Ma Jae-Yoon
Encyclopedia
Ma Jae-Yoon (born 23 November 1987), known by the pseudonym sAviOr (previously IPXZerg), and dubbed The Maestro, is a former professional
South Korea
n e-sports
gamer of the real-time strategy
game StarCraft
. He played the Zerg race and was one of the most successful and popular players of all time.
e-sports team sponsored by CJ CGV
, an entertainment subsidiary of the CJ Corporation.
(JulyZerg) has more first place rankings for the Zerg race with eleven. sAviOr is widely considered to have been the most dominant professional Brood War player of 2006. He has won three MSLs (MBCGame
Starleague) and one OSL (Ongamenet
Starleague).
(Bisu) in the GOM TV Season 1 MSL finals on 3 March 2007; and then later, in November 2007, he lost to Bisu again in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Ever OSL 1–2.
Ma Jae-Yoon was ranked 5th in the March 2008 KeSPA ranking with 1,540.5 points, he was behind Lee Jae-Dong (Jaedong) (2,400.3), Kim Taek-Yong
(Bisu) (2,302.6), Song Byung-Goo
(Stork) (2,219.6), and Lee Young-Ho
(Flash) (1,747.5).
His career hit a new low when he failed to make it past the first round in the 2008 EVER OSL. He lost to the newcomer Spear, and then to his old rival, Lee Yun Yeol (NaDa). He was demoted to the CJ Entus B-team, but his improved performance following the demotion allowed him to return to CJ Entus Team A on 21 July 2008.
Ma Jae-Yoon went 8–1 and won the Blizzcon 2008 tournament by defeating Nada 2–0 in the finals. Afterwards, in an interview, he stated that he "will destroyed [sic] everyone in 2009".
In September 2009, Ma Jae-Yoon gave an interview that said he had finally gotten over his mental state, and is quoted to be saying "Look forward to my StarLeague win". He has since been shown in the proleague each matchup.
StarCraft professional competition
The computer game StarCraft has an active professional competition circuit, particularly in South Korea. The two major game channels in South Korea, Ongamenet and MBCGame, each run a Starleague , viewed by millions of fans...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n e-sports
Electronic sports
Electronic sports comprises the competitive play of video games. Other terms include competitive gaming, professional gaming and cybersports...
gamer of the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
. He played the Zerg race and was one of the most successful and popular players of all time.
Team
Ma Jae-Yoon was a member of CJ Entus, a professional StarCraft: Brood WarStarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the award winning military science fiction, real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns, map tilesets, music,...
e-sports team sponsored by CJ CGV
CJ CGV
CJ CGV operates South Korea's largest multiplex cinema chain, CGV, with its headquarters in Seoul. It is a subsidiary of CJ Group and was established in 1996 as a transnational joint venture formed by CJ Corporation , Golden Harvest , and Village Roadshow...
, an entertainment subsidiary of the CJ Corporation.
Success
Ma Jae-Yoon has been rated first in the Korean e-Sports Player's Association (KeSPA) ratings nine times; only Park Sung-JoonPark Sung-Joon
Park Sung-Joon is a professional player of the real-time strategy game StarCraft. He is known by his pseudonym July, a shortened version of JulyZerg...
(JulyZerg) has more first place rankings for the Zerg race with eleven. sAviOr is widely considered to have been the most dominant professional Brood War player of 2006. He has won three MSLs (MBCGame
MBCGame
MBC Game is the South Korean non-'free-to-air' television network, which is well-known for its E-sports broadcasting.- Contents :...
Starleague) and one OSL (Ongamenet
Ongamenet
Ongamenet is one of two South Korean cable television companies , that specializes in broadcasting video game-related information and matches, which include StarCraft, Warcraft III and others. It is a subsidiary of On-Media, an owner of several cable channels....
Starleague).
Decline
During the 2007–2008 seasons Ma Jae-Yoon lost several important matches. He especially faltered in the latest season of matches, where he was eliminated in the first round of both the MSL and the OSL with a total record of 0–5. One theory of his decline in performance during this time is that he was devastated and never recovered from his 0–3 loss to Kim Taek-YongKim Taek-Yong
Kim Taek-Yong is a professional South Korean StarCraft player, playing for the Protoss race...
(Bisu) in the GOM TV Season 1 MSL finals on 3 March 2007; and then later, in November 2007, he lost to Bisu again in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Ever OSL 1–2.
Ma Jae-Yoon was ranked 5th in the March 2008 KeSPA ranking with 1,540.5 points, he was behind Lee Jae-Dong (Jaedong) (2,400.3), Kim Taek-Yong
Kim Taek-Yong
Kim Taek-Yong is a professional South Korean StarCraft player, playing for the Protoss race...
(Bisu) (2,302.6), Song Byung-Goo
Song Byung-Goo
Song Byung-Gu is a professional StarCraft player from Pohang, South Korea who plays under the alias Stork[gm] or simply Stork...
(Stork) (2,219.6), and Lee Young-Ho
Lee Young-Ho
Lee Young-Ho is a South Korean professional StarCraft player who plays under the alias By.FlaSh or simply Flash. Lee currently plays for KT....
(Flash) (1,747.5).
His career hit a new low when he failed to make it past the first round in the 2008 EVER OSL. He lost to the newcomer Spear, and then to his old rival, Lee Yun Yeol (NaDa). He was demoted to the CJ Entus B-team, but his improved performance following the demotion allowed him to return to CJ Entus Team A on 21 July 2008.
Ma Jae-Yoon went 8–1 and won the Blizzcon 2008 tournament by defeating Nada 2–0 in the finals. Afterwards, in an interview, he stated that he "will destroyed [sic] everyone in 2009".
In September 2009, Ma Jae-Yoon gave an interview that said he had finally gotten over his mental state, and is quoted to be saying "Look forward to my StarLeague win". He has since been shown in the proleague each matchup.
Match fixing scandal
On 13 April 2010, Ma was implicated in a cheating scandal involving several Korean pro gamers, illegal betting websites, and allegations of games being deliberately lost. By May, it was alleged that the "Maestro" had been a ring-leader in a scheme that saw at least 12 StarCraft matches deliberately lost and eleven pro-gamers (current and former) implicated. He was subsequently banned for life from professional competition and it has been reported that all awards and honorary achievements have been revoked.Major achievements
- 1st place, 2009 e-Stars Seoul StarCraft Heritage League
- 1st place, 2008 Blizzcon 2008 Tournament
- 3rd place, 2007 World Cyber GamesWorld Cyber GamesThe World Cyber Games is an international competitive video-gaming event operated by South Korean company World Cyber Games Inc., and sponsored by Samsung and Microsoft...
KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
Finals - 2nd place, 2007 Shinhan BankShinhan BankShinhan Bank , is a bank, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Historically it was the first bank in Korea, established under the name Hanseong Bank in 1897. The bank was reestablished in 1982. It is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, along with Jeju Bank...
Ongamenet Masters - 1st place, 2006–2007 Shinhan Bank Ongamenet Starleague Season 3
- 2nd place, 2006–2007 GOM TV MBCGame Starleague Season 1
- 1st place, 2006 PringlesPringlesPringles is a brand of potato and wheat based snacks originally developed by Procter & Gamble. Pringles are sold in more than 140 countries and have yearly sales of more than...
MBCGame Starleague Season 2 - 1st place, 2006 Pringles MBCGame Starleague Season 1
- 2nd place, 2005–2006 CyonCyonCyon is LG Electronics' Korean mobile phone brand. LG established the brand in 1997. Like all other mobile phone brands in Korea, they feature the latest technologies such as cameras, internet access, and TV through IP.-Origin of the name:...
MBCGame Starleague - 1st place, 2005 UZOO MBCGame Starleague
External links
- Team Liquid Progaming Database – sAviOr
- Article and interview from the Korean e-sports magazine esForce (translated)
- YGCLAN sAviOr interview (translated)