“Amongst those three, probably the most successful is Mong, who stands out as probably the most consistent streamer and competitor on Afreeca over the last year.” –kjwcj SSL9
If you haven’t been following Brood War since the end of KESPA then you might not be familiar with the new faces of Brood War. While players like Sea, Bisu, and Killer are still at the top, there is new blood on the scene. In the first of a series of mini-bios I will be writing on new players, I’d like to introduce the beloved Terran:
Mong
“The man you may not know…but you need to.”
“The man you may not know…but you need to.”
Mong is an ex CJ Entus player. Born in the city of Goyang in 1992, Mong is 22 and still young enough to not be in danger of doing required service at this time. Mong is a player who plays exceptional against both Zerg and Protoss. He maintains a 60% win-rate over his opponents in nearly 300 games played. That is the sort of record the make him an A+ class player for any KESPA team. The only thing stopping Mong from achieving an overall win-rate above 60% is his TvT which is sitting at 48.45%.
Mong’s career was launched into greatness very silently. Back in April of 2012 the name Sonic was not on anyone’s radar. During this time Brood War hearts were still being torn and the chaos of the hybrid proleague was in its beginning stages. As a reminder, KESPA Brood War was still played all the way through September of 2012 BSE (Before Sonic Era). So we aren’t even 2 full years since the end of BSE. But I digress, that April Mong had become the “Onse Telecom 2 Number Plus SonicTV BJ Starleague”.
Onse Telecom 2, also known as SSL6.5, was the first major tournament Mong has ever won. While the tournament wasn’t filled with BSE players, retired pros Pusan, BackHo, and Anytime had all returned to Brood War to compete in this tournament. Mong not only played well, but he had an insanely close series with Sky. This series is worth going back to if you have time.
The important thing with Mong is how incredibly consistent he has been since he won SSL6.5. Below are the smaller tournament golds and silvers Mong has racked up since then.
The photo above intentionally leaves out his most recent accomplishments. Let’s take a look at those more closely.
SSL9
No doubt this was the toughest tournament of 2014. Mong is matched up against HiyA, Tyson, ZerO, Brittany, and Killer along his path to advance to the round of 8. It is clear Mong had quite the challenge ahead of him as all 5 of those opponents actually played broadcasted matches in the BSE. Mong only saw defeat in the end, when he was paired up against possibly the best zerg of the year and SSL9 semifinalist, by.hero.
LoveTV 2nd Starleague
Mong does it again! He advances to the round of 8. This time he takes down Tyson, PianO, Movie, Pure, Pusan, and Jy. While the list is not as impressive as SSL9’s, Piano has one of the highest win rates of any Terran this year and Movie is easily a top 3 Protoss. Unfortunately the show stopper is yet another Zerg caught on fire, Modesty (and the Modesty Build).
1st SBenu AllStars
This is the most recent tournament Mong has competed in. Mong hasn’t seen past the round of 8 since 2013 at this point. 16 selected players form the group stages as Mong battles Movie, Killer, and Kwanro. Mong shows once again he is a power house in group stages advancing first only giving up one game to Killer. Tested with the round of 8 again, he topples Shuttle 3-1 only to fall in his weakest matchup to sSak(the eventual winner). Mong finished with a bronze and finds himself one step closer to tasting gold in 2014 as SSL10 is on the horizon.
So we covered the history of Mong but what else about this delightful fellow? Mong is absolutely hilarious! In the SSL9 selection ceremonies he graced us with a wonderful dance and entrance to the studio.
Favorite Music: F(x), Crayonpopo, Yunminsu (윤민수), Big Bang, David Guetta
Favorite TV Shows: SNL Korea, JTBC-Love, and Salaryman
Favorite Movies: Ironman, 퀵, 내머리속의지우개
Favorite Sports Teams: CJ Entus and Manchester United
More Mong pics!
I’m sure all of you are dying to learn more about Mong and are convinced you should be cheering for the giant cuddly bear. Mong is easily one of the most likable people to ever play Starcraft and I hope you will show your love and support for him in the coming years. To learn more about mong, ask questions in this thread and I’ll try and get him to answer them for you. I hope you all enjoyed this mini bio.