Jaedong

The Brood War Prodigy and Dominance

Jaedong made his professional debut in 2006 as a member of the Korean team Hwaseung OZ. His talent was immediately apparent, and he was awarded the 2006 Rookie of the Year Award. His rise was rapid. In less than two years, he won his first premier tournament at the Seoul International eSports Festival, followed shortly after by victories in both the OnGameNet Starleague (OSL) and the MBCGame StarCraft League (MSL). This established a pattern of dominance that would define his Brood War career.

Over six years, Jaedong set formidable records. He achieved the second-highest ELO peak of any player at 2378 and maintained the second-highest career win rate at 67.45 percent. His mastery of the Zerg race greatly changed its strategic play. He became one of only four players to win the Golden Mouse, awarded for winning three OSL tournaments, and he was the second player after SlayerS_'BoxeR' to win two OSL titles consecutively. His success earned him KeSPA's Player of the Year awards in 2007 and 2009, and he spent a total of 16 months as the number one ranked player in Korea.

Contract Negotiations and Team Disbandment

In 2009, following revisions to free agency rules by KeSPA, Jaedong's future became a topic of public discussion. Hwaseung OZ offered him a contract worth 140 million won per year to renew. During the bidding period, Jaedong expressed a strong desire to stay with Hwaseung OZ, citing the friendships he had built over three years. Although his father suggested retirement was a possibility in interviews, Jaedong ultimately renegotiated and confirmed he would play for the team in the upcoming Proleague season.

This stability was short-lived. In August 2011, Hwaseung decided to end its sponsorship to focus on physical sports, dissolving the team. This left Jaedong and other notable players without a club. However, by early November, KeSPA intervened and formed a new team. Jaedong, along with other stars like Sea, BaBy, and Killer, was announced as a member of this new KeSPA-organized squad.

Transition to StarCraft II with Evil Geniuses

Following the disbandment of Hwaseung OZ, Jaedong retired from Brood War and shifted his focus to StarCraft II in late 2011. He began his new career with 8th Team, which later became Jin Air Green Wings. Due to his performance in the 2011-2012 Proleague, he was seeded directly into the Code S division of the Global StarCraft II League (GSL) in 2012. His GSL debut in September 2012 was unsuccessful, as he lost both of his matches and was relegated to Code A, where he was again defeated.

His prospects changed dramatically on December 5, 2012, when the successful North American organization Evil Geniuses signed him. With Evil Geniuses, Jaedong began a four-year career that included participation in fifteen premier tournaments and KeSPA's Proleague. He had already been recognized for his Proleague performance, being named the 2012 Most Valuable Player for the regular season.

A Career of Highs and Near Misses

Throughout 2013, Jaedong proved to be one of StarCraft II's most consistent players, but his results were marked by a series of agonizing second-place finishes in premier tournaments. The most notable of these was at the 2013 StarCraft World Championship Series Global Finals at BlizzCon. After five such silver medal finishes, he finally broke through to win his first premier StarCraft II title at ASUS ROG NorthCon 2013.

His next and final premier tournament victory came in September 2014 at the World E-sport Championships, where he defeated Snute in the grand finals. These high-profile performances, particularly his runner-up finish at BlizzCon 2013, contributed a large portion of his career earnings. The prize money from that period was enough to temporarily dethrone Fatal1ty as the all-time esports earnings leader at the time.

Retirement and Return to Roots

Jaedong announced his retirement from professional StarCraft II on November 1, 2016, at the age of 26. Evil Geniuses closed its StarCraft II division shortly after in early 2017. His retirement from the sequel, however, was not an exit from competition. Announced as a full-time streamer on November 12, 2016, he made a return to the tournament scene just a week later during the 2016 KT GiGA Legends Match, playing StarCraft: Brood War.

Since then, he has returned to streaming StarCraft: Brood War on AfreecaTV, where he maintains considerable popularity. He is remembered as a transcendent talent, one of a handful of top-tier Brood War professionals to also achieve great success in its sequel. His nicknames, The Tyrant, The Legend Killer, and God of Destruction, speak to the fear and respect he commanded from opponents across two generations of StarCraft.

The Physical Cost of Competition

The intense physical demands of a professional gaming career lasting over 15 years took a significant toll. In 2017, Jaedong reported various health issues, with specific and sustained damage to his wrists from years of play. Medical professionals urged him to stop playing to prevent further injury.

Jaedong himself acknowledged the cumulative effect, stating that his body was wearing out. This physical sacrifice underscores the often-overlooked athletic demands of esports played at the highest level over a long period.

Career Earnings and Milestones

Jaedong's total career prize money across 258 tournaments is $876,398, ranking him #269 in overall esports earnings and #11 among South Korean players. His success began early. Before his 18th birthday, he had already won $65,458 from five tournaments, representing 7.47 percent of his total earnings.

A major early milestone was reached on March 8, 2008, when his first-place finish at GOMTV MSL #4, which awarded $52,203, pushed his total earnings past the $100,000 mark. That single victory remains the largest prize of his career, constituting 5.96 percent of his total winnings.