Definition[edit]
The Royal Road refers to a rookie winning an OSL upon their first qualification to that tournament.[note 1]
A player who has walked the Royal Road is called a Royal Roader.
According to an explanation given by Doa during a 2013 WCS Season 2 Korea OSL cast,[which one?] a Korean familiar with the term's origins explained to him that the "royal road" was a road that led to the palace of ancient Korean rulers that only that ruler was allowed to travel on. Also, while the ruler traveled on the "royal road", no one was allowed to look at him pass by, so that in a sense the ruler was "invisible". Thus the association between the historical term and the concept of a player who wins a tournament on his first attempt is that of an "unseen" player (because he hadn't competed before) that ended up becoming "royalty" (because he won the tournament).
OSL Royal Roaders[edit]
Click Here to see Brood War OSL Royal Roaders.
Although the terms "Royal Road" and "Royal Roader" are OSL exclusive, the same feat (win the tournament the first time he qualifies) was achieved by these players in the GSL:
Note: This list only contain Royal Roaders who reached Code
, for the first time, excluding Code
.
- ↑ Qualifying for a major individual tournament refers to reaching the first round or higher.