Korean StarCraft Superstar Jaedong Retires After 11 Years in eSports
Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong, legendary Zerg player from the StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft 2, will retire from eSports after 11 years of competition, his organization Evil Geniuses announced yesterday.
I'm finally ending my long career as a professional gamer.
— Jaedong Lee (@SCJaedong) November 1, 2016
In a statement, Jaedong thanked the North American organization, of which he has been a member since 2012:
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the three years I spent with team EG. I made so many great memories while being active overseas, and I would like to say thank you to my teammates and the staff who always treated me with kindness. Thanks to EG, I was able to meet many new people and my attitude toward my own life changed while travelling through various places around the world. I believe that the time I spent here matured me not just as a gamer, but also as a human being. I will always cheer for Team EG’s success in the future. May EG be the best and everlasting team.”
The Korean StarCraft legend began his 11 year career in February of 2006. His long list of achievements include 11 premier tournament wins (9 in Brood War, 2 in SC2).
Jaedong won Rookie of the Year after the 2006 season. Shortly after, he won the 2007 EVER Starleague final against Song “Stork” Byung Goo in a 3-1 affair.
But perhaps Jaedong’s greatest legacy was his intense rivalry with the best StarCraft Brood War player of all time, Lee “Flash” Young Ho. In 2010, the Zerg and the Terran masters clashed in four premier even finals. Though Flash ultimately claimed three wins over Jaedong, their consistent clashes cemented Jaedong’s legacy as one of the best Zerg players of all time.
Jaedong’s consistency in the 2007-2010 stretch is the stuff of legends. He won the 2008 GOMTV MSL, 2009 Batoo OSL, 2009 Bacchus OSL and the 2009-2010 NATE MSL singles division, earning him the title of “The Tyrant.”
After the release of StarCraft II, Jaedong joined Evil Geniuses. He would never again experience the same level of consistent domination, winning only two tournaments since 2012.
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