Ongamenet Starleague

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Ongamenet Starleague
The emblem of Ongamenet Starleague
SportStarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft II
Founded2000
Ceased2012
Owner(s)Ongamenet
Last
champion(s)
Heo "JangBi" Yeong Moo
Most titles3:
Lee "NaDa" Yun-yeol
Park "JulyZerg" Sung-joon
Lee Jae Dong
Lee "Flash" Young-ho
TV partner(s)Ongamenet
Related
competitions
MBCGame StarCraft League

The Starleague, or the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL), was a professional South Korean StarCraft individual league run by Ongamenet. It first ran StarCraft: Brood War competitions but transitioned to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty after that game's release. The Starleague was broadcast on Korean cable television. The league folded after the 2012 season.

History of Starleague[edit]

2007 EVER OSL match

Starleague started out as a program on Tooniverse, following the immense popularity of StarCraft in Korea, and the success of broadcast-gaming on other Korean channels. In 2000, Starleague was spun off into a gaming-dedicated channel, OnGameNet.

Starleague started out modestly, with a small prize sum and a few cult followers. In its seven-year history, it has evolved into a major sport in Korea, with more viewers than most other professional sports.[citation needed] Recently in the related Proleague finals, 120,000 fans came out to watch the match between SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster. Finals for Starleague now regularly attract more than 50,000 fans, and viewed nationwide on television by millions. Famous gamers like Lim Yo Hwan (Boxer) have more than 500,000 registered fans. Pro gamers are organized into teams supported by major Korean firms, and prizes, contracts, and endorsements are now huge in comparison to even 3 or 4 years ago.

Starleague started to attract major attention with the rise of the "Boxer Terran" in the HanbitSoft Starleague in 2001. Professional gamer Lim Yo Hwan swept the scene with a 3:0 victory against Jang Jin Nam, using a rare race at the time (Terran) and using the Terran dropship. Boxer continued to win the next league, Coca-Cola Starleague, against Hong Jin-ho (Yellow), and ended up 2nd to Kim Dong Soo (Garimto) in the 2001 Sky Starleague. By this time, first-prize was 20,000,000 Korean Won, about US$20,000.

Starleague became so popular that it began to attract several foreign players, including Elky (Bertrand Grospellier) from France and Grrrr... (Guillaume Patry) from Canada.

Starleague started to gain its own "color" with the 2003 MyCube Starleague, with a distinctive red, black, and white emblem and a much more polished opening computer-generated cinematic. Prize money by this time was more than double the amount in the 2001 Coca-Cola championships, and regular games started to attract more people, with a refurbishing of the Ongamenet studio.

In the start of 2003, with the rise of pro gaming teams and their popularity, Ongamenet decided to create a spin-off of the Starleague, simply named 'Proleague', in which pro teams play against each other for the championship title. These pro leagues go at least twice as long as a normal Starleague.

The winner of 3 OSLs receives a special award called "The Golden Mouse". Until this day 4 players have accomplished that: Lee Yun Yeol (NaDa), winner of the 2002 Panasonic Starleague, 2004 IOPS Starleague, and 2006 Shinhan Bank Starleague; Park Sung-Joon (JulyZerg), winner of the 2004 Gillette Starleague, 2005 EVER Starleague, and 2008 EVER Starleague; Lee Jae Dong (Jaedong), winner of the 2007 EVER Starleague, 2009 Batoo Starleague, and 2009 Bacchus Starleague; and most recently Lee Young-Ho (Flash), winner of the 2008 Bacchus Starleague, winner of the 2009 EVER Starleague, and 2010 Korean Air 2 Starleague. Winners of 5 OSLs and 7 OSLs will receive the "Platinum Mouse" and the "Diamond Mouse," respectively. No player has achieved this as of today.

On June 5, 2012, it was officially announced that the 34th Starleague, TVing Starleague, will be the last Starleague that uses StarCraft: Brood War. It was announced that the next Starleague will be held using StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

StarCraft: BroodWar League champions[edit]

Year Name of tournament Winner Result of final Runner-up
2000 Hanaro Telecom Tooniverse Starleague Guillaume "XD's~Grrrr..." Patry (U2U4) 3–2 Kang "H.O.T.-Forever" Do Kyung (SM)
2000 Freechall OnGameNet Starleague Kim "GARIMTO" Dong Su (SM) 3–0 Bong "SKELTON" Jun Gu (Hanaro Telecom)
2001 HanbitSoft OnGameNet Starleague Lim "BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (IS) 3–0 Jang "Jinnam" Jin Nam (KISS)
2001 Coca-Cola OnGameNet Starleague Lim "BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (IS) 3–2 Hong "[NC]...YellOw" Jin Ho (Gamei)
2001 SKY OnGameNet Starleague Kim "GARIMTO" Dong Su (Hanbit) 3–2 Lim "SlayerS 'BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (IS)
2002 NATE OnGameNet Starleague Byun "Sync" Gil Sub (Hanbit) 3–2 Kang "H.O.T.-Forever" Do Kyung (Hanbit)
2002 SKY OnGameNet Starleague Park "Reach" Jung Seok (Hanbit) 3–1 Lim "SlayerS_'BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (IS)
2002 Panasonic OnGameNet Starleague Lee "NaDa" Yun Yeol (KTF) 3–2 Cho "ChOJJa"Yong Ho (SOUL)
2003 Olympus OnGameNet Starleague Seo "XellOs" Ji Hun (GO) 3–2 Hong "[NC]...YellOw" Jin Ho (KTF)
2003 MyCube OnGameNet Starleague Park "KingdOm" Yong Wook (Orion) 3–1 Kang "Nal_rA" Min (GO)
2003 NHN Hangame OnGameNet Starleague Kang "Nal rA" Min (GO) 3–1 Chun "Zeus" Tae Kyu (KOR)
2004 Gillette Starleague Park "JulyZerg" Sung Joon (POS) 3–1 Park "[Oops]Reach" Jung Seok (KTF)
2004 EVER Starleague Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-Sung (SKT) 3–2 Lim "SlayerS_'BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (SKT)
2004 IOPS Starleague Lee "NaDa" Yun Yeol (PANTECH) 3–0 Park "JulyZerg" Sung Joon (POS)
2005 EVER Starleague Park "JulyZerg" Sung Joon (POS) 3–2 Lee "GoodFrienD" Byung Min (PANTECH)
2005 So1 Starleague Oh "AnyTime..[gm]" Young Jong (PLUS) 3–2 Lim "SlayerS_'BoxeR"' Yo Hwan (SKT)
2005 Shinhan Bank Starleague Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-Sung 3–0 Park "JulyZerg" Sung Joon (POS)
2006 Shinhan Bank Starleague season 1 Han "Casy" Dong Wook (OnGameNet) 3–1 Cho "ChOJJa" Yong Ho (KTF)
2006 Shinhan Bank Starleague season 2 Lee "NaDa" Yun Yeol (PANTECH) 3–2 Oh "AnyTime..[gm]" Young Jong (Lecaf OZ)
2006 Shinhan Bank Starleague season 3 Ma "sAviOr" Jae-Yoon (CJ) 3–1 Lee "NaDa"Yun Yeol (PANTECH)
2007 Daum Starleague Kim "GGPlay" Jun Young (Hanbit) 3–2 Byun "Iris[gm]" Hyung Tae (CJ Entus)
2007 EVER Starleague Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong (Lecaf OZ) 3–1 Song "Stork[gm]" Byung Goo (Samsung KHAN)
2008 Bacchus Starleague Lee "FlaSh" Young Ho (KTF MagicNs) 3–0 Song "Stork[gm]" Byung Goo (Samsung KHAN)
2008 EVER Starleague Park "JulyZerg" Sung Joon (STX) 3–0 Do "BeSt[WHITE]" Jae Wook (SKT T1)
2008 Incruit Starleague Song "Stork" Byung Goo (Samsung KHAN) 3–2 Jung "By.Fantasy" Myung Hoon (SKT T1)
2008 BATOO Starleague Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong (Lecaf OZ) 3–2 Jung "By.Fantasy" Myung Hoon (SKT T1)
2009 Bacchus Starleague Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong (Hwaseung OZ) 3–0 Park "YellOw[ArnC]" Myung Soo (hite SPARKYZ)
2009 EVER Starleague Lee "FlaSh" Young Ho (KT Rolster) 3–1 Jin "Movie" Young Hwa (CJ Entus)
2010 Korean Air Starleague season 1 Kim "Effort" Jung Woo (CJ Entus) 3–2 Lee "FlaSh" Young Ho (KT Rolster)
2010 Korean Air Starleague season 2 Lee "FlaSh" Young Ho (KT Rolster) 3–1 Lee "Jaedong" Jae Dong (Hwaseung OZ)
2010 Bacchus Starleague Jung "By.Fantasy" Myung Hoon (SK Telecom T1) 3–0 Song "Stork" Byung Goo (Samsung Khan)
2011 Jin Air Starleague Heo "JangBi" Yeong Moo (Samsung Khan) 3–2 Jung "By.Fantasy" Myung Hoon (SK Telecom T1)
2012 Tving Starleague Heo "JangBi" Yeong Moo (Samsung Khan) 3–1 Jung "By.Fantasy" Myung Hoon (SK Telecom T1)

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty league champions[edit]

Only one OSL was run during the lifespan of Wings of Liberty due to OGN's late switch to StarCraft II.

Year Name of tournament Winner Result of final Runner-up
2012 Auction All-Kill Starleague Jung "Rain" Yoon Jong (SK Telecom T1) 4–1 Park "DongRaeGu" Soo Ho (MvP)

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm league champions[edit]

Year Name of tournament Winner Result of final Runner-up
2013 Auction All-Kill Starleague Cho "Maru" Sung Choo (Prime) 4–2 Jung "Rain" Yoon Jong (SK Telecom T1)

League brackets[edit]

2009 Bacchus OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
YellOw[ArnC] 2
go.go 1 YellOw[ArnC] 3
type-b 2 type-b 0
Leta 1 YellOw[ArnC] 0
fantasy 2 Jaedong 3
Canata 0 fantasy 1
ZerO 0 Jaedong 3
Jaedong 2

2009 Ever OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Flash (T) 2
Jaedong (Z) 0 Flash (T) 3
Calm (Z) 2 Calm (Z) 1
Pure (P) 0 Flash (T) 3
Movie (P) 2 Movie (P) 1
Zero (Z) 0 Movie (P) 3
Shine (Z) 2 Shine (Z) 1
Stork (P) 1

2010 Korean Air OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
FlaSh (T) 2
BaBy (T) 0 FlaSh (T) 3
Movie (P) 0 Pure (P) 0
Pure (P) 2 FlaSh (T) 2
ZerO (Z) 0 EffOrt (Z) 3
EffOrt (Z) 2 Effort (Z) 3
Kal (P) 2 Kal (P) 0
fOrGG (T) 1

2010 Korean Air OSL season 2[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Action (Z) 0
Jaedong (Z) 2 Jaedong (Z) 3
Sea (T) 0 Stork (P) 2
Stork (P) 2 Jaedong (Z) 1
ZerO (Z) 0 Flash (T) 3
Free (P) 2 Free (P) 1
Flash (T) 2 Flash (T) 3
Leta (T) 0

2010 Bacchus OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Hyuk 0
Fantasy 2 Fantasy 3
Calm 2 Calm 2
Mind 1 Fantasy 3
Modesty 2 Stork 0
Kal 1 Modesty 0
HiyA 1 Stork 3
Stork 2

2011 Jin Air OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Fantasy 2
Hyuk 0 Fantasy 3
By.Hydra 2 By.Hydra 1
Modesty 1 Fantasy 2
n.die_soO 2 Dream.t)Jangbi 3
Sea.Baxter 1 n.die_soO 0
Dream.t)Jangbi 2 Dream.t)Jangbi 3
Flash 1

2012 tving OSL[edit]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Dream.t)JangBi 3
Ever)P(mini 1 Dream.t)JangBi 3
MenSol[ZerO] 3 MenSol[ZerO] 2
hyvaa[S.G] 1 By.Fantasy 1
By.Fantasy 3 Dream.t)JangBi 3
n.Die_soO 0 By.Flash 0
Shine[kaL] 1 By.Fantasy 3
By.Flash 3

See also[edit]

External links[edit]