fOu closes down

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Having been a breeding ground for talent in the Brood War days, fOu took the leap from clan to a fully administered team with the release of Starcraft 2. Their period as fOu in the new game was cornered with breakout performances from players like their coach Lee 'Choya' Hyung Seop, Kim 'sC' Seung Chul and of course, the Code A king Lee 'Leenock' Dong Nyoung. The team was in financial straights, however, and were in dire need of a sponsorship to continue their operations. After reaching out to Joshua 'FXOBoSs' Dentrinos, who was with the first FXO team in Korea that featured Kevin 'qxc' Riley, Andrew 'sLoG' An and Shawn 'Sheth' Simon among others, fOu was no more and FXO.KR was formed.

This team went on to produce some of the most impressive results out of any SC2 organisation in Korea. Leenock was the most well-known name out of any individual player on the roster, as he constantly claimed some of the largest tournaments outside of Korea, which included: MLG Providence, MLG 2012 Summer Championship, Dreamhack Open: Stockholm, along with two impressive 2nd place finishes in a GSL final as well as the MLG 2012 Fall Championship.

But he was only one of the many faces of success FXO fielded; Koh 'GuMiho' Byung Jae was the most integral part of the team's incredible team victories in the 2012 season of the GSTL where they won two championships in a row. Both the Bo9 finals were won in great part due to GuMiho's seeming expertise as a king of the hill-styled player. These results, along with the financial backing of FXO made their presence in the non-Korean community extremely predominant. Players were sent to as many events as Team Liquid's or even EG's players were, and names like Leenock barely ever dissapointed.

In early 2013, following their most successful year ever as an organisation, FXO opened a new division within the team and recruited the organisation's first, and only, Korean Dota 2 team. Being given the possibility to practice in the already established FXO teamhouse, their Dota 2 division reached extreme acclaim and wrapped a noose around the first initial Korean Dota 2 competitions, even going undefeated for a period of six months in their domestic scene. During the period of this success in Dota 2, FXO announced that they would no longer finance the operation in Korea and fOu was reborn.

Unfortunately, their rebirth was not long for this world. And on Christmas Eve, 2013, the clan that had brought about players like Kim 'EffOrt' Jung Woo, who had become the team that had won two GSTLs in a row and dominated every NEXON event for six months, was no more. Their reputation was far away from what it had once been in recent times, and with the dissolution it is unknown where their stars will wander, another wave of retirements may be on the Starcraft 2 community's hands soon. However we choose to look at it though, fOu's run as a BW clan and as a team under the FXO-banner is one of many trophies and triumphs, a fitting epitaph for a team of their stature.

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