Lee “Life” Seung-Hyun was on his way to becoming one of the greats in the strategy game StarCraft II. However, in 2016, a major scandal shook the Qur’anic e-sports scene and ended the promising player’s career.
Which player is it about? Lee Seung-Hyun, better known by his gamertag “Life”, started his esports career in 2011 in the strategy game StarCraft II when he was just 14 years old. At 17 he became world champion, 2 years later his career was over.
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The beginning of an impressive career
This is how it all started: In 2011, Life became the youngest South Korean professional player to join Team Zenex, where he proved to be a promising talent. He even managed a so-called all-kill against Liquid’s 5-man team: he defeated all team members in a row.
Life took off in 2012 after the more casual Team Zenex was absorbed by StarTale, a “real team”. The young professional celebrated his first major successes: In the fourth GSL season in October 2012, he won the tournament and received prize money of US$ 45,000.
A month and a half later, Life defeated his teammate PartinG in the final of the GSL Blizzard Cup and received another $63,000 in one fell swoop – a lot of money for the then 15-year-old.
17-year-old wins the world championship
How did Life’s career go from there? In 2013 came the expansion “Hearth of the Swarm” and with it many changes in StarCraft II. This led to problems for Life, who could only slowly get used to the innovations.
It wasn’t until mid-2014 that the player regained his old form and won the Dreamhack in Bucharest.
What was his greatest achievement? The highlight of his career was BlizzCon 2014, where the World Championship in StarCraft was held. Life defeated Mun “MMA” Seong Won to become the world’s top StarCraft player by the age of 17.
Even after winning BlizzCon, things were going great for Life. By the middle of 2015 he had continued success and collected enough championship points to qualify again for the world championship. However, at Blizzcon 2015, he lost 4-3 in the final to Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin.
The bitter end
what went wrong By the age of 19, Life was considered one of the greatest StarCraft players ever, having amassed almost half a million dollars in prize money. But the young professional had developed a gambling problem. He is rumored to have lost as much as $20,000 in a single night.
When Life then switched to KT Rolster in February 2015, the support from his former manager Yun Hee-Won probably also fell away. The said he knew about the player’s problems and tried to hold him back. The 19-year-old apparently slipped further and further.
How did his career end? In 2015, a major cheating scandal rocked Korean esports. As it turned out, an entire gambling network had formed that worked by manipulating games and the associated bets.
Several players and officials were arrested. The colleagues from GameStar reported on the case at the time.
In January 2016, Life was also arrested by the Korean authorities on suspicion of having lost 2 games in the 2015 KeSPA Cup. Life is said to have received around 70,000 Korean won, around 60,000 euros at the time (via GameStar).
That was more than six times what he could have received for first place in the KeSPA Cup. Knowing about his gambling addiction, it’s not hard to imagine why Life took the bribes.
Life will be banned for life
How did the story end? In April 2016, Life was finally found guilty. Not only did he have to pay back all the money he received for match fixing, but he was also banned for life from all Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) events.
In addition, the 19-year-old is to be sentenced to 18 months in prison, which he would only have had to serve if he had committed another crime in the following 3 years. The 2014 world title was stripped from him (via Twitter).
What became of Life after that? It is not known what happened to the former star player after his conviction. He no longer appeared in public. Despite his offenses, many fans remember him as one of the best StarCraft players ever.
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