For me, pro-gaming has always been about competition. As a kid, I’d bounce between different games, get obsessed for a year, lose interest, and then move on to the next thing. StarCraft, however, was the first game that I could never really walk away from.


I played it on and off at first, and when I got tired of tennis, or chess (or whatever I had been doing previously), it was what I fell back on for entertainment.

That is until something clicked, and I started to get really good.

Everything from there was a combination of hard work and bizarre amounts of luck. For instance, just as I decided to focus on playing poker, I won a StarCraft: BroodWar tournament that allowed me to join a Korean pro-team. Then, in 2010, after two-and-a-half years of ten-hour days in Korea — as I was starting to feel that playing BroodWar as an English speaker was a bit hopeless — StarCraft II was announced. I switched immediately, and not long after the western world decided it was time to start opening up to eSports and RTS games.


With the arrival of StarCraft II, we became superstars in our own little world. Now with the growing mainstream popularity of MOBAs and the sustained success of StarCraft II, it finally seems like eSports are finally getting mainstream recognition, and everybody can stop waiting for the bubble to burst.

Have a question about how I got where I am, or just how to improve your own game? I’ll be here for the next hour to answer your questions.


Kotaku's Better State of Living Conversation Series is brought to you with the assistance of State Farm®. Today, StarCraft II pro Greg “Idra” Fields is here to chat about what it’s like to be one of the most popular gamers in North America