TheStC - 최연식
FXOpen Invitational Series #1
We took the time to talk to the defending champion TheStC from team oGs a bit about his performance in both of the tournaments and what it's like being a Korea playing in a foreign event.
deL: What were your first thoughts about getting invited to the FXOpen Invitational?
TheStC: Because this is the first tournament abroad, I was very excited to join this competition.
deL: Do you enter tournaments like this on the Korean server?
TheStC: I wish there are lots of this types of tournaments, but ever since GSL has come into effect, there is no other SC2 competitions other than GSL. However, I join every tournament available in Korea even though there are not a lot of them.
deL: How does this tournament differ or compare to Korean tournaments?
TheStC: It seems a bit different from SC2 tournaments in Korea. For example, you guys have double eliminations in the tournament. Also, the double eliminations prevent technical and skillful SC2 players to drop out of the tournament into preliminaries. In addition, in the losers' round, a person has time to control his or her mind before playing SC2. I love how this competition is being held with the double eliminations.
deL: What do you like most about the FXOpen tournament?
TheStC: As I mentioned earlier, I love double eliminations the most.
deL: Korean players don't get a chance to represent their country very
often - how do you feel representing Korea in a foreign tournament?
TheStC: Even though I am not they only Korean player, I tried to do my best to show that Korean players are not bad and I was really worried about representing Korea.
deL: What is the play level of the foreign players in the FXOpen tournament?
TheStC: To be honest, Korean players are a little bit better than foreign players for now. However, what I have noticed is that Korean players have similar styles of playing SC2 and that foreign players have different styles and techniques in their playing.
deL: Are there different playstyles from foreign players compared to other oGs or Korean players that stand out to you?
TheStC: All foreign SC2 players have different styles from OGS players, but I personally think the player "Select" is very hard to deal with and has his own freaking awesome styles!
deL: Do you know or recognise any of the non-Korean players in the FXOpen invitational?
TheStC: I have known players such as "Moonglade" who joined the last season and I personally know "Sen" and also know "Select" who was famous for War Hammer gamer.
deL: You won the last FXOpen tournament. Do you think you can win now this time? Who will be your toughest opponent?
TheStC: I am very confident in every game, but because of the latency problems, I cannot show the full skills of my SC2. Also, "Select" and "oGsHerO" are very hard to play against.
deL: The oGs coach was watching the stream. What did your oGs coach say
about the games and tournament?
TheStC: The coach, through this tournament, has caught my mistakes and helped me, and he was especially surprised at the higher level of SC2 players.
deL: Do your teammates support you and oGsHerO in this event?
TheStC: Of course! I practiced with all my team mates and TeamLiquid players helped me by telling me how foreign players play SC2. It was a lot easier to prepare once I heard important tips for dealing with foreign players.
We thank TheStC for his time taken out from practice to answer these questions!
See the full brackets here.