All In The Family

All In The Family
by Xxio
Team Liquid: Final Edits

Victor cracked his knuckles and leaned back in his favourite chair. He hadn’t used it in a long time, not since Korea. As he sat there, ten years of memories came flooding back, and with those a new sense of purpose.

It had been far too long since he’d been here, sitting in the musky grandeur of his upstairs office.

The Dutchman sighed. This peace between the families bothered him.
Meet The Family

Dario

Tyler

Jonathan

Hayder

Victor
For too long it had bred his malcontent, and in that, over the years, his indolence. Now, with war on the horizon, his fingers twitched, and he spread them, holding his hand up to the light that came in through the lone window. People were taking sides and Victor had a choice to make.

ESPORTS. It was a dirty business.

At times he felt too old for it all. Too old for the wars, too old to be running a family. His hands weren’t as fast as they used to be and the responsibilities of age weighed heavily on his shoulders. Years of experience however had given him a wealth of wisdom, and his mind was still sharp. His fingers too, yes, his aging fingers - they now ached for the action they had once felt and for the first time in over a decade, Victor felt invigorated. He grinned.

"The Swede", he said, addressing the wall of books in front of him. "I will call the Swede."

Far away, a phone rang.

***

Young, freshly shaven, and smelling of the future, Jonathan walked in and settled himself comfortably in one of the three mahogany chairs.

"Whisky?"

Victor nodded.

The newcomer's words poured forth like a torrent.

“The time has come Victor, you have your Consigliere. Now, where’s the American? I thought he would be here by now.”

"He'll be here."

Don Nazgul had turned and was looking out the window, his gaze darting over the well kept lawn and down the long driveway to the beautifully manicured hedge that marked his property.

“It's a long way from Texas,” said Victor, turning around and sliding an old manilla folder towards his young friend.

“I know. I don’t doubt it. I would just feel more comfortable if he was around". Jinro’s voice suddenly turned cold, his posture tightening as he assumed the role of Consigliere.

"There are so few of us left, Don Nazgul. So very few of us."

The Don smiled, the crinkles around his eyes offset sharply by the cold steel that emanated from within. He pushed the folder towards the Swede.

"I need you to go back home, Jonathan."

"Home?"

"Yes, I have business for you."

"We're fine there, Victor, we don't need to consolidate..."

"I want to expand the family."

The young man looked sharply at the Don. "You don't mean..."

The silence was broken by the tick-tock of the grandfather clock in the corner. For a second, the flame of Victor's lighter illuminated the room.

"Yes, I mean Hayder. Big things are afoot, Jonathan." He passed his Consigliere a cigar and watched his long, sturdy fingers work deftly, cutting and lighting it with practiced ease. This man had class. He had promise. He would serve the family well.

Victor smiled. Some things never changed.

“Hayder's reputation precedes him. Our friends across the Atlantic are petrified."

Jonathan nodded. He had heard of his countryman as well.

"We want him with us, Jonathan. Not against us. Make it so."

"I will, Don Nazgul. I will."

The light fell outside, and smoke filled the office as the two men sat in silence, enjoying the calm before the storm.

Team Liquid. Two words, two simple words that when put together, exemplify quality, passion, and devotion. Each of us should feel privileged to be a part of this community, for it has undeniably changed our lives for the better, whether by inspiring us, motivating us, or giving us confidence in who we are as individuals. We come here day after day knowing that we are a part of something special and unprecedented, something that binds us as kin and keeps us alive and impassioned amidst our work filled lives. For many of us, it has become our cause to wake up in the morning, and in many ways, a reason to keep slogging through our frantic lives.

Yet, while we rally around the Team Liquid banner and gather in the forums that we call home, we must not forget the foundation, the history of our e-sports nation – the original source of the irrevocable quality we see before us day after day. Team Liquid was not always the StarCraft Mecca and inspiration that it is today; it came to be from humble origins, from the purest of ideas.

At the turn of the century and beginning of a new millennium, Victor Goossens decided to start a clan called Liquid`. With the clan came a website, and with the website came the masses. One of the oldest and most revered names in StarCraft, Nazgul has maintained Liquid’s reputation over the years by recruiting only the most skilled, manner players deserving of the Liquid` ID. With the emergence of StarCraft 2, Liquid` clan has been reinvigorated, and partnered with TheLittleAppFactory, woken from its slumber with a new premier line-up ready to represent and shutdown all competition; a new generation for a new era.

Throughout the beta TheLittleOne constantly perplexed us, excited us, and inspired us to dare the impossible. A regular crowd pleaser, TLO is, without a doubt, the most flexible and adaptable player in the world. With a style impossible to pin down, he has used his ingenuity and keen reactionary sense to outplay his opponents time and time again, whether it be with Thor or Colossus drops, Infester-Zergling play, or a late-game transition to nukes and BCs. When you play against TLO, you have to be ready for anything - this guy will revolutionize the game just to beat you.

Despite his immense success in StarCraft 2, TheLittleOne is one of the few RTS players outside WarCraft3 and StarCraft: Brood War to make a name for himself. After a brief stint playing Brood War, TLO became known as a Supreme Commander champion, winning the I-Power Games Lissabon 2007 tournament before, like any good nerd, he switched back to Brood War and trained “really really hard”, reaching A- in preparation for StarCraft2. When beta released and Dario finally got his hands on the game, he found that, thankfully, his Supreme Commander experience "helped me a lot in terms of mindset, helped me with decision making in StarCraft. The decision making and macro management transferred very well to my StarCraft2 skills.”

Young and impassioned, TheLittleOne’s training paid off, and combined with his creative flair, he was able to not only claim three 1st place and two 2nd place titles in tournaments such as the Zotac Cup, ESL Cup, and Team Liquid SC2 Invitational, but win over the hearts and minds of our chic, elitist community. Now on Liquid`, TLO is practicing with Nony, Nazgul, Haypro, and Jinro, all top players he has beat and been defeated by. With his new practice partners TheLittleOne will be more than ready to dominate the scene and rep. it up for clan Liquid`. The future looks bright indeed, both for Liquid`, and TLO.

The antithesis of stagnation, TheLittleOne’s style is genesis itself. There is nothing out of bounds, nothing too drastic, and precedents mean nothing. Winning is the only thing that matters and if TLO has to reinvent the game to do so, so be it.

TLO became best known for his innovation, in both strategies and tactics, in his series vs. Nazgul in the EU TLI, and he has since continued to live up to his reputation. A month and a half later TLO was invited into 178.com’s EU vs. Asia Showmatch series to play Chinese super-star Loner (who competed in Stars Wars) in a bo5; it was in this series that TLO made popular the infester/zergling strategy and solidified himself as a player who could live up to all hype and expectation.

After holding off Loner’s first push with a perfect speedling surround, TLO pressured Loner’s rocks and counter attacked the natural, continually harassing and slipping zerglings through cracks in Loner’s defense to check what the Terran was planning. With Loner back on his heels and thoroughly scouted TLO was able to save up his gas and fast tech straight to infesters, timing it perfectly so that his first fungal growth caught the middle of Loner’s marine-centric army just as it was reaching a critical mass, putting 13 marines into the red and stalling the Terran’s big push while TLO took the gold expo. This was quickly followed by yet another fungal growth, thrown just as TLO broke through Loner’s rocks. The marine ball was sprayed twice more in rapid succession, the Terran army only able to march a few steps at a time while the green fungus chewed through the infantry, popping nearly all of them and halting Loner’s attack halfway across the map. Throughout the rest of the game Loner suffered constant harassment and by the time he came out with his next push, TLO had neural parasite and more than enough energy and units to fungal growth-zergling surround the Terran to death.

As seen in his game vs. Loner, TLO’s creativity often comes in the fruition of a long wrought strategy, which, through its ingenuity and timing, catches the opponent completely off guard. However, this isn’t to say that TLO’s innovation only comes in the form of an all-encompassing game plan. Many times he has also shown us his creativity in spur of the moment tactics, giving him that extra edge and truly demonstrating the scope of his versatility. In Game 2 vs. Tester in Day[9]’s Razer King of the Beta tournament, TLO showed us exactly this.

After losing his natural to a very early timing push Tester soon completely lost map control, and with TLO shutting down Tester’s fourth expansion and taking his own fourth and fifth bases, Tester knew it was time to take drastic action. Using the motherships’s recall ability, Tester teleported his army into the back of TLO’s main, far from TheLittleOne’s bunkers, planetary fortresses, and siege tank lines. With immortals, zealots, and high templar tearing apart his base, TLO, with no hesitaton, called down a defensive nuke smack in the middle of Tester’s army and his own base. Though the ghost was killed seconds before the nuke set off, this spontaneous tactic would have annihilated Tester’s entire army while only destroying a few of TLO’s remaining buildings. Already desperate for resources, I am positive Tester would have gg’d then and there. The other brilliant part of casting this nuke is that TLO had siege tanks lined up at the other side of his main, waiting for Tester’s army to advance further in, and for the Battlecruisers that were already on their way to reinforce. If Tester had tried to run fully clear of the explosion he would have been mangled by tanks and BCs, but if he remained where he was he would have been decimated.

In both strategies and tactics TheLittleOne’s creativity reigns supreme, always catching his opponent off guard by exploiting gaps in their game plan and making unpredictable decisions. It will be a pleasure watching TLO’s unique style continue to evolve and shape the metagame, as he plays each match as if it was his first and last.

For most of us, TLO is a recent addition to the StarCraft community, his debut into the StarCraft scene having taken place but a few months back in the EU TLI. However, in reality TheLittleOne has been known among StarCraft’s inner circles of for longer than we know. Eight years ago, Dario Wunsch met Liquid`Nazgul, and whether by fate or happenstance, it was an encounter that changed TLO’s life forever.

To Dario, it was the 2002 Games Convention in Leipzig, his hometown, where at the age of twelve he had the rare opportunity to meet those who he aspired to be – pG clan – and not only in person, but on the battlefield as well. Nazgul and some of the other pG members were giving visitors the chance to play them, and TLO jumped on the opportunity. “Highly motivated”, TLO was ready to start his legacy. Though beaten by Nazgul, he scored victories over two other players from pG, and used micro that he would later reminisce as being never able to replicate again. Needless to say, Nazgul and everyone in pG were very impressed. pG.bw signed his shirt, "Even the least (little) one can become a big one", and TLO knew he had just taken his first step on the long road to becoming a progamer.

In March Nazgul and TheLittleOne met again. Already an established name in the Supreme Commander community, Dario was more than ready to once more impress the Brood War legend. This time TLO came out on top and without a second thought, Nazgul recruited him to Liquid`. If there is a better success story in the foreigner scene, I have yet to hear it.

"Now I realize this might have been the day it all started for me. From then on I knew my goal. I wanted to become a Progamer one day. I am not saying I have completed my task yet, but I have never felt closer to actually fulfilling my dream."
- TheLittleOne

Caporegime

TeamLiquid.net: Hi TLO! It's great to be talking with you today. First off, congratulations on your recent victories over Huk and WhiteRa.

TLO: Hey! Thank you, I am very glad I won as my TvP has not been very good in the past.

TeamLiquid.net: Well speaking of WhiteRa, it seems that he's been quite the obstacle for you, knocking you out of some big tournaments. However, just recently you beat him 4-0, putting your head-to-head record at 13-10 in your favour. Is this a rivalry in the making? Do you consider him your toughest competition?

TLO: Oh he is definitely my nemesis, but only when it comes to gaming, I really like him as a person. I am pretty happy that I finally managed to beat him in 2 show-matches, but I still consider myself below him because his victories over me have been in more important events. Thus, I can't wait to meet him in a tournament again (preferably in a final hehe).

TeamLiquid.net: Preferably in a final indeed! Though it was while back, I was happy to see you registered as random for both the Micro Macro 2 World Tournament and Global Gamers SC2 Invitational, are you still planning to stay random as long you can? If a tournament with top players forced you to pick a race, which would you choose? We've seen you playing a lot of Terran lately...

TLO: Oh actually I won't enter them as random, the admins of the tournaments simply put me in as random without asking ^ ^. I don't play Protoss anymore but I hope to stay Terran and Zerg. If a tournament would force me to pick? I would look at my first possible opponents and decide what my best race vs. them is.

TeamLiquid.net: Your reputation precedes you. I'm curious, what is it about Protoss that's turned you off playing them? Some other top players have said the Protoss race rewards creative, multitask intensive play. It sounds like it would fit with your style.

TLO: I just didn’t feel the vibe with Protoss. And my P stats really sucked! And to be honest, after so many years of the goon-stuck and failing scarabs I had to endure in broodwar, it feels right to change to Terran and Zerg in sc2. I always envied Terrans for siege tanks and Zerg for their hatcheries ^ ^.

TeamLiquid.net: Haha, fair enough. I've definitely felt that siege tank envy. About your style, many people know it as being unconventional and reactionary, the exact opposite of someone like IdrA and many of the top Brood War players. How do you see your style being viable months and years from now? Do you think StarCraft 2 will be more flexible than Brood War and allow for this kind of play to subsist? For Brood War, the game eventually evolved into standard strategies and build orders.

TLO: I think the whole nature of sc2 allows people to pull off cuter moves than sc1; macro is so much easier, putting the focus on micro and decision making. It's really easy to macro out of 8 barracks and still nuke at two different spots, at least compared to sc:bw. I don't think people will continue to call my style creative in the future, but rather more and more people will realize that it really is not too hard to do some sneaky pin-point attacks and try to gain an advantage with small groups of units.

TeamLiquid.net: Ah, so you're just ahead of the curve - I think many people would agree with you. But hypothetically, say StarCraft 2 evolves similar to Brood War. How easily do you think you could adapt to this predetermined, standard kind of play, both in playing against it and perhaps having no choice but to play as such yourself?

TLO: In the last weeks of beta that I played, I solely concentrated on training my standard build orders. In sc:bw I started as a cheesy player but realized that the key of victory is very solid play. I consider it to be one of my highest goals to beat Idra in a pure macro game, that should tell you enough I think.
^ ^

TeamLiquid.net: You have said in the past that you would not want to live in a practice house as the top Koreans do for Brood War, but would you ever consider simply living in Korea to play StarCraft 2 professionally, similar to what Nazgul did?

TLO: I think I would like to have at least half a year to prepare, I would not want to go to Korea with zero knowledge of the language. Also, I can't imagine myself playing more than 8 hours a day, so it depends on the terms of my stay. However, if given the chance I would definitely go there for a boot camp for a couple of weeks.

TeamLiquid.net: Good to hear! On this topic, do you think that, as it is with Brood War, the top players will eventually come from this practice house environment, once again leaving you and other foreigners in the dust? Or do you think the game will play differently and allow for a less strenuous schedule if someone wants to compete at the highest level?

TLO: It's really hard to tell without having insider knowledge of the way Korean teams are structured. I am very sure that the Koreans will once again be the dominant force in sc2, but the gap between foreigners and Koreans will hopefully be a lot smaller. In sc:bw almost no one out of Korea could make a living from playing the game. Things will probably be different now, allowing foreigners to play the game as full-time professionals and compete with the Koreans.

TeamLiquid.net: It would definitely be a welcomed change, and speaking of top foreign players - are you famous in Germany yet? Do classmates know of your e-sports fame? Anyone asking for autographs?

TLO: Well all of my friends and family know what I am doing, and once a guy at university asked me if I am TLO, but for now I can enjoy walking around without being harassed!

TeamLiquid.net: With TheLittleAppFactory sponsoring Liquid` you might have girls fighting over you in a matter of days. You said in an interview with TheElitists that becoming a professional gamer was a lifelong dream of yours. Now you're a part of Liquid` as one of, if not the, most popular StarCraft 2 player in the world, and have an official sponsor. How does it all feel?

TLO: It's amazing, I am very happy and everything is working out just fine for me right now. But I am a very cautious and suspicious person so I won't be able to smile too much until things are a little bit more secure and I can really settle as one of the top gamers.

TeamLiquid.net: Thanks for your time TLO! Any last words for everyone reading this?

TLO: I will destroy everyone in 2011!

Outside Korea, Tyler may be the most talented player in StarCraft: Brood War. One of the old-school, Tyler became infamous for making it to the finals in Courage in his first and only try in 2008. While he was crushing dreams in Courage, Tyler was also a full-time member of Korean proteam eSTRO, his skill even impressing headcoach kOs after being on the B-team for but a couple months.

Despite language issues, Tyler also managed to gain the respect and support of many Korean A-teamers, notably SangHo who recently said, “I think highly of Nony and respect him a lot; he’s a hardworking player who was very talented and if he kept working hard like that, could have become an A-teamer on eSTRO. He was doing really good.” After leaving Korea for personal reasons, Tyler became inactive in the Brood War scene for months, leaving many wondering what had become of him. In 2009 he returned triumphant, taking 1st place in the Pokerstrategy.com TSL, the largest foreigner Brood War tournament to date, quelling all doubts of his aptitude.

As we have seen, Tyler’s top-tier play has transferred over to SC2 with ease. Already inventing game-changing strategies, Tyler made the phoenix his trademark unit by using it to dispatch competition throughout the HDH Invitational, including teammate and top player TheLittleOne. In beta we saw very little of Tyler, his only appearances outside the Day[9] Dailies being in the HDH tournament and his win over Lzgamer in the Liquid` vs. EG Clanwar. This, however, is all about to change. To our pleasure and his opponent’s dismay, our Brood War champion has already signed up and been invited to the largest tournaments on the horizon. Be ready to see the same old Protoss hero we know and love, because whether SC1 or SC2, Tyler is still Tyler.

In mechanics, strategy, timings, and execution, Tyler has it all, but of these, his predetermined game-plans and timings reign supreme. Always with a strategy prepared, Tyler will go through the motions of his game-plan flawlessly, making his victories look so crisp and clean that you almost feel bad for the opponent.

Not only rock-solid, Tyler’s strategies always have an element of surprise or unpredictability about them. Rather than mass up, push out and hope to win, Tyler prefers to chip away at his opponent. What might start as a small attempt at harassment, if not properly dealt with, will quickly turn into a game changing, full-fledged attack. We saw this, much to LzGamer’s detriment, in the Liquid` vs. EG Showmatch series.

LzGamer quickly expanded to his natural but with only two barracks to defend both bases, there was a small window of opportunity for Tyler to harass while additional barracks were still constructing. Using blink, Tyler jumped into the back of LzGamer’s base with only seven stalkers to pick off scvs while what few Terran units there were guarded the natural. Eight scvs fell to the surprise attack but more importantly, the stalkers then led the marine army on a goose-chase, out and up to the natural as Tyler blinked another group of stalkers back into LzGamer’s main. The Terran army rushed back to defend but it was too late, the orbital command was destroyed and at the same time, scvs were being picked off in the natural by the remaining stalkers from the first attack. With precise timings Tyler made the most of the small crack in the Terran’s defenses, turning a simple, direct attack into a game winning tactic.

Tyler will ride whatever advantage he creates to the utmost, and when given an inch, will work relentlessly to exploit that opportunity. Being aware of these opportunities and having the skill to take advantage of them is one of Tyler’s best qualities and one that leads him to many victories, but as demonstrated versus MoonGlade in the HDH, it is not the only skill in Tyler’s arsenal. His ability to create and carry out a solid, unique, overarching gameplan is no less effective, and when combined with his timing sense, there is little his opponent can do to escape the destruction raining down on them.

Threatened with the possibility of an early two-base push, MoonGlade built a wall of spine crawlers while he droned and waited for his mutalisks to build up. This was exactly what Tyler wanted. With two stargates already warping in Phoenixes, he easily shut down attempts at mutalisk harass and with a small ground force of sentry/stalker/colossus immediately took map control and killed off the bulk of MoonGlade’s army. With total air control Tyler swept across the map, killing 3 queens, 17 overlords, and well over 20 drones, all the while expanding and preparing for the tech switch to hydralisks. Having shattered the Zerg's economy Tyler quickly got the gg.

Tyler’s many years of professional StarCraft experience have given him the game sense to create viable strategies of the highest quality, time them to perfection, and then execute them tactically with surgical precision. Don’t be tricked by the clean-cut, directness of his wins. While they look beautifully simple, there is an ocean of knowledge behind them.

Capo Bastone

TeamLiquid.net: Hello Tyler, it’s a pleasure to be talking with you today. Let’s jump right into this with the first question. Early in the beta you became known for innovative Phoenix play that you’ve used, in all match-ups, to beat some very skilled opponents – do you consider it an essential Protoss unit? You’ve certainly had a lot of success with it.

Tyler: I can play games without Phoenixes, so they aren't really essential, but I do prefer to open with them in PvT and in certain situations for PvP. They are the best unit for harassing until Void Rays get their movement speed upgrade. I think the Phoenix is an essential unit for a player emphasizing multitasking.

TeamLiquid.net: What about in a supporting role, such as breaking siege lines? Or do you think that with speed Void Rays can take over that role as well?

Tyler: In earlier parts of the game Phoenixes can do that really well but they might be better off just flying around a defensive player and killing his workers. It's safer to kill some of his workers and take another expansion than to do a full attack. As the game gets well past the 10 minute mark, Void Rays are usually a better choice.

TeamLiquid.net: Wise words. What strategies in what match-ups do you think Protoss struggles with the most right now? Is there anything out there similar to Terran mech in TvZ or are things pretty stable for Protoss?

Tyler: I think Protoss is stable right now, we have powerful openings and powerful 200/200 army compositions. As long as the Protoss player has a good opening and makes a good army composition, things go well.

TeamLiquid.net: Generally speaking, you seem to like setting the pace of the game early on with a pre-determined game-plan, quite opposite to TLO and HayprO’s reactionary styles. Do you see StarCraft 2 evolving into established and universally used strategies and build orders similar to Brood War, or do you think it will remain flexible enough to allow for more versatile and unpredictable play than the original?

Tyler: I think strategies will become established but tactics will be very versatile, at least that's how I plan to play. I like to have a nice reliable strategy with specific goals in the background, but in the foreground I'm trying to gain every little advantage possible in any way that I can see. For example, if Terran gets a lot of air units, I might plan to get ~12 Stalkers with Blink by a certain point. How I can make the most out of those Stalkers is unique to that game and I'll have to figure that out on-the-fly.

TeamLiquid.net: SangHo recently called you a systematic player with a lot of innate skill; someone with enough potential to have become an A-teamer on eSTRO. This is no small comment. How well do you think your StarCraft 1 style of play and skillset carried over to StarCraft 2? How has it been adapting your skills to this new game?

Tyler: My experience with StarCraft 1 has enabled me to create and adjust builds, and, aside from my multitasking, my ability to perfect my gameplan probably won me the most matches in SC 1. I wouldn't have figured out how to use Phoenixes as a standard opening without my experience from SC 1. Multitasking has also carried over well although I have not had a chance to play SC2 enough to perform at a progamer level.

TeamLiquid.net: Practicing for StarCraft 2, what skills do you find yourself focusing on to develop? Are they different from what you worked on for Brood War? If so, why?

Tyler: StarCraft 2 is different for me because it's back to basics, it's more experimental while I figure things out. With SC1, I could make very accurate predictions about what a certain group of units could defeat or when me or my opponent could have a certain group of units. I could see something like a Protoss making 3 Archons instead of 2 and I would know that that was the difference between a win and a loss. I need to learn those specifics for SC2 right now and worry about advanced stuff later. When I know specific things like if I kill 3 Drones then I can build a Cannon 20 seconds later, I'll start to have some really beautiful games. Until then, I'm making wild predictions about what I can and can't get away with and every time it doesn't work out, I look bad haha.

TeamLiquid.net: You’ve said that you thought multitasking would allow for a higher skill ceiling and dynamic play, and that it was something you would be working on. Do you think that multitask will play a larger role in StarCraft 2 as a result of so many other things being automated or easier to manage?

Tyler: I think multitasking will play about the same role as it did in SC1. Some more things are automated but there are more things to do. Honestly, Chrono Boosting and Warpgates feel like they keep me as busy with macro as I was in SC1 and units are more mobile now and so there are more spells to cast (but spells are easier to cast).

TeamLiquid.net: As the Grand Champion of the biggest foreigner Brood War tournament, are you reinvigorated for StarCraft 2? How much play time are you getting in? Do you see yourself winning the largest StarCraft 2 tournament in the world, once again championing the Protoss race and clan Liquid`?

Tyler: Not much reinvigoration happened haha. I've been busy with other things, but when the game is released, I plan to play about 50 hours a week. It's only a matter of time before I win another championship.

TeamLiquid.net: You’ve been a Liquid` member since 2008. Now that the team has a sponsor you must be very excited, does it feel a long time coming? And if Liquid` participates in televised matches, how would you feel about a uniform? I’m sure the members of Team Liquid can think up some cool designs.

Tyler: I think it's an appropriate time to get a sponsor. Liquid` has kind of been on hiatus and now SC2 has brought it back and it's going to be sponsored right at release. I'd certainly like to have a uniform; I think we'd probably make a very cool uniform.

TeamLiquid.net: For the last question – Why the change to Tyler? I think a lot of people liked the old Nony ID.

Tyler: It's mostly inspired by Koreans like Sang Ho and Jae Dong. I like the simple and straightforward use of a first name as an ID and I happen to think my first name is pretty cool so I went with it. Also, people couldn't pronounce Nony.

TeamLiquid.net: Haha! Very true. Thanks for your time Tyler, this was a great Q&A. Any last words?

Tyler: No, thanks! =]

One of the first people to join TL.net in 2002, Jinro has since become a long-time Team Liquid staff member, and more recently, the StarCraft 2 forum moderator and one of the best Terran players in the world. But before starting his stellar StarCraft 2 career, in typical Liquid` fashion, Jinro, a.k.a. FrozenArbiter, was a top player in StarCraft 1.

Originally part of the famous Dream.t) clan which housed renowned players like Jangbi, Jinro’s sense of loyalty and honour was so high that he initially passed on the opportunity to join Liquid` for Brood War, promising to “join when SC2 comes out". When the beta finally did come around Jinro decided it was time to start anew and on March 29th, joined Team Liquid alongside TLO.

Jinro was one of the first players in beta to rise above the rest and make a name for himself. Taking first place in one of the CraftCups and 2nd in a Zotac Cup, he has shown us everything from non-stop aggression in his famous TvT match against Lucifron, to ruthless mech in TvZ, much to Day[9]’s chagrin. Jinro has asserted himself as one of the best in the world, and indeed, his play-style and insight are regularly featured in the State of the Game podcast and Day[9] Dailies. Every one of his games is exciting and with a lesson to be learned; I highly recommend you check out not one, but all of them.

Being able to safely and timely change one’s army composition and tech path is one of the most fundamental, important, and overlooked aspects of professional play, and Jinro excels at it. The other factor that sets him apart from other top players is his extremely effective aggression, which, coupled with his acute transitions, keeps pressure on his opponent all game long. Jinro has mastered these two skills and woven them together to create a style both very threatening and strategically robust that few can keep up with.

Knowing when and how to control the pace of the game and stay a step ahead is what transitioning is all about. When to saturate your army with marauders, start dropping your opponent’s expansions, or build a starport amidst harassment, macro, and all-out battles are big decisions, yet Jinro finds a way to make it look easy. I can think of no better game than his famous match versus Lucifron to attest this.

Jinro’s first transition of the game was to saturate his army with marauders, which he built not a second too soon to save his main and defend his gold expansion from Lucifron’s pure marine army. Having taken the gold expansion rather than his natural, Jinro was now ahead both economically and in army composition, advantages he barely held on to while constantly reinforcing his precariously held second base and somehow managing to tech all the way to medivacs. As it was with the marauders, the timing window to make this transition was incredibly small, yet once again Jinro lined everything up perfectly and got them out in the nick of time to save his main, and this time, get the good game from Lucifron.

As we saw in the TLOwnage, aggressive play is easy to pull off against the average player. Against a professional, it’s a different story all together. Timings have to be crisp and the spread of your forces safe, and, of course, it has to be cost effective. When facing a player as well-rounded as WhiteRa this is challenging to do, to say the least, but Jinro found a way to sustain pressure all game long.

Throughout the game Jinro used medivacs to drop forces all over WhiteRa’s bases, but his first use of them was to load up a ghost and hunt down WhiteRa’s army, then EMP the group of high templar from high ground. With WhiteRa’s push stalled, Jinro quickly followed up with a drop behind the Protoss’ gold expansion, killing 2 high templar and loading up just as zealots were charging him to drop on the ledge above the natural, snipe the assimilator, drop behind the mineral line, stim and kill seven probes, jump back up onto the ledge amd destroy a stargate before it could make it’s first unit. WhiteRa counter-attacked and while Jinro lost his 3rd base and only just managed to hold together his second, he unloaded behind WhiteRa’s gold expansion and took out the nexus, trading bases. Jinro continued to harass for the rest of the game, in the end winning through a superior unit composition and stronger economy.

Jinro’s combination of skill in aggression and transitioning flow together in a nice weave that keeps him safely ahead over the strategic course of the game. Able to keep his main army intact and at least even in tech while also expanding and sustaining seriously damaging, cost effective pressure makes Jinro a very dangerous opponent.

Consigliere

TeamLiquid.net: Hello Jinro! How has phase 2 been going for you?

Jinro: Not at all really! Until today I wasn't able to play much, as things kept coming in the way (needed to re-install, somehow hurt my hand, and so on). Probably only managed around 50-60 games during all of phase 2. Beta extension plz.

TeamLiquid.net: I’m sorry about your hand, hopefully it isn't serious?

Jinro: Nah, it's gone now, not sure what it even was. Back to practicing!

TeamLiquid.net: Good to hear! We wouldn't want Liquid's Terran out of commission. I'm going to start this off with a question about the maps we've been seeing thus far in StarCraft 2.

Jinro: Sure.

TeamLiquid.net: In Brood War none of the Blizzard-made maps were used in professional play, but so far tournaments in beta have used them exclusively. How balanced do you think the maps are, any general complaints? Do you think they are good enough for competitive play come July 27th?

Jinro: Well, at the start of SC1 Blizz maps were still used, so I guess it's the same case here, and for WC3, Blizzard maps have been used throughout the entire time the game has been out, with only a few user made maps in there.

The Blizzard maps have some problems, but getting community maps this early is going to be problematic since people are still not really sure what makes a good SC2 map. I think the maps will hold us over just fine until the community can start churning out replacements. As for how balanced they are, well... Today I saw a Zerg pick Kulas Ravine vs. two Terrans in a tournament (twice) and win (twice). Even though some of the maps are obviously favouring one race, I think we need some more time to really decide what should be changed, and what is really imbalanced.

TeamLiquid.net: I agree, the Blizzard maps have been quite good thus far; they've certainly given us some great games. Now what about the game in general? Speaking as one of the best Terran players in the world, if StarCraft 2 was released as it currently stands, would you be satisfied with the game’s balance? Do you think all the Zerg players are making too big a deal out of Terran mech?

Jinro: I think Blizzard has outright said that this is the balance we'll get for release, and yeah I'm OK with it... With the caveat that I don't really feel like I've played enough in the last patch to feel like my opinion is that well informed.

There are Zergs and Protoss players doing good, not just Terrans, and the limited datamining (as well as the numbers Blizzard have revealed) seem to indicate the balance is alright. It could definitely be improved, and as people tighten up their game I'm sure it will have to be.

I think my biggest complaint isn't even really balance related... I don't like how depleted gas nodes in SC2 don't give anything back at all, whereas in SC1 (where they gave back a tiny amount per trip after being depleted), gas went from being the most scarce commodity to the most abundant (talking really late game here). In SC2, you can quite realistically - in a TvT especially - have a situation where you are both sitting on 10k minerals and 0 gas with the map split. I preferred the SC1 dynamic change from gas being what you fought over, and gas units being the ones you try to preserve, to minerals suddenly being the most important resource, instead of having gas remain the #1 resource throughout the entire game.

TeamLiquid.net: Do you worry that with depleted geysers it will make for less exciting late-game play, and more of a stalemate with low tier units?

Jinro: Yeah, especially as some of the tier 1 units are even more obsolete than they once were. Of course, marines were always somewhat obsolete in a TvT due to siege tanks, but I feel like in the case of zerglings and zealots they've been hit a little bit harder.

I think some maligned units like the Archon would really come into its own if gas was not at such a premium. I could even see nukes being used more - I had a TvT against DeMuslim on Steppes of War about 2 months back, where we ended up splitting the entire map in half (I'm sure everyone who has ever watched a TvT on steppes is just shocked at this outcome).

Anyway, after scanning each other’s tank/viking clumps for a few minutes I got a bit bored and made 4 nuclear silos to start cleaning up the middle...Long story short, some dozen nukes later, we were both completely out of gas and had 10 000 minerals stockpiled. Fortunately, despite wasting >1.5k on nukes, I had sieged his natural gas all game and thus had a gas advantage anyway. So at 10 000 minerals, 100 gas vs. 10 000 minerals 0 gas I eventually won a really stupid game.

I feel like games like this would play out a lot better if gas wasn't so finite a resource. Having to return to making 0-0 marines against 3-3 upgraded siege tanks is just... very meh.

TeamLiquid.net: Is this Blizzard's way of telling us to be more aggressive while we can? By the sounds of it, it seems to encourage games to end before a fourth base.

Jinro: Hmm, maybe... but I'm not sure if it's working, if that's indeed the intention. You still have a lot of gas to mine until quite late in the game, so it shouldn't really encourage you to play very differently until that stage, I think. Given how long the game has to be before this to really have an effect, I can't say it's a major issue either way. In fact, I've probably never had a non-TvT where this affected me.

TeamLiquid.net: How do you see Terran army compositions evolving in the future? Do you think pure mech or pure infantry will be as viable as they are in Brood War?

Jinro: I'm not really sure - TvT seems to be evolving back into a more mixed bio/mech style (started off as pure bio, then mech, now mixed). TvZ, you can pure mech, obviously, though I'm not sure if it's gonna end up being the best. TvP I think full mech works fine, but I think most people play a mix? I haven't really watched too many TvPs lately so I can't say I know what others do. Pure bio TvZ seems hard to me just because of how brutal fungal growth and/or banelings are against infantry - I guess with really good drop play it can work.

For me the biggest issue with pure infantry is that the raven - as amazing as this unit is in other situations - is just not that good as a science vessel replacement for the so called "SK Terran" style. The HSM (hunter seeker missile sounds better than hunter missile, change it back plz!) used to be really good in the first few patches when its splash damage was bugged (did 100% splash I believe), but after the recent aoe and range nerf, isn't so great against anything not an air unit. PDD is amazing against most things, but vs. banelings, you'd really like some splash I feel, so I tend to make siege tanks for support, at minimum.

It's also hugely map dependant - bio is a lot better than mech in most cases on Desert Oasis, while I think mech is better on a map like steppes. So depending on how the map pool develops, I guess that will decide what's used. Steppes has a really close 3rd, so mech being slow and gas hungry doesn't matter. Desert is the opposite - huge distances, long way to your 3rd, easy to be counter attacked so bio (and the dropships that come with it), thrive.

TeamLiquid.net: Sage advice, I'm sure I'll be seeing lots of mech on Steppes now, thanks a lot! Going back to mech in TvZ for a minute, do you think that, as some people have said, giving tanks overkill would be a reasonable fix, or do Zerg players just need some more time to flesh out the match-up?

Jinro: I used to think so, but after talking to some people I sort of feel like it might just make siege tanks suck. Zerg players need to make ultralisks more vs. pure mech. Though I'm not entirely sure of TvZ's balance, making more ultras can't be bad! They’re especially annoying now that you can’t stun them. Oh and if you give me spider mines back, I'll consider giving up no-overkill on tanks.

To me the biggest downside of no overkill isn't so much balance, as the loss of some push break tricks - like sending in 1 or 2 wimpy units to take the initial volley, then advance during the tanks cooldown, or getting tanks to splash themselves to death and so on. Anyhow, if I say "TvZ is balanced" I'm sure I'll be lynched or something, and I don't really know if it is or isn't - there seem to be Zerg players with good results, just as there seem to be Terrans and tossers...I mean toss players. Just kidding I <3 Protoss.

TeamLiquid.net: If you got spider-mines back you might be too busy closing threads to even try them out.

Jinro: I wouldn’t be closing them, I'd be editing the hate into praise to make sure blizzard doesn't remove them again...

TeamLiquid.net: For the final question: What are your thoughts on the Proleague Playoffs? Predictions? Will Bisu lead SKT1 to victory?

Jinro: Of course Bisu will lead SKT T1 to victory, what kind of question is that ! I have not watched any proleague at all this season more or less - I've always preferred individual leagues ever since I started watching sc in 2002. But I've gotta cheer for Bisu of course, I used to watch his old PGTour replays in 2006 and marvel at how insanely sick his 76% PvZ winrate was. I'll probably watch finals and semis etc. though. I'd watch the games more often if they weren't so "early".

TeamLiquid.net: I hope you’re right about Bisu, he does look like he’s in good condition. We need our old Protoss hero back! Thanks Jinro, this was a lot of fun. Closing comments?

Jinro: Thanks yourself =]

If anyone from Blizzard is reading this, know that even though there might be harsh criticism sometimes, your game is fantastic (I'm sure they already know this but what the heck =))

The newest addition to Liquid`, HayprO is a player well versed in both Brood War and StarCraft 2. In the original StarCraft, Hayder “HayprO” Hussein was one of the best players in the foreigner scene, winning his first DreamHack in 2007 before being recruited into ToT and taking 1st place at DreamHack twice more in 2008 and 2010. Now fully focused on StarCraft 2, HayprO has successfully transitioned between games, proving more than able to compete with the convergence of RTS players and influx of new talent, living up to his Brood War reputation.

HayprO quickly became a top contender in the StarCraft 2 scene. He won his first tournament in March, claiming 1st in Zotac then running over big name players HasuObs and Strelok 2-0 in the first Team Liquid Invitational, only being stopped by WhiteRa and Nazgul later in the bracket. Known for his mutalisk/zergling/baneling strategy and macro-oriented style, HayprO has shown consistent top-notch Zerg play throughout the beta, not letting any of the 16 patches slow him down as he beat MorroW for first place in the 4th CraftCup, and Orly, Nazgul, and Lucifron for 1st in the GosuCup Invitational.

With so many world-class achievements under his belt, Mousesports, home of WhiteRa, MorroW and Strelok, recruited HayprO for the beta to strengthen their Zerg lineup. But with the completion of phase 1, HayprO’s contract ended, freeing him up to be recruited by Nazgul - an offer that, of course, he couldn’t refuse. A Liquid` member as of July 2nd, HayprO, no stranger to the professional echelon, adds not only his veteran experience to the Liquid` roster but also his dependable Zerg expertise.

HayprO is a macro-oriented player and his style reflects that. Unlike many of the new Zerg players who go overboard with banelings and early roach aggression, HayprO has a much more solid and direct style that even if his opponent has vision, he can do nothing about.

Though many try, few players can go head-to-head with HayprO in a macro game. Some make an attempt at breaking up the pace of HayprO’s economic style but those that do usually find HayprO doing the harassing first, scouting and delaying their build, and then with the perfect unit composition on top of an additional base when they go for a big push. In game 1 vs. Maka in the EU vs. Asia Showmatch series HayprO does this with perfect execution.

HayprO took the lead early in the game by using only seven mutalisks to harass Maka’s main and natural, killing 3 scvs, 2 marines, 2 supply depots, and 2 tech labs over the course of two minutes while he safely build drones and teched knowing he was both safe, and pulling ahead. As a result of the constant mutalisk pressure, Maka was forced to go mass marine/thor in order to stay alive, and as such, that was his army when he made his 2 base push. Haypro kept macroing, making the most of the stalled Terran until, right whenl Maka was on his doorstep, HayprO’s banelings finished morphing and along with his mutalisks and a handful of zerglings the Terran army was decimated before it could do any damage. Back-teching to banelings not only won HayprO the game deciding battle but gave him a quick, scrappy army that didn’t cost much, letting him spend his resources saturating a third and teching straight to ultralisks. The next time Maka moved out of the confines of his base HayprO easily crushed him with infesters and ultralisks.

HayprO shows his Brood War veterancy in his ability to stall his opponent and buy himself as much time as possible to macro, in the process often forcing his opponent to make exactly the units he would like to see fielded against him, as he did vs. Maka. But even without harassing his opponent, if left alone to macro and build up, HayprO will crush you every time.

In the EU TLI, Strelok made the mistake of letting HayprO focus on his economy all game long, even letting the Zerg take his third base unhindered. Though Strelok took his own third around the same time as HayprO, the Terran was simply unable to match HayprO’s macro-management and he quickly fell back to defend his choke against HayprO’s mass of roach/hyrda, leaving his planetary fortress to fend for itself. With Strelok utterly contained and unable to take a third, HayprO kept reinforcing the choke point, using it against Strelok when he tried to push out and taking a fourth base. Though he did finally manage to break out, HayprO tech switched to mutalisks not a second too soon and ended the game without the Strelok making it past the Xel’naga watchtower.

Whether through merciless harassment or overwhelming macro HayprO will find a way to pull ahead, and once given a lead, his high calibre management and years of RTS experience will keep him there. He will build his economy as tight as he can, right up until he is either forced to make units to defend or harass, or he’s ready to smash your base down. The problem with playing against his style is that you can’t leave him alone and at the same time, you can’t do anything to him either, he’s always a step ahead of you.

New Muscle

TeamLiquid.net: Hi HayprO! If you don’t mind I’ll start this off with the first question. The Ultralisk gets a lot of flak for being underpowered, yet we’ve seen you use them quite a bit, through phase 1 and now in phase 2. What is it that you see in Ultralisks that everyone else is missing? Do you think they can live up to their Brood War counterparts or are you simply trying to flesh out the game and see where they take you? The patch 16 changes certainly look good.

HayprO: I do like the ultralisk, however it’s not like it used to be in broodwar where it could solve a lot of problems; In sc2 it's more of a support unit. In zvt ultras are good vs. non-mech armies even though they do a lot more damage vs. armoured units, the reason behind that is that they never reach the terran army and can therefore not deal any damage.

Against protoss people seem to be happy about ultras destroying force fields, but I don’t understand the reason for that. When you have ultras protoss will have a lot of colossus and therefore your ultraling will still die no matter if there are force fields or not. Still though, they are a viable unit and I like making them in both matchups even if it’s sometimes because they are cool and not because they will solve a problem. Also, to comment on that ultras can’t be stunned anymore, which is the spell thors have: it’s never upgraded and thors aren’t the best counter to ultras anyways.

TeamLiquid.net: I think most people would agree with you that the Ultralisk plays a much more limited role than in Brood War, but speaking of original units, without the Brood War Hydralisk speed or Mutalisk micro, Zerg in StarCraft 2 can feel very immobile. How do you think this changes the aspect of the Zerg race?

HayprO: With the usage of creep, hydralisks are fast enough and with their damage output they have you don’t need to micro them to dodge storm like in broodwar. Mutalisk micro is missed by some but even if it existed I don’t think it would make a too big difference when you have turrets doing 24? damage and thors doing 44? and phoenix having twice the range and being able to shoot without being shot at. In brood war zerg was a big macro race but also a race that required a big timing sense, especially in zvt where you needed to get defilers at the right time or you lose. In sc2, right now such timings don’t yet exist. Zerg in sc2 is just like the other two races now; scouting and making the right units, but given time I’m sure that timing builds will take over just like in bw.

TeamLiquid.net: Very interesting. Now to go along with what you just said about Zerg and the other two races being similar, Tyler has said that multitasking will play a big role in Protoss player’s reaching the potential of their race, raising the skill ceiling. How about with Zerg? How do you think that high calibre multitask can realize Zerg’s potential? Or is there a different preeminent skill for Zerg players?

HayprO: Multitasking will, just like in broodwar, play a big role at distinguishing the pros from the amateurs, that is for all three races. For zerg that will include dropping more often and using nydus more frequently. A lot of people seem to think that nydus canals are really really good and should be used a lot in the lategame, but I feel that nydus is much better in the early and midgame and not so useful in the lategame, when for example sensor towers starts appearing. Other than that, zerg right now is mostly about getting away with 1 base more than the opponent while making the right units.

TeamLiquid.net: Some great insight from one of the best Zerg players around, I'm sure many people will be taking notes. So do you think the 3 races match up fairly evenly right now? How do you feel about the Terran mech that so many people have been worried about?

HayprO: I want to say that terran mech isn’t as difficult to beat as others say, but I can’t. When terran has enough tanks and vikings zerg can’t really do anything to deal with it. However, the zerg player will get 1-2 chances to win the game before terran has such an army and that’s where drops and nydus canals will be helpful.

Zvp is a strange mu for me; sometimes it’s very easy and sometimes it’s impossible. It might be because I don’t have a plan like I do when I play zvt but going head on with a protoss army when having equal bases is a very hard mission; force fields and colossus make the fight not cost effective at all. My problem right now is that I feel that I need a 3rd base but I don’t know when I can take it without dying, especially on close positions.

TeamLiquid.net: I think many people can sympathize with you on that, myself included. Moving on to bit of a different topic, the new low-ground mechanics and the fact that a 200/200 army can move through a choke as fast as a control group could in Brood War greatly changes the dynamics of StarCraft 2, yet the maps we are seeing look almost as if they were made for Brood War. Do you think that maps could be made in a different style, better suited for the changes in gameplay?

HayprO: You are correct, the ramps are indeed a strange thing in a game that doesn’t give highground advantage, and one thing that I don’t like is how easy it is to harass the main on some maps. Even though bw and sc2 are not the same game they both have the same structure in the sense that units are pretty similar and therefore the maps will be similar too. But Given time I’m sure new maps will include cool things that will only be able to be done for sc2, for example gold minerals at the natural.

TeamLiquid.net: I like the sound of that, gold minerals at each natural would allow for some very intense games. Speaking of intense games, last month you beat the famous Korean Maka in a best of 5. How much experience do you have against players from the Asia server? Speaking in broad strokes, how would you compare their style and mentality to that of EU players?

HayprO: Aside from the eu vs. asia and the 17173 tournaments I don’t have much experience with the asian server, but judging from those tournaments I don’t feel like asians are ahead of the rest.

TeamLiquid.net: Now that Liquid` has TheLittleAppFactory as a sponsor, you may very well be consistently competing against Asian teams. How would you feel about travelling to Korea or China to represent Liquid`?

HayprO: I've always liked travelling, and together with representing Liquid`, it makes a perfect combination that I’m very much looking forward to.

TeamLiquid.net: Good stuff! Many people will be happy to hear that. Thanks HayprO, these are exciting times for the StarCraft community, best of luck! Anything you want to say before we wrap this up?

HayprO: I want to thank this great starcraft community and say I’m proud to be part of it. Thanks all and good luck.

In the foreigner scene, Liquid`Nazgul is one of the most decorated players in StarCraft; he needs no introduction. But for those of you who are new or have been living under a rock for the past 10 years, here is why Liquid`Nazgul is one of the most important people in all of e-sports.

Former member of the AMD team along with Grrrr… and Elky, Nazgul was one of the pioneering few to first travel to Korea in pursuit of a career in progaming. In Korea, Nazgul qualified for the OnGameNet Challenge League as late as 2003, long after Guillaume’s reign when top-notch mechanics first became a prerequisite for high level play. In fact, Nazgul was so good that he was able to beat Xellos in televised matches when the legendary Terran was in his prime. Though incredibly successful, Nazgul’s progaming career in Korea was short lived as he soon moved back to the Netherlands for university. However, despite leaving the Mecca of StarCraft, Nazgul continued to compete in WCG and manage his own StarCraft community, TeamLiquid.net, which he had founded in 2001 and since grown into the media behemoth that is today.

In the wake of StarCraft2, Nazgul reawakened both the Liquid` clan and his own competitive drive. Fans have been delighted to see the Team Liquid head admin become one of the best Protoss players, beating the likes of WhiteRa, MorroW, and Strelok and placing top 3 in nearly every tournament he plays in. Nazgul is not only one of the best players in the world but, along with Nony, is one of the most important innovators of Protoss play - the wall-in expand build that Nazgul debuted in the ESL has since become a Protoss standard seen across all leagues on Battlenet 2.0.

Nazgul has and continues to compete with the best players in the world, carrying over his legacy from Brood War. With his keen, veteran eye, he has recruited the best talent in the world to play alongside him.

A decade of playing StarCraft has honed Nazgul's tactics, unit positioning, and micro to point where unless he has been hindered in some other fashion, he will almost never lose a battle. His macro and unit composition, of course, have to be sensible, but when talking about Nazgul, these things are a given. One of the flashiest, most exciting players to watch, Nazgul's phenomenal tactics give chills to nerds all around the world.

In face of a unit that supposedly “counters” their army, most players will a-move and hope for the best or scamper away to turtle and change their tech. These crude plays make Nazgul’s tactics look like an art, and to be sure, he does have a level of finesse most players don’t even know exists. On Blistering Sands against none other than WhiteRa, we see just how effectively Nazgul copes with the introduction of a potentially game changing unit.

Scouting only two gateways in WhiteRa’s base, Nazgul saved his gas for a four gate sentry push and headed straight for his opponent’s rocks. Going for an early push himself, WhiteRa’s colossus finished in time to walk down to the low ground and take a pot shot at Nazgul’s units, but this was as far as it got. Played in April, before patch 13, massive units could not yet crush force fields, so Nazgul, with perfect timing, made the most of them and blocked off the space behind the colossus right as it went to kite back up onto the high ground. With the rocks not yet destroyed, Nazgul focused down the isolated colossus then broke through the backdoor and into WhiteRa’s base, immediately ending the game with one of the sickest plays of beta.

Having the presence of mind to execute a single tactic in the early game with a handful of units is one thing, doing so on three bases against a massive Zerg army is something else entirely. Confronted with ZpuX’s roach/hydra army in the GosuCup QuarterFinals, rather than retreat and tech to colossus, Nazgul used his sentry/immortal/zealot force to push the Zerg back and win battle after battle; he’s just that good.

Soon after ZpuX started mining from his gold expansion, Nazgul, looking to take his own, postured his army right up to the Zerg’s third base, nipping at the army before throwing up a wall of force fields and pulling back across the map, drawing the roach/hydra army behind him. ZpuX tried to block Nazgul off with his larger force by cutting through the center of Lost Temple, but with both armies positioned exactly to Nazgul’s liking, he cleaved ZpuX’s army in half with three force fields and in seconds shred the divided Zerg to bloody scraps. With his remaining group of hydralisks, which were technically enough to take on the Protoss army, ZpuX rushed for Nazgul’s newly taken third, only to find himself once again out-positioned, split by force fields, and torn to pieces. Having suffered hardly any losses, Nazgul easily destroyed the Zerg’s gold expansion, ending the game.

In an age where macro and a-move all too often determine the victor, Nazgul brings us back to the days of Boxer and Nal_rA when he himself was a top contender. His ability to win a game not only through economics, but tactical genius is refreshing to watch as spectator and an example of how to push, thus far fairly unexplored, limits of the game.

The Don

TeamLiquid.net: Hello Nazgul! I’m quite happy to have this rare opportunity to interview you, so if you’re ready I’ll start with the first question.

Nazgul: Ready to go.

TeamLiquid.net: As one of the original StarCraft players, how do you compare the early evolution of StarCraft 2 to that of Brood War? And given the nature of StarCraft 2’s gameplay and the community’s decade of experience with StarCraft 1, do you think that the game will plateau, so to speak, much faster than it’s predecessor?

Nazgul: Oh yeah, they are hardly comparable, you could almost say that the game picks up right where BW left off. Players in Korea, albeit not technically professionals right at this point, are playing all day like professionals knowing that with good results will come opportunities, and in the West, there are sponsors that pay out monthly salaries and many tournaments are hosted, meaning much more money is involved. These factors make it so that a large group of players takes the game very seriously even in such early stages of the game, and that is, of course, going to show in the progress of the game itself. Besides these things, there are also other factors that speed up this process such as replays, streams, and VODs.

One very important factor that will speed up the road to the skill cap is the fact that SC:BW focused on both speed and strategy, making top level gaming available to a smaller group than SC2, which focuses largely on strategy and less on APM (micro/macro). The less focus a game has on physical limitations the faster the development of strategy will be. I can see why people think it is a good thing for a game to focus more on strategy but personally, for e-sports, I like a game that is harder to play so that we don’t end up with a game that is figured out too quickly.

TeamLiquid.net: This leads nicely into my next question; you commented in an interview that “StarCraft 2 seems very much aimed at the casual player, not the longevity or the spectator.” Though it may very well be aimed at the casual player, do you think that it can still succeed as a long-standing e-sport? As you said, people are already trying very hard to make it happen.

Nazgul: Without a doubt SC2 will be a long-standing e-sport success, anyone saying differently doesn’t know what they’re talking about. WarCraft 3, which I think we can all agree isn’t exactly the best game ever, or the best spectator sport in the world, is 8 years old and large tournaments are still being hosted for it. SC2 will blow this away. It is going to be an enormous success regardless of who they are designing it for. What I mean to say is that I don’t think SC2 will be followed by casual VIEWERS the way they followed SC:BW in Korea, and this is because Blizzard is aiming at the casual PLAYER. The strength of SC:BW came from it being such a high level game that casual fans could visually enjoy it, and eventually It grew beyond gamers. SC2 is aimed at the casual player but that will still create a pool of followers large enough to achieve the biggest e-sports success imaginable, and it’s going to last however long it takes to create a worthy successor. SC2 will never disappear from the e-sports scene unless something takes over, and this e-sports success will come from a gamer audience.

I think maybe someday a game will come to exist that can transcend e-sports from gamers to everyone, just like we all watch football but don’t play it, but SC2 is not that game and that has been a conscious choice by Blizzard. The fact that SC2 is going to be the next big thing in e-sports almost no matter what, unless they royally screwed it up, has given Blizzard the freedom to divert some of their aim at the casual player, because they already have the e-sports side of things covered.

TeamLiquid.net: Well whatever happens, this is a very exciting, hopeful time for anyone involved in the scene. I think we all agree that big things are bound to happen. To go back to something you mentioned earlier, I know some top players feel that with the new macro mechanics such as spawn larvae and chrono boost, in addition to more mobile armies, they find themselves just as busy with their hands as they did in Brood War. Do you think that the game can eventually develop to the point where both physical and strategically it rivals StarCraft 1? Or are there simply too many things automated now.

Nazgul: I don’t think it will reach that point. The way I look at SC2 is from a neutral point of view, whereas a lot of older BW fans look at it and compare it to the game they love. BW is the best game of all time and that nothing like it will exist again, you have to see SC2 for what it is; the best RTS game produced in the past 10 years and the second best RTS ever. No it will not reach the point where it rivals SC1 physically and strategically, it’s simply not designed to rival it. It’s designed to settle somewhere below those points, and with that it is still a great game.

TeamLiquid.net: With the skill ceiling decidedly lower than that of the original, do you think that the grinding, practice house environment will become obsolete? What I mean to say is, once the game has been out for a while, do you think players will be able to compete with the best in the world practicing 6-8 hours a day? And on that vein, do you see Liquid` sending come it’s players to Korea to partake in large tournaments and possibly live there, or is that outside the team’s interests? What about training in a boot camp type environment?

Nazgul: Good question, I’m not sure on the answer. Maybe it is just like school exams, you have to study a lot to get a 9 but you have to study much more to get a 10 and play perfectly. It may very well reach some sort of ceiling but "ceiling" is just a weird concept. No RTS game will be played perfect but those last baby steps to playing perfect can always be achieved by practicing more.

I do think people will be able to hang around the top with less hours than in SC:BW, but let’s see this as a good thing though. Reaching the top in a sport is usually limited by your body which does not allow you to train for more than 6 hours a day before it becomes counter-effective, but SC:BW didn't have those limitations, which allows BW progamers to practice 14 hours a day. I think this is too much on young minds that still need to develop and have fun outside of their sport, so that particular part of less practice hours is probably a good thing. But what it limits is the fact that if it takes less hours to practice, many more players can play at the highest level, meaning less admiration for individual players as a result.

Right now Liquid` members living in Korea is outside our interests but we do intend to send people all over the world to compete in tournaments. The way it looks now regarding boot camps is that we wouldn’t mind providing such an environment if players asked for it, but it is not something we will enforce at this point.

TeamLiquid.net: Can you elaborate on skill ceiling being a weird concept? This is a term often used when discussing StarCraft 2’s potential success.

Nazgul: The word ceiling would imply a single line at the top where the game cannot be played better. However, in RTS conversation it has more or less become an area much larger than a single line. When I think of ceilings for SC:BW I think of Flash and Jaedong, but does anyone objectively think they play perfect? Everyone makes tiny mistakes including those guys. An absolutely ceiling in the true meaning of the word is never achieved; the relevant discussion is about a whole area somewhere at the top of a game. That’s what I meant with the ceiling discussion being a bit weird.

This top skill area is much easier achieved in SC2 than it is in SC:BW, but the ceiling in the true meaning of the word being a single line of total perfection will simply not be achieved in either game because humans are not perfect. Some people might say, “aha! see! SC2 is just as deep!” but that would be incorrect; the single line discussion for ceiling of a game is not relevant, the area discussion is.

TeamLiquid.net: TLO and HayprO have called their styles of play reactionary, based largely in response to their opponent’s strategies while Nony and Jinro seem to have more predetermined game plans. How would you describe your own style of play, more similar to Nony’s perhaps?

Nazgul: I definitely set into a game with a game plan based on a combination of opponent/map/race and I adjust accordingly throughout the game. A large part of my wins are because I might not play as much as others to auto-pilot myself to victory, but once I know who my next round opponent is going to be in a tournament, I will start practicing only that matchup and prepare for my opponent’s style.

TeamLiquid.net: How was it when Team Liquid first started to become the internet’s Mecca of StarCraft? Were you overwhelmed, surprised? How have the years treated you as TL’s head admin?

Nazgul: I always meant for TL to be on top of things, else I never would have approached WaxAngel and Mensrea to work together on the site. It was the internet’s Mecca from day one, it’s just that it took people a while to find out. But the way it has blown up is something we never could have imagined so many years ago.

The years have been good - TL is still the most awesome place on the internet. TL and I age together and I’m curious to see where we’ll be at 10 years from now, but undoubtedly it’ll be in a good place!

TeamLiquid.net: With the website getting better every day and now Liquid` having it’s first sponsor, this must be a dream come true.

Nazgul: Absolutely, it’s really fantastic. Everyone is working so incredibly hard behind the scenes, and all those guys deserve a lot of thanks. It’s nearly impossible for me to imagine the feel of TL for a non-staff member, but I would think that it’s not always so clear how much time goes into the website by staff members. It’s just incredible. Tens of thousands of staff hours go into the site every month to continue coming up with new stuff or to maintain what we already have. It’s just so amazing and a privilege to be a part of this.

TeamLiquid.net: About Liquid’s recent sponsorship, from what I could glean from the interview with Mathew Peterson, the people in this organization seem very friendly and excited to be involved in the scene. What is it like working with a team sponsor? What kind of expectations are there for you and your team? Do you feel a bit more pressure now that Liquid` is being financially backed?

Nazgul: Sure, there is a change in responsibility for the players but I have always ran Liquid` in such a way that only good players with good manners would be allowed to join. This sets us up pretty easily with the switch to becoming more professional; I know who these guys are and I know what they can do. They’re great representative for the team, our sponsor and e-sports in general. We are all friends and would like to see each other succeed and our sponsor is no different in this.

Working with a team sponsor is new to me but so far things are going pretty smooth and I don’t feel like there is added pressure. In the Beta period before we had a sponsor there was also the pressure to perform, because we all wanted Liquid` to do well and potentially find interested sponsors. With that in mind there really isn’t too much that has changed for the players.

TeamLiquid.net: You recently said that you want to involve Liquid` in clan-matches, tournaments, and possibly LAN events for StarCraft 2. Now that Liquid` has a solid 5 members and a sponsor to boot, are there any upcoming events you plan to take part in? Any clans you have a bone to pick with?

Nazgul: Most definitely. The first people we want to play are the guys from Fnatic, we have a good relationship with Xeris and their team should prove a nice challenge. After that we will continue to partake in clan-matches and clan-tournaments to show everyone that Liquid` is the best team out there.

TeamLiquid.net: Excellent! This has been great Nazgul, thank you for your time. Would you like to say anything before we close this off?

Nazgul: I want to thank everyone for your support. We have some awesome projects coming up on TL, as always, and we hope to continue to deliver the awesomeness for a long time to come.

With a healthy mix of old hands and new blood, the Liquid` dynasty lives on into its second decade, and under the leadership of an age-old champion, into the uncharted territories of StarCraft 2. Between corporate battles, skill cap concerns, and the merging of RTS players, the future of StarCraft 2 remains shrouded in mystery, but still, amidst our uncertainty we can rest, confident of one thing - clan Liquid` is back and better than ever. The seed of quality and virtue that birthed our community continues, unabating and by our side as we venture into the future of e-sports. TL has gone back to its roots.

***
It was an evening just like any other, and the Don sat in his chair by the window, cracking his knuckles and smoking his fine cigars. To his right, Jonathan sat hunched over the big desk, going over finances, looking into investment opportunities. Taking care of business.

There was a quick knock on the door and two men walked in, their broad smiles lightening up the dark room. Victor swung around.

"Gentlemen! How was the news received?"

"Oh, it was very well received." The American smiled as he poured himself a drink.

"Dario made sure they heard us loud and clear."

The Don looked at his newest recruit, finding his icy blue gaze and holding it. The youngest member of the family looked back confidently. This kid was unafraid. Unconquerable. He would always get the job done.

"You're doing well."

Only the soft scratch of Jonathan's pen punctuated the silence of the office.

"I remember the day I first saw you all those years ago in Leipzig. You were a young man with promise."

The kid nodded.

"You will do well here, Dario. You will make a fine Caporegime. I'm glad you decided to join us."

"Thank you, Don Nazgul. I will do the family proud."

"I'm sure you will," said Tyler, chuckling to himself. His Texan drawl sauntered around the closed space and slowly faded away. "After today, I have no doubt about it."

The American got up, stretching his tired legs as he walked around the room. High lamps in the corners lit up shelves of trophies and medals of old battles that few remembered. They spoke of glory and dominance, triumphs and ancient roots, but they were of an age that had passed away. For Tyler, the Brood wars were but a distant memory.

Things had changed since then, and sitting there on the shelves, the proof of their victories were now under a coat of fine dust. It was time to remember the old, he thought. It was time to remember the old, and look to the new. This was an old family. A grand family. A family that knew tradition. As their Capo-Bastone, he would see to it that their name would be remembered for generations to come.

They turned around to the sound of crunching gravel, and watched as a beautiful black Volvo made its way up the driveway. Victor straightened his finger, looking at his silver ring. The time had come.

The car door opened, and a young man emerged. Clad in an expensive suit, he looked up at their window through pitch black sunglasses, a mischevious smile playing on his lips.

They stood there for a moment, the four of them in the office, and the new Swede on the gravel below, the present and the future, separated by a flight of steps, steps that he would soon take to join them within those four walls.

Jonathan spoke first, his voice breaking out in little ringlets of laughter and cigar smoke.

"Do you smell that, Don Nazgul?"

"What?" The Don grunted.

"Victory."

Victor smiled.

-- A big thanks to Keit for the badass graphics, Defender for the TLO pic, and to Riptide for all his help and advice. The article would not be what it is without these guys.