How good is Tyler1 at Warcraft 3?

Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp recently began his Warcraft 3 journey, but just how good is he?

When it comes to getting good at games quickly, Tyler1 is legendary among his fans and followers. Though best known for his infamous rants on League of Legends, Tyler1 has dipped his toes into other games. In 2024, Tyler1 reached 1900 Elo in competitive chess, a surprise given his complete lack of experience prior to diving into the game and streaming it.

After achieving that accomplishment, Tyler1 soon grew interested in hardcore World of Warcraft. Within weeks of joining OnlyFangs, Tyler1 beat Thomas “Sodapoppin” Morrison for the guild master spot. Although that saga ended in his level 60 character’s tragic demise, his feats were still impressive. 

But Tyler1 recently set his sights on a different Blizzard game.

How good is Tyler1 at WarCraft 3?

Tyler1 is a complete novice at Warcraft 3 and may need more time than usual to reach his potential. In sharp contrast to his growth in chess and World of Warcraft, Tyler1 has had a much harder time ranking highly in Warcraft 3. One of the biggest reasons is that classic Warcraft 3 is an older and more complicated game with a far smaller pool of players, most of whom are already quite experienced. Although newbies can still get matched with other fresh faces at the lowest of ranks, the spike in difficulty is significant past these lower ranks.

Many of the players are still active on Warcraft 3 tend to have years of experience. So much so that pro-level players who are still active have played the game for decades. The massive skill gap is best seen when Tyler1 challenged Manuel “Grubby” Schenkhuizen to multiple matches.  

Each match had some handicap for Grubby, and Tyler1, in typical fashion, bragged that he could take at least “one game” off Grubby. To keep things fair for the first game, Grubby could only use one hero and no other units. Grubby’s loophole was playing as Night Elves, which had buildings that could move and attack on their own.  While such a strategy would have proved too slow and costly against another top player, the novice Tyler1 was shocked at its success against him.

The chat excitedly called Grubby’s attack “The Rumbling” as Ancient Protectors and Ancients of War besieged Tyler1’s base. Each subsequent game saw similar handicaps for Grubby, such as playing with only one hand, not being allowed to move for 45 seconds, and Tyler1 having 50% more health on units. Each game saw Grubby as the victor despite those impediments.

Tyler1 finally beat Grubby with Ahmpy’s help

Tyler1 defeated Grubby with Ahmpy’s help in a 2v1 game. One of the new friends Tyler1 made during his Onlyfangs stint was Ahmpy, an avid WoW streamer. Ahmpy also plays Warcraft 3 regularly, giving Tyler1 some much-needed experience on his side. 

As a testament to Grubby’s skill, he was only taken down after an early combined rush by the two players. Ahmpy emphasized the importance of crippling Grubby’s early-game economy, as they would otherwise be outmatched. Tyler1 made good on his promise and took one game off Grubby, albeit with the help of another player.

At the end of the stream, both players complimented each other. Tyler1 acknowledged the rarity of his compliments. Given his League persona, Tyler1 calling anybody good shows how much he really respects someone.

While Tyler1 isn’t dominating the WC3 ladder anytime soon, few should underestimate his stubborn drive to improve and where it could take him in the future.