Jang Jae Ho

Jang "Moon" Jae Ho (AKA spirit_moon) (Korean: 장재호, Hanja: 張宰昊 , born December 14, 1986) is a South Korean professional gamer of the popular Blizzard real-time strategy game . Jang Jae Ho is currently playing for the world renowned gaming team Meet Your Makers. He is seen by many as the best Night Elf player in the world. Jang Jae Ho is a five time world champion and has won three televised national South-Korean leagues as well as four seasons of MBCGame's World War.

He is particularly known by for his excellent micromanagement and innovative strategies. He is often seen using strategies that later set the benchmark for many Night Elf players and was nicknamed the "5th Race" by Gametv.com.

He has played and won more televised WarCraft III games than any other player and has never lost to an Orc player in a televised game in South-Korea. He plays 2v2 with his teammate Grubby.

Professional gaming history

Korean Champion

After was released July 2002 a professional competitive gaming scene supporting the game developed in South-Korea. Jang Jae Ho quickly rose to become one the most prominent players in this scene, winning his first big tournament by beating Jung Hee "Sweet" Chun in the finals of televised league MBC Sonokong Prime League II in 2003. He defended his championship title in the finals of next edition of the league (which took place later that year), and lost to Park Se "Swain" Ryong who was at one point down 2 maps (the match is considered one of the greatest comebacks in WarCraft III history).

By January 2004 (released July 2003) replaced Reign of Chaos as the game of choice for professional competitions and at this time Jang Jae Ho was recognized as one of Korea's greatest WarCraft III players, but had limited exposure globally as he had at this point not competed in any competitions outside of South-Korea.

World Champion

Known for his innovative strategies, fans nicknamed Jang Jae Ho "Fantasista". After the release of The Frozen Throne he developed into the dominating player of the Korean WarCraft III scene (which he is considered till today). Few major Korean competitions concluded in 2004 (aside from several qualifiers for international tournaments only the MBC Daum Prime League IV). Jang Jae Ho successfully qualified for the 2004 World Cyber Games global finals, meaning he would make his first international appearance.

He was considered the insider favorite for the tournament which took place in San Francisco, California. He was stopped by his countryman Tae Min "Zacard" Hwang in the round of 16 however, considered a major upset since Jang Jae Ho had an unbeaten televised record versus Tae Min Hwang's race of choice, Orc.

Upon his return to Korea he progressed to the last stages of the MBCGame Prime League V and the 2004-2005 Ongamenet War3 TFT Invitational. He eventually progressed to the finals of both which were set to take place in early 2005, he was also invited to a new televised league with an international field of participants named World e-Sports Games meaning he was competing in three televised leagues simultaneous.

He went undefeated in the first season of the World e-Sports Games, beating names as Fredrik Johansson and Li "Sky" Xiaofeng. The eventual finals cast him against the player that knocked him out of the World Cyber Games, Tae Min Zacard, his opponent was widely considered as having little chance of beating him as Jang Jae Ho had perfected a strategy vs. Orc that was at this time considered unbeatable (Jang Jae Ho won 3-0).

The league was followed intensely by WarCraft III fans around the globe and fully established Jang Jae Ho as a gaming icon. Around the same time he won MBCGame Prime League V and became the runner-up of the 2004-2005 Ongamenet War3 TFT Invitational, losing to Korean prodigy Jang Yong "FreeDoM" Suk in the finals after being up two maps. This further enhanced his reputation as the world's WarCraft III best player and made him one of the best paid gamers of the time; winning 50,000 USD in a span of months.

Throughout the rest of 2005 he would win the second season of the World e-Sports Games beating Kim Dong "Gostop" Moon in the grand finals, the MBCGame Warcraft League and several tournaments in China. His winnings in the year were approximately $83,000 USD which was by then the largest sum won by any player throughout a year in WarCraft III.

He also signed with the Korean company Pantech & Curitel during this time, representing them in leagues.

During these events a "rivalry" was created between him and Dutch professional gamer Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen by fans. Jang Jae Ho was dominating competitions in South-Korea including the globally diverse World e-Sports Games while Manuel Schenkhuizen had what was considered a dominating run in international competition, holding at one point the two most prestigious international titles; that of the World Cyber Games (which he won in 2004) and the Electronic Sports World Cup (which he won in 2005).

As they dominated different circuits they did not meet in any off line matches throughout the year 2005. Despite several on line matches this rivalry was not resolved during this time as Jang Jae Ho was perceived as having a "racial advantage" with his Night Elf vs. Manuel Schenkhuizen's Orc.

2006 Slump

By late 2005 Jang Jae Ho's results weakened, he was eliminated from the second group stage of the World e-Sports Games in the longest tie-breaker (for second place) of the series history which included him, Korean professional gamer Jae Wook "Lucifer" Noh and Swedish professional gamer Kim "SaSe" Hammer.

He signed with Danish professional competitive gaming team Meet Your Makers in February 2006.

He was considered the favorite for the masters of the World e-Sports Games, which took place April 21 - May 3, 2006 in Hangzhou, China. This eight player invitational saw all top two finishers of previous seasons return, and invited a number of players considered the world's strongest at the time.

He went undefeated through the group stages of the tournament, beating French professional gamer Yoan "ToD" Merlo, Kim Dong Moon and Chinese professional gamer Sun Ri "XiaOt" Wai. This cast him against Manuel Schenkhuizen in the semi-finals, which would be their first match in a major international tournament.

Jang Jae Ho lost the match 1-3, which was considered an upset but not totally out of the real of possibilities as a patch by Blizzard Entertainment as well as strategic adaption to Jang Jae Ho's playing style had made the Night Elf vs. Orc match-up more balanced. He subsequently lost the match for fourth place vs. Xiaofeng Li 2-3, a match widely anticipated by fans as Xiaofeng Li's World Cyber Games victory made him Jang Jae Ho's main WarCraft III rival in Asia.

After that he went through an extended dry spell in tournaments in what is termed a "slump". The professional Korean WarCraft III scene was in decline and Jang Jae Ho had to drop out of the only televised league the country had in the year, MBCGame International League, because it conflicted with the World e-Sports Games.

He did not qualify for any individual international tournament but did have success in team competitions. He was a key factor in Meet Your Makers victory of WarCraft III's most prominent professional team leagues, WarCraft 3 Champions League and the NGL One Professional league.His dry spell ended in October 2006 when he won Global Gaming League's Digital life in New York, New York, picking up 5,000 USD. He went on to do well in a series of televised show matches in South-Korea, beating Manuel Schenkhuizen 2-0 in a 10,000 USD match in the Korean "SuperFight" series.

Manuel Schenkhuizen commented afterwards:

"I think the old Moon, the Moon from 2005 is back."

In December he was invited to International Electronic Sports Tournament in Beijing, China, beating Xiaofeng Li in the grand finals he won 20,000 USD in the tournament and finished 2006 with a major win.

2007 Domination

It was reported February 2007 that Jang Jae Ho had extended his contract with Meet Your Makers for a year with a 9,000 USD monthly salary. [ [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1199137231&channel=196565916 1on1-Markus "Army" Stefanko - part 1 - Brightcove ] ]

Building on his strong run towards the end of 2006, 2007 is looking to be Jae Ho Jang's strongest year yet. He has so far this year four times defended his MBC Game World War title, which is a televised series of show matches in South-Korea paying out 10,000 USD to a seasonal champion.

He won the biggest amount of prize money ever turned out in a WarCraft III competition in Moscow, Russia by winning Game-X. He has also won two three in China, one of which was considered to be attended by almost all top tier professional WarCraft III players; the World Series of Video Games stop in Wuhan, China. Moon won over $130,000 in prizes in 2007.

Major Accomplishments

1 on 1

* 2008 1^st ESWC Masters of Paris ($2,500 USD)
* 2008 1^st Blizard Worldwide Invitational 2008 (Paris) $11000 USD
* 2008 2^st PGL 2008 Warcraft III League Season3 Final (China) (40,000RMB := $5,794USD)
* 2008 4^st NSL 2008 Warcraft III League Season2
* 2008 1^st PGL 2007 Warcraft III League Season2 Final (China) (80,000RMB := $11,000USD)
* 2008 1^st CEG 2007 shaoxing (China) ($2,000 EUR)
* 2007 3^st IEF MASTERS 2007 (China) ($2,000 USD)
* 2007 2^st Afreeca Warcraft League 2007 (South Korea) (￦3,000,000 := $3,000 USD)
* 2007 2^st Make Games Colorful 2007 (China) ($5,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st Lenovo IEST 2007 (China) ($21,394 USD)
* 2007 3^rd World Cyber Games 2007 (USA) ($5,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st GGL Digital Life New York (USA) ($5,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st China E-Sport Games Xi'an (China) ($2,600 USD)
* 2007 1^st GGL Digital Life Chengdu (China) ($10,600 USD)
* 2007 2^nd WEG e-Star Seoul (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st MBCGame World War Grand Prix (South Korea) ($20,000 USD)
* 2007 2^nd Pro Gaming League (China) ($4,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st Dreamhack Summer 2007 (Sweden) ($2,850 USD)
* 2007 1^st Battle.net Ladder Season V Asia (South Korea) ($1,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st MBCGame World War III (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st World Series of Video Games China (China) ($5,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st NSL (China) ($2,500 USD)
* 2007 1^st MBCGame World War II (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2007 1^st Game-X (Russia) ($38,120 USD)
* 2007 1^st MBCGame World War I (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2006 1^st MBCGame World War III (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2006 1^st MBCGame World War II (South Korea) ($10,000 USD)
* 2006 1^st Lenovo IEST 2006 (China) ($20,000 USD)
* 2006 1^st Superfight 2 (South Korea) ($8,500 USD)
* 2006 1^st Digital Life Gaming Tournament 2006 (USA) ($5,000 USD)
* 2006 4^th World E-Sport Games Masters (China) ($1,000 USD)
* 2005 1^st World E-Sports Festival (China)
* 2005 1^st International E-Sports Festival (China)
* 2005 1^st China Korea Cyber Games (China) ($10,000 USD)
* 2005 1^st World E-Sports Games Season I (South Korea) ($20,000 USD)
* 2005 1^st World E-Sports Games Season II (South Korea) ($20,000 USD)
* 2005 1^st MBCGame Warcraft League Season I (South Korea)
* 2005 2^nd OnGameNet War3 TFT Invitational (South Korea)
* 2005 1^st MBCGame Prime League V (South Korea)
* 2004 9^th World Cyber Games (USA)
* 2004 3^rd World Cyber Games, Korea (South Korea)
* 2003 2^nd MBCGame Prime League III (South Korea)
* 2003 1^st MBCGame Prime League II (South Korea)

Team and League Competitions

* 2008 1^st WC3L Season 13 (China) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2008 3^rd Road of the King (China) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2008 1^st NGL-League One Season 4 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2007 1^st NGL-League One Season 3 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2007 3^rd WC3L Season 11 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2007 2^nd NGL-League One Season 2 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2007 2^nd WC3L Season 10 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2006 1^st Stars War II (China) (with Team Korea)
* 2006 1^st Transatlantic Finals (USA) (with JaeWook "Lucifer" Noh)
* 2006 1^st WC3L Season 9 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2006 1^st NGL-League One Season 1 (Germany) (with Team MeetYourMakers)
* 2003 2^nd OnGameNet War3 Pro League (South Korea) (with Team ZzoA FairS)

Online

* 2006 1^st inCup #11 2on2 (with JaeWook "Lucifer" Noh)
* 2005/2006 1^st in 6 InCups ($1200 USD)

Awards

Won

* 2008 ESports Award eSports Player of the Year
* 2008 Esports Award Best Warcraft 3 Player
* 2008 ESports Award Korea Player of the Year
* 2007 KeSPA Greatest WarCraft III Player Award
* 2007 GGL Warcraft 3 Player of the Year
* 2006 KeSPA Greatest WarCraft III Player Award
* 2005 KeSPA Greatest WarCraft III Player Award

Nominated

* 2007 ESports Award Best Warcraft 3 Player
* 2006 GGL Warcraft 3 Player of the Year
* 2006 Gosugamers GosuGamer of the Year
* 2006 ESports Award Best Warcraft 3 Player
* 2005 ESports Award eSports Player of the Year
* 2005 ESports Award Best Warcraft 3 Player

trategies and Techniques

* AoW (Ancient of War) Creeping Technique: Jae Ho is known for his excellent use of the Ancient of War to aid in taking out difficult creep camps. In addition, his hero and/or units will take only a minimal amount of damage.
* Master Talons Strategy: Jae Ho is known for not creating, but popularizing and improving this strategy against Orc by using Firelord or Tinker as 3rd-Hero. He used this strategy to defeat Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen many times.
* Night Elf Towering/Tower Push Strategy: The Night Elf towering/tower push is one of Jae Ho's signature and classic strategies. He uses this strategy mainly for the Undead vs. Night Elf match-up.
* Night Elf Tri-Hero Pitlord Strategy: Jae Ho is highly praised for his incorporation of the Pitlord in his playing. He uses this strategy specifically for the Night Elf vs. Human match-up. Although the Pitlord is regarded as a weak hero by players, Jae Ho denies this opinion with his effective use of the Pitlord to decimate the Human casters.
* Mass Master-Bears Strategy : Jae Ho popularized the use of master Druid of the Claw vs Orc. Today this strategy is very common in the Night Elf vs. Orc match-up.
* Orb of Venom Strategy : Jae Ho was among the first who equipped his heroes with an Orb of Venom in order to counter harassment by Undead gargoyles.
* Mass Expansion Strategy : When Jae Ho started to use this strategy, Blizzard Entertainment (the developers of Warcraft III) nerfed(weaken) it by increasing the Tree of Life's build time. Today it is still used by many Night Elves, especially in combination with the "Mass Archer/Talons + Priestess of the Moon - Strategy" vs Undead on the map Lost Temple.

Trivia

* Jang Jae Ho plays most of his games using the alias MYM] Moon.
* Jang Jae Ho is referred to, by gamestv.com, as "The Fifth Race". Gamestv.com considers him, "A great player. A marvelous elf." In addition gamestv.com states, "With surprising tactics, no one can ever guess what his next move is."
* Jang Jae Ho has been consistently ranked 1st in GosuGamer's Top 30 Player Database, more so than any other player.
* Jang Jae Ho's Korean nicknames are "The Fantasista" and "Andro Jang".
* Jang Jae Ho did not lose a single Best of Three or Best of Five match against an Undead player in 2007.

References

External links

* [http://www.meetyourmakers.com/ MYM Website]
* [http://www.wcreplays.com/interviews.php?get=36 Feature Interview: "Moon, The Star" by KidArtica, Copyrighted by WCReplays.com]
* [http://wc3.gosugamers.net/rankings GosuGamers WarCraft Rankings]