The CranK Fan Club - Page 15

TeamLiquid: You've made it to the Ro8. How do you feel?

Crank: Hmmm... I was a little lacking in confidence at first. But I practiced a lot with Sungwon-hyung, MMA, and he gave me a lot of confidence and helped a lot in practice, so things went well. I'm very happy right now.

How was adjusting for jet lag? Was it hard?

I feel this whenever I come here [to the States], but that's the most difficult thing. This trip was the hardest of any I've had so far. But the mistakes I made inside the games weren't related to jet lag, they're just flaws I have to fix. So even if I had some jet lag, I was able to get through the games decently.

You played TheStC, a player you're friends with, in the final match. How did you feel going in?

I practice a lot with him usually. I've met him twice or so in tournaments, and I lost in really one-sided games both times. Unlike in practice, he's really good in tournaments. So I was pretty nervous about it, and I practiced a lot for Terran. I won, but since he's a close friend I can't really say that I was happy – I hoped he would survive to the end and make it out of the group.

How did you prepare for the games? You had PvZ first, and a guaranteed PvT next. What did you focus on?

I had GSTL preparation right until I had to leave Korea. The match-up I was responsible for in GSTL was PvZ, so I had already played a lot of PvZ, but hadn't been able to practice PvT. So I only played PvT after I arrived here. Because of that, honestly I don't think my play in the first series was that good. I just kept playing PvT with MMA after I got here, for PvZ I only planned it out before I went into the games.

You lost to a speedling all-in in the first game against mOOnGLaDe. Did you accept that possibility when you decided not to scout?

Even if I do that kind of greedy play, the probability a late probe scout will discover that strat is still 2/3. But he ended up being at the last spot I was scouting, so I didn't see it. That I just thought I was really unlucky. Instead of feeling bad about that game, I just thought "well he got me this time."

You went DTs in game three, but it got stopped as your opponent got overseers in time. Did you think you had lost?

Maybe it was because I only planned the series in my head without actually practicing, but my tech tree, my build wasn't precise. Everything was slow, DTs, zealots, and everything, so I felt that my DTs would be stopped even as I was going for them, and it turned out that way in reality. I thought I had lost and started preparing for the losers' match... but as you know if you saw the game, my opponent made a lot of mistakes, so I think I was a bit lucky too. That match helped me loosen up, so I was able to play well when I played TheStC.

Your PvT seems strong if we look at GSTL, beating players like YoDa and ByuN. Are you confident in the match-up?

PvT, it's a match-up my teammates keep telling me I'm good at to make me confident. I think the games went a bit better because I kept that in mind as I went into the match.

Terrans say that Protoss is actually even better in PvT in HotS. What do you think about it?

I think the better player wins. If you look at the ladder, Proleague, or GSTL, the good Terrans always beat Protoss and say it's a comfortable match-up. So I think the balance now is very good now, it's a matter of skill.

In the Ro8, who do you want to face? Or what race do you want to face?

I don't really care what race the player is as long as its a player from a different team, but it seems like I'll play against my teammate Alicia [Note: if WCS AM was identical to GSL format, that's how the bracket would have looked]. So my heart felt a bit heavy... Still, I'm happy to think I reached the Ro8, and thinking that at least one person from our team can reach the semis makes me feel better.

Axiom-Acer is #1 in the GSTL. You probably didn't expect it at first, but how do you feel now?

A lot of people – players, coaches, etc – thought we were an objectively weak team. So that helped us come together and prepare even harder. We didn't look at the big picture – we didn't think that we would be #1 when all the games ended. We just focused and prepared for the game in front of us, so I think we got good results from that. Even though we're #1 right now, we're more focused on winning the next match than thinking that we're #1 or getting overconfident.

A lot of people expected that Alicia would be the main Protoss on the team, but you've ended up playing a very important role instead. Is that planned, or is that just how the games have played out so far?

Sometimes it just happened that way because it's how the games ended up unfolding... But I've had a tendency to be placed later in the line-up than Alicia even when we were on SlayerS, because we felt that would help people with nerves.

You're doing really well in GSTL, but you're not doing good in the Acer TeamStory Cup. Axiom actually lost to Acer lately. How come you don't do as well in the ATC?

If I had to make an excuse, the GSTL is the tournament we spend the most time on and practice for the most. But teams like MVP are doing well in the ATC as well, so I don't think it's a real excuse. We've played poorly in the ATC, but there's still games left and we have a chance of making it to the playoffs. We need to prepare better from now on and win the rest of our games.

Miya retired, leaving Axiom without a Zerg. Are you looking to recruit a Zerg player, or are you not at that phase yet?

After Miya made up his mind to retire, all our players agreed that we should recruit a new Zerg player. We're looking for one now, and we've already asked other players and coaches. But it's not easy finding someone, since there's not many good Zergs who are teamless or looking for a move. We're looking, but it's hard.

Do you go back to Korea now, or are you here until the Ro8?

We're all staying in New York until the Ro8, and leaving after the tournament is complete.

You're staying in the MLG provided apartment then? Or somewhere else?

We don't know what's going to happen if we're eliminated, there's no guarantee everyone will get to the Ro8 so we don't have a set plan. We came here thinking that we'll figure it out after we all get out of our Ro16 groups, so I don't know yet.

Any words for Ryung, the only Axiom player who still has to play his match?

I've heard that viOLet, who's in Ryung's group, might not be able to come. So it would be a 3 player group, and it would be all Terrans, the race he's best against. I think he might feel pressure because Alicia and I have already made it to the Ro8, but I think if he just relaxes and tries to enjoy the games he will be able to play up to his ability. So I hope he'll be comfortable and enjoy, and the results will follow.

If you had to pick the most likely player to win of the ones remaining, who would you pick?

I've only looked at my group, so I don't really know who's left. I think if I beat Alicia, I will win.

Any last comments?

Against all expectations, we're getting good results in the GSTL. I hope our fans keep cheering us on, and we'll be able to continue at #1. I read TL lately, and all the predictions say I'll lose or get eliminated. I think my results are better because of that, so I want to thank TeamLiquid. *Handshake with Wax*

Finally, thanks to John, Olivia, Michael and Genna, our sponsors Planetside 2 and Sony, and SC2Links.com