As the League of Legends Worlds Finals has come to an end , many viewers from all around the globe were once again reminded that Korea is , by far , the strongest region in the world . Western teams , and even Chinese and Taiwanese teams didn ’ t even come close to the likes of SKT , ROX and SSG , which made up three out of the four semifinalists . If a fourth Korean team would ’ ve been allowed to compete at Worlds , even the semifinals would ’ ve been all Korean teams , realistically . So what makes Asians so damn good at videogames ? They don ’ t just dominate at League , but at Starcraft or Dota as well . It ’ s a question that many have wondered about for many years . Here ’ s your answer .
First of all , no , it ’ s not genetic . Certainly , good reflexes are a trait that can be given to you by birth , but it ’ s not a trait that the majority of the Asian population will have . Besides , if the genetic abilities of Asian players would overcome those of Western ones , why don ’ t they dominate in all eSports ? There practically are little to no Asian Pros playing Counterstrike or FIFA , games that very much rely on fast reflexes but have no popular following in the Asian regions . When a game isn ’ t popular and you can ’ t train against good players , you won ’ t become a World class player .
There ’ s one thing we need to set straight here : The notion that “ Asians ” are better at videogames is already false . When ’ s the last time you ’ ve seen a professional League or Starcraft player from Japan , one of the videogames ’ industry home countries ? It ’ s not “ Asian ” players who are better than videogames but , usually , Koreans and Chinese . This is due to one major reason : Cultural differences .
Cultural differences is the main reason for certain regions being stronger than others , because they dictate the three categories that define the strength of a region : Amount of overall players , monetary compensation for professional play and amount of time played .
Believe it or not , cultural differences are the deciding factor between the West and the East . eSport has been accepted in South Korea for more than a decade , whereas in Europe and America people are still debating whether games like Counterstrike should be banned due to excessive violence . While players in the West still have to break the stereotype of being nerds , videogames have been part of Koreas social norm for years now . While the average Western teenager tends to go out drinking and clubbing during the weekend , it ’ s not uncommon for Koreans to spend their time in PC Bangs . This cultural difference is due to several political and economical reasons - such as the forced technical revolution of South Korea in the 1960s under the dictatorship rule of Park Chung-hee , which led to the rise of companies like Samsung - but for now , let ’ s focus on the impact of the cultural differences , rather than its origins .
First of all we have PC Bangs : Internet Cafes specifically designed for Gamers . You might know one or two within your broad region , but in Korea , you can find these everywhere . Not only will you be able to find other gamers to play and meddle with , but you ’ ll also receive PC Bang rewards : In the case of League of Legends , you ’ ll find that at a PC bang all champions are already unlocked , and you have a 20 % EXP boost activated . Overwatch fans playing the game at a PC bang don ’ t have to pay the minimum price of 40 $, and also have all Origin skins unlocked , in addition to a 20 % EXP boost as well . Besides the social aspect and the in-game rewards , there also are PC bang-exclusive tournaments . The sad result of this can be found when looking at the number of addicted players : Internet & video game addicition is at an all time high in South Korea , and more than 100 specific treatment facilities have been built to target this issue . In comparison , in both Europe and North America together , you ’ ll find that there are a few dozens of these specific treatment facilities .
Let ’ s look at a different game than League of Legends : Overwatch . The Overwatch World Cup also recently came to an end , and of course the Korean team came out as victorious . Right off the bat , that can be explained by the already mentioned PC Bangs : Whilst Western players have to pay at least 40 $ in order to play Overwatch , Blizzard similarly to Riot made a deal with Korean PC Bangs , so that Koreans could enjoy the game for free whilst playing at their beloved PC Bangs . This not only led to Overwatch dethroning League of Legends as the most popular game in Korea for several weeks , but to a much bigger sample size of potential Korean professionals . Again , the bigger the sample size , the more likely you ’ ll be able to find extraordinary players . For a long time , Westeners liked to believe that they were the superior FPS-players due