Savior (gamer)

In this Korean name, the family name is Ma.
sAviOr
Personal information
Name마재윤
(Ma Jae-yoon)
Nickname(s)The Maestro
NationalityRepublic of Korea
Career information
GamesStarCraft: Brood War
Playing careerUntil 2010
RoleZerg
Team history
2006Greatest Ones
2006–2010CJ Entus
Korean name
Hangul
마재윤
Hanja
馬在允
Revised RomanizationMa Jae-yun
McCune–ReischauerMa Chae-yun

Ma Jae-yoon (Korean: 마재윤; Hanja: 馬在允), known by the pseudonym sAviOr (previously IPXZerg), and dubbed "The Maestro", is a former professional South Korean e-sports gamer of the real-time strategy game StarCraft. He played the Zerg race and was one of the most successful and popular players of all time.[1][2] Savior was one of several players implicated in the 2010 match fixing scandal, and as a result he was banned from KeSPA-run competition for life. After retiring as a pro-gamer, sAviOr began streaming on AfreecaTV, but AfreecaTV made the decision to ban several players implicated in match-fixing offenses from the platform, including sAviOr.[3] Ma Jae-yoon was a member of CJ Entus, a professional StarCraft: Brood War e-sports team sponsored by CJ CGV, an entertainment subsidiary of the CJ Corporation.[4][5]

Career

Ma Jae-yoon after winning the 2006 Shinhan Bank Starleague

Ma Jae-yoon has been rated first in the Korean e-Sports Player's Association (KeSPA) ratings nine times.[6][7] sAviOr is widely considered to have been the most dominant professional Brood War player of 2006.[8][9] He has won three MSLs (MBCGame Starleague) and one OSL (Ongamenet Starleague). However, these records no longer stand as they were expunged with his ban from competition.[10][11][12]

Decline

During the 2007–2008 seasons Ma Jae-yoon lost several important matches. He especially faltered in the latest season of matches, where he was eliminated in the first round of both the MSL and the OSL with a total record of 0–5. One theory of his decline in performance during this time is that he was devastated and never recovered from his 0–3 loss to Kim Taek-Yong (Bisu) in the GOM TV Season 1 MSL finals on 3 March 2007;[13] and then later, in November 2007, he lost to Bisu again in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Ever OSL 1–2.[14][15]

Ma Jae-yoon was ranked 5th in the March 2008 KeSPA ranking with 1,540.5 points, he was behind Lee Jae-Dong (Jaedong) (2,400.3), Kim Taek-Yong (Bisu) (2,302.6), Song Byung-Goo (Stork) (2,219.6), and Lee Young-Ho (Flash) (1,747.5).[16][17][18]

His career hit a new low when he failed to make it past the first round in the 2008 EVER OSL. He lost to the newcomer Spear, and then to his old rival, Lee Yun Yeol (NaDa). He was demoted to the CJ Entus B-team, but his improved performance following the demotion allowed him to return to CJ Entus Team A on 21 July 2008.[19]

Ma Jae-yoon went 8–1 and won the Blizzcon 2008 tournament by defeating Nada 2–0 in the finals. Afterwards, in an interview, he stated that he "will destroyed [sic] everyone in 2009".[20]

In September 2009, Ma Jae-yoon gave an interview that said he had finally gotten over his mental state, and is quoted to be saying "Look forward to my StarLeague win". He has since been shown in the proleague each matchup.[21]

Match fixing scandal

On 13 April 2010, Ma was implicated in a cheating scandal involving several Korean pro gamers, illegal betting websites, and allegations of games being deliberately lost. By May, it was alleged that the "Maestro" had been a ring-leader in a scheme that saw at least 12 StarCraft matches deliberately lost and eleven pro-gamers (current and former) implicated. He was subsequently banned for life from professional competition[22] and it has been reported that all awards and honorary achievements have been revoked.[23]

In December 2013, sAviOr competed in the Asia Brood War Championship Open in Shanghai, winning the team contest with Team Korea.[24] KeSPA expressed disappointment that Ma was allowed to compete at a Brood War tournament despite being banned for life by the organization.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Bellos, Alex (29 June 2007). "Rise of the e-sports superstars". Click. BBC. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.(BBC Click article claiming "...Ma Jae-yoon is the number one computer games player in the country...")
  2. ^ DW Staff (act) (28 June 2007). "South Korea's Online Gaming Craze". Deutsche Welle. DW-World.de. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2012.(Deutsche Welle article that says "Ma Jae-Yoon is South Korea's current StarCraft champion.")
  3. ^ kwon, oh young (22 October 2015). "Ma jae yoon can not personal broadcast anymore". Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Team Liquid Progaming Database – Team Information – CJ Entus". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  5. ^ "CJ Entus" (in Korean). CJ Entus. Archived from the original on 4 July 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Team Liquid Progaming Database – KeSPA Ranking". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  7. ^ "KeSPA e-Sports" (in Korean). Korea e-Sports Association. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  8. ^ Live2Win (8 March 2007). "e-Sports Awards 2006". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Orome (22 January 2007). "Teamliquid Awards 2006". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  10. ^ "Team Liquid Progaming Database – Player Information – sAviOr". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
  11. ^ "MBCGame" (in Korean). MBCGame. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  12. ^ "Ongamenet" (in Korean). Ongamenet. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  13. ^ Manifesto7 (5 March 2007). "sAviOr vs Bisu – MSL Finals". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ semioldguy (24 November 2007). "Battle Report, EVER OSL 2007 Quarterfinals Week 1". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  15. ^ .dragoon (30 November 2007). "EVER OSL 2007 Ro8 Conclusion". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  16. ^ "Team Liquid Progaming Database – KeSPA Ranking – March 2008". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008.
  17. ^ goodjobman (3 March 2008). "March KeSPA Ranking". TeamLiquid.net. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  18. ^ "KeSPA e-Sports March 2008 ranking" (in Korean). Korea e-Sports Association. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  19. ^ "NEWS Savior Returns to Team A". teamliquid.net. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  20. ^ Savior blizzcon2008 interview Archived 21 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine. YouTube. Retrieved on 2011-05-04.
  21. ^ [1] Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Players Involved in Korean Starcraft Match-Fixing Scandal Banned From the League". softpedia.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  23. ^ 포모스::포모스 Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Fomos.kr. Retrieved on 2011-05-04.
  24. ^ Jung, Min-ho (2 December 2015). "Ex-con Korean gamer recycled in China". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.