Lim Yo-hwan 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.
43 Facts About Lim Yo-hwan
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Lim Yo-hwan began his compulsory military service in 2006, where he played on South Korea's newly formed Air Force esports team Airforce Challenge E-sports.
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Lim Yo-hwan finished his playing career with a record of 603 wins and 430 losses.
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Lim Yo-hwan won his first Asian Poker Tour title in September 2018 and his second in January 2019.
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In 1998, during his third year at Seongbo High School in Seoul, South Korea, Lim Yo-hwan developed a passion for the video game StarCraft.
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In December 1999, Lim Yo-hwan secured his first tournament victory at the SBS Multi-Game Championship.
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Lim Yo-hwan's success proved that the Terran race was a viable option in StarCraft, earning him the nickname "The Hope of Terran".
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Lim Yo-hwan continued his winning streak by securing the championship in the subsequent OSL, the 2001 Coca-Cola OSL.
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Lim Yo-hwan won a gold medal at the World Cyber Games 2001, where he emerged victorious against Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
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In January 2003, Lim Yo-hwan secured another championship victory at the 2003 KTF Bigi Four Kings Battle.
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However, Lim Yo-hwan declined the individual sponsorship, as he believed that a team sponsorship held more value.
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In 2004, Lim Yo-hwan reached the finals of the EVER OSL, where he faced his teammate Choi "Cheater Terran" Yeon-sung.
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In 2005, Lim Yo-hwan finished as the runner-up in the So1 OSL after a defeat in the finals against Oh "Anytime" Yeong-jong.
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Notably, Lim Yo-hwan became the oldest person to reach the finals of an individual league.
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In October 2006, Lim Yo-hwan began his mandatory military service in South Korea, joining the Republic of Korea Air Force.
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Lim Yo-hwan joined this team along with other former professional gamers, including his SK Telecom T1 teammate Sung "MuMyung" Hak-seung.
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Lim Yo-hwan made an announcement on October 9,2010, stating his decision to switch to playing StarCraft II professionally.
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Lim Yo-hwan planned to begin his professional career in StarCraft II by participating in the Global StarCraft II League open tournament.
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In that stage, he faced Lee "NaDa" Yoon-yeol, who was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and someone Lim Yo-hwan had never defeated in a major event.
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The match between them, which marked Lim Yo-hwan's first televised match in years, attracted millions of viewers and briefly crashed the internet in Korea due to its high viewership.
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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.
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Following, Lim Yo-hwan shifted his focus from competing in individual events to the Global StarCraft II Team League.
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Lim Yo-hwan received an invitation to compete at the 2011 Major League Gaming event in Columbus, Ohio.
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In July 2011, Lim Yo-hwan participated in the MLG Pro Circuit in Anaheim.
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Lim Yo-hwan lost to Mvp in the upper bracket final and was sent to the lower bracket final.
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Lim Yo-hwan had been experiencing shoulder pain for over a year, which limited his ability to play more than five games a day.
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However, Lim Yo-hwan made the decision to retire from professional esports entirely on September 26,2013, citing health complications.
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Lim Yo-hwan gained a reputation for being able to turn around matches against the odds and having excellent micromanagement skills.
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Lim Yo-hwan is very well respected in StarCraft both in Korea and abroad.
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Lim Yo-hwan was integral in popularizing StarCraft and esports around the world in the 2000s, becoming a pop culture icon.
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In December 2013, Lim Yo-hwan embarked on a new career path as a professional poker player after signing with Me2on.
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In September 2018, Lim Yo-hwan achieved a significant milestone in his poker career by winning the APT Philippines Championships II event.
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At the 2020 APT Kick-Off Vietnam, Lim Yo-hwan achieved another milestone in his poker career by winning his first-ever APT Super High Rollers title.
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On November 6,2015, Lim Yo-hwan participated in a two-versus-two exhibition show match in StarCraft at BlizzCon 2015.
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Lim Yo-hwan emerged victorious with a score of three to two.
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Lim Yo-hwan enrolled at Wonkwang University in 2002 and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in game science.
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Lim Yo-hwan has enjoyed sponsorship deals with various companies throughout his career, including LG and Intel.
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However, the commercial was eventually pulled from Korean TV when Intel executives discovered that the gameplay footage was a replay of one of Lim Yo-hwan's earlier televised matches.
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Lim Yo-hwan has made several appearances in various television programs and films.
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Lim Yo-hwan has served as a presenter at award shows, including the Seoul Music Awards in 2004 and the Melon Music Awards in 2009.
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Lim Yo-hwan has showcased his acting skills in the 2002 film Can't Live Without Robbery and the KBS soap opera This is Love.
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In 2014, Lim Yo-hwan was a cast member of The Genius: Rule Breaker.
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Lim Yo-hwan has authored several books focusing on his life and StarCraft.