The top South Korean cyber-game player of Age of Empires II -- the Conqueror (AOC), Kang Byung-geon, yesterday avenged his defeat at the hands of Taiwan's Tseng Jeng-cheng (曾政承) in last December's World Cyber Games (WCG) final in Seoul.
Tseng, nicknamed "Kitty Boy" (貓弟), was defeated in 37 minutes yesterday. He had crushed Kang in 28 minutes in Seoul to win the title.
Although Kang lost, he is still ranked as the world's No.1 player of AOC.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"I am angry at myself," he said in a depressed tone. "I knew I would lose today, because I haven't practiced for a long time. Even when I practiced, I did not really take it seriously."
Asked whether he is as determined as ever to participate in this year's WCG, Teng's simply said: "It depends."
Tseng did not deny media reports that suggested he had lost interest in cyber-gaming because of the heavy pressure after his earlier successes in the game, due to his fans' great expectation for victory at the next WCG.
He said he would not completely give up playing cyber-games, but would make his decision whether to participate in the next WCG only after some psychological adjustment.
In response to Tseng's remarks, Kang said: "That is nonsense."
Kang said if Tseng gave up before the next WCG, he would disappoint his fans.
Asked whether he would like to encounter Tseng in the coming WCG, Kang said: "Not particularly."
Tseng and Kang's showdown yesterday was viewed as the highlight of a two-day international exhibition organized by Internet service provider Hinet (
The two players' game drew an estimated 300 Taiwanese spectators, which surprised Louis Cheng (
"I had no idea the [Tseng-Kang] showdown would attract so many spectators," said Cheng.
Many WCG medalists from several countries were invited to take part in the weekend's exhibition matches, including Guillaume Party from Canada, Grospellier Bertrand from France and Lena Lee from South Korea.
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