Clon

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[e][h] Clon

Player Information

Name:

조형근

Romanized Name:

Jo Hyung Kun

Nationality:

 South Korea

Born:

October 16, 1984 (age 39)

Race:

Zerg

Alternate IDs:

Qoo)Clon

Approx. Total Winnings:

$11,648

Links

Achievements

 

History

2001-05-?? — 200?-??-??

Hanbit Stars 

2005

Retired

2006-??-?? — ????-??-??

Air Force ACE

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Retired

Jo "Clon" is a retired StarCraft progamer from South Korea who played Zerg for Air Force ACE.

Biography

Clon was a founding member of H.O.T-Forever's Hanbit Stars progaming team as well as the Air Force ACE progaming team.

On the 3rd of December in 2005 a progamer called Jo Hyung Kun gathered up his mouse and keyboard after just losing a MBC Movies MSL Survivor best of three match against Hwasin with a disappointed look on his face. Well who wouldn't look sad or beaten after being denied access to a Starleague although being so close. The difference is that Jo Hyung Kun - Clon knew that this would be his last moment in the spotlight as a progamer. He had had two other beaks during his gaming career, both lasting two years and being basically forced to them by his parents in order to finish school. Ignoring the pressure that was brought on him by his family he returned to the game again and again. Seven years with computer games as a lifestyle and also as an occupation had just ended. Clon is one of the first progamers to emerge, having been there with the Hanbitstars ever since the beginning.

Clon's choice was a tough one, because of having breaks earlier and not making it big yet in any leagues. He was adviced by his fellow progamers such as Kingdom to take a deep breath and think it through, and what ever he would choose he should make the decision quickly. Soon enough, he had decided to retire on the grounds that he would give himself enough time to restart his studies after his national service before it was too late. "I never really set out to achieve anything big, I never had the ambition or drive. I just wanted to play the game because I loved it so much. So in retrospect I think I lacked too much motivation". During his career he made it to two Starleagues, those being Sky OnGameNet Starleague in 2001 and Iops OSL in 2004, and won a Proleague title with his team Hanbitstars. When asked in the interview right after his to be last televised games whether he had any thoughts about returning to the progaming, the answer he gave was "Perhaps I will have changed my mind, I don't know. If there is a place for me again somewhere, and I am wanted, I probably couldn't resist. Who knows?"

Little did Jo Hyung Kun and his fans know in 2006, one year after his retirement, the Air Force of South Korea informed of new plans; Air Force ACE progaming team. The team entered proleague with no other than Lim Yo Hwan as the captain of the team. Clon's help was wanted and needed as The ACE team would enter the Proleague and show the strength of the oldschoolers such as H.O.T-Forever and ChRh. And suddenly Jo Hyung Kun was back in action and ready to play the game he so much loves. His return however hasn't been as glamorous as his old fans would have wanted as he hasn't been able to do what for example his new captain has: make it to yet another Starleague. The ACE hasn't been successful which didn't exactly surprise anyone, and Clon's personal record in the Proleague hasn't been any better than the team's record. 9 losses in a row during the 2007 Shinhan ProLeague Round 1 isn't probably the way he had imagined his return, although he has beaten tough opponents in the games in which he came on top, such as TheRock and the newest Starleague champion GGPlay.

By entering the Air Force ACE team Clon has decided to extend his career, which already is long and rocky. For player like him, a player who used to be a dedicated backbone of the team HanbitStars, I would gladly grant another shot in Starleague, to finally be able to prove himself. But ACE evolves as younger and fresher players come to do their military service in Air Force's dedicated gaming team. The newest additions being Oversky (the player Clon managed to beat in his first televised match after his first break) and Daezang, it seems that place in the ProLeague line-up may become too hard of a task for Clon to achieve. Was this just a chance for Jo Hyung Kun to relive his memories or a chance to revive his skills to make it back to proscene for real? That remains to be seen until his mandatory service ends.

Facts

• During the group selection for the 2004 IOPS OSL, the #1 seed iloveoov picked Clon, stating that he wanted to face an OSL first-timer. Laughing, the commentators informed him that Clon had played in the SKY2001 OSL; Clon subsequently defeated him in the group stage game on Alchemist.

Achievements

Date	Place	Tier	Tournament		Team	Result		Prize
2005-03-05	9th - 12th	Premier		2004-2005 IOPS OSL		1-2	Grp S.	-
2005-02-26	1st	Premier		2004 SKY Proleague Grand Final			TBD	$39,700.28
2004-10-30	3rd - 4th	Premier		2004 SKY Proleague Round 2		2 : 3		-
2004-07-17	1st	Premier		2004 SKY Proleague Round 1		4 : 3		$60,169.76
2001-12-28	13th - 16th	Premier		2001 SKY OSL		1-2	Grp S.	-
Extended list of results