Lim Yo-hwan
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.
Lim won his first StarCraft: Brood War tournament in 1999. From 2001 to 2002, he won multiple major championships, including two OnGameNet Starleague titles and two World Cyber Games gold medals. In 2002, he also created the team Team Orion, which later became SK Telecom T1 in 2004. He began his compulsory military service in 2006, where he played on South Korea's newly formed Air Force esports team Airforce Challenge E-sports. In late 2010, he retired from StarCraft: Brood War and founded the StarCraft II team SlayerS. He then briefly returned to SKT T1 as a coach in 2012 before retiring due to health related issues. Lim finished his playing career with a record of 603 wins and 430 losses.
Following his retirement from esports, Lim became a professional poker player. He won his first Asian Poker Tour title in September 2018 and his second in January 2019.
Career
Early career (1998–2000)
In 1998, during his third year at Seongbo High School in Seoul, South Korea, Lim developed a passion for the video game StarCraft. Initially playing as the Protoss race, he later switched to the Terran race following a game patch implementation.After the release of the StarCraft expansion, StarCraft: Brood War, Lim attempted to create a guild called Slayer. However, facing difficulties in establishing it, he adopted the Battle.net ID SlayerS_'BoxeR' instead. As he achieved high rankings on Battle.net, his ID gained widespread recognition. It was during this time, in August 1999, that Kim Yang-joong, the president of management company Sinabro, approached Lim while he was playing at a PC Bang. Kim offered him the opportunity to become a professional gamer. After accepting the offer, Lim had to seek his parents' approval, as pursuing a career in video gaming was an unconventional choice at the time. After considerable effort, Lim convinced his parents, allowing him to sign with Sinabro. In December 1999, Lim secured his first tournament victory at the SBS Multi-Game Championship. Almost a year later, in October 2000, he joined team IS, which later became known as Hwaseung OZ.
The first bonjwa (2001–2003)
The term "Royal Road" is used to describe a player's achievement of winning an OnGameNet Starleague title in their rookie season. Despite the perceived weakness of the Terran race, Lim defied expectations and walked the Royal Road in the 2001 Hanbitsoft OSL. He advanced to the semifinals, where he faced and defeated Park "Kingdom" Yong-wook with a score of 2–1. In the grand finals, he went on to defeat Jang "JinNam" Jin-nam with a score of 3–0, becoming only the third player to walk the Royal Road. Throughout the tournament, Lim won 11 games and lost only one. His success proved that the Terran race was a viable option in StarCraft, earning him the nickname "The Hope of Terran". Lim continued his winning streak by securing the championship in the subsequent OSL, the 2001 Coca-Cola OSL. In the finals, he faced Hong "Storm" Jin-Ho, defeating him with a score of 3–2. Lim's achievements extended beyond OSL titles. He also won a gold medal at the World Cyber Games 2001, where he emerged victorious against Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Additionally, he finished as the runner-up in the 2001 SKY OSL, losing to Kim "Garimto" Dong-soo in the finals.In April 2002, Lim secured another championship title at the 2002 KPGA 1st Tour.2002 KPGA 1st Tour. However, his performance in the first OSL event of the year, the 2002 NATE OSL, was not as successful as he was eliminated in the round of 16. In the subsequent OSL, the 2002 SKY OSL, he reached the finals but suffered a loss to Park "Reach" Jeong-seok, ultimately finishing in second place. At the end of the year, Lim added another achievement to his list by winning his second consecutive gold medal at the World Cyber Games 2002. Due to his performances and consistent victories between 2000 and 2002, Lim became recognized as StarCraft first "bonjwa", a player who dominates all others for an extended period. It was around this time that he also earned the nickname "The Terran Emperor."
In January 2003, Lim secured another championship victory at the 2003 KTF Bigi Four Kings Battle. He faced off against Lee "NaDa" Yoon-yeol in the finals, emerging as the winner with a score of 2–1.
After his previous team, IS, disbanded, and with the Orion Group sponsoring him individually, Lim found himself without a team during the WCG 2002. In anticipation of the formation of the new professional StarCraft Proleague in 2003, Lim, along with manager Joo Hoon, established the team Orion in November 2002. Entering the KTF EVER Cup Proleague in March 2003, Orion was not initially expected to perform well and was often referred to as "Lim Yo-hwan's one-man team". The team faced personnel challenges at the start of the regular season, as two of their members were amateurs. However, midway through the season, they acquired two more players and finished the regular season in second place. On September 30, 2003, Orion became the Proleague champions by defeating Hanbit Stars in the finals with a score of 4–1.
Following their Proleague championship, the Orion Group made a decision not to re-sign any of their players and instead offered to sponsor Lim individually. However, Lim declined the individual sponsorship, as he believed that a team sponsorship held more value. As a result, he decided to rename the team to 4U. The 4U team continued to achieve success and went on to win another Proleague, the LG IBM MBC Team League. In April 2004, the South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom acquired the team with a substantial investment of $2million. This acquisition resulted in the official creation of the team known as SK Telecom T1.
Decline and military (2004–2010)
As the years went by, Lim's win rate experienced a gradual decline. In 2001, his win rate stood at 73%. However, it dropped to 61% in 2002, followed by further declines to 55% in 2003 and 54% in 2004. During this period, Lim's status as a "bonjwa" started to fade as newer and younger players emerged in the competitive scene. Despite this, he still managed to achieve high placements in some premier tournaments. In 2004, Lim reached the finals of the EVER OSL, where he faced his teammate Choi "Cheater Terran" Yeon-sung. However, he ultimately lost the match by a score of three to two. In 2005, Lim finished as the runner-up in the So1 OSL after a defeat in the finals against Oh "Anytime" Yeong-jong. Notably, Lim became the oldest person to reach the finals of an individual league. During that year, his contract with SK Telecom T1 was valued at $200,000, making it the largest esports contract in history at the time. In 2005 and 2006, Lim's win rates were recorded as 58% and 56%, respectively.In October 2006, Lim began his mandatory military service in South Korea, joining the Republic of Korea Air Force. This service lasted for a period of 27 months. On April 1, 2007, the Air Force announced the creation of its own esports team, known as Airforce Challenge E-sports. Lim joined this team along with other former professional gamers, including his SK Telecom T1 teammate Sung "MuMyung" Hak-seung. The team's participation commenced with the 2007 season of the Proleague championship. During his time with the Airforce Challenge E-sports team, Lim achieved a total of 24 wins and 38 losses.
After completing his military service on December 21, 2008, Lim returned to his team, SK Telecom T1, as his contract with them was still in effect until 2010. His first match back with the team took place on January 17, 2009, in a match against ACE's Oh "Anytime" Yeong-jong in the Shinhan Bank Winners League, which was part of the 2008-09 Shinhan Bank Proleague. Although Lim lost that match, SK Telecom T1 went on to win the 2008-09 Shinhan Bank Proleague. It wasn't until October 25, 2009, that Lim secured his first win since returning from the Air Force. In a match against Hwaseung OZ's Park "Killer" Joon-oh in the 2009-10 Shinhan Bank Proleague, Lim emerged victorious. This win was significant as it made him both the first former Air Force player and the first player in his 30s to win a match in the Proleague.
''StarCraft II'' (2010–2012)
Lim's contract with SK Telecom T1 expired on August 31, 2010. He made an announcement on October 9, 2010, stating his decision to switch to playing StarCraft II professionally. He planned to begin his professional career in StarCraft II by participating in the Global StarCraft II League open tournament. During the GSL open tournament, Lim managed to reach the quarterfinals of the main event. In that stage, he faced Lee "NaDa" Yoon-yeol, who was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and someone Lim had never defeated in a major event. The match between them, which marked Lim's first televised match in years, attracted millions of viewers and briefly crashed the internet in Korea due to its high viewership. Lim emerged victorious in this match. Subsequently, he faced Lim "NesTea" Jae-duk in the semifinals but was unable to secure a win, finishing the event in the top four. After experiencing difficulties playing without a team, Lim announced on November 9, 2010, that he would be forming a new StarCraft II team called SlayerS.In March 2011, Lim was relegated from Code S, the highest ranked division in the Global StarCraft II League, to Code A. He subsequently, along with many other Korean players, applied to join the upcoming North American Star League. Following, Lim shifted his focus from competing in individual events to the Global StarCraft II Team League. Under the banner of the SlayerS team, Lim and his teammates achieved success by winning both the March and May 2011 GSTL championships.
Lim received an invitation to compete at the 2011 Major League Gaming event in Columbus, Ohio. However, he was dealing with tendonitis in his shoulder, an injury typically seen in individuals twice his age. Due to his condition, Lim decided to give his invitation to his teammate Moon "MMA" Sung-won. Ultimately, MMA went on to win the event. In July 2011, Lim participated in the MLG Pro Circuit in Anaheim. During the group stage of the event, Lim performed well, remaining undefeated and advancing to the double-elimination tournament stage. In the upper bracket semifinals, he defeated Park "Rain" Seo-yong, securing a place in the upper bracket final against Jeong "Mvp" Jong-hyeon, a two-time GSL champion. Lim lost to Mvp in the upper bracket final and was subsequently sent to the lower bracket final. In the lower bracket final, Lim faced his teammate MMA. While he lost the first game of the match, he managed to win the second game, equalizing the series. However, MMA emerged victorious in the third match, leading Lim to finish the event in third place.