The ViBE Fan Club

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- Rushordertees.com

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Monday, December 19th 2011, Team GoSu's very own ViBe will match skills with Grubby.

The MaxFrag.net sponsored showmatch will go live on the It's Gosu eSports stream at 7:00PM EST (4:00PM PST, 1:00AM CEST), and will be a best of five series beginning on MLG Metalopolis. The rest of the map pool will be composed of the announced MLG Orlando map pool, found below.

The showmatch will be casted by the It's Gosu eSports casting crew, Ayesee and Redmagejr.

Map Pool
- GSL Daybreak
- MLG Shakuras Plateau
- MLG Shattered Temple
- MLG Tal’darim Altar
- MLG Antiga Shipyard
- MLG Dual Sight
- MLG Metalopolis
- MLG Xel’Naga Caverns


GoSu.ViBe


Grubby

VOTE HERE http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=295737#9

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GoSuVibe on potential match with Nestea: “I can’t think about the fact that he is Nestea”
by Patrick O'Neill (chobopeon)

Danny Scherlong (GoSuVibe), an American Zerg, has just won his first round matchup against fellow Zerg Fuzzy. However, Vibe barely has time to celebrate because his bracket contains the best Zerg in the world just a few short rounds away: Nestea.
"I've been practicing a long time for this," said Vibe. "No matter who I play, whether they're big name Koreans or anyone else, I can't think about that. I just have to play my game."
As Vibe won his first round matchup 2-0, Idra and Nestea were trading blows on the main stage. As the crowd roared when Nestea's Roach army overran Idra and tied the series 1-1, Vibe had to speak loudly for me to hear him.
"I just can't think about the fact that he is Nestea," said the American. He stressed that the key to his game was keeping an even keel and never getting thrown by the fame of his opponent. If he does get thrown, Vibe knows that his chances will quickly go from slim to nil.
"I feel like Zerg vs. Zerg is one of my strong suits. It is simple: You have to poke and prod against your opponent in the early game so that you can confidently drone up without falling to an all in. Then I have a very strong mid game. If I can do that, if I can get to the mid game, I can compete with even the best Koreans."
Shortly after speaking with Vibe, Nestea completed his comeback against Idra and won his Global Invitational semifinal match 2-1.
Vibe will likely be Nestea's first significant test in the National Championship Open Bracket. Idra has proven that Nestea is beatable in the match up but, in response, Nestea has proven that is still the heavy favorite against any Zerg in the world. The question is, will Vibe be able to take the Korean giant by surprise?

Thanks for taking some time and doing an interview with us Dan. Can you start off by introducing yourself to all the readers?

Hi I’m Dan “ViBE” Scherlong :D I’ve been playing sc2 since beta. I recently joined ROOT Gaming.

Tell me about your gaming history. How did you get into Starcraft II? When did you know you wanted to play games professionally?

It all started when I was a young boy. I started playing console games after I came home from school. I was into playing games such as RPGs, but my main passion was playing games competitively. The first time I experience that was when I played games against my friends. When I would win, I would brag in their faces :D It was a natural transition into online competitive gaming, which led me to play Starcraft 2 professionally.

I knew I wanted to play sc2 professionally when I saw a lot of my friends get sponsored while playing WoW, WC3, and HoN. I felt like I could compete at their level, so I ultimately wanted to play progaming in sc2, the next game to come out at the time. So I knew I wanted to be a pro Starcraft 2 player before the game came out. I always had a dream to pursue a gaming career. I was good at WC3, but I never took it seriously. I played some online tournaments for fun, but never pursued sponsorship. When sc2 came out, I was working part time so I it was the right time for me to pursue my passion.

Can you tell us a bit more about your earlier starcraft II career. What was your first major lan? How was the experience?

When I first started playing sc2 in the beta, I was playing with friends mostly. I played more team games than 1v1. It was fun, but I realized that sc2 was more of an individual sport. When the game came out, I started playing 1v1 seriously. Shortly after the game was released, I was being contacted by teams for sponsorship. I ultimately joined VZR (visionary gaming) which was my first professional team that I competed for in team leagues and tournaments. Then one of my friends, who was previously sponsored in WoW, found out I was playing sc2 competitively and asked me to join his team. That is what led me to join NrG (Team Energy) which became sponsored by Sixjax.


My first major lan was MLG Dallas 2010. I had certain expectation for myself due to my online results. It was my first lan so I was extremely nervous. I remember my first opponent at the lan was someone who I struggled against online, TT1. I ended up winning the first game of the series but ultimately lost the set. I felt like I got too nervous in the second and third game while TT1 stepped up his game and he won.

The next day, I played my first mainstage match (losers round 1). It was a great experience since I won the match and it was my first professionally casted match. It was vs Rain (USA zerg player).


You recently joined ROOT Gaming this year in May. How is the new team? Have you played any team leagues under ROOT yet?

Since I joined ROOT Gaming, I have been extremely happy to be in a relaxed atmosphere with all my friends. I am really looking forward to Heart of the Swarm. That is when the entire team will be back 100%, and I can only imagine the potential the team will have then. Players such as Kiwikaki and Fayth will be playing competitively again.

I love the guys on ROOT. Our team skype chat is always full of entertaining and funny comments. I am always laughing in between my ladder games. It helps to prevent tilting. If I lose a game, and I tab out and read a hilarious comment, I feel honky donkey again.

I am looking forward to playing my first team league as a part of ROOT because I have not played a team match in a long time. Team leagues are fun!


Recently you won your first major lan, WCS USA. ESFI World did a great post event interview that can be found here:+ Show Spoiler + Please tell us how did you feel about the format of WCS USA and the WCS format in general?

I felt like WCS USA had a bit less exposure than other WCS events. It was majorly overshadowed by MLG Anaheim. Nonetheless it was an extremely good experience because it was the first lan that I have ever won. The feeling of winning the grand finals of WCS in front of a MLG size crowd on Championship Sunday is a feeling I will never forget. Nevertheless, I really like how WCS gives players a sense of national pride. It gives me a chance to represent my country. It brings out a different aspect and element, keeping the tournament really unique. I cannot wait to be in China wearing the USA flag around my shoulder like in the olympics!

I was really happy with my performance at WCS. I went into WCS thinking that my zvt is my best match up when in fact I did not play a single terran and still won WCS. It made me more confident about all my matchups and feel like a more well-rounded player.


With WCS North America Finals two weeks away, how do you feel you will do against the WCS Canada winner--Scarlett-- and the WCS Mexico winner--Major? Are there any players you think u will have trouble against?

If I get matched up against either Scarlett or Major, I think I have a good chance. I will definitely need to bring my A game. I have not played many matches vs Scarlett, but I have been practicing with Juan as the newest ROOT member. He has been beating me more than I have beaten him in our practice matches.

I am not necessarily afraid to play anyone in this tournament. There are a few people who I do think will beat me if I do not play my best. I need to make sure I keep my focus and composure.

Are you playing in MLG Summer Championships in Raleigh as well as WCS North America Finals? Do you think it is hard as a player to participate in both? How did playing in both tournaments impact your results last MLG and will it happen again? How do you practice for these major tournaments?

It definitely is a challenge to play in both WCS and MLG simply because you don't really have any time to relax. It can get a little stressful when I finish one match and have an admin telling me to quickly set up to play my next match for one of the tournaments. Also since you have no time to really take a break it's also hard to get a meal in because last time I did this in Anaheim, on Friday I ate before the event started at noon and wasn't able to eat again until 2:00 am. Once you get into the later stages of the tournament it starts calming down which is nice and even with all the cons I have about playing in both tournaments I think the 1 pro outweighs both of them. That being I have 2 chances to make an awesome weekend for myself by possibly tearing through the MLG bracket or the WCS bracket.

I am trying to practice a lot but not overdoing it. In the past, when I over practice, it stressed me out and actually caused me to play worse. I am trying to find a good balance between playing practice games and korean ladder. Occasionally I watch other people play.


Switching topics, let us discuss your thoughts on the eSports industry. What do u think about the future of esports as it gains more mainstream media attention? (CNN article, etc.)

I think the more exposure esports get the better simply because it shows investors how many people are actually interested in it. Esports has a huge following which is only growing popularity wise and it will be nice when we get to the point where we have enough money to really put on high quality shows (not saying what we have isn't good already) but it could be so much more.

Do you think games like Dota2, HoN, LoL have hinders the growth of sc2?

I think eSports as a collective is what will make the impact in ultimately growing the scene. It doesn't really matter what game it is because outside perspectives will categorise it as the same thing "Video Games". So definitely all those games impact sc2 just like sc2 impacts those games in the same way.


What do you think about the influx of Brood War players and how will this change the current SC2 scene?

After they practice more and play more, they will do extremely well. I was watching Roro vs STHack and it was amazing. Roro lost game 1 pretty bad. But in game 2 and game 3, every time the terran moved out, the zerg would counter attack and force the terran into all-in type situations. He had great control of the map and make the terran move out in uncomfortable scenarios. Not many players play like that, so I am already trying to incorporate that into my own play style.

When the Kespa players joining will add another layer of depth into the scene. This will help push the eSports industry to grow. The BW player’s unique play styles will change the current metagame and allow further growth in the match ups.

Zerg have done pretty well lately, what does he think about the race in the current "metagame." What's your opinion about ZvT?

Z v T in my opinion is for the most part balanced. There are some amazing terran players who incorporate the correct units to counter what most terrans complain about “infestor and broodlords.” Since ghosts got nerfed a while ago, a lot of terrans decided not to use them as much, but they are still extremely effective. A couple EMPs on a group of infestors goes a long way.

Stephano is one of the rare players who managed to reach the top without playing in Korea. Do you think that staying in Korea is a must in order to improve at SC2? Why are Korean players better than foreigners? What makes them so good/superior?

I do not think a player must train in Korea to be good at the game, but in order for that to be the case, the player needs to have an extremely good grasp of the game on his own and really strong mechanics.

I believe koreans are better because of their team environment. Korean scene as a whole is more tight-knit and they all tend to work together. Korea is like a big clan itself. In the foreign scene, you see less collaboration between players and different teams. When all the teams live together like they do in korea, it makes it easier for everyone to grow.


What do you think about the NA team house environments?

If all the teams houses in foreign scene were in the same area forming a big esports community, it will allow more players of similar skills to help each other grow. foreign is starting to build this kind of environment, but we are still behind. The community in korea is really concentrated creating a good motivating environment. Most players are friends with each other and practice with each other even if they are on different teams. That does not happen as often in foreign.

HotS will probably be released in the foreseeable future. What is your opinion on this expansion and what are you looking forward to the most? What do you think about the new Zerg units? Are there units that you consider overpowered "on the paper"? Will HotS open the doors to new strategies?

I am super super excited for the expansion to come out. I am looking forward to starcraft changing as a whole. It will bring out a new factor to the game and less repetitiveness. It will have more variety. There will definitely be a lot of new strategies that comes with the new units. By then, I think this game and industry will have matured and grown more, so I am excited to see how the scene will develop. I will stay as zerg still and I like the new viper unit. You cannot “death-ball” your way to victory vs the viper. I think the mines, the viper, and the oracle all seem ridiculously strong.

Thank you for the interview. Any final comments or shoutouts?

I would like to thank my team, ROOT Gaming and my sponsors which are Rush Order Tees and Twitch.tv.

Height: 6 feet tall (rounding up)
Favorite movie: Baseketball
Show: Modern Family
Food: Spicy Chicken (imagine ViBE saying it in batman’s voice)
Color: Green
Icecream: Ben and Jerry’s strawberry cheesecake
RPG: Final fantasy series
Animal: Dogs, because I have two! One is a mini husky name Bandit and a belgian malinois name Niki
Ideal vacation: Hawaii, i love long walks on the beach
Most afraid of: before it was spiders, now it is heights
Siblings: Brother name Rob
Dream when you were five: Be a professional basketball or football player
Favorite sport: American football and my favorite team would be the New England Patriots