The first 4 Ro8 players have been gracious enough to have a nice interview with Fox.KivA. Special thanks to Jonoman92, [7x]Lisyonok, Fox.EleGant[AoV] and Fox.Ihufa. Congratulations to them for advancing past the group stage and being one step closer to the $600 prize pool of the NoisE Amateur StarLeague Season 2!

Hello Jonoman92! It is nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself to the people.

Jonoman92: Hello people!

I started playing BW around 2004 back on US East on this same ID (Jonoman92) and later on adopted the ID sMi.Arcology. I switched to SC2 for about 2 years but have since returned to BW.

How are you feeling after winning against Fox.Quirinus with 3:2 score?

Jonoman92: I was pretty worried when I went down 2-1, but I tightened up my play and decided to wall properly so I was fortunate to come back in the series.

Awesome! So how have you been practicing for the ASL2?

Jonoman92: Oh, just attempting to ladder on ICCUP a bit. It's tough because right now I'm unable to host which makes it quite a bit more difficult to get games. Also watch random old pro VODs sometimes.

You are in the quarter-finals already, which player did you struggle against the most?

Jonoman92: Well, I dropped a few games in the first stage, but overall going down 2-1 to Fox.Quirinus was the toughest spot for sure.

For sure. Who do you think the most difficult opponent will be in this league?

Jonoman92: Well, I only recently returned to playing BW. A few of the other players I recognize, but not sure how good they are so hard for me to say.

What is your goal for this tournament?

Jonoman92: To win obviously! Also, it's a good motivator for me to keep playing. I'm much more likely to practice when I'm alive in a current tournament.

You will need to beat 3 more players in order to win this tourney, how are you going to prepare?

Jonoman92: Once I find out my opponent's race I'll probably try to focus more on that MU. But pretty much just by being lazy and watching pro games on TLPD.

What are your thoughts on the tournament so far?

Jonoman92: It's been well run so far. I think the format so far has been interesting, and while an alternative format is nice I think it could use some changes next time around.

Alright, thanks for answering all the questions. Any shoutouts for closing?

Jonoman92: THANK YOU TO ALL MY FANS! I'm sure there are simply too many of you to count. I play protoss and then I box-select "a" move my army into the other guy, what's not to love?

Hello Lisyonok! It is nice to meet you and please introduce yourself to the people.

[7x]Lisyonok: Hi my name is Dmitriy and 25 years old. I live in Russia, Khabarovsk city. I play in BW for divine race!I never had more than C+ in iccup, but I know what playing better than anyone just protoss is hardest race in BW and a bit unlucky :troll:.

How are you feeling after winning Poetic by 3:1?

[7x]Lisyonok: It was hard game. I could not concentrate on the games . But I am happy because I won .

Alright, so how have you been and practicing for this league?

[7x]Lisyonok: I did not train specifically. I played many games last iccup season during the summer . I play it for my streams on defiler.ru. and it was lucky and it was luck what ASL2 started now.

Alright, you are already in the Ro8. Who was the hardest opponent for you so far?

[7x]Lisyonok: I think it was Fox.Quirinus, the zerg player. I even thought that he was better than C+.

So besides Quirinus, who will be the toughest future opponent?

[7x]Lisyonok: I do not know. I think it will be a zerg player since PvZ is my worse match-up. T.T

What is your goal for this tournament?

[7x]Lisyonok: Sure I want to win this!!!

You only need to beat 3 more people for the $400 first place prize! How will you prepare?

[7x]Lisyonok: I will go play more better and harder xD. I hope that the opponent will be known in the future.

What is your opinion on how the league has been run so far?

[7x]Lisyonok: I love it :D. I hope that there will be another season for ASL. o.o

Thank you so much for the interview. Any shoutouts you would like to make?

[7x]Lisyonok: Play BroodWar, Play Protoss, beat zergs :x Good Luck !!

Hey there Elegant! It is nice to meet you and please introduce yourself to the people.

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: Hi! I'm EleGant[AoV], a 21 year-old StarCraft player from England! A rare breed indeed...

How are you feeling after winning against Zimp by 3:1?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: It's kind of a mixed-bag. On the one hand I'm incredibly relieved; I had no internet connection for the 3 weeks running up to that match, so all my practice had to happen on the day. On the other hand, he wasn't the challenge which I was expecting. Apart from one totally misread 3gate situation in game 3, there was no real challenge. I just had to stay solid. So this could give a strange perception of me to the viewers as someone who is able to steamroll my opponents even at later stages, but honestly, it's only just about to get real.

Interesting! How have you been preparing for the tournament?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: Since I've got my connection back my day has been split very clearly. I've needed the calmest, most focused mind possible, so I've been making sure to work solidly all day on my studies, and my career etc (all that boring stuff). That way, as soon as 8PM comes round I can put everything away, turn my stream on and play for 3/4 hours straight with no worries.

It's been quite a lot of ladder- whilst I would like to have been playing specific practice partners and my older brother Poetic[AoV] has helped me out a little, my Terran friends have been hard to find this week. Still, ladder is fine; I'm only C+, my play is full of holes. A random guy on ladder has a decent chance of highlighting some of those whether I win or lose, so I don't think I've suffered too much through that.

Replay analysis has also been key. I'm seeing more, and improving more every single game, and I love that.

You are already in the quarter-finals! What was your hardest achievement?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: It's hard to say since I'm 13-1 at this point [/brag], but I'd have to say that Ihufa gave me the most to think about in our up/down matches. I had to really stay on point, and focus on what I'd prepared.

Ah yes, but who will be the most difficult person for you in the future of this league?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: Fox.Wands. I don't want to meet Fox.WandS, if he makes it out of the group stage. He's a valued clanmate, teammate, whatever, but I dearly hope that someone cheeses his gosu backside out of this tournament ASAP. They'll get $50 of my eventual winnings if they do so, and if I win. He scares me...

So there may be an obvious answer to this, but what is your goal of this tournament?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: To win. I've come a long way, undoubtedly my greatest run of results to date, and I want to arrive in style. Of course, I'm further than I thought I would get, but on reflection, I practice incredibly hard before this tourney and now I am doing so again. There's no way I wouldn't want to win it now!

There’s only 3 more BoX’s to play before you get $400, how are you going to prepare for that?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: As I am doing already. Evening time is SC time. Music on, get to ICCup and play/analyse/play again. I'm also going to keep making sure I've got my clear head, because there's no way I can give it my best if there's something looming over me.

What are your thoughts on how the league has been run so far?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: It's hands-down one of the best ideas in recent months. The motivation which I and so many other players have found from this competition is great. I know it's marked a real milestone in my own play and attitude towards the game, and has been the kick into action which I needed. I look forward to logging on and working on my play every evening, and ASL2 has given me that fresh motivation, which by no means ends with this tournament.

In terms of format, I applaud the effort at a fresh start. Up/down was terrifying. When I was 7-0 and the pressure was still on at 100% my mindset was hard to keep in check. For anyone who watched the games, I think this showed in my strategies. There were a couple of points where I did something, reconsidered it, and had to seriously re-evaluate my approach during the game, then really whip myself into determination to pull out a win. When the pressure gets on top of you and you start throwing out strats you haven't worked on, there's risk of huge unforeseen cracks appearing in your play. Exciting though!

I’m insanely thankful for your interview! Got anything you would like to say?

Fox.EleGant[AoV]: I'd like to shoutout to the whole of AoV and Fox, who help me whenever they can. Also to Hacklebeast for doing such a sterling job on the commentaries by himself all too often, which is tiring and difficult work! Much respect. I hope I have people rooting for me in this round, and I'll be doing all I can to pull through.

Hey Ihufa! How’s it going? Tell everyone a little about yourself.

Fox.Ihufa: Hello to all my dedicated fans. I’m the new SaviOr of iccup! 22yo Dane, studying biology at university.

How are you feeling after winning against Radley by 3:0?

Fox.Ihufa: I was surprised by how bad he played, it was like he had given up after the first game on sniper ridge.

Nice, nice. How have you been preparing for your matches?

Fox.Ihufa: I haven't practiced for the individual maps at all, which is why i 9pooled both my games on outsider SE. I simply had no idea where my 3rd/4th should be. Most of my ZvT practice has been with some of the other fox members, mostly Fox.Quirinus

You’ve already gotten to the Ro8! What was your biggest challenge so far?

Fox.Ihufa: So far it's been a breeze, I wouldn't say I've struggled with anyone.

Who do you think the most difficult future opponent will be in this league?

Fox.Ihufa: Any Zerg, since I don't ZvZ will be a pretty big problem :/. Also P, since P is freakin imba. Looking through the players, I think I can beat them all, but most of them can probably beat me too. If I kill one of my first 4 drones.

What is your goal for this tournament?

Fox.Ihufa: Get 8th place. So I’m already done, gg. :troll:

You will need to beat 3 more players in order to win this tourney, how are you going to prepare?

Fox.Ihufa: Watch a lot of savior and jaedong highlight videos, then copy everything they do.

What do you think of the league so far?

Fox.Ihufa: I like it a lot. Especially the commentators. Since they're actually over d+ it adds a lot of quality to the casts.

Alright, thanks for answering all the questions. Any shoutout for closing?

Fox.Ihufa: Shoutout to my rapidly growing fanbase. Soon, I’ll be launching my fanclub site where you can purchase t-shirts and other gadgets with my name on it. Also dvds of my iccup games commentated by me, for the rookie trying to improve, or for the seasoned pro also trying to improve

Also shoutout to Quirinus, karateboy, mvp, sz and everyone else.

Sponsors: NoisE, Reclusive, and Sayle
Organization: Shimy
Casters: EleGant & Hacklebeast
Staff: Quirinus and Eywa-
Graphics: Shiroiusagi
Media Director: Stratos