Somyung Sim plays online at Full Tilt Poker.

South Korean poker pro Somyung Sim is a retired professional gamer who played for one of the world’s leading E-Sports teams before turning his attention to poker full time.

Somyung began his gaming career at aged 20, specialising in Starcraft; a science fiction strategy game. He took part in a major Starcraft league event and after beating Yohan Lim, one of the Pantech E-sports Team icons, was recruited onto the team. Somyung played with Pantech E-sports professionally for five years, winning over $250K in prize money. He retired from professional gaming in 2007.

That same year, Somyung was introduced to poker by friends who took him to a local poker room. Some of the players recognized him from his television appearances as a pro gamer and volunteered to teach him how to play poker. Somyung started out with just $20, grinding his way through the lowest levels. Within four months of dedicated play, he built his bankroll up to $10,000 and decided to play poker on a full-time basis.

Somyung’s gaming background taught him that dedication helps achieve success, so he devotes as many hours as possible to studying and practicing poker strategy. Somyung names Team Full Tilt’s Gus Hansen as a major influence, saying “I have watched him play on the WPT events on TV, and it really inspired me to play poker for a living. His bluffing and aggressive style is what I always strive to learn.”

In 2008, Somyung’s dedication paid off and he achieved his first big tournament finish. He made the final table of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour HK$25,000 Macau Main Event, finishing in 9th place for over $22K. Although no stranger to success, Somyung described reaching the final table as “perhaps one of the best experiences you will ever have in your life.”

The following year, Somyung replicated this achievement by final tabling the Asia Pacific Poker Tour P94,000 Cebu Main Event, finishing 3rd for more than $61K. In 2010, he narrowly missed out on another APPT Main Event final table when he finished in 10th place in that year’s Manila event for $9K.

Look for Somyung Sim playing online at Full Tilt Poker.