[Interviews] TLAF-Liquid Winner(s) from GSL Ro64

Hi Jonathan, Hi Jos! Congratulations on being a part of Liquid's most successful GSL Ro64 yet.

Ret: Thanks a lot, happy to be a part of it, and hopefully we aren't going anywhere any time soon. ^_^

Jinro: Howdy! Tyty, good to be a part of it!


This is the first GSL for the both of you and yet you have both progressed to the Ro32. Were you confident you would get past this round, and what are your goals for this tournament?

Jinro: Goal 1 to win Ro32
Goal 2 to win ro16
Goal 3 to win ro8
Goal 4 to win ro4
Goal 5 to win the final

Ret: I was pretty confident about my first round, my opponent wasn’t a big name or anything so I felt good about it. Like I've said in other interviews, my goal is of course to win.


Hahaha. Awesome! How did you feel your series went in general? Any additional insight into things that stream viewers may have missed?

Ret: Game 1 was kinda messy, I should've defended vs the phoenix harass much better instead of being overly aggressive. The game became kind of close because of that at some points. Game 2 was smooth sailing for me, just a standard macro game.

Jinro: Well, I think I played all right but I was too hesitant, a trap I sometimes fall into in important games... I also kinda autopiloted game 2 without properly adjusting to how my opponent was playing, since next to nobody plays that way. I was playing the way you’d play vs ling baneling muta, which is of course a mistake.


You've both watched two GSL Ro64s so far. How do you feel this one stacked up when compared to its predecessors, both in terms of your games and the other competition you saw unfold over the past few days?

Jinro: To be honest I haven't watched the GSL that closely, mostly just teammates' games, but there has been some surprisingly quality play from "unknowns". I say unknowns, but the fOu guys aren’t really unknowns I guess. Alivefou in particular has been quite impressive.

Ret: As expected it's been pretty high level all around, less and less people who have no idea what they're doing and lucked through the qualifiers, although there were still a couple. I don't think there will be any more freebies in GSL from this point forward, and there's a steady increase in skill level.


Speaking of fOu, Ret, you’re playing TheBestfOu. What thoughts on that?

Ret: He's a terran user in fou, and so far all the fou guys have been really strong, so I am expecting a strong terran opponent. Unfortunately the maps aren't really backing me on this one, being Metalopolis, Steppes and Jungle. Nonetheless I feel that ZvT is my best matchup and hopefully I will be able to pull out a win here.

I wish they didn't make it set maps, especially with the Ro32 maps for zerg players....a lot of people have been really unlucky and I feel for them. Some maps in SC2 are so imbalanced they shouldn't be played in tournaments.


Jinro, you’re going up against Moon in one of the biggest games of the GSL so far. How confident are you that you can walk away with a win?

Jinro: I dunno, I can’t say too much before I see the maps. It’s gonna range from "quite confident" to "shit." depending on them. At least it’s hard to get screwed as bad as ST_Monster as Terran. ^^ What we really need is new maps, some of the maps are starting to show their age already.


The stagnant map pool seems to be a recurring problem in SC2 so far. What are some long term solutions to this problem?

Jinro: Map making teams need to eventually pop up, and their maps need to be adopted by tournaments. Also, we should preferably have more than 1 map making team!

Ret: Think we need to move to a system similar to BW where the community makes the maps. BW has seen some amazing maps made by the koreans, I feel like there are enough dedicated people out there who really enjoy this sort of thing that could create great maps for competitive play. In general I feel like larger maps create more balanced and entertaining games.


This was your first televised game in Korea. Did you feel nervous going in? What did you take away from this experience on the whole, and will you do anything different when you prepare to go on camera again in the next round?

Jinro: I don’t feel much in the way of nerves any more, but they still show up a little bit on my play - usually manifested by overly cautious play.

Ret: I feel at home inside the booth. I wish I didn't have to leave, I truly feel one with the chair, desk and computer in front of me. It's like I was born to be there. So no, no nerves. Oh, I'll probably smile more. I didn't think my parents were gonna watch.


Haha, OK! Generally, what’s the atmosphere like at the event? Jinro, we noticed you having a chuckle as you chatted in the lobby with your opponent. Thousands of fans only see you guys in the booth though, so why not tell us a bit about the run up to games and what that process is like once you arrive at the studio?

Ret: Well, I got about 20 minutes to set up my stuff to warm up. Then 'make-up' (2 min because i have no hair), then waiting around starring at the Korean commentar girl because she's so pretty. Then game-time! Oh ya, some random chit chat with Artosis and Tasteless to ease your mind before the match helps. I didn't talk to my opponent at all, would've been different if I actually knew him I guess.

Jinro: Well, I don’t remember what I was laughing about exactly, but NEXDrug and me were chatting about SC1, as I recognized him from there and he said he thought he recognized my ID as well. He seemed to have pretty fluent English and was very nice, so it was fun.

The process is pretty much what Jos describe, what most people probably don’t know though is that there’s quite loud SC music playing inside your booth to drown out outside sound, so you gotta play with your sounds set to maximum. When the game starts, the music goes way up too, masking everything. It’s good, but was a bit of a surprise for me.


You guys both have the weekend to prepare for the Ro32. Ret you have a ZvT to practice for, and Jinro, you’re gonna be working on your TvZ. Any Bo50s vs each other planned?

Jinro: Hopefully I get the same maps as him so we can do nothing but play.

Ret: I'm sure we'll play a lot. Don't wanna smash his confidence though, so I'll go easy.

Jinro: Any other maps and I’d agree.

Ret: In all seriousness though, I was rooting for Moon hardcore because I really wanted a Terran I could practice with. I'm really glad we both have the same matchup.


Hahaha. All right, we’re going to let you guys go now, but here’s one for the road. Jinro, what’s the most annoying part about Ret’s play, and Ret, what do you find most frustrating in playing Jinro?

Jinro: The fact that he always has more units and drones than anyone else at any given point in the game. And that he makes my computer lag with his limit in banelings.

Ret: I hate when my banelings are about to kill a bunch of marines and then he puts em all in dropships and drops down single marines and makes me waste those precious banelings. Generally hes nice to play though, because he rarely allins. <3 terrans who dont allin! His marine spreading is getting too good though. =(


Well, here’s to a frustrating weekend for both of you! Good luck, have fun, and own it up next week, OK? Go Jinro, Go Ret, Liquid fighting!

Jinro: Liquid fighting!

Ret: Liquid`Nazgul Fighting.