After winning the championship at the HanbitSoft Ongamenet Starleague, there were many game fans that recognized me. Many began to say that I was a gamer that appeared like a comet. But in truth, all gamers appear like comets. Those that some consider to be the ‘first generation gamers’ such as Lee Gisuk SsamJang, Kang Dogyung H.O.T-Forever, and Kim Dongjoon [=N2=]Rookie also were complimented as being amazing when they first emerged, receiving comments like, “where did these gamers come from, these players that appeared like comets.” Though all things could be like this, there is a point in time while gaming diligently when suddenly one’s spirit is on the rise. When one rides on that spirit, there is a period of time where whatever you do there is good luck, and whatever you do there can only be success. Naturally this is the result of diligent practice. To a gamer that does not practice diligently, an opportunity to ride on that spirit is not given. In the end, even luck comes from ability.

The point in time when one rides the rising current as a gamer – only when that point is used will he grasp the key to success as a progamer. From the standpoint of the fans, any player like this will seem like he appeared like a comet. This is because the player will almost never play losing games, from the moment he rides on the rising current. Using the same strategy will work on some opponents, and on some not at all. But the player that has begun to rise will receive the strength to relentlessly continue fighting his way to the top. For me, my opportunity was the victory at the HanbitSoft Ongamenet Starleague that allowed me to ride that spirit. From that moment on, I was able to win with good luck at any tournament, and had the confidence that I could win, no matter what opponents I faced.

In the case of progamers, the ups and downs of one’s scores are quite severe. The fact that there are almost no players that win the same tournament in a row plainly shows how intense the world of competition is. Though I had received the nickname ‘Hope of Terran’ through the HanbitSoft Ongamenet Starleague, protecting that hope to the end was not an easy task. There obviously was the burden of being the winner of the previous tournament, as well as the high expectations of the fans. In addition, as I was called to here and there, the pressures from my schedule were enormous. With all of that completely in my undertaking, the Coca-Cola Ongamenet Starleague had begun.

The rough times persisted from the round of 16 in the Coca-Cola Ongamenet Starleague that commenced in the summer of 2001. Through much difficulty at the end of a rematch, I was successfully able to enter the round of 8. After safely passing through the round of 8 and the semifinals, it was the finals at last, and my opponent was the ‘Storm Zerg’ Hong Jinho [NC]...YellOw. I think it was since then, that the game fans began to call us rivals.

Hong Jinho is a player that I do not want to encounter, and one of the difficult players to face. Though in private he is a colleague and a dongseng (younger “brother”) that I am extremely fond of, the world of competition is heartless. Hong Jinho – offensive style, guerilla-centered plays, maintaining a starved-state with almost no waste of resources from the beginning of the match to the end. The races were different, but in terms of game styles there were many similarities. Because of this, it was inevitable that we would play matches where we could not relax for one moment.

It was not Hong Jinho and I that made ourselves into rivals, but our fans. It may be that they found our games to be the most exciting, and possibly our matches the most anticipated. Nevertheless, in the matches that ultimately would have to be played between Hong Jinho and I, the precariousness would always feel like standing on thin ice, in the center of a lake during the coldest winter, where the steam from just one breath could melt the ice away, plunging me into the lake.

September 8th, 2001 – the Jang Choong Gymnasium was filled with game fans. And on top of the stage were only two people – Hong Jinho and I. Of the two people, only one will be remembered as the victor. And that had to be me.

I had a presentiment that victory would not be easy, starting with the first match. Capturing each other’s expansions, finding resources and relocating, then getting attacked again∙∙∙∙∙. The match was close to 50 minutes. After transferring my main base three times, I finally received my first win. At any rate, I was one step ahead. But, after giving away the second and third games in a row, I was pushed to the edge of a precipice. Even now, many fans remember the first match played between Hong Jinho and I to be a distinguished match. But actually the point of victory that allowed me to win the Coca-Cola Ongamenet Starleague was during the fourth match.

The fourth match was at Ragnarok. Hong Jinho had come out with a special strategy. It was a strategy of using 9-drone zerglings (zerglings from a spawning pool made with the ninth drone) and capturing the opponent’s cliff with a layer of sunkens. But, as luck would have it, I had already experienced the special strategy that Hong Jinho had prepared. Even that was on the day of the match. Park Hyomin ComBi, who was on the same team as me, helped practice a few games just before I left for the Jang Choong Gymnasium. It is normal for one to play a few games and briefly loosen the hands at the living quarters on the day of the match, before going out. And when we practiced on Ragnarok, Park Hyomin had used a similar strategy.

Because the strategy was one that I had comfortably defeated even during practice, I was delighted the moment Hong Jinho used this strategy. The key point of that strategy was not to advance until the tanks came out. It was a strategy where one could simply lose all of his units by a counter-rush, if one were to hastily break through the sunkens. From the standpoint of a Terran, in situations where one’s front is blocked like this, one attempts to somehow find a timing and break through. But in this case one needs a time of patience, enduring and enduring again until the tank comes out.

If this was a strategy that I had not experienced during practice, I may not have been able to win. During practice, one may comfortably play with the mind that it is okay to lose, but in reality when entering the actual battle, one becomes restless because of his attachment to victory. It is because of the desire to somehow quickly change the match to a situation where he has the advantage. But since it was a strategy that I had defeated during the practice matches, in the actual battle I was also able to play comfortably and receive GG from Hong Jinho.

When I easily blocked the strategy quite unexpectedly, Hong Jinho seemed rather perplexed. His expression showed, ‘How did he block this?’ Whether he was in disbelief at his loss from the fourth match, he seemed to look over his mistakes from the fourth set instead of preparing for the fifth. During that time, however, I was looking over the first match. Since the fifth and first sets were played on the same map, I used most of the break time to find Hong Jinho’s weakness. And so I was able to lead the fifth set to a victory.

The game fans that filled the Jang Choong Gymnasium, and their cheers! How could I forget them. Their overwhelming emotions were all mine. At that moment, I saw the figure of my mother that had earnestly prayed for me. I had only worried my parents, saying that I would not study or attend college, but now I felt that I could be a proud son. The day when the whole world felt like it was mine, that day onward people began to call me the ‘Emperor of Terran.’