Ken Hoang

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Ken Hoang
SephirothKen
Status Inactive
Date of birth October 10, 1985
Hometown Westminster, California
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Current team El Chocolate Diablo
League(s) Major League Gaming
Evolution Championship Series
Years in playing 2003-present
Games Super Smash Bros. Melee

Ken Hoang (born October 10, 1985) is an American professional electronic sports player who plays Super Smash Bros. Melee and has earned over $50,000 USD doing so. He is the 2004-2005 national champion of Major League Gaming, the 2007 international champion of Evo World Finals,[1] and is the last officially ranked best Super Smash Bros. Melee player in America.[2] He is also the current world champion, having defeated reputable players from around the globe, including top Japanese players such as Aniki, Captain Jack, Masashi, Bombsoldier, Korius, and Mikael in the summer of 2005 and 2006.[3] He was inducted into the Smash Hall of Fame in 2008.[4] In the competitive gaming community, he is known simply as "Ken" or by his gamer tag "SephirothKen".

Ken is considered the statistically most dominant player, having the highest major tournament win-to-loss ratio of any player.[5] His impressive three year dominance earned him the nickname "The King of Smash" within the community.[6] He received minor television coverage in MTV's "True Life: I'm a Professional Gamer", and received further coverage in the fall of 2006 after MLG arrived on cable television.[7]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ken started playing Super Smash Bros. when it was released for the Nintendo 64. He made his gamer tag "sephirothken" from his interest in Final Fantasy VII. He was naturally talented at the game and became fluent in the gameplay and style of Smash. However, he was never able to compete in major tournaments for the Nintendo 64 version of Super Smash Bros. due to the lack of a competitive scene. When Super Smash Bros. Melee was released for the Nintendo GameCube, Ken initially did not enjoy it, but the game grew on him after a period of a few months. By the time he attended his first tournament, he already built up an impressive reputation in his town as the best Smash player. This tournament was hosted at a local gaming store known as Game Square and was nothing like the tournaments hosted today (which are 1v1, 4 stock/lives, 8 minute time limit). It was a free-for-all tournament. Everyone teamed against Ken because he was considered the best.[8]

In 2002 a moderator on Smash World Forums by the handle of Mattdeezie hosted Tournament Go (TG series), which was one of the first major tournaments.[9] There were six installments in the TG series, with each new incarnation being more popular than the last.[10] TG4, in early 2003, was the first major tournament Ken attended.[8] Even with the lack of a strong competitive scene, Ken managed to defeat players who attended previous TGs and take first out of a record 89 players at that time and he placed second in teams losing to TG1 and TG2 singles winners J.R. Castillo and Justin Junio.[11]

Seven months later, in August 2003, Ken attended and won TG5. This was the first tournament where he teamed with Isai Alvarado for doubles (otherwise known as "Malva00") who is currently ranked as the 7th best Melee player in the nation. Their victory in the doubles tournament started a two-and-a-half year winning streak. They won every doubles tournament they entered until MLG Chicago in July 2006, where they were defeated by Azen and Chillindude829 in the finals and received second place. However, they reclaimed their title later that year in August at MLG Orlando where they defeated Azen and Chillindude829 6-3 in the finals.[12]

For the next two years, Ken continued to win nearly every competition he entered. The worst loss he ever garnered in his competitive career was in August 2004 at TG6 where he placed 9th out of approximately 128 competitors. He has not placed below 2nd until MLG Orlando in August 2006 where he placed 5th and then MLG New York (Season Playoffs) where he placed 7th, and in teams he placed 3rd teaming with Isai making it his all-time low in singles and doubles at MLG events.

Although he is currently inactive, he is still regarded as one of the top players.[13] Ken thanks his parents, his siblings, and his many fans for supporting him throughout his entire career. In September 2006, Ken was nominated in "The Dangerous Five" as one of "The World's Most Dangerous Gamers" by Electronic Gaming Monthly, in which he was called "The Duper" for his fast, smart, and aggressive play.[14]

[edit] Notable Tournament placings

Note: These are only major tournaments which include professional and amateur tournaments with 60 or more players. This list does not represent the number of tournaments Ken has attended in total.

[edit] 2003

  • 1st - Tournament Go 4 (TG4) ($900)
  • 1st - SoCal Inland Empire SSB:M
  • 1st - Tournament Go 5 (TG5) ($1000)

[edit] 2004

  • 1st - Game Over ($650)
  • 1st - The 0-C (Zero Challenge) ($650)
  • 1st - MELEE-FC ($500)
  • 9th - Tournament Go 6 (TG6)
  • 1st - Major League Gaming (MLG) 2004 Season Finals New York ($2000)
  • 1st - MLG 2004 Season points

[edit] 2005

  • 2nd - MOAST 3 ($400)
  • 1st - MLG 2005 (Season OpenerTournament) DC ($1000)
  • 1st - MLG 2005 (Season Tournament) San Francisco ($500)
  • 2nd - MLG 2005 (West Coast Regionals) Los Angeles ($1000)
  • 1st - MLG 2005 (East Coast Regionals) Atlanta ($2000)
  • 1st - MLG 2005 (Central Regionals) Chicago ($2000)
  • 1st - MLG 2005 Season Finals New York ($5000)[6]
  • 1st - MLG 2005 Season points leader
  • 1st - Jack Garden Tournament (JGT) (Japan)
  • 1st - Getting Schooled 2 ($800)
  • 1st - MELEE-FC3 ($800)

[edit] 2006

  • 1st - Champ Combo: NorCal Edition ($400)
  • 1st - Champ Combo: Yayuhzzz Edition ($400)
  • 1st - 0-C2 (Zero Challenge 2) ($1200)
  • 2nd - MLG 2006 (Season Tournament) New York ($1200)
  • 1st - MLG 2006 (Season Tournament) Dallas ($2000)
  • 1st - MLG 2006 (Season Tournament) Anaheim ($2000)
  • 1st - MLG 2006 (Season Tournament) Chicago ($2000)
  • 5th - MLG 2006 (Season Tournament) Orlando ($300)
  • 7th - MLG 2006 (Season Playoffs) New York ($375)
  • 1st - NCT2: The Big One ($1080)
  • 3rd - MLG 2006 (National Championships Singles) Las Vegas ($3000)
  • 1st - MLG 2006 (National Championships Doubles) Las Vegas ($5000) per team member
  • 1st - MLG 2006 Season points leader ($4000)

[edit] 2007

  • 4th - 0-C3 (Zero Challenge 3)
  • 1st - Evo World 2007 ($5000)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Glenn Cravens (2008-02-28). EVO announcement coming Friday. The Game II. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  2. ^ MLG Player of the Week
  3. ^ Alphazealot (2007-11-22). Smash Pro Profiles from 2006. Major League Gaming. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  4. ^ Smash Hall of Fame
  5. ^ CAMILLE DODERO (2006-11-21). The next action sport. The Phoenix. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  6. ^ a b Sean Campbell (2006-05-29). Are They Worth Fighting For?. GotFrag DPAD. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  7. ^ Pro video gaming comes to cable TV
  8. ^ a b Alphazealot (2006-01-04). The King of Smash: MLG Interviews Ken. Major League Gaming. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  9. ^ Evolution of the Smash Game. Unpublished (2005-11-16). Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  10. ^ KishPrime (2005-05). MELEE-FC: Where it all began. MELEE-FC. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  11. ^ MattDeezie (2003-01-19). TG Results and Aftermath. Unpublished. Retrieved on 2006-11-05.
  12. ^ Alphazealot (2006-07-31). MLG Chicago Smash Wrap-Up. Major League Gaming. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  13. ^ Alphazealot (2007-09-05). MLG Interview with Ken. Major League Gaming. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  14. ^ “The World's Most Dangerous Gamers”, Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 208): 52-53, October 2006, <http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3157187> 

[edit] External links