Aleksey Krupnyk (; born November 15, 1980), more commonly known by the pseudonym White-Ra, is a professional gamer from Odessa, Ukraine. He became popular playing as Protoss in Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War, and continues to play this race in Starcraft II. He chose his pseudonym as a reference to the Egyptian god Ra. Krupnyk is currently in Grandmaster League on the European servers, the highest possible league consisting of the top 200 players in each region. He coined the phrase "more GG, more skill," which dictates that you must learn from your losses if you wish to improve. Krupnyk is known for his good sportsmanship and manners in games and interviews, often complimenting his opponents on their gameplay. He is also one of the oldest actively competing professional Starcraft gamers. Gaming career After grade school, Krupnyk studied at Odessa State Environmental University in hopes of becoming an oceanologist. However, he did not finish his degree, instead devoting himself to Starcraft full-time. His gaming career started upon his victory at WCG Ukraine in 2003. He participated in several other tournaments over the next few years, and in 2010 he made the switch to Starcraft II. He competed in the GOMTV Global Starcraft II League in March 2010 and defeated Jang Min Chul, who later beat Krupnyk in the GOMTV Global Starcraft II Team League 3. Krupnyk frequently streams his ladder matches live online to teach less experienced players how to play Starcraft II. Personal life Krupnyk married Alena Krupnyk in 2010, becoming one of the few StarCraft players to play competitively while married.
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