| NaDa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Lee Yun-yeol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality: | South Korean | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CEO of NaDa Digital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lee Yun-yeol (Korean: 이윤열), better known as NaDa, is a South Korean entrepreneur, video game designer and former professional gamer who competitively played and StarCraft II.[1] He is known for being one of the most accomplished Brood War players of all time with a total of six major title victories, including three KPGA tours in a row in 2002 and subsequently winning three OnGameNet StarLeagues over the following years, earning him the nickname, "Genius Terran".[2] He achieved the highest KeSPA score of any player before it was re-scaled, and holds the record for longest stay in KeSPA's top 30 at 87 months, beginning in March 2002 and ending in May 2009.[3] He has played for several top-ranking teams, including Pantech EX, Toona S.G., KT_MagicNs, Ideal Space and WeMade FOX. After his transition to StarCraft II in 2010, he joined the Korean team of Old Generations. In February 2012, he joined the American multi-gaming team, compLexity gaming.[4]
On 19 June 2012, compLexity Gaming announced that Lee would be retiring from professional gaming, ending a career spanning over a decade.[5]
Lee first became known when he participated in an ITV game special where amateur players were pitted against professional players. Lee was the amateur and beat the player Chrh.[6] Not long after, Lee made his debut as a pro gamer by winning three KPGA tours in three consecutive seasons all in a year's time. When the KPGA tour became the MBCGame StarCraft League, the KPGA tours were deemed equal to MSL wins, resulting in Lee being granted the golden badge, an award for winning three MSLs. Lee topped his KPGA Tour wins with a victory in the Panasonic OnGameNet Starleague. Afterwards Lee went into a slump; though he continued to be a strong player and came in second or first place in various leagues and tournaments, Lee did not win an MSL or OSL until the IOPS Ongamenet Starleague in 2004 or 2005. However, not long afterwards, Lee would enter the darkest period in his career. On 18 July 2005, FiFo reported that Lee's father had been killed in an automobile accident when an intoxicated driver performed an illegal U-turn and collided with his father's vehicle.[7]
When Lee eventually returned to pro-gaming he began his return to the top. In December 2007, Lee was once again the number one-ranked pro gamer in the KeSPA rankings. It had been a full two years and five months since he had stopped performing in July 2004. Lee's comeback culminated in his victory in the 2006 2nd ShinHan Bank OnGameNet StarLeague. In his winner's interview, Lee dedicated his victory to his father, saying "Yes, it is my first time winning the finals with my mother seated as the audience. But, for this very victory, I give it all to my father, though he didn't make it. From now on, I will do my best for my mother."[7] This victory not only marked a successful comeback performance, but also was Lee's third OSL win, him becoming the first player in history to earn the OSL's Golden Mouse trophy and was Lee's sixth major title win, making him the then most accomplished Brood War player in the game's history.
In 2007, Lee signed a three-year contract with WeMade FOX for approximately 690,000 USD.[8] After his contract with the organization expired in 2010, Lee announced his intentions to fully switch to StarCraft II. Only after his retirement from Brood War was he equaled by Lee "Flash" Young-Ho for the most achievements in StarCraft: Broodwar. He joined the Korean team and gamer house of Old Generations and quickly became one of the strongest names in the StarCraft II scene, competing in the GOMTV Global StarCraft II League Season 2. There he advanced to the round of 8 before being defeated by Lim "BoxeR" Yo-Hwan. The following season Lee made it to round of 8 again, but was defeated by Lee "MarineKingPrime.WE" Jung-Hoon, losing 3 to 0.[9] On 15 July 2011, SK Gaming announced a joint partnership with Old Generations, allowing for Lee and his teammate, Jang "MC" Min Chul, to be sponsored for international events on behalf of the organization.[10] The partnership between Old Generations and SK Gaming ended on 13 January 2012, with Lee remaining with the former, while Jang remained with the latter until his contract expired at the end of January. On 16 February, Lee signed with American gaming team compLexity Gaming, wanting to participate in more StarCraft II events outside of Korea before leaving gaming to fulfill his mandatory South Korean Military service.[11]
It was announced that on 20 November 2011, Lee would be fulfilling his dream of becoming a CEO by opening up his own e-store, the NaDa Mall, which sells pro-gaming equipment.[12] In 2017, Lee began his professional game development career at NGEL Games, where he helped develop Project RTD: Random Tower Defense, a stand-alone adaptation of the popular StarCraft mod Random Tower Defense. Following the release of Project RTD in 2020, Lee founded his own studio called NaDa Digital, which released its first title, Mafia 3D, shortly after.[13]
Lee was married on November 9, 2015, at the Legacy of the Void launch party held at COEX in Seoul. Fans were invited to purchase a Collector's Edition of the expansion pack and following the wedding ceremony showmatches were held to showcase the new expansion. The video was also live-streamed on Twitch and Afreeca.[14]