EPT
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It’s time for the playoffs. First, let’s learn about you two. Did you get a good rest after the regular season ended?
Coach Kim Eun Dong: Yes, we had a small break. We all came back yesterday, and started practice again today ^^
Calm: I had a good break, I started practicing for playoffs a while ago, it’s going well.
Recently, Kal participated in the SportsQ interview to a warm reaction from the fans. You two are the first coach-player combo to appear on the show, thoughts?
Coach: I actually had always wanted to interact with the fans but~I guess compared to the coach, the fans are more interested than the players…I think this is a good format. I was also interested in how you do a two people interview, it should be fun.
Calm: This is my first time chatting with the fans like this, it’s a brand new feelings. The questions come up one at a time, which doesn’t make you too nervous.
Coach Kim and Calm are like father-son, how did you guys first meet and what were your first impressions? How did the coach find Calm? And how did Calm feel?
Coach: Let’s see, when was Calm? Back then we needed to pick a player, and we needed to get one from the amateurs, and our team didn’t have practice partners, so I asked the team if there are any good candidates, so they recommended to me someone who does well on BNet. Even though I didn’t even know what he looked like, I picked him. The first time I saw him was on the day of the contract signing in front of city hall ^^;
First impressions? Did Calm look like a smart kid even back then?
Coach: Calm~ he was very handsome. I don’t think his face changed much even now. Also, I heard he was Tosky’s younger brother, so I thought “if the older brother’s so bad, is the younger brother even worse? That’s what I thought…ㅎㅎ[/b]
Calm: The day before the contract I passed the test on BNet, and went right away for the contract. The first time I saw the coach was on TV, and it felt magical seeing him in person for the first time. He’s just like on TV, very kind to people ^^
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Let’s talk about SPL now. Did you guys watch the intense Ro6 games?
Coach: Yes, of course I watched it. But it was really fun to watch it~ㅎㅎㅎ Not so nerve-wracking like watching our own team play…We have a relaxed position right now, and we can sit back and watch and see who advances and then predict the lineups. I feel like they all play well.
Calm: I watched it too. Surprisingly both teams that won first ended up losing. It seems the competition really is fierce. Ah~ I think if we play it would be difficult too, but it’s really fun to watch.
Who do you hope will advance in SKT vs. Wemade?
Coach: Um…it feels like no matter who advances it will be competitive. We won’t let our guard down. It’s not the time to discuss who, since both teams are difficult to beat. What do you think?[/b]
Calm: I think it’s a 5050. No matter who advances, it’s 5050, could be difficult~
What parts of these two teams are hard to deal with?
Coach: WeMade gives a strange feeling in the regular season. A lot of teams seem to “counter” hard teams, we’re like that with WeMade. And a lot of SKT players seem to be coming out of a slump, and they’re the defending champions~ From pure abilities, I think they’re slightly more powerful. WeMade seems to be on the same level as us, but strangely, we always seem to get more unlucky.
Calm: Both teams have a decent record against us. We lost against them a lot. SKT seems to prepare better, WeMade beat us a lot, so they have a psychological advantage. I think it’s 5050 between the two teams.
Coach: But who knows about playoffs~ It’s different than regular season, right?
Calm: Yeah ㅋㅋ
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How did you feel when you confirmed second place? Were you very happy watching the game?
Calm: Our cheers were probably louder than when South Korea won in the World Cup. ㅋ I was so excited to the point where I started hitting Shuttle who was in front of me wildly. Everyone was exceptionally happy.
Coach: As for me~ I was really excited. That day every one on the team watched the game in the practice room, why didn’t the reporters come~ If they cameㅎㅎㅎ they coulda saw a lot of really excited people. After every game, everyone was crazy, exclaiming, and it was really happy^^
After the results, news came out that you’re buying Hwaseung players chicken for a year. Is that true?
Coach: That’s just the reporters saying it. In reality we recently treated them to a meal. It was like this, before the game, I called Coach Cho and I wanted them to have some incentive in the game. I asked them if we could do something for them, so they said to treat htem to 10 meals of chicken. But if they could win, 10 meals is nothing, we could do a whole year if they wanted. If the Hwaseung players were willing to help us, we’re willing to treat them.
Do you think the chicken was effective?
Coach: Indeed it was^^ㅎㅎ
Even though you’re second in the regular season, you suffered a losing streak in R5, morale was down, and everyone was disappointed.
Coach: Of course it’s disappointing. Not only was it disappointing them, after Hwaseung won and gave us some time to readjust, we remembered a lot of the earlier games~ A lot of games that we lost disappointingly…but now we must forget it. There’s not much to be regretful about. To not have regrets from now on, we must focus on the now.
During the R5 slump, Calm did the worst. A lot of fans want to know why Calm lost so much.
Coach: He probably lost on purpose~ An entire round~
Calm: ㅋㅋㅋ.......... What did Kal say? ㅠㅠ As for me…no particular reason…ㅠㅠIt was just strange, I suddenly couldn’t play well in R5. I don’t know why I lost so much eitherㅠㅠㅋ
It’s true STX lost a lot of momentum in R5, but there’s a lot of time now. How are you readjusting?
Coach: Every time someone asks this, I’m suspicious of whether or not they’re actually from another coaching staff!! Truthfully we were very stagnant during our slump, so we much readjust our condition and a lot of other things. Right now, the atmosphere is much better within the team, but looking in from the outside it still seems like we’re not doing well~ But really the atmosphere is better. The players just need to work a little bit harder and focus a little bit and we can return to our previous condition. We’re basically done recharging now ^^
Some people say STX’s old-new combination, and racial distribution, is good. In the coach and Calm’s eyes, what are the team’s strengths?
Coach: Strengths…I don’t know how other players thing, but we’re very free, which helps with morale~ Of course, this is all based on what the players want. But also, our players really very kind!!! But during games a lot of people say they’re vicious and deceptive in games, but I think they’re really pure and innocent…no? ㅎㅎ That’s how I see our team. We’re a very human team, I think that’s a big strength ^^ I’ll try to nurture more game-related strengths.
Calm: That’s what the coach says…but I think our players are just like our coach in personality, so I guess that’s where the influence comes from~~ I think that’s a big strength too.
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STX recently did the empty bench strategy, and has been miserly in terms of fan interaction, which had a negative impact on the image. How do you plan on repaying the fans after winning the playoffs?
Coach: It’s a bit hard hearing stuff like this. But it’s not that we didn’t want to. It’s troubling, because before, there were incidents with fans. But now all the players are excited, so I don’t think something like that will happen again. We also understand the fans’ thoughts, but the players need to prepare at crucial moments, and if something like that happened again, it might impact the players’ growth. As for the empty bench thing, starting from R4, we adjusted our system a lot, and we had a lot of the less popular players sit on the bench…it’s not to say we don’t want to satisfy the fans. I said in an interview before, I hope the best present for the fans is a good result. Of course that’s not it, we’re thinking about it. After the season ends, we’re considering doing a never-before done special event. We’re definitely not inconsiderate of fans~ I hope everyone can understand ^^ㅎㅎ
Calm: I thought about what to do for the fans, but it’s best if the fans themselves put in requests. Sometimes, fans will ask, why are there no more fan meetings after games. I understand where they’re coming from, but sometimes we truly can’t do it. Of course, if we can communicate better we’d understand each other better…but, since the fans seem to be so eager, we have no reason not to respond, I hope everyone will participate in the future.
In R5, you put Tossgirl into the A team roster, a lot of male fans were super excited. Even though the situation was dangerous and she couldn’t play, if the results were better, was she going to play?
Coach: Yes, we were preparing for it, but at the end, we had limited options. We had to consider maps too, it was a bit difficult. Our main goal was still to preserve second place. Even though we really wanted Tossgirl to play for the fans, but if she lost somehow…then we couldn’t repay the fans with a good results. I hope the fans understand.[/b]
Recently, STX’s Special Forces team confirmed their direct passage to the grand finals. In their interview, they said they want to sweep gold along with their Starcraft teammates.
Coach: I hope both teams can win~ It’s also what everyone on the team hopes for. Now, the chance is here. If we can get both golds, it would be a first~ Should be good.
A lot of fans want to know if July can still play.
Coach: Seems like a lot of people are following this topic. We’re considering if old players like July can still remain competitive. From the individual leagues, it’s true that his abilities of decreased, so both he himself and the team are troubled, but I think he himself still has hope. He’s still persevering as a progamer, but I don’t know if he has other thoughts. We’re trying to communicate often. He contributed much to the team, we’ll respect his input.
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Now it’s time for some questions for Calm. Who does Calm want as the musical performance in the grand finals?
-Uh~~~Um…The team likes female groups with a lot of people. Whoever is fine..
Does Calm have any female idols he like?
-I don’t have a single picture of a girl on my desk. I’m not a fan of that…a lot of people have girls as their desktops, but I just use the standard green desktop.
Calm always seem so shy, is it true?
-Ah…I’m not like this in front of people I know well, but I don’t have much to say in front of strangersㅋ If we’re not familiar with each other, we don’t have much to say.
Who is Calm closest with in the team? On other teams?
-Of course it’s Kal…Woongjin’s Zero is also kind to people, so I practice with him a lot, and we have a good relationship.
You play with fantasy a lot, how are you guys outsider of games?
-I talk with fantasy a lot, and practice a lot. Even though we haven’t played much recently~ But we have a very good relationship, and we chat a lot.
A quick segue here, does Coach Kim have any plans of buying a Terran player?
Coach Kim: Yes. We’ve had some~ But now it’s seems impossible to realize. No one’s selling. And any players we want are all ace level players from other teams, so it’s not realistic. But we already have Cuteangel, he’s doing well, which makes me happy. If we can’t get any Terrans, we’ll just focus on improving our own players’ abilities. If Calm wants to switch Terran that works too…how about it, let’s go for it? ㅋㅎ
Calm is basically the boss in the team now. Who listens to you the most? The least?
-I think yCh listens to me…as for least…Shuttle? ㅋㅋㅋ He doesn’t listen to most of the stuffㅠㅠㅋ
Effort, Calm, Zero are the three “Kim Zergs,” what does Calm think he’s the best at?
-I’m far ahead in head-to-head against both of them. I guess I should start looking out for them +_+ㅎㅎ
Effort has been doing very well lately, thoughts?
-Effort had a period when he did poorly too, but he suddenly seemed to revive himself and do well. I think truly good players can quickly recover.
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Coach Kim has children too. If your children want to become progamers, will you support him? Or will you want him to choose a different life?
Coach Kim: As long as he wants to, I’m OK with anything. I’ll do anything for him, but the choice is ultimately his, right?
If he wants to be a progamer?
Coach: If he wants to I’ll let him, but I’ll tell him if he wants to then he better do it well. No matter what you want, I’ll support it. But being a progamer is the most difficultㅎㅎ
Playoffs is a showdown between the coaches in terms of lineup decisions, and a players’ showdown in terms of builds. How are you preparing for these?
Coach Kim: I’ve been troubled with how to decide the lineups. But first I guess we’ll need to see who advances. We’ll need to prepare well, and all the players need to prepare. Also, I don’t think the lineups will be game-changing, even though there will be some influence. We’ll wait and see who advances and then take it from there.
Calm: It’s a team league, so there will be a lot of well-designed builds. I’ll prepare well and prepare the best counters.
The first grand finals run since the team’s creation is almost within reach, are you excitied for it?
Coach: How do I express this in words? ㅎㅎ Even though I took team champions before, but we haven’t been to GwangAnRi yet. Every year I go to watch the grand finals, I’d go look around the stages and the waiting rooms. I really want to stand on that stage once. And now we have a good player lineup, I think we should be able to successfully advance~ㅎㅎㅎRight?
Calm: I’ve been with Coach Kim for almost 6 years. Coach Kim really wants to get to the grand finals once, I think this is the best opportunity. I really want to get to GwangAnRi too~
Lastly, does Coach Kim and Calm have anything to say each other? And say goodbye to the fans.
Coach: I want to tell Calm that the current instability is temporary. Only a tree that can withstand a breeze can withstand a storm. Don’t think this is an issue. But~~I hope you can work harder, not only for yourself but for the whole team. I think you can grow to become an even more mature player, and can get the affirmation of everyone in the progaming world and the fans, and maybe even the world.. ㅋㅋ Lastly, I want to say to the fans, I hear you saying our fan interaction is too few, if that’s true we’ll try to improve. I hope the fans give us some good suggestions, and I hope our team culture improves. I hope everyone supports us. Criticism is ok too…even harsh criticism~ We’ll do even better now, I hope everyone looks forward to it.
Calm: First, it’s as the coach said, I had a period of instability, so I’ll work harder. What do I have to say to the coach…ㅋㅋI really don’t have any dissatisfactions with the coach, so I don’t have much to say. I won’t be pressured, don’t you worry^^ I want tos ay to the fans that I’ll take the playoffs as a chance to return, and the team will return. We’ll definitely get into GwangAnRi, and bring everyone a good performance!
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STX ftw ok, we're winning this thing.
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