EPT
March roster changes: http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?mode=read&keyno=115252&db=news
Interview below
--------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?mode=read&keyno=115188&db=issue
Skyhigh, “I always had the confidence to play better”
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/issue/1298868086_1.jpg)
“Ding-dong”
Along with “Porebal” and “e-Person”, Fomos is adding “Door buzzer”, a new addition to its showcase. A door buzzer is of course a bell that sends a signal to call a person. Simply put, this new line of articles is to meet progamers who do not get sent out enough relative to their skill and fame, and listen to their determinations, goals, and when they think they will appear on broadcast. Regardless of their current records, wouldn’t those who briefly soared be the ones who will most likely appear to be called by the door buzzer? The fans are curious and the interviewers are curious – it’s time to press the door-buzzer and listen to their story.
Fomos’ service of finding those players we are interested in – “Door Buzzer’s” first main character is “The guy who made the reverse all-kill in Winner’s League”, Skyhigh. You could have seen Skyhigh on February 19th, sitting neatly among the spectators during “High-end” Hydra’s MSL finals match.
Enough to make reporters blink, Skyhigh, who along with Leta, was considered “Hite Two-top Terrans”, ended up going down to the B-team. In Hite’s recent match against KT, fans asked, “In such a crisis, where has Skyhigh gone?” The very Skyhigh who had made a shocking reverse all-kill against Hwaseung OZ in the Winner’s League finals.
So Fomos traveled to Hite’s team house to meet Skyhigh, who seems to be good enough for the A-team, but has been with the B-team for almost a month. Lets meet Skyhigh, who has finally opened his mouth since his descent into the B-team.
Hello. I came from Fomos to see you at your team house. I request a short introduction of yourself.
- Hello. I am Skyhigh, Hite Entus’ B-team Terran player (laughs).
It’s been a long while since we’ve met you through an interview, how have you been?
- I’ve been practicing very hard since I’ve gone down to the B-team. Watching Hydra’s MSL final has spurred me even more to practice harder.
Your health, such as your wrists, is doing well, right?
- Yes I am healthy. I don’t have any particular places where it hurts, and rather I feel like I’m too healthy.
Looking at the records, you haven’t appeared on a broadcasted game since January 15th.
- A-team players occasionally end up in the B-team, and that happened to me simply because I didn’t play well enough. I just took it positively, and it made me think that I had to work harder.
What were your feelings the day you were told that you were going to be put in the B-team roster? It suddenly prevented you from going to the match location too.
- I already knew that B-teamers didn’t go to the match site so I didn’t feel bad. I guess I should say I was a little bitter. It felt weird suddenly not going to the places that I always went to. You feel empty whenever a really funny guy retires and disappears from the team house. I bet the A-teamers felt lonely because I’m not with them at the match. You just don’t know how much of a funny guy I am (laughs). Anyways it felt like that. It felt like my everyday life had suddenly changed.
Why do you think that you went down to the B-team?
- Rather than not practicing enough, it was more because I wasn’t performing well on broadcasted games. But I do feel like effort was a bit lacking. I had those feelings when I came down here. I didn’t feel like I was not putting in 100% effort until I ended up on the B-team.
What does it feel like being on the B-team again after such a long while?
- It felt like I went back to the time when I was a practice partner. A-teamers take care of simple things like laundry so living-wise nothing really changed. But I felt like I was in a bit of a crisis so I practiced hard on my own. I didn’t do anything wrong so I wasn’t called out on anything in particular. Rather than changing my lifestyle, I felt being in the B-team was an opportunity to tighten some loose screws.
Fans usually think that B-teamers make ends meet to get along. Is it still like that?
- The aunts make all the food for us now (T/N: I think he is referring to staff cookers, not blood-related aunts). But it’s all stuff that happened long ago. But new players of course have to do things they have to do, similar to when you first go into the army.
You must have lost a lot of self-pride and self-confidence on your way down there?
- Self-confidence…yeah I lost a lot (laughs). Especially because during practice I actually wasn’t playing that bad and it was during broadcasted games where I wasn’t doing very well. But official stats from televised games are the most important to a progamer. I had thoughts like “I can do better than anyone else”, which made me feel disappointed. But as time passed, I gave up those thoughts. I just thought “It’s possible for anyone to come down”.
When you were on the A-team, what did you feel when you saw other hyungs go down to the B-team? Please be honest.
- I knew they got sent down so that they can pull themselves together so I hoped that they would hurry up and get back to their senses so that they can be on the A-team again. To be honest, I thought to myself “I should never go down to the B-team” at one time. At the time, I didn’t really pay attention since it didn’t concern me but now that I’ve ended up like them…(laughs). I hope everyone works hard so they don’t end up like me.
In Hite’s recent match against KT, many said “If only we had Skyhigh”. Even though rookie Bbyong ended up carrying the burden of the last player at the end.
- I lost to Flash right before I went down to the B-team so I wanted to get my revenge in Round 4. I waited to be sent out and kept waiting. But now that I'm on the B-team, I ended up watching the game on TV back at the team house and
You must have felt itching to play again as the “Reverse All-killer”.
- I want to raise my wins higher in Winner’s League. But even though I want to do that, I can’t do that right now. But I think having those kind of feelings makes it harder to practice as a B-teamer. I think it’s important to understand fully where one is at before one can feel comfortable and calm. You don’t want to think ahead too much. It’s better to just think about doing well when getting sent out rather than thinking only ahead too much. I still want to get sent out really bad but at the same time that feeling dies down because I fear it will stress me out.
It seems like you must have felt you were treated unfairly after being demoted right before Winner’s League started. You’ve always shown stronger performances in Winner’s League rather than Proleague.
- I actually did have those feelings. I was doing poorly in Proleague so I was planning on redeeming myself when Winner’s League started but then right when it did I got sent down. At the time I thought that “If I get sent down now then recovering myself will be difficult”. I felt angry, suffered setback in my self-pride, and now I’m at a point where I’ve just given it all up (laughs). I feel like if I play well in the individual leagues then it will be ok. Progamers can show good performances in not just Proleague but also the individual leagues. Proleague is also important but you’re going to recover if you try hard, and it’s better than stupidly digging just one well. I think it isn’t bad to find something to focus on.
How did you come about to accept everything? Was it “Time heals everything”?
- Rather than thinking that “time heals”, I thought a lot. Why did I get sent down, why did I get pushed out by my competition, and all these other thoughts, and then I thought about my parents too (laughs). And then I started to realize why I ended up here.
It makes me curious because you mention your parents. You must have spent your New Year’s holiday after getting sent down. Did your parents say anything to you?
- They didn’t say anything in particular except to tell me to work hard. I often get stressed out at the smallest things and my parents know that so they don’t say anything too heavy usually.
Like you said before, you watched your teammate Hydra play in the finals. It seems like it has given you impetus to work harder.
- Effort hyung, who came into Hite with me, won last year. Hydra, who came in similarly also won and Movie hyung has also been to the finals today. So I felt like I was the most behind among my teammates so I was pretty envious of them and had thoughts like “I want to hurry up and get to the finals too”. After the “CJ New Trio” (Movie hyung, Effort hyung, and me) all went to the finals in a row, people had high expectations for me too. But then I lost pretty quickly (laughs). Seeing that I keep losing in the individual leagues, I guess that there is something in my play that is lacking.
Have you thought about why you are lacking? Have you found an answer?
- I think I’ve found the answer somewhat. If I observe those who do well in individual leagues, there are definitely differences. But I can’t tell you those differences. It is my secret (laughs). I know the differences but I’m not sure yet so I need to keep doing some research.
The next season’s individual leagues’ preliminaries are coming up next week. Do you think if you pass the preliminaries, you can make an opportunity to return to the A-team?
- My mind is becoming restless but for now I just want to make it a goal to pass the preliminaries. And then I guess should make it a goal to be added to the roster again for Proleague. My ambition for the individual leagues has grown after seeing Hydra win the MSL. Proleague of course is important too though.
When CJ Entus and Hite Sparkyz were being joined together, a lot of people anticipated the power between you and Leta. But what happened was that you two just absorbed each other’s weak points and a lot of fans were disappointed; do you know that happened?
- When I practice, I learn a lot from him. To be honest, we tell each other things that the other doesn’t know. But then you have the spotlight of the media (laughs). I think the blinking red recording light on the camera is the enemy (laughs). We thought together “why aren’t we getting any better?” But Leta hyung is a very patient person and he goes about everything very calmly. I really think those are points that I should learn from. When our team was slumping in the beginning, he thought positively that we could get better bit by bit. Most progamers become anxious once they start losing but Leta hyung seems to be different from me in that kind of aspect.
What do you think is the reason why you are not performing well in televised games? Do you have a phobia about being broadcast? Or is it because luck hasn’t been with you in the past?
- Being nervous is one of the reasons. Every progamer has a certain “atmosphere” about them. Momentum is definitely a very scary thing. Once you start winning, you ride that feeling and keep winning. So like the saying, “getting started is half the battle”, I wanted to hurry up and start playing, but playing is certainly a hard thing to do. Once you start losing you think “I have to win this time” and you end up making yourself more nervous.
It’s been about a month since you’ve been taken off the roster. Have you found your weak points in that time span?
- I am always confident that I can do well. Always, whenever, really (laughs). I have enough confidence even if someone suddenly tells me to play right now. But right now I need to work a little harder so that I need to win and not just have a bunch of confidence. Playing with just confidence can make other factors very variable.
But it seems like you could face a wall with just having a lot of confidence.
- I haven’t felt like I’ve hit a plateau yet as a progamer. If I feel like it’s hard to beat another player then I feel that I just need to practice harder or that I am lacking in something. I’ve never thought something like “I can’t beat him”.
![[image loading]](http://www.fomos.kr/board/issue/1298868086_2.jpg)
When do you think we can see you on TV again? Any time frame for when you think you’ll come back to the A-team?
- I have no idea but hopefully as soon as possible…it’d be nice if I could get sent out beginning next month (T/N: and you did lol)
“I want to face this person in my first comeback match”. Have you ever had this thought before? If it’s an opportunity for revenge or if you wanted to face a strong opponent.
- Since it’s my comeback game I guess it’d be nice to face Flash (T/N: but you had to settle for Shuttle, who you totally raped..). Or maybe Fantasy? Since Fantasy won recently. Oh, but since we already played KT, I hope I can face Flash in Round 5 or 6, and face Fantasy in Round 4.
There are still a lot of fans who talk about news from you in online forums and websites – a word of greeting from you please.
- Even though you don’t see my face anymore, I want to thank all those who still look for me. If you cheer for me a lot I will pay it back with a record that is equal to that. I hope I can do well, and I hope all of them can do well. I hope you all work hard in your lives. You only get to live once, so you should put in some effort (laughs).
If you could press the “door buzzer” for a player, who would it be?
- I thought about oDin hyung but then you guys already did an interview by him. He looks like an Ox (T/N: from the Chinese zodiac) but then you guys interviewed him with the theme of the Rabbit (laughs). Even if I don’t pick oDin hyung, someone else in the future will so I want to pick another “Rabbit” hyung, Hyuk from SKT1.
Do you have anything in particular that you want to know about Hyuk? We’ll put that as the first question for him.
- I’m most curious as to how he is doing right now. What he is doing, if he is eating well, or if he is starving (laughs).
For these reasons, the next “Door Buzzer” article will be about SKT1’s captain, Hyuk, their Zerg ace who is currently acting as a “bench warmer”. Hyuk lost to “Terrorist” Fantasy on Januaray 7th in the Round of 8 in the 2010 Bacchus Starleague, so we couldn’t get to see him win. But we’ll go looking for you next time Hyuk, please wait for us!
rynnn@fomos.co.kr
