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Osaka27154 Posts
*Photo credit goes to Emlary's Photo Gallery
Again through the generosity of ujhoo, our resident insider in the Korean pro-gaming scene, teamliquid.net once again has been granted access to the best of the StarCraft world. This time the Sun God himself, Nal_rA, sat down with uhjoo and I for a chat about StarCraft and its current position in Korea.
Before I start, I have to once again express my gratitude to uhjoo for his time and work on this interview. Without him, none of this is possible. In addition, as I had exactly five minutes to prepare for this one, a thanks to FakeSteve is in order, as he helped me come up with some on the spot questions. Nal_rA was in the midst of practicing and it was very generous of him to spare some of his time to meet with us.
Manifesto7: Hi 
Nal_rA: Hi ^^;
Manifesto7: To get started, can I get you age and name please?
Nal_rA: My name is KANG Min (last name first), and I will turn 23 this year. [A note: this is in Korean age, which is one year ahead of the British calendar, so he will be 22 soon.]
Manifesto7: To start off, the biggest characteristic of your game that people comment on is your creativity. Does this come from playing protoss?
Nal_rA: There is some truth to that. With protoss, it is not as easy to see high tech units being used often in the game, so when I use those units as central to my strategies, I think this is part of the reason I get those compliments.
Manifesto7: On our site, teamliquid.net, you have been called the “Boxer of Protoss”. You just finished playing him in KT-KTF, can you give me your comments?
Nal_rA: Well, I don’t usually concern myself with the nicknames and opinions of the fans, because it is fully their right as fans to make them. As for the game against Boxer, I did not play with enough mental control and I would have won if I had played with less emotion and a calm demeanor. However, Boxer also played well which was part of it. But I am sure there will be more chances in the future to play against him, and when we meet again, I am positive I will win.
Manifesto7: When you look back, what do you consider you favorite TV game?
Nal_rA: I have been asked that question many times, and it is hard for me to answer because I remember all my games very well, even games from two years ago. However, if I had to pick, my recent game against Lee Byung-Min (GoodFriend) on Parallel Lines was very memorable.
Manifesto7: That was a great game
Nal_rA: Thanks ^^;
Manifesto7: When you lose a game, how do you analyze the loss?
Nal_rA: Well I don’t look for anything specific. Instead, I watch the replay for my opponent’s build and overall gameplay for what I did wrong and how I lost. Once I know what I did wrong, I watch the game again keeping my mistakes in mind.
Manifesto7: Now that you have had success in StarCraft, what parts of your life have changed?
Nal_rA: I think it is too early to say that I have had success in StarCraft. But overall there haven’t been a lot of major changes in my life except that I have a salary now. Because of this, I have some more freedom and “breathing space” in various facets of my life and that’s probably the most important change.
Manifesto7: What about being noticed on the street, or when the girls in the studio yell to you?
Nal_rA: Well, in the studio, most of the girls yell “Kang Min Fighting” or “Kang Min is the best!” When I get noticed on the street, I definitely feel good. In the past, many people had a bad impression of the gaming culture in Korea, but now people are starting to see games in a more positive light. When people recognize me on the street, that shows that gaming is popular and more accepted, which makes me feel happy.
Manifesto7: What do you attribute this change in attitude towards gaming? Is it the increase of corporate sponsors or the longevity of the game?
Nal_rA: I think that the sponsors have had a big impact, and it really shows the power of advertising. At first, many people could not imagine that anyone could make a salary from gaming, but obviously now it is true they can. It is now up to the pro-gamers like myself to maintain and increase the popularity of gaming as a legitimate sport.
Manifesto7: How long do you see StarCraft lasting as a game in its current form?
Nal_rA: Well from a couple of years ago there was a lot of talk that it would die. However, it is even more popular than it was then. Even if there is an end to this game some day, it will be replaced by another game that will come along.
Manifesto7: So what is your favorite and least favorite match-up to play?
Nal_rA: It really depends on the map, I don’t have a favorite.
Manifesto7: Well what match-up makes you the most satisfied or happy when you win?
Nal_rA: Haha, I don’t have any preferences like that. I am just happy to win. I get the same enjoyment whether I am killing a Zerg or a Terran. ^^;
Manifesto7: Who in the scene do you think has the best macro/micro?
Nal_rA: It is a really tough question, because everyone now is very good at both, so it is difficult to measure. The main difference between progamers is their mental fortitude. There are many factors in this, but I think that inner confidence and determination are the most important.
Manifeto7: Do you know much about gamers outside Korea?
Nal_rA: I hardly know any foreign players, just the ones like Elky or Grr… that played here.
Manifesto7: What makes you different from other protoss players?
Nal_rA: Well… I think that because I use builds and plays that are not common to other protoss players, people make that kind of judgment about me.
Manifesto7: Of all the maps that you play on, which television map would you like to see gone from a league?
Nal_rA: Haha, if I thought that way there would be too many maps to choose from. But because we are professionals, we are responsible for adjusting to whatever maps we have to play on. There are a lot of maps that I might think have some bad points, but I have never thought that any of them should be removed, or that maps that favor my style of play should be added. We are professionals, after all.
Manifesto7: Some people have observed that your hand speed has gotten much faster than in the past. Was this a conscious decision or just a result of play and practice?
Nal_rA: It was not really a conscious decision, but I think that through practicing I became much faster. Even in the past, my hand speed was much faster in important moments because naturally there was more micro to perform. However, in the end I don’t think hand speed is so important.
Manifesto7: Any advice for people that want to be progamers?
Nal_rA: For those people who want to be pros, don’t trust only what you see on the outside. This is a really difficult profession, and I have seen many people quit halfway through. Everytime I see that I really feel bad for those people. But, if you are confident, and you don’t think you will regret your decision, then you should go for it.
Manifesto7: Thank you very much Nal_Ra
Nal_rA: Thanks Manifesto7 Bye~^^;
Manifesto7: Bye~
As well as the thanks above, another should go out to the GO team coach who managed to rip Nal_rA away from his practice over at KTF. My impression of Nal_rA compared to ForU was that he was much more polished with his answers and it was harder to get him to be candid. I attribute this to a couple things; firstly my lack of preparation, and secondly the fact that he has done so many interviews in the past, so it is hard to ask something he doesn’t already have an answer for. Additionally our method of interviewing was pretty clumsy, so hopefully it is something we can improve on.
Lastly, as this forum is the primary populace that the interview was written for, I want you to have some input, so check out this thread.
Cheers,
Mani~ 
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Mani, Fakesteve, uhjoo much <3! Great interview guys glad to see things like this developing for TL.net!
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Wow O_O Tl.net is crazy lately. First ForU, now Nal_Ra, next Boxer ?
Great interview, thx
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Excellent job 
Manifesto7: Now that you have had success in StarCraft, what parts of your life have changed?
Nal_Ra: I think it is too early to say that I have had success in StarCraft.
As a Ra fan, the above comment gives me hope that his best is yet to come
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great interview guys and special thanks to uhjoo. man, I could almost be jealous that you got such good connections to the pro-gaming world, hope you'll continue to let us have an insight into it.
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I'm going ot change my favorite 5 non staff members and nominate uhjoo for all 5.
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nice but nal_ra didn't say anything very specific!! dodger!
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wow, interview with Ra !! nice job, TLnet is definitely going the right way, thx and keep up the good work ! Ra looks very mature and the way he sees the game shows he is truly a pro, always kind of weird for us amateur ^_^ but indeed a very interesting point of view.
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very good work.^0^;;
but the interview with foru was def. better. nal_ra is very professional doesnt give away any secrets or make any statements. he didnt answer best micro/macro player, map removal wasnt answered..... hes a real professional!
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Valhalla18444 Posts
Keep your pants on kids... More to come in the future
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Wow, hot shit!
And you can't blame him for giving superficial answers....when I was in his position, I would be more interested in screaming Korean fans then a bunch of foreigners that don't really matter in his opinion
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great work.
i also found ra's answers to be kind of vague and neutral.
maybe he just don't want to offend anyone...
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So, what's the score between TL and SCG? It's gotta be like 10-0, by now.
Nice interview. It's always interesting to see into the progaming world a little bit. Many thanks to Uhjoo for translating, and to Manifesto, and Nal_rA for doing this all.
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very nice read, i did like the foru interview a bit more though, mostly because he was more open in his answers. shame you didnt have time to prepare a bit more. still a classic
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Good Job guys (especially Uhjoo for translations).
Ra Ra Ra
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gogogog protoss
but what is he doing in the picture
is it some og thing?
or he wants his ramen 2 go?
lol what is this
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On October 25 2004 14:29 ahk-gosu wrote:
gogogog protoss
but what is he doing in the picture
is it some og thing?
or he wants his ramen 2 go?
lol what is this
LOL ramen 2 go nice one a
nice interview! keep these coming
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Nice interview. Thanks everyone who was involved.
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hey man i am a korean
and yes they do sell ramen in restaurants and some stores :0 owned lol
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cool interviews...keep em comming
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I liked it, but I don't think that you got into his personal life at all. Would have been cool to find out what he does with his free time.
Other than that amazing, thanks to EVERYONE involved in this. TL.net just gets the best stuff!
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United States4471 Posts
I changed all the "Nal_Ra" to "Nal_rA", hope you don't mind Mani
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Thanx, very good job!
Ra seems to be really careful and wise with his answers. I don't think he told the truth about his fav MU and pro maps, it's easy to understand.
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Osaka27154 Posts
Thanks :p.. 2 am was a little bleary
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thanks guys!!! Awesome to see some of the insides of progaming this way. Too bad this comes with a lot of pollitical awnsers. Worst map? uuhm, we are progamers, so we have to learn to adapt to every map.... come on... everyone has his/her preferences?
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Belgium8305 Posts
Woah, I've been LOVING these interviews lately, you guys rock so much :D
<3 Mani and Uhjoo, keep up the great work~
This is one of the things that make TL such a great place to be. :O
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Manifesto you have no idea what all i would have done for a chat with that guy :D, nice i-view
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Awsome stuff mani, tl.net just seems to be going great now days. So keep em coming, and many many many thanks to all of you Korans who help out with transalating and stuff <3
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Oh that was great, thank you so much Manifesto7 
Kang Min rox!!! 
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nal_ra is so sexy
not as interesting as the forU interview, but i love reading each and every one of these
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nal_ra saying 1 luv in the pic
I don't like some of his answers.. it's a fake BS answer..like on the maps "well, we are pros, we have to adjust to everything" That's not what he asked, give a straight answer 
big thanks to uhjoo, I've never seen him post yet, but he's obviously pulling some big strings for our community
er, nevermind..just realized he was the one did and/or translated all the mini interviews
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This interview was fucking awesome, never thought I'd see Nal_rA talking to TL members. Uhjoo you must have a really solid background in both English and Korean from what I've seen. And because you live in Kor the time difference doesn't bother you too much when talking with Progamers I guess. AND you're connected!
I envy you >=(
Now if I could only strengthen my Korean, permanently live in Korea and get some connections with Progamers~! ggnore - _-v
Edit: Holy shit I was about to double post but is Nal_rA on GO now wtf?!?!?! Because he's wearing GO uniform in that pic...brb I'll check the team roster thing if you guys updated that.
Edit #2: Okay whew he still on KTF.
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Next step - bring Nal_rA to liquibition 16. That would be cool. But he is probably to busy.
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He's sticking 2 fingers up at the camera :o
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nal rA forever fightin~~
Tl.net rocks for all these inside stuff with progamers =D
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Good interview, nice and exclusive! Nal_rA, certainly one of best Protoss in world. Seeing as though there's been a Xellos, Nal_rA and ForU interview, go get Yellow or julyzerg for next ^ ^
( funny, all those interview are from player that were on team GO at one point or another )
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Mani, Have I ever told you I'm in love with you? xD <3
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great, now i'm waiting an interview like that with boxer or oov
its always nice to read interviews with progamers..... even when its with top foreigners, imagine with pros? ehhe
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nal_ra is such a celebrity with the girls in Korea..
After his game vs goodfriend he was swarmed by screaming girls (mainly girls). Of course I followed the girls because I wanted to see Kang min also. He is so damn cool in real life, he spent literally 30 mins signing like 10 things per fangirl (mousepads, notebooks, pictures, etc.). Even though he had been swarmed for so long you can tell he was trying his best to put on a happy and generous face~
I got close to him but I never talked to him or anything..I was trying to take a picture, but my cell phone had died because I didnt have it charged -_- so i just stood there like an idiot looking at him.
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lol i bet u were one of the screaming fangirls -.- i know i woulda been
Thnx for the great recent progamer interviews and keep up the good work tl~
more juicy goss questions plz :D eg. who they like/dislike, if only they would answer them 
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Thanks to mani and uhjoo for another outstanding interview. These things are so fun to read, though I do agree that ForU seemed much more spontaneous and direct with his answers.
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Korea (South)1740 Posts
On October 25 2004 16:06 Sosha wrote:
Good interview, nice and exclusive! Nal_rA, certainly one of best Protoss in world. Seeing as though there's been a Xellos, Nal_rA and ForU interview, go get Yellow or julyzerg for next ^ ^
( funny, all those interview are from player that were on team GO at one point or another )
first of all, nal_ra is absolutely one of my favorite progamers, along with yellow. they make plays that i don't think anyone else really could. nal_ra's strat on his parallel lines game vs. goodfriend that he mentioned is... art. ^^;; the whole game, the commentators were like wtf is he doing... is he going scout, he doesn't seem to be sure of what he's doing, blah blah blah and when he pulled out his big uppercut strat (i won't ruin it tho u could probably guess), they were positively flipping out-- laughing out of amazement, yelling "this who nal_ra is! only kang min!" etc. a must see ^^;; this guy is the only one that the commentators have a hard time predicting-- and thus, probably his opponents as well. also, nal_ra is probably one of the most humble, down-to-earth, generally "good" guys in the progaming world. it's also pretty well known that he comes from rather humble beginnings and progaming for him is really a matter of survival-- another fact that makes me basically a nal_ra stalker 
also, these interviews are as you guys might be able to imagine not the easiest things in the world to get-- basically the g.o. coach who i got to know during wcg is the one hooking these up-- which is also probably why we've been interviewing g.o. team members (former or present). i obviously don't have the luxury nor power to just call up yellow or boxer and say, "hi, could you spare an hour of your time talking to us?" this of course isn't saying there isn't a possibility to get interviews with various interesting and accomplished progamers, so keep your fingers crossed ^^;; also, personally i think there really is a trade-off between "big names" and the type of answers you'll get-- the really established gamers are polished interviewers and they've been asked everything under the sun (and probably have paid the consequences for non "political" answers)-- so naturally you will get the safer, more "boring" answers. (if you really expect nal_ra to say, "hmm i am scared of XYZ" or "please take out this map from tv" then ggnore) i personally think that the next interview should be with a well-spoken, interesting, but not necessarily "superstar" gamer-- also preferably a z/t/random user since we've had two great toss commenting already. someone along the lines of... chojja? gorush? doggi? ggon? also it's also probably been done already but i'd personally like to see more interviews of english speaking foreign gamers in korea like elky, rekrul, assem, peter. ^^;; can some of you guys interview yourselves? 
in any case, i'm glad there's been a good reaction to these interviews, so keep posting so i can also get a better idea of who you guys are interested in hearing from and what sort of things everyone is interested in. also plz post possible questions in the thread mani started- we really will read them and your question might be the next one we ask to your favorite progamer ^^;;
good luck and have fun!!
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Awesome to see something like this on the front page:DD
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<3 Ra <3 Mani <3 uhjoo <3 protoss
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Mani, keep the progamers coming!
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wow uhjoo your so awesome let me buy you a beer
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Good job guys. ^0^/ THX Mani and uhjoo. 
I agree foru's interview is more interesting than nalra's one. reading some wcg reports, I thought foru was opened to foriegners and trying to be more sociable while wcg, because he is extremely shy and not talkative in front of girl fans. haha. In fact, NalaR didn't say anything new in this interveiw. But I'm not saying I don't love it. Mani was just not prepared to confuse NalaR enough with unexpected questions. > Ogogo and ggon would be interesting interviewees,I think. Because they are weirdest people in pro scene. Garimto said about ggon "the player is type of 'came from another galaxy'."
[edit]
By the way, I found a funny news on progamer org. site. The Korea e-Sports Association announced gamers are going to climb a mountain for regular progamer grounding training. Funny, isn't it? lol
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On October 25 2004 18:59 DJ_Heather wrote:
[edit]
By the way, I found a funny news on progamer org. site. The Korea e-Sports Association announced gamers are going to climb a mountain for regular progamer grounding training. Funny, isn't it? lol
roflrofl rekruls hard time in korea is gonna be done to all pro gamers now =D
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Excellent Interview!! Congratulations!
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Baltimore, USA22256 Posts
uhjoo you rock so much, many thanks!
<3 to Mani and Fakesteve too!
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wow nice score on the interview,great work mani and unjoo
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very nice thank you uhjoo, Mani and Fakesteve <3
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lovely interview and Nal_Ra achieved somethin that its not easy to get to...inner confidence and determination wich is very important in game especially when units like goons fucks up some strat...blocking themselfs at minerals or just not shooting in mines and dying to those etc..
nice interview and mani your fairness rox
you know what i mean :D
thnx for this
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On October 25 2004 13:37 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:
Keep your pants on kids... More to come in the future
this cracked me up!!! bwuahahaaha
also thnx for all this and what is to come ^_^
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fantastic
an 'in' on the korean gaming world is really nice
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[A note: this is in Korean age, which is one year ahead of the British calendar, so he will be 22 soon.]
Not am i only reading interviews with my favourite progamers, im geting a culture lesson at the same time
<3 for all the tl.net staff
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United Kingdom2674 Posts
Great work Mani, and thanks too to uhjoo. Nice work all round.
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Thx uhjoo. You are agent of our community xixi.
This one is for uhjoo.
This one is for Ra. I like him more and more. He played nice vs Boxer, exept that firs drop of HT's.
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Thanks guys. Keep up the good work. I really enjoyed the interview. Watch his game against Midas..Really awasome!!
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Does anyone know where i can get the vod nal_ra is talking about?
It's vs GoodFriend.
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Korea (South)1740 Posts
On October 26 2004 02:24 .paralyZer. wrote:
Does anyone know where i can get the vod nal_ra is talking about?
It's vs GoodFriend.
i don't have the VOD but to help you on your search, it was the SPRIS MBC Star League loser's bracket semifinals, game two ^^;;
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Great job! Nice interview!
Ra, you still have like 89 Starleagues to win, so keep on 
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wow nice guys thank you
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Kang Min Fighting!~
his cheese strats rox-_-
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On October 25 2004 15:47 [Red]Dragoon wrote:
Next step - bring Nal_rA to liquibition 16. That would be cool. But he is probably to busy.
Maybe he`s not so busy, but he simply doesn`t care about it.
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GJ Uhjoo & Manifesto7  luv u guys
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Thanks Manifesto for the interview! Nal_Ra is sufficiently conscientious
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Nal_rA i love u!!! u should ask like what music he likes and personal stuff
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what stats does he have, or description???? it would be cool to now that ^^
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Nice interview. I like Nal_rA even more now.
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On October 26 2004 19:47 DaAce wrote:
joo pwn mani O.oV
Hei, man, what's that?
What do you wanna say?
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great interview, thank you
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The link to the vod is dead, any idea how I can download this from another site?
Thanks.
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this picture captured on official BN?
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I guess Nal_rA modestly answering the questions is expected. After all, who would be too eager to simple give away all his/her secrets to the game?
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Netherlands2766 Posts
these interviews are really cool..
in the poorly english translated ones they seem to talk like retards
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hehehe yeah translation ^^
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everybody 
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i think he should have said that the best micro is hold by BOXER
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well this is nice. keep up the good work....nice one thnks man its like im the one who talk to my idol
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/Nal_Ra_Victory.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/nal_ra.jpg)
