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Hong Jin-ho (Korean: 홍진호; born 31 October 1982) is a South Korean television personality, poker player, and former professional StarCraft player who plays under the alias [NC]...YellOw or simply YellOw. In 2012, he became the coach of the Xenics Storm League of Legends pro gaming team. As a television personality, he is most known for his appearances in the reality survival show The Genius and the variety show Crime Scene.
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| YellOw | |
|---|---|
_홍진호와_함께_ITU_전권회의_응원을!.jpg) Hong Jin-ho in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
| Name | Hong Jin-ho |
| Nickname(s) | Storm Zerg, Kong Jin-ho |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Career information | |
| Games | StarCraft |
| Playing career | 2000–2011 |
| Role | Zerg |
| Team history | |
| 2000–2002 | Gamei |
| 2002 | Ideal Space |
| 2002–2003 | KTF MagicNs |
| 2003–2004 | Toona S.G |
| 2004–2008 | KTF MagicNs |
| 2009–2010 | Air Force ACE |
| 2010–2011 | KT Rolster |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 홍진호 |
| Hanja | 洪榛浩 |
| Revised Romanization | Hong Jin-ho |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hong Chin-ho |
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Hong, nicknamed the "Storm Zerg"[1] and "Kong (means bean in Korean) Jin-ho", is known for his aggressive and harass-style play, and for his rivalry with BoxeR.
He is famous for never having won first place in major StarCraft tournaments despite his strong performances. Hong managed to finish second place six times in events which earned him the title "King of Silver". While there are some tournaments in which he finished first, these records were invalidated when the KeSPA announced that it would accept only OnGameNet Starleague (OSL) and MSL records. His notable victories include first place in the 2003 ITV 5th Starleague, the Snickers All-Star league in 2005,[1] and the first BlizzCon invitational tournament.
Hong suffered his last major defeat against Han "Casy" Dong-wook in the semi-finals of the Shinhan Bank Season 1 OSL in 2006, and claimed 3rd place. Due to his poor performance in the following OSL, Hong has fallen into a slump from which he has not recovered. Hong reached the round of 32 in the GOMTV Averatech Classic, but was eliminated by oDin(Joo Young-Dal). He enlisted in the Korean Air Force in November 2008 in the StarCraft team Air Force ACE.[1]
After being a member of ROKAF ACE, Hong recovered his form slowly but steadily. The trigger was an old-fashioned 'storm-like' victory against Bisu[Shield] on 20 June 2009 in the Shinhan Bank ProLeague 08–09, after 735 days of silence. He could not qualify for either OSL nor MSL since the Shinhan Bank OSL season 2 in 2006, but at the end of Shinhan Bank ProLeague 09–10 season, Hong ended the season securing a 3-game winning streak, including a dramatic victory against Jaedong.
Hong officially announced his retirement from professional gaming on his website on 16 June 2011. At his retirement ceremony, BoxeR jokingly handed him an empty StarCraft 2 box. BoxeR said that the box was empty, but the account was at the SlayerS clan house, and if Hong ever considered transitioning into StarCraft 2, he knew where to go.
In August 2011 he appeared on a reality TV series entitled Project A on GOMtv. The series follows Hong as he attempts to qualify for the GOMTV Global StarCraft II League and relaunch his pro gaming career in StarCraft 2. The series premiered on 12 August 2011.[2]
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On 16 June 2011, Hong announced his retirement from his StarCraft career. He is now currently a coach for League of Legends.
In 2013, he was cast along with eleven contestants in the first season of the Korean reality television game show, The Genius: Rules of the Game. The series debuted on tvN starting on 26 April 2013. It featured weekly game challenges involving team politics and individual tactical play. Hong quickly became a fan favourite as he demonstrated his mental fortitude in strategic game play. He finished the series as the final champion, beating out other participants including celebrities, Harvard graduate and politician Lee Jun Seok, Mensa member Choi Jung Moon, and legendary pro gambler Jimmy Cha. The prize money was KRW 79,000,000 (approx. USD 70,000). With this achievement, he received positive comments that he had enhanced the image of pro gamers, not to speak of his own recognition as a genius.
In November 2013, the second season of the programme, which was named The Genius: Rule Breaker, began broadcasting. Hong was recast as a returning contestant, along with Lim Yo-Hwan (SlayerS_`BoxeR'), his longtime StarCraft rival. He was eliminated in Episode 7. He was eventually invited as a guest to appear on a new spin-off programme Genius Behind. This programme focuses on analyzing the episode that transpired in the previous week, and is meant as a lead-up to the airing of each new episode.
In 2014, Hong appeared on popular TV programmes such as Radio Star and I Live Alone on MBC TV; Happy Together on KBS 2TV; and was recruited as a cast member of Crime Scene on JTBC.[3]
He also collaborated with other veteran StarCraft players to organise tournaments featuring former pro gamers, with the eventual goal of setting up a league for veteran StarCraft players and reviving the fortunes of StarCraft. The first activity was the inaugural "Star Final Four" event match held on 5 February 2014. Hong competed with Kang Min (Nal_rA), Park Jun-Suk (Reach) and Lee Byung-Min (GoodFriend). He eventually won the event.
YellOw came out of retirement after he was one of eight players invited to the GOMtv classic in February 2014, one of the first televised Brood War tournaments in years.[4][5]
In 2015, Hong returned for the fourth season of The Genius entitled The Genius : Grand Final and the second season of Crime Scene, getting 4th on The Genius: Grand Final and 1st on Crime Scene 2.
Poker
Hong Jin-Ho has recently made a successful transition to professional poker, even though he has been playing online poker since the 2000s, especially on PokerStars.
He is currently sponsored by the online Japanese Brand J88Poker.
He has won major Asian tournaments such as Asian Poker Tour Championships Event in Taiwan and the J88Poker Tour Shanghai Main Event.[6]
In 2022, Hong won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold'em event, winning $276,067.[7]
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On 25 May 2023, Hong announced his upcoming marriage to his girlfriend.[8] On March 17, 2024, Hong married his girlfriend, who is 10 years younger than him, in Gangnam.[9] On November 16, 2024, Hong announced the birth of his first child, a daughter.[10]
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| World Cyber Games 2002 Grand Final | Runner-up |
| BlizzCon 2005 | First place |
| KTEC KPGA Winner's Championship | |
| 2005 Snickers All-Star League | |
| TG Sambo MSL | Runner-up |
| KPGA 1st Tour (MSL) | |
| KPGA 2nd Tour (MSL) | |
| Olympus OnGameNet Starleague | |
| Coca-Cola OnGameNet Star League | |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Genius: Rules of the Game | Winner |
| The Genius: Rule Breaker | Cast member (Episode 1–7) | |
| 2014 | Kim Jiyeon's Sweet 19 | Cast member |
| Shared TV | ||
| Need More Romance | ||
| Crime Scene | ||
| First Day of Work Season 2 | ||
| I Live Alone | Guest (Episode 43) | |
| Radio Star | Guest (Episode 369) | |
| Happy Together | Guest (Episode 344 & 361) | |
| The Genius: Black Garnet | Guest (Episode 10) | |
| Please Take Care of My Refrigerator | Guest (Episode 5 & 6) | |
| 2015 | Crime Scene 2 | Cast member |
| The Genius: Grand Final | ||
| Off to School | Guest (Episode 59–62) | |
| Problematic Men | Guest (Episode 30) | |
| Non-Summit | Guest (Episode 37) | |
| 5 Days of Summer (Prague) | with Lady Jane | |
| 2016 | Knowing Bros | Guest (Episode 8) |
| 2016-2017 | Game Show | MC |
| 2017 | Crime Scene 3 | Cast member (Episode 8 onwards) |
| 2018 | Radio Star | Guest (Episode 563) |
| 2019 | King of Masked Singer | Contestant (Episode 193) |
| 2021 | Still Alive | Main Cast Chuseok pilot[11] |
Web shows
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Time Hotel | Contestant | [12] |
| 2023 | Bloody Game Season 2 | Contestant |
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