Ken Hoang

Ken Hoang
At the Survivor finale showing, at CBS Studios, Los Angeles, California, December 14, 2008
Current team
TeamTeam Liquid
GamesSuper Smash Bros. Melee
Project M
Personal information
Nickname(s)
  • SephirothKen
  • LiquidKen
  • The King of Smash
Born (1985-10-10) October 10, 1985 (age 39)[1]
Career information
Playing career2003–present
Career highlights and awards
  • Ranked #1 (2004-2006)
  • Ranked #4th All-Time
  • 2x Tournament Go champion (2003)
  • 6x MLG champion (New York 2004, Washington D.C 2005, National Championships 2005, Dallas 2006, Anaheim 2006, Chicago 2006)
  • Zero Challenge 2 champion (2006)
  • EVO champion 2007

Ken Hoang (born October 10, 1985), also known as Kenny, SephirothKen, or Liquid`Ken, is an American professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player and television personality. Hoang was widely considered the most dominant Melee player in the world during the early years of the game's competitive scene in the early to mid-2000s. Hoang primarily plays Marth in Melee and is credited for pioneering several gameplay techniques integral to the game's competitive play, including the "dash dancing" movement technique and the "Ken Combo", an effective Marth combo for which he is the namesake.[2] Hoang's dominance in the game earned him the nickname "The King of Smash".[2]

Hoang was the 2004–2005 national champion of Major League Gaming, the 2007 international champion of Evolution Championship Series (EVO) World Finals,[3][4] and was the highest ranked Super Smash Bros. Melee player in the United States, having also defeated reputable players from around the globe, including top Japanese players.

Hoang possesses the highest major tournament win-to-loss ratio of any Super Smash Bros. Melee player from 2003 to 2007.[5] He received minor television coverage in MTV's True Life: I'm a Professional Gamer.[6] Hoang retired in 2007, however he returned to the Melee scene in 2012, competing sporadically since. In 2014 he and fellow Melee veteran Daniel "KoreanDJ" Jung joined Team Liquid as the team's first Smash Bros. players.[7] A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked Hoang as the fourth-greatest Melee player of all time.[8]

Hoang was a contestant on Survivor: Gabon, which aired in the fall of 2008. He finished in fifth-place and was the sixth member of the jury.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference survivor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference king of smash was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MLG2007Interview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Campbell, Sean (2006-05-29). "Are they worth fighting for?". Got Frag. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10.
  5. ^ CAMILLE DODERO (2006-11-21). "The next action sport". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  6. ^ "Pro video gaming comes to cable TV". NBC News. 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  7. ^ We're Team Liquid's Ken and KDJ, and we've been playing Super Smash Bros Melee competitively for the better half of a decade. Ask us anything! : Games
  8. ^ "The Melee Stats Top 100: The Top 10". PGstats. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.