Hong Jin-ho

Hong Jin-ho is a broadcaster, professional poker player and former StarCraft professional born on October 31, 1982. As a gamer, he used YellOw and became known as Storm Zerg. He later expanded into strategy competitions and role-playing mysteries, while winning international poker tournaments. His esports biography and poker interviews document that progression across different competitive fields. ^{[1] [10]}

This profile includes results from past shows. See The Devil’s Plan: Dead Again for the release schedule and official viewing information for his 2026 appearance. ^[19]

Hong played Zerg in StarCraft. Game Chosun’s retrospective records his arrival at Game-i in November 1999, runner-up finishes at the 2001 Coca-Cola OnGameNet Starleague and 2002 WCG Grand Final, and further runner-up finishes at the 2003 Olympus Starleague and TG Sambo MSL. He also played for KTF MagicNs and Air Force ACE. ^[1]

His matches against Lim Yo-hwan became known as Imjinrok, a name combining their surnames. Retirement coverage described the rivalry as a major attraction in esports. Those individual-league finals and the rivalry helped establish the runner-up image associated with Hong. ^[2]

Describing his entire career as having no tournament wins would be inaccurate. His biography also lists wins at the iTV Rookie tournament, KPGA Winners Championship, Snickers All-Star League and BlizzCon. His record in particular major individual leagues should be distinguished from his overall tournament career. ^[1]

Hong announced his intention to retire as a professional gamer through his fan community in June 2011. Contemporary reporting described his decision to end roughly a decade of competition and pursue new challenges. Game Chosun’s retrospective separately records his June 25 farewell event and a subsequent StarCraft II project announcement. The retirement announcement and farewell event took place at different times. ^{[2] [1]}

In a 2013 interview, he discussed broadcasting as a new experience while reflecting on the competitive emotions and frustration of finishing second that he carried from esports. His later television career involved both understanding game rules and building relationships with other players. ^[4]

Hong defeated Kim Kyung-ran in the finale of tvN’s The Genius: Rules of the Game, broadcast on July 12, 2013. Coverage reported a prize of KRW 79 million and highlighted the significance of winning after years of being associated with runner-up finishes. The show introduced him to audiences unfamiliar with his StarCraft career. ^[3]

In a subsequent interview, he identified choosing Kim Gu-ra as his death-match opponent as an important turning point. His personal fondness for Kim conflicted with the decision he felt he needed to make to survive. He also discussed working to build a relationship with Kim Poong, describing the alliance decisions alongside his individual gameplay. ^[4]

Season one’s Open Pass involved constructing a high-scoring expression from number and operator cards. In a production interview, the team explained that rotating the card backs by 180 degrees made their patterns distinguishable. Hong recognized that difference and used it to win despite being outnumbered by other players. ^[5]

The producers said this feature had been designed into the cards. The moment illustrates finding information within the supplied game materials. In his own interview, Hong recalled that deciding to challenge Kim Gu-ra had been difficult in a different way. The season can be viewed through both its game solutions and its relationship decisions. ^{[5] [4]}

In The Genius: Rule Breaker, Hong was eliminated after playing Indian Hold’em against Eun Ji-won in episode seven, broadcast on January 18, 2014. Returning as the first-season champion did not produce the same outcome. ^[6]

He also competed in The Genius: Grand Final in 2015. In round ten, broadcast on August 29, he lost Double-Sided Poker to Kim Kyung-hoon. Kim, Oh Hyun-min and Jang Dong-min advanced to the semifinals. Distinguishing his first title from his subsequent results shows the course of his repeated challenges. ^[7]

Hong appeared in the first two seasons of JTBC’s Crime Scene as an original cast member. In season two, he joined Park Ji-yoon, Jang Jin, Jang Dong-min and Hani. JTBC described a role-playing mystery in which the participants portray suspects while one concealed culprit tries to avoid detection. Investigating statements and evidence became another important part of his television work. ^[8]

He did not join Crime Scene 3 as a regular member from the start. On June 9, 2017, the production team announced that he would appear from the June 16 broadcast through the finale. His return differed from his participation in the first two seasons. ^[9]

His poker results can be found under Jinho Hong. He won the $3,500 No-Limit Hold’em Championship at the 2022 Wynn Summer Classic. The tournament drew 1,428 entries, and he defeated Andrew Moreno heads-up to earn $696,011. ^[10]

In his on-site interview, he said the multitasking required of a professional gamer had helped his poker. He connected his experience processing multiple streams of information in computer strategy games with decision-making at the poker table. ^[10]

In July 2022, he won WSOP Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty. He defeated Punnat Punsri heads-up to collect his first WSOP bracelet and $276,067. The following year’s official WSOP structure sheet names Jinho Hong as the previous champion. ^{[12] [11]}

This was a title in one event within the multi-event WSOP series. Including the event number and name distinguishes it from the Main Event world championship. ^[12]

In 2023, he finished fourth among 735 participants in the WSOP $5,000 Freezeout No-Limit Hold’em, earning $208,158. This continued his international tournament results after the 2022 victories. ^[13]

Period	Tournament	Result	Prize for that event
June 2022	Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship	Winner	$696,011 [10]
July 2022	WSOP Event #76 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty	Winner; first bracelet	$276,067 [11]
June 2023	WSOP $5,000 Freezeout NLH	Fourth	$208,158 [13]

Tournament prizes represent payouts for the listed events. They are not net profit after entry fees and expenses or a measure of personal wealth. This selection is not a complete statement of current lifetime winnings.

TVING’s The Time Hotel used time as currency, with contestants checking out when their balance ran out. Hong attended the launch press conference on April 12, 2023, the actual premiere date, when episodes one through four were released. His fellow contestants included John Park and Hwang Je-sung. ^[14]

The finale released on May 17 continued the final games between John Park, Hong and Hwang. Blind Formula required memorizing the positions of numbers and arithmetic operators to construct high-scoring expressions. The show combined calculation with memory, learning how to use unfamiliar tools and managing limited resources. ^[15]

Hong competed as a member of the wilderness team in Game of Blood 2. A June 2023 exit interview reported that he reached the final five and ended his run in the semifinal. He described it as an especially demanding experience among the survival shows he had entered. Living conditions and team relationships accompanied the game challenges. ^[16]

He returned for Game of Blood 3. The October 2024 cast announcement named him alongside Jang Dong-min and Kim Kyung-ran. Hong, Xitsuh and Yurisa returned from season two to join contestants with experience in other survival shows. ^[17]

In 2026, he continued with Game of Blood X. At the July 1 press conference, he identified his team’s combination of members as a strength. The show brought contestants from different seasons together in teams, carrying their individual experience into team competition. ^[18]

Hong joined the 16 players in Netflix’s The Devil’s Plan: Dead Again, released on November 10, 2026. The series comes from The Genius producer Jeong Jong-yeon. Fellow contestants include Jang Dong-min, Oh Hyun-min, Ha Seok-jin and Jeong Hyeon-gyu. Netflix introduced Hong as a professional poker player. ^[19]

His earlier appearances offer viewing perspectives: noticing features in the rules or equipment, choosing allies, and deciding when to accept betting risk. These are editorial observations based on his career, rather than predictions of his result. Under this season’s rules, losing every piece does not automatically eliminate a player, so the pieces should not be interpreted exactly like a poker chip balance. ^[20]

Period	Activity and turning points
1999–2011	StarCraft career after joining Game-i; KTF and Air Force ACE; retirement [1]
2013	Wins The Genius: Rules of the Game [3]
2014–2015	Returns for Rule Breaker and Grand Final [6] [7]
2014–2017	Crime Scene seasons one and two; joins season three during its run [8] [9]
2022	Wynn Summer Classic and WSOP event victories [10] [11]
2023	The Time Hotel, Game of Blood 2 and a WSOP finish [15] [16] [13]
2024	Announced for Game of Blood 3 [17]
2026	Game of Blood X and The Devil’s Plan: Dead Again [18] [19]