 players at the moment. He’s a South Korean Terran player who has previously been known as Bogus. INoVation has been active since 2012, and while he’s had ups and downs he has been pretty consistent across that time. Some of his best results have included winning the World Electronic Sports Games in 2018 and the Gold Professional Championship 2019. He hasn’t exactly fallen off in years since either. In 2021, he came 3-4^th in DH SC2 Masters 2021 Summer Finals and the Fall Season Finals in 2020.

There you have it, five players worthy of your attention for the rest of 2022. There’s plenty more Starcraft to be played by the end of the year, and our ranking order might change drastically by the end of it.