In my 7 years of following Korean Esports, something that always amazed is the Korean scene’s ability to produce a seemingly endless amount of truly great players. Some players make fantastic debuts, others start off slow but become world class with time and a few improve dramatically after they’ve been written off entirely.

However, as with every area in life, some prospects don’t even come close to realising their potential and making good on their talent. This article explores the careers of 5 failed talents and the different reasons as to why they never made it.

1. Kim "Rock" Hui-chan

Kim “Rock” Hui-chan originally debuted as a midlaner for Alienware Arena, really more of a streaming project than a competitive gaming team. On May 22nd 2014, Jin Air Green Wings announced a complete overhaul of their “Falcons” roster excluding Lee "GBM" Chang-seok. Recruited alongside Na “Pilot” Woo-Hyung, Rock was signed as the toplaner.

The new -look Falcons were drawn into their Spring 2014 group with fellow overhauled roster NaJin Black Sword, returning finalists NaJin White Shield and the fan favourite KT Rolster Bullets. Surprising everyone with a 1/1 split with Shield, Rock’s toplane AP Gragas quickly became a power pick across the world. Falcons also managed to split 1/1 with Bullets, but their 0/2 loss to Sword saw them eliminated from the group stages. In NLB; Falcons defeated Mook Secret (an amateur team) and got their revenge on Bullets before losing 0/2 to their sister team, Jin Air Green Wings Stealths. Shortly after the tournament, Rock announced his retirement from professional gaming in order to pursue his dream of being a police officer.

Rock’s performance in Summer 2014 was far from perfect, but consider just how bad Baek “Save” Young-Jin, Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho and Lee “Flame” Ho-jong were in their debut matches and you have to wonder what could have been. Not only did he successfully innovate a toplane pick that became a first pick or ban priority very quickly, but he also demonstrated his prowess on a range of champions.

Victory over Shield:  Link

Victory over Bullets: Link

2. Yang "OldB" Seung-bin

Yang “OldB” Seung-bin’s first professional debut came with Prime Optimus when they upset Lee "KaKAO" Byung-kwon’s KT Rolster Arrows and qualified for Spring 2014. Alongside Noh “Ninja” Geon-woo and Lee “Fury” Jin-yong, OldB’s managed to sneak a win off the highly touted Arrows.

Drawn into a nightmare group with Arrows, SK Telecom T1 K (coming off an 18/0 perfect season) and SK Telecom T1 S, many wrote off Optimus. Bouncing back from a 0/2 defeat to Arrows, OldB’s first game against K saw him secure many kills through intelligent jungle pathing and ganks. Serving as early exposure to many of Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong’s 2014 issues, it was only due to Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s commanding Ryze that K were able to win. K managed to refocus in game 2 and Optimus fell 0/2.

Making LCK history, OldB put on a clinic against S and led his team to a one sided 2/0 victory. What made OldB promising wasn’t his respectable mechanics but his mind for the game and strong decision making, the opposite of your average rookie.

One of the first Korean players to go abroad, OldB replaced Yeon "Actscene" Hyeong-mo and joined Ninja on the LPL’s Team WE. Pawned off to Team WE Future to make way for Lee "Spirit" Da-yoo, OldB quickly faded into obscurity in the LSPL as many promising Korean players before him.

Loss to K:  Link

Victory over S: Link

Victory over S: Link

3. Yoon “Peng” Young-min

Was impossible to find a picture of this guy so here's Watch.

Sword came into Winter 2013-14 with high expectations due to a semi-finals finish at the 2013 World Championships. Group B was a perceived three way battle between Sword, Samsung Blue and Bullets with Incredible Miracle #2 bringing up the rear.

With Sword splitting even with an IM#2 roster that featured Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin and Lee "KurO" Seo-haeng in their first set, something had to change. Kim "Nagne" Sang-moon and Jang “Cain” Nu-ri were benched in favour of Yoon “Peng” Young-min and Kim “Ssong” Sang-soo.

Despite having a 25% winrate in competitive, Peng demonstrated laning and teamfighting far above the usual of a rookie midlaner playing Jayce, Orianna and Syndra. Going blow for blow against Heo "PawN" Won-seok and Yoo "Ryu" Sang-ook, both elite Korean midlaners, is something not many rookies manage.

Sadly, that was it for Peng’s career. Sword returned to their older roster for NLB Winter 13 - 14 and Peng never appeared on a team again, even as a substitute. According to rumours, Peng was planning to qualify for the EULCS on an all-Korean roster in the expansion tournament, but the region lock ruined that plan.

4. Baek "Riris" Seung-min

Problematic attitudes are met with a zero-tolerance policy in Korea, as Baek “Riris” Seung-min’s story will tell you. Riris started off playing ADC for Chunaam Techno University, a team set up to promote the university and its esports course. Qualifying for Summer 2013, Riris’s botlane pairing with Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan quickly became one of the most promising, exciting pairings in Korea.

Splitting 1/1 with CJ Entus Blaze and Sword, their 2/0 defeat of Stealths secured their place into the quarter-finals. Being easily dispatched by MVP Ozone, the reigning champs, was a sour note for the team to end on, but Riris and Wolf in particular had proved their worth. Riris got his big break when he was recruited to be the new ADC for Arrows alongside Kim "ssumday" Chan-ho and Ha "Hachani" Seung-chan.

Despite taking the first game off IM#2 in the qualifiers for Winter 2013-14, Arrows lost the series 2/1 and failed to qualify. Showcasing some impressive individual play, reports tell us that Riris lashed out at his team mates. Quickly benched in favour of No "Arrow" Dong-hyeon, at the time, a worse individual player. His reputation in tatters, Riris re-appeared on various LSPL teams as a toplaner where none of his talent has transferred over. Riris didn’t lack drive or talent, he just lacked the ability to work as part of a team.

5. Jung "Gunza" Gun-hee 

In many ways, Jung “Gunza” Gun-hee’s career is very typical. Playing for a few amatuer teams, he joined Samsung as a substitute for about 6 months. Gunza’s big break came when he was signed as Ham "Lustboy" Jang-sik’s replacement on Blaze in time for Summer 2014. Achieving a double MVP award in his opening series thanks to some impressive map play, it seemed as if Gunza was more than capable of filling Lustboy’s shoes.

This honeymoon didn’t last long, however, as Blaze lost 0/2 to Arrows and split 1/1 with Stealths. Because Stealths themselves had managed to split 1/1 with Arrows, Blaze were eliminated in the group stage for the first time in their history. In NLB Summer 2014, Blaze defeated Incredible Miracle #1 but then lost out to Sword in the quarter finals. Following the implementation of the one team rule, Gunza was unwilling to go back to being a substitute and decided to retire.

If you enjoyed this feature, follow @Gosickboy_ for more LCK content.

Images courtesy of dailyesports, OSEN, and Esportspedia.