OGN is a South Korean pay television channel that specialized in broadcasting video game-related content and esports matches, particularly StarCraft, Starcraft II, League of Legends, and Overwatch. OGN ran high level professional tournaments for 20 years; its premier competition included the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL), Proleague, League of Legends Champions Korea, and Overwatch APEX. It was previously a subsidiary of On-Media, the parent company of several other cable channels. After a corporate merger in 2010, it became a part of CJ ENM E&M Division. Most recently, League of Legends statistics website, OP.GG, which also sponsored LCK since 2022, has acquired OGN from CJ ENM following the shutdown of the linear TV network during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lim Yo-hwan, known online as SlayerS_'BoxeR', is a former professional player of the real-time strategy computer game StarCraft. He is often referred to as The Terran Emperor, or simply The Emperor, and is widely considered to be one of the most successful players of the genre as well as a pop culture icon.
The Starleague, or the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL), was a professional South Korean StarCraft individual league run by Ongamenet. It first ran StarCraft: Brood War competitions but transitioned to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty after that game's release. The Starleague was broadcast on Korean cable television. The league folded after the 2012 season.
The real time strategy (RTS) computer game StarCraft had an active professional competition circuit, particularly in South Korea. The two major game channels in South Korea, Ongamenet and MBCGame, each ran a Starleague, viewed by millions of fans.
Lee Yun-yeol (이윤열), better known as NaDa, is a South Korean entrepreneur, video game designer and former professional gamer who competitively played StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II. He is known for being one of the most accomplished Brood War players of all time with a total of six major title victories, including three KPGA tours in a row in 2002 and subsequently winning three OnGameNet StarLeagues over the following years, earning him the nickname, "Genius Terran". He achieved the highest KeSPA score of any player before it was re-scaled, and holds the record for longest stay in KeSPA's top 30 at 87 months, beginning in March 2002 and ending in May 2009. He has played for several top-ranking teams, including Pantech EX, Toona S.G., KT_MagicNs, Ideal Space and WeMade FOX. After his transition to StarCraft II in 2010, he joined the Korean team of Old Generations. In February 2012, he joined the American multi-gaming team, compLexity gaming.
Ma Jae-yoon, known by the pseudonym sAviOr, and dubbed "The Maestro", is a former professional South Korean e-sports gamer of the real-time strategy game StarCraft. He played the Zerg race and was one of the most successful and popular players of all time. Savior was one of several players implicated in the 2010 match fixing scandal, and as a result he was banned from KeSPA-run competition for life. After retiring as a pro-gamer, sAviOr began streaming on AfreecaTV, but AfreecaTV made the decision to ban several players implicated in match-fixing offenses from the platform, including sAviOr. Ma Jae-yoon was a member of CJ Entus, a professional StarCraft: Brood War e-sports team sponsored by CJ CGV, an entertainment subsidiary of the CJ Corporation.
Kim Taek-yong, known by his screen name Bisu[Shield] or simply Bisu, is a professional South Korean StarCraft player, playing the Protoss race. Famed primarily for sublime performance in the StarCraft: Brood War professional competitions against Protoss and, especially, Zerg, Bisu scored three successful Starleague performances, the most of any Protoss player. Bisu was nicknamed the Revolutionist for innovating the metagame of Protoss versus Zerg matchup.
Lee Jae-dong, who plays simply under the name Jaedong, is a South Korean professional StarCraft: Brood War player and former StarCraft II player, playing most recently for team Evil Geniuses prior to his StarCraft II retirement. After retiring from StarCraft II, Jaedong returned to playing SC:BW. Announced as a full-time streamer on 12 November 2016, he made his return to the tournament scene a week later during the 2016 KT GiGA Legends Match lll. Using the Zerg race in both games, Lee is considered one of the most successful StarCraft players of all time, having won five OnGameNet Starleague (OSL) and MBCGame StarCraft League (MSL) tournaments, and earning over $600,000 in tournament prize money. His other nicknames include The Tyrant and The Legend Killer.
T1 is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.
Lee Young-ho is a South Korean StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II player who played Terran for the Korean pro-gaming team KT Rolster under the alias By.FlaSh or simply Flash. He made his debut as a StarCraft: Brood War player in 2007 and retired on December 19, 2015. Lee began playing StarCraft II competitively in 2011, until his retirement in December 2015. He subsequently returned to playing Starcraft: Brood War, and started his personal broadcast in February 2016 on the AfreecaTV personal broadcasting platform. Since returning to Brood War, Lee has won first place in Seasons 2, 3, 4, and 8 of the Afreeca Starleague. As of 2020, he is still broadcasting personal broadcasts. He is, along with BoxeR, NaDa, Iloveoov, and SAviOr, regarded as the fifth, final, and greatest of the Bonjwas, a title for players who dominated the Korean Brood War scene over long periods of time. He is considered to be the greatest StarCraft: Brood War player of all-time.
Jung Myung-hoon, known as By.Fantasy or Fantasy, is a South Korean League of Legends head coach for SANDBOX Challengers of the LCK Challengers League. Formerly a StarCraft and StarCraft2 player, he is one of 3 Terrans to be under the wing of Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-sung.
Song Byung-gu is a South Korean professional StarCraft Protoss player from Pohang who plays under the alias Stork[gm] or simply Stork.
The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) is a South Korean body established to manage esports in South Korea. It is a member of the Korean Olympic Committee and the International e-Sports Federation. As of June 2012, it was the managing body for 25 e-sports in the country, including Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. KeSPA also hosts the KeSPA Cup, a yearly tournament event for some of their games.
kt Rolster is a South Korean multi-gaming organization founded in 1999 with Korea Telecom as its head sponsor. A member of the Korean e-Sports Association, KT Rolster holds one of the richest and most successful StarCraft teams in the world, as well as one of the most successful League of Legends teams in Korea. The StarCraft team has fielded several legendary players throughout the pro-gaming scenes of StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II, such as Flash, Nal rA, YellOw, NaDa, NesTea, Reach, Life, TY and Zest.
Won Lee-sak, (Korean: 원이삭) better known by his in-game name PartinG, is a South Korean StarCraft II Protoss player. He was the winner of the 2012 StarCraft II World Championship Series. He has played for yoe Flash Wolves, SK Telecom T1, and Team Player 1.
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for League of Legends esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LCK is administered in cooperation between Riot Games and KeSPA.
Jin Air Green Wings was a South Korean e-sports organization with teams competing in StarCraft II and League of Legends. Its parent organization was Korean Air subsidiary Jin Air. The organization was formed in November 2011 as a StarCraft: Brood War team, which combined three disbanding Proleague teams: Hwaesung Oz, WeMade FOX and MBCGame HERO. It was simply known as "The 8th Team" until Jin Air became its title sponsor in July 2013. Jin Air Green Wings was one of eight Korean e-Sports Association recognized teams participating in Proleague when it disbanded in late 2020.
The Nexon Arena was a dedicated eSports stadium in Seoul, South Korea that hosted events for StarCraft II, League of Legends, and other games. It was founded in December 2013, and closed on July 31, 2020.
Kim Jeong-gyun, better known as kkOma, is a South Korean professional League of Legends coach, currently head coach for T1. As the coach of SK Telecom T1 and later DWG KIA, kkOma was a three-time world champion, two-time Mid-Season Invitational champion, and ten-time LCK champion. kkOma is widely considered the greatest coach in League of Legends history. He is known for his strict coaching attitude and aptitude for developing talented rookies. He was also a finalist for the 2017 and 2021 World Championship.
Professional StarCraft II competition features professional gamers competing in Blizzard Entertainment's real-time strategy game StarCraft II. Professional play began following the game's initial release in 2010, as the game was the sequel to StarCraft, considered one of the first esports and the foundation of South Korea's interest and success in competitive gaming. Between 2016 and 2019, competition was centered around the Global StarCraft II League in Korea and the World Championship Series Circuit everywhere else, with all Blizzard-sanctioned events being under the StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) banner. Since 2020, Blizzard changed the format of WCS by entering into a three-year partnership with esports organizers ESL and DreamHack.
