# Zeus (gamer)

Choi Woo-je (Korean: 최우제; born January 31, 2004), better known as Zeus, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player currently playing for Hanwha Life Esports. Throughout his career, he has won one League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) title, two League of Legends World Championship titles and one First Stand title. He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2022 Asian Games, earning a gold medal.
Zeus began his career in 2019 as a member of T1 Academy, the developmental team of T1. He was promoted to the main roster for the 2021 LCK season. While he received some playing time in the 2021 Spring Split, Zeus did not become the main starter for the team until 2022. Since then, Zeus reached LCK Finals five times, winning once in the 2022 Spring Split. He reached the finals of the World Championship in his first year as a starter, and the following two years, he won the 2023 and 2024 World Championships. In 2024, Zeus left T1 to join Hanwha Life.
Zeus's individual accomplishments include accolades such as a World Championship Finals MVP award, two LCK Top Laner of the Year awards, and three LCK First All-Pro Team designations. Zeus is regarded as one of the greatest top laners in the history of the game.

## Professional career

In 2019, Zeus was signed to T1 Academy, the developmental team of T1. On November 26, 2020, T1 promoted Zeus to its main roster, replacing Kim "Roach" Kang-hee, who was sent to the academy team. After turning 17 on January 31, 2021, he made his LCK debut on February 3 in a win over Nongshim RedForce in the 2021 LCK Spring Split regular season, replacing Kim "Canna" Chang-dong in the starting lineup. He split time with Canna throughout the split, competing for the starting position. In the regular season, Zeus played a total of 19 games, totaling 12 wins and seven losses with a KDA average of 3.11, with his final match being in March against KT Rolster. Zeus lost the starting position to Canna, and did not play throughout the rest of the year.
Heading into the 2022 LCK Spring Split regular season, Canna transferred to Nongshim RedForce, and Zeus became the team's starting top laner. T1 went undefeated with an 18–0 record, marking the first time in LCK history that a team had gone undefeated. Zeus recorded 36 wins and seven losses. He had the most kills and the highest KDA average of 3.64 throughout the regular season among all top laners in the LCK and secured a spot on the 2022 LCK Spring First All-Pro team. In the playoffs, T1 advanced to the 2022 LCK Spring Finals, where they faced Gen.G on April 2. Throughout the match, Zeus pressured Choi "Doran" Hyun-jun in the laning phase. In particular, in game four, Zeus neutralized Doran by using his Flash and Lightning Rush abilities in response to a gank with Oner to take the lead. With Doran falling early in the game, Gen.G's composition lost strength from the early stages, and T1 went on to win the game. With a final score of 3–1, T1 won the final, marking Zeus's first LCK championship. With the Spring Split title, Zeus participated in his inaugural Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) as T1 qualified for the 2022 MSI as the LCK representative. Zeus had the second-most damage among all top laners in the MSI. Although the team reached the finals, they lost Royal Never Give Up, securing a second-place finish. On June 14, T1 announced that Zeus had signed a one-year extension with the team. In the 2022 LCK Summer Split regular season, Zeus was named to the LCK First All-Pro Team. In the playoffs, T1 lost to Gen.G in the finals, finishing the split in second place.
T1 entered the 2022 World Championship as the LCK's second seed. In the group stage, T1 and Edward Gaming were both in the running to take the top seed in their group. T1 took the leading position in the group after defeating Edward Gaming on October 14, with Zeus being named the MVP of the game, and finished the group stage with a 5–1 record to advance to the knockout quarterfinals. Zeus reached the Worlds finals for the first time in his career after T1 defeated JD Gaming in the semifinals. However, T1 lost to DRX in the finals by a score of 2–3. At the 2022 LCK Awards ceremony, Zeus was named the LCK Top Laner of the Year.
In the 2023 LCK Spring Split, T1 finished the regular season in first place with a 17–1 record, and alongside the entire starting T1 roster, Zeus was named to the 2023 LCK Spring First All-Pro Team. Despite their regular season performance, T1 reached the Spring Split playoff finals but once again fell short against Gen.G, finishing in second place. With the second-place finish, T1 qualified for the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational. At MSI, T1 reached the upper bracket finals but faced defeat against JD Gaming, sending them to the lower bracket finals, where they lost to Bilibili Gaming by a score of 1–3. In July 2023, during the 2023 LCK Summer Split, T1 encountered challenges as mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok was sidelined due to a wrist injury. Zeus's, as well as the entire team's, performance dipped during this period. Upon Faker's return, T1 won their final two matches, concluding the regular season in fifth place with a 9–9 record. On August 20, 2023, Zeus made his fifth LCK finals appearance, but T1 faced another defeat against Gen.G in the finals.
T1 entered the 2023 World Championship as the LCK's second seed. Zeus reached his second consecutive appearance in the Worlds finals after T1 secured a victory over JD Gaming in the semifinals. In the finals against Weibo Gaming, the first game saw both teams evenly matched until the 18-minute mark, when Keria executed a move called Hostile Takeover. The play allowed Zeus and Faker to secure kills that enabling T1 to establish a significant lead and ultimately secure the victory in the game. T1 carried this momentum to win the following two games as well, resulting in a 3–0 victory and giving Zeus his first World Championship title. Zeus was also named the MVP of the Finals. On November 23, 2023, T1 announced that Zeus had re-signed with the team. At the 2023 LCK Awards ceremony, Zeus received his second consecutive Top Laner of the Year award.
On November 19, 2024, Zeus parted ways with T1. The next day, he was announced as the newest member of Hanwha Life Esports.

## National team career

Zeus represented South Korea in the 2022 Asian Games one of the six members in the League of Legends division of the South Korea national esports team. Zeus clinched a gold medal as South Korea emerged victorious against Saudi Arabia, China, and Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, respectively. With the gold medal, Zeus received an exemption from mandatory military service.

## Seasons overview

| Year | Team | Domestic | Domestic | Domestic | International | International | International |
| Year | Team | League | Split | Split | First Stand | Mid-Season Invitational | World Championship |
| Year | Team | League | Spring | Summer | First Stand | Mid-Season Invitational | World Championship |
| 2021 | T1 | LCK | 4th | 2nd | — | Did not qualify | — |
| 2022 | T1 | LCK | 1st | 2nd | — | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2023 | T1 | LCK | 2nd | 2nd | — | 3rd | 1st |
| 2024 | T1 | LCK | 2nd | 3rd | — | 3rd | 1st |
| 2025 | Hanwha Life Esports | LCK | | | 1st | | |

## Awards and honors
### International

* Two-time Worlds champion – 2023, 2024
** One-time Worlds Finals MVP – 2023
* One-time First Stand champion – 2025
* One-time Esports World Cup champion – 2024

### LCK

* One-time LCK champion – Spring 2022
* One-time LCK Cup champion – 2025
** One-time LCK Cup Finals MVP – 2025
* Three-time Top-laner of the Year – 2022, 2023, 2024
* Three-time LCK All-Pro 1st Team – Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Spring 2023
* One-time LCK All-Pro 2nd Team – Spring 2024
* One-time LCK All-Pro 3rd Team – Summer 2023

### South Korea Esports

* Asian Games gold medal winner – 2022

## Personal life

Zeus was born on January 31, 2004. In his youth, he and his family watched esports matches such as KartRider and League of Legends on the Korean esports channel OGN. He and his brother began playing League of Legends not because they enjoyed the game, but because they wanted to understand what was happening in professional matches. In 2018, his interest in League of Legends esport grew more, becoming a fan of SK Telecom T1. That same year, he reached the number one rank of the Korean solo queue ladder.