EPT
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWS CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE MSL RO16 MATCHES THAT WERE PLAYED ON 2009-02-21. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
The "Living Legened" Lee Yoon Yeol (Nada) defeated KTF's Park Jae Young (Tempest) 2-1 and successfully advanced to the Ro8 for the 2nd season in a row.
An interview:
- How do you feel about advancing to the Ro8?
▲ I was too nervous. I feel that Tempest had prepared a lot for this match. In the 2nd set he completely stopped my dropship harassment, and his early game defense was good. I started to get nervous when I lost the 2nd set. So that's why in the 3rd set I gave 100% effort all the way to the end.
- You showed very cautious play int he 3rd set.
▲ Although you can say that I had the advantage, on Byzantium 2 when you fight on the hills you get a lot of unexpected results when you engage the opponent. So that's why I tried my best to create situations where I would win so I wouldn't lose a game where I was ahead.
- Do you feel good about receiving a seed for the next MSL?
▲ You could say that. However because my goal is to win I am not satisfied by merely securing a seed. I think that I cannot be complacent with this and I must strive to reach a larger goal.
- Looking at the bracket you could face Savior in the finals, and a lot of fans are hoping for this.
▲ Personally if it's something that the fans want then it's something that I want to happen. However I won't focus on that. It's something that I believe will happen if we each try our best.
- You showed a ceremony
▲ I thought after the match "What a relief." The reason is that I promised Lee Jae Ryul, a youth I met through the Make A Wish Foundation, that I would do a ceremony regardless of the result. I am someone who keeps their word so I am glad that I could do the ceremony after a win. It was not intended to provoke Tempest.
- Who do you want to meet in the Ro8?
▲ In the Ro16 I played against a protoss and I find the maps to be difficult for TvP. I think TvT will be easier for me. However if Jangbi makes it through, I feel that I will be able to win if I try my best.
- Anything else you want to say?
▲ I would like to thank my teammates Choi Soo Min, Hoony, Rock, Park Joon Yong, Park Chul Wan, and CJ's Movie. I will say what I really want to after I win in the Ro8.
Jangbi defeated his fellow teamate Frozen to advance to the Ro8 with a clean 2-0.
An interview:
- How do you feel about advancing to the Ro8?
▲ Although it's something that is great, it's something I can't be happy about, and it's a strange feeling because I am also sorry. I feel bad for Frozen. It would have been great it we had met in the Ro8 so we could both get seeds. However I believe that he will be able to qualify past Survivor and make it again.
- Terran seems to want to divide the map in half.
▲ I think that map encourages that playstyle. I enter the game with that mindset. However in this game I saw everything he was doing with a fast observer so it made it much more comfortable. Because he chose a macro-based build I was able to play relaxed.
- Practice was probably difficult.
▲ Frozen sits in a corner seat, but because the terran and zergs recently switched seats, he ended up sitting right behind me. Although we promised not to practice yesterday, I saw him playing last night. I think I was able to get enough practice in though.
- You showed very wild play
▲ I came today looking for a macro war. I was able to win because my recalls were successful. I think if my first recall had been stopped it would have been tough to win.
- You are playing Lee Yoon Yeol (Nada) in the Ro8
▲ It seems that we end up facing each other often. I think it will be a fun series. He is a senior I extremely respect so I hope we can show good games.
- A last word
▲ I've advanced to the Ro8 once again. Last time I regrettably ended up in 2nd place, so this season I really hope to win. I might be facing Stork in the semifinals, so if this is the case then I think it will be the biggest obstacle.
Woongjin's Zero defeated Yarnc 2-1 by winning the 2nd and 3rd sets in a row. He will be playing Savior in the Ro8.
An interview with Zero:
- This is your first Ro8
▲ Last week I was extremely nervous because it was my first Ro16. To be honest since I was behind 0-1 I came thinking that I had already lost so I was able to play comfortably (laugh). However after I won the 2nd set I became extremely nervous. My coach told me to use a 9 drone build in the 3rd set, so when I saw that Yarnc had gone for a speedling build I became calm.
- You won a ZvZ earlier tonight in Winners League
▲ I think if I had lost that game tonight I wouldn't have been in a good condition tonight for my MSL match. However since I won I think it was ok.
- What was the reason you weren't very confident tonight?
▲ I am confident in my skill and in ZvZ but in the 1st set last week I felt extremely nervous. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to play to my full ability tonight as well.
- Will you be nervous in the Ro8?
▲ I think so. But I think it's important to keep as calm and not nervous as possible.
- You are playing against Savior in the Ro8
▲ It is quite a burden to face him in my first Ro8 ever. I will have to overcome it and do well. It's my first Bo5 so it's hard to predict how it will turn out.
- Where there any issues with your health or stamnia?
▲ I haven't really been tired before but I was tonight with WL in the afternoon and MSL in the evening. Lately Flash has had a killer schedule but even still he shows very strong play, so this experience has made me realize how amazing he is. I will use him as an example and prepare hard.
- Any last words?
▲ Because it's my first Ro8 I have a lot of expectations but am also quite nervous. I will do my best to prepare and play games that I won't regret.
Stork came back from a 0-1 deficit to defeat Kwanro 2-1 to advance to the Ro8. He will face ForGG next.
An interview with Stork
- How do you feel about advancing to the Ro8?
▲ Last week's loss made me extremely angry. It was so bad that my coach even asked "are you very angry" when she saw me. I prepared a lot for today's match, and knowing Kwanro's aggressive tendencies was able to win because I defended well.
- While playing today you kept smiling
▲ After my loss last week I got a lot of help from my teammates. Maybe it was because I looked so angry, but my teammates were concerned. I promised my teammates that if I were to have an advantage in the game that I would show a smile on my face. But since both games today felt like come-from-behind wins I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
- You defended against Kwanro's strong ling attack in the 3rd set.
▲ In order to prevent that type of play I sent out 2 probes to search, but he was very quick to respond. But I was aware of the possibility of an all-in attack. After the zerglings destroyed my cannons I think he become too relaxed.
- Did you expect the all-in?
▲ Honestly, although I predicted the all-in I hoped that he would go for a management style game. I had prepared a lot for this game so I didn't want to lose lamely, which caused a lot of stress for me. I lost last week to an all-in build, but my teammates comforted me because I didn't lose due to a difference in skill. I think if I played against Kwanro in a real skill vs skill match then I won't lose.
- Your recent games haven't been good. Do you think today's win will help?
▲ There was a while where I just wanted to rest. But I think that time has passed and now I'm ready to practice diligently again. I think effort is very important. I think if I practice as much as I did before I will be able to play as well as I did when I won the Starleague. Recently practice has become fun again and I am trying very hard. I think the results of that practice finally showed today. If I show similar results to other players who are often compared with me I will be able to hear people say that "he is good" again.
- You have tie-breakers in the OSL
▲ I knew that I had to play on Tears of the Moon. But it's a relief I don't have to play on Sin Chupung-ryeong. I think if I can get past Tears of the Moon I will have good results. I think the map is still playable. I'll be preparing by looking at the best-case and worst-case scenarios. To be honest I wasn't expecting the tie-breakers to happen. Because I played so poorly I thought that it was ok to be eliminated. But after I saw that Bisu had won yesterday I thought to myself that my 2nd chance has arrive. If I try hard again I think that I can be better than Bisu.
- Your opponent is ForGG
▲ In the Ro16 I played a Bo3 against him, but at that time I was really pressured because I knew I had to win to secure a seed. Now that I have a seed I think I can play more comfortably. In the past I thought that if I were to play against him he would be a really tough opponent, but strangely whenever we face each other I tend to win. I think that this time around I will able to win too.
- Any last words
▲ My teammates have been really helping me out when they saw how much I was practicing. I had not planned to eat out recently but I think I will have to buy my teammates some food this time. Lately I was losing so much so my mood wasn't good and during the fan meeting I wasn't very cheerful. I'm glad that at today's fan meeting I can greet them with a smiling face.
All interview credit to Fomos
