EPTDaily E-Sports interviews Bisu and Stork: Talking Protoss with Taekbang
Their fans refer to them as Taekbang: Bisu and Stork. Bisu, who’s PvZ is at a level above the rest, and Stork, who has the best PvT—if the two were to merge into one player, they would be undefeatable. Given this, it is not surprising that fans view Taekbang as the living incarnations of the Protoss race. However, last season, both players experienced a year of darkness. In addition, during the dark age of protoss, “Leesang” was inserted in front of Taekbang, relegating the two to supporting roles to Flash and Jaedong. Whether in Proleague or in individual Starleagues, Flash and Jaedong slowly pushed Taekbang into the background.
After going through a season as cold as winter, Taekbang is awakening from their slumber. As slivers of sunlight begin to shine, they begin to show their power (T/N: literally, bloom). This is especially true of Bisu, who is currently on an 8 win streak in Proleague (T/N: this was from a few days ago; current streak is 10 wins). As soon as more sunlight comes through, the Protoss will usher in a new era. We anticipate the revival of Bisu and Stork, the leaders of the six dragons. Let’s hear all they have to say about Protoss.
![[image loading]](http://i55.tinypic.com/2vvmlwh.jpg)
◆ The dark age of Protoss? It’s all because of the maps!
DES= It’s been a long time since the two of you have greeted the fans together. Please say hello to the fans.
Bisu: Hello, I’m Bisu! I haven’t had the chance to do an interview in quite a while. (laughs)
Stork: If even Bisu says that, I have nothing to say. (laughs) I’m Stork, who has even less chances to interview. (laughs)
Bisu: That’s not true, Stork-hyung has done quite well in Starleague. I haven’t had much chance to interview for individual leagues (laughs).
Stork: Well, it’s not like I was able to win the championship, so whatever (laughs).
DES = I agree that you two haven’t had many chances to interview recently. (laughs) This is mainly because Flash and Jaedong have ushered in the Leesang era this past year. From the perspective of Taekbang, does this hurt your confidence? I’m curious about what you two have to say about them.
Stork: Of course I’m very envious. I’m envious that they are always the aces for their respective teams. In Khan, both Jangbi and Great often play in ace matches; my chances of even appearing in the lineup has been decreasing. So I’m jealous of the number of matches they get to play, and, of course, their win ratio.
Bisu: I’m also very envious. Both players are really outstanding (laughs). Since the current maps are so unfavorable for protoss, there really isn’t much I can do.
DES= Last year, it wasn’t only a dark period for Taekbang but for the whole protoss race. Is that the reason that you guys kept losing to Leesang?
Bisu: During the time Taekbang played poorly, if even one Protoss player did well, it woudn’t be called a dark era. Actually, it was kind of a dark era for zergs as well, but because they had Jaedong, it doesn't really make sense to call it that.
Stork: As long as a race has one excellent player, the whole race will tend to do well. Because Flash and Jaedong each led their respective races, Terran and Zerg players were able to play at a higher level. New tactics and strategies were continually appearing.
![[image loading]](http://i56.tinypic.com/6tfloh.jpg)
DES=Why do you think there hasn’t been the excellent player for Protoss?
Stork: I think the maps have played a huge role. Protoss’ performance heavily depends on whether the map is P-favored or not, so naturally with bad maps comes bad performance. The maps have been very good for Terran, and there really isn’t a map where Zergs would feel like they would definitely lose against Protoss. Protoss really depends on maps. Also, when maps stay in the map pool for too long, it’s also disadvantageous for us. Protoss depend on catching Terran off guard to win. If a map is used for too long, no matter how unfavorable it is for Terran, they will be able to adapt eventually. And when they do, we lose our advantage.
Bisu: I agree. Protoss’ performance really is decided by the maps. I feel really strongly about that. I’m not saying this as if I want the mapmakers to make P-favored maps; I’m just stating a fact about the basics of the race. One less mineral patch* can change the way match is played: such is the way Protoss works. We are supposed to have an advantage against Terran, but lately they’ve increased their skill, so even this advantage is gone. *[T/N: Chinese version says pylon, but Korean version says mineral patch. Thanks Ryo!]
DES=Then is it true that if Protoss wants to develop further, an outstanding player must appear?
Stork: I think that the players that are worth learning from need to show some results. The Protoss of SKT are really worth learning from; after watching Bisu and Best play, I really want to learn from them. Jangbi feels the same. It’s regretful that the current highest ranked Protoss in the Kespa rankings is Free-hyung. (laughs) When watching him play, it doesn’t seem like there’s much to learn. (laughs) I’m joking though. But we really need an absolutely dominant Protoss to appear, a player that makes everyone who watches feel “Wow, this player is really very good, I have to learn this style!” [T/N: thanks endy for confirming 灯哥=Free]
Bisu: Stork-hyung is being too humble. My play is nothing to learn from.
Stork: What? We can learn a lot from it! Bisu, you should just say “I will do my best to play well.”
Bisu: I’m not good enough.
Stork: Anyway, no matter the case, I’m not satisfied that Free-hyung is currently the highest ranked protoss. (laughs)
![[image loading]](http://i52.tinypic.com/2viqh6r.jpg)
◆The tragedy of vT and vZ: an abridged version
DES=Besides the maps, what are other problems Protoss face?
Bisu: The most glaring problem is that there needs to be a more balanced unit AI. A lot of the units are really dumb. (laughs) Take reavers and dragoons for example, they have really poor AI. When using dragoons, sometimes they just stay in place and don’t move. And reavers often shoot scarabs that don’t explode. Vultures are so cheap to make but you never have mines that don’t explode; comparatively, the expensive reaver has dud scarabs. It’s not fair.
Stork: So that’s why our units are weak. In a brief moment if you don’t pay attention, all the units will become ice cream. Same goes for Zerg—if you are slower by just a second, everything is gone. (laughs) You need to control your units well, but it’s hard not to be nervous during televised matches, so good control is hard.
DES=You guys talk about the unit types not being balanced, so then which unit follows commands best?
Bisu: Is there such a unit? (laughs)
Stork: Yeah, if there is a unit like that, I’ll give it a prize. (laugh)
Bisu: Actually there is one. Probes are relatively good to control. Forget about the rest.
Stork: Probes are good at mining. (laugh)
DES= As the representatives of your race, you both have different play styles and strengths. It gives you two a lot of charm. Bisu excels at PvZ whie Storks PvT is incomparable. But there’s an even more interesting point. Each of your strengths is the weakness of the other: Bisu’s PvT and Stork’s PvZ. What do you guys think about that?
Bisu: It’s true, I really don’t have any ideas about PvT. (laughs) Sometimes during a game, I think “Why did I do this?” (laughs) It makes me depressed that no matter how much I practive PvT, I can’t play the matchup well. In the past, when I saw comments like “Bisu, you must not use carriers at all costs!” I agreed with them. (laughs) It’s not that I don’t like carriers, I just don’t know how to use them correctly. (laughs) I can’t get the feel for them, but when I watch Stork-hyung control them, I think that he must have his own secret for them. In comparison, although PvZ is hard, Zerg has no units with massive range like siege tanks, so the matchup feels doable. (laughs) I’ve always been scared of tanks; when I see them I have to play very carefully. In PvZ, you can use corsairs to scout the opponent and react accordingly, but in PvT you can’t use that strategy so there’s an uneasy feeling of not knowing what the opponent is doing. That’s why my PvT is so terrible.
Stork: To me, PvZ is like a nightmare. (laughs) Recently, Zergs have all been using sim cities to defend, and I can’t find a way to break through. So I took a look at Bisu’s games but he was able to break the defenses so easily that I couldn’t find any answers. (laughs) Bisu says the key is to make corsairs and scout, but even when I do that, I can’t glean any useful information about the opponent’s strategy. It’s kind of useless for me. (laughs) But what’s funny is that in PvT, once my observer comes out to scout, I know exactly what my opponent wants to do. Doesn’t work for PvZ though, so it’s a little weird. (laughs)
![[image loading]](http://i55.tinypic.com/2croaqx.jpg)
DES= So after all this talk, we see that Bisu is deeply angered by PvT and Stork is deeply angered by PvZ.
Stork: It’s not really to that extent yet. (laughs)
Bisu: My motto is hard work!
DES= If the two of you became one player, that would be formidable.
Stork: We wouldn’t lose to anyone. Even if we had to play Flash. (laughs)
Bisu: I also feel the same way. Stork-hyung and I together would make the strongest Protoss.
DES= In Proleague, there are a lot of good Protosses currently. How long do you think this will last?
Stork: After switching to new maps, all three races are played. We need to develop new builds. Even though now Protoss has a lot of opportunities to play, but it won’t be long before the Terrans and Zergs find ways to use the maps to their advantage.
Bisu: In rounds 3 and 4, the format will be Winner’s League. That’s when Protoss will have trouble.
Stork: Hopefully for the sake of Protoss, the maps will be switched more often. (laughs)
DES= If it was possible to make one change to Protoss, what would you choose?
Stork: The damage of storms should revert to as it was in the 1.07 patch! (laughs)
Bisu: If one storm could kill a lurker, that would make PvZ much easier! (laughs)
![[image loading]](http://i51.tinypic.com/2zoetzs.jpg)
◆The destiny of Taekbang: to break the rule of Leesang
DES= Last season was the era of Leesang. Everybody wanted to be the ones to break their dominance.
Stork: It must have been every player’s dream to defeat Leesang and become the new best player. Especially for me and Bisu, we wanted to be added back into the picture of Taekbang Leesang. They got rid of Taekbang and dominated as simply Leesang, it didn’t make us feel good.
Bisu: My goal this season is to break the rule of Leesang. I believe that in order to develop E-sports, another excellent player must come to the stage in both Proleague and in individual leagues.
DES= Do you have confidence to break the reign of Leesang?
Stork: After the last OSL semifinals, I have the confidence that I can beat Jaedong. I very rarely have the feel for playing PvZ, but at the time I did. No matter what, I feel like I can win. But Flash seems to be harder to defeat. (laughs) No matter how perfectly I play, I still don’t have the confidence because of the current Terran dominance. I guess, Flash must be ripped of his throne first.
Bisu: I don’t have confidence against either of them. But it’s not only them, I don’t have a lot of confidence against anyone. (laughs) When Flash and Free were to play in the semifinals, I helped Flash practice. He really played very well. I’ve also helped Jaedong. It was so hard to win against him and it was so tiring. Practicing with them during the offseason has made me feel that I need to work harder.
DES= It’s time to end the interview. Do you have anything to say to each other?
Stork: You’ve been performing so well in Proleague lately, I’m so envious. When will I be able to catch up? (laughs) I hope the rest of the Protoss continue to slump, while you, me, Jangbi, and Best continue to play well. (laughs) Even if a player like Free plays well, there isn’t too much to learn. (laughs) Hopefully we can meet at the finals of Starleague. Let’s work hard together!
Bisu: I really want to work hard for the individual leagues this time. Stork-hyung, you must work hard too and we’ll meet at the top of the competition. Once we have confidence, we wil be able to play well. Hyung fighting!
DES= And lastly, how about a couple of words for the fans who haven’t seen a Taekbang interview in such a long time.
Bisu: There haven’t been many chances to do interviews lately, so I haven’t been able to greet the fans often. I will use this chance to increase my face time, so look forward to it! Together, Stork-hyung and I will lead the revival of Protoss. I hope you will all cheer us on.
Stork: I will protect the pride of Protoss, and along with Bisu, I will show you guys a different side of me during the competitions. In order to see the fans often, I will work hard for good results. I hope you all support Protoss and Taekbang. Fighting!
Source
Source
----
That was long! Feel free to point out any mistakes. This was translated from Chinese, so if you can read Korean and see any discrepancies, please let me know.
Thanks!
thanks for translation though!
