Tyler - In just a few days, you will lead Liquid out on to the field in the TSL3. How have these last few days of practice gone for you?

They've gone well. TSL is an amazing motivator for me. I see an incredible opportunity being among the players in this competition.


Jinro - You face Morrow in your opener and many see this as one of the biggest Ro32 games. Do you feel any pressure right now? Is your TvZ all ready to go?

Not feeling that much extra pressure, but MorroW is definitely a rival (friendly rivalry tho!) so I want to win. =)


HuK - You said in your previous interview that you'd have preferred a non-mirror matchup. Given the state of PvP at the moment though, how much do you think your training in Korea will help in this first round?

I'm not sure it will help that much just because different styles clash differently. My PvP is undoubtedly my worst matchup so hopefully I can get lucky, win, then move on to better matchups.


The TSL is fast becoming one of the most hyped tournaments of 2011, and the atmosphere going into the Ro32 is going to electric. Does playing from home / the team house help in reducing the pressure or is it all the same to you anyway?

Tyler: It is the same for me. But not having to travel or worry about anything other than games will be absolutely wonderful.

Jinro: Hmmm, it's maybe gonna reduce the pressure leading up to it. When you go to a TV game it starts as soon as you start thinking about the trip there, basically... But during game it shouldn't be so different. I am becoming a bit better nerve wise though.

HuK: I will definitely feel a lot less pressure playing from home than in a booth or in front of a huge crowd.


You have all been very active during the past few months with the GSL, GCPL and many other tournaments taking place. As you got ready for the TSL though, are there any specific areas of your play that you looked at closely?

Tyler: Nothing in particular. An event like TSL where you get plenty of advanced notice of your opponent and the maps is all about specific preparation. I haven't been trying to patch anything up on my part. I just prepare a plan for my match.

Jinro: No not really, just getting back in shape - I took some time off after the GSL like I usually do.

HuK: No, just been focusing on my play style in general. I've also been trying to understand PvP better and this has been a huge fail.


Is there anything we should look for in your Ro32 games?

Tyler: Look for some very refined build orders and clean execution!

Jinro: Me winning I hope!

HuK: No, not really, just hopefully I win .


Any parting words for your fans as they look forward to seeing you on stream next weekend?

Tyler: Enjoy the games. =]

HuK: Thanks for all your support and hope I do well!

Founding Manager of Liquid`, Victor "Nazgul" Goossens also started TL along with teammate Joy "Meat' Hoogeveen. Today, we talk to him about TL, the TSL and Liquid, his team. Want to know what a decade of ESPORTS has taught him? Read on!


Hi Naz, and thanks for joining us. We're here on the eve of yet another TSL. When TL set about organising the Razer TSL 2008, did you ever imagine that you'd soon have Lim Yo Hwan playing in one?

Not really! Back in those years SC2 wasn't on our minds at all and in BW it wasn't really within our reach. Even though we like to take things as they come and just try to do a good job without speculating too much on where we want to be next year, we do think that TSL can really establish itself one of the major leagues in SC2 and we would like to run it more often than we have been doing so far. We'll have to prove ourselves with TSL3 and then who knows where we can take it.


Going back a few more years, did you and Meat ever expect TL to come to a point where it could host a tourney the size of the TSL? Looking back now, what would you say is the X factor that brought TL this far?

TL wasn't really built from a perspective of growth or future size at all. Things just happened as we went along. All we wanted to do is bring quality news reporting from the Korean proscene to the non-Korean world. From thereon we just kept adding things that seemed nice. There's no way we expected something like the TSL to happen.

We're talking about looking more than eight years into the future. Very few companies look that far ahead, but especially not one that is based on passion and lots of voluntary work with no financial value for the next eight years to come.

As for X factor I think I could write dozens of pages on speculating why TL became such a success. At the basis are a couple simple foundations such as not caring about a few (short-term) extra hits in order to maintain a high posting standard, general decision making and site direction and a few other things.

As a result of how we ran TL a feeling of contribution arose and tons of overqualified community members decided they wanted to contribute more and take up official staff functions.


What advice would you give someone who wanted to start an E-Sports site today?

Well if someone wants to start an esports site today from the perspective of making money then I think he is pretty much screwed. Nobody out there can do what TL does unless they bring a bag with more money than this scene can justify and such a place would disappear soon due to bankruptcy.

The fact that we have 150-200 incredibly capable volunteers means that any site trying to compete with that will have to pay for those qualities to get the same results, as finding a capable voluntary staff is impossible for a new company. That itself is unrealistic for the scene that we are in. So yeah don't even bother if you're in it for the money. If someone wants to start an esports site because of their love for the game then that will inspire others to help them out but a long road will be ahead.

But long roads can be fun and if you're doing what you love then there you have nothing to lose.


What about someone who wanted to run a tourney like the TSL?

I hope that they will have experience in broadcasting and event organization in other fields because the idea that you can just come in and do these things with no experience is kind of crazy. I understand that a new and growing industry attracts a lot of people with enthusiasm but a little bit of competence would be welcomed as well.


Personally, what has been the most satisfying part about the last two TSLs for you, and what do you look forward to the most about TSL3?

Our staff is incredible but during the TSL we really go to our limits and show the best that we are capable of. The end product of TSL1 and 2 felt like a work of art. There is nothing we do that is as prestigious as the TSL and seeing it develop with every edition has been really satisfying for us.



The last TSL was taken by a Liquid player, and this time around all six active Liquidians are taking part in the event. As founder Manager of the team, what sort of importance do you place on this tournament from the team's point of view?

TSL is one of the high skill and high exposure tournaments. Like the MLG Nationals, IEM World Championship and the GSL tournaments. We care a lot about it in terms of preparation and importance. The difference with MLG and IEM is that it is on a round-by-round basis which allows players to specifically prepare for matches.

To me that is the purest form of high level competition where players can figure out strategies in advance based on maps, oppoenents, races and work their asses off coming up with good build orders specifically designed. We have been very successful at that with Jinro in the GSL where he was always coming up with what felt like the right build for the right map. Tyler is a master of this as well.


We've talked about this before, but going into something as special as the TSL3, do you feel nostalgic as usual as you see your players prepare for their matches? How do you console yourself when a part of you really just wants to get back in the game?

The feeling is getting less maybe you just forget about it if you're busy enough. There is some nostalgic feeling but mostly I'm just interested in how they are doing it's very much like playing yourself if you have so much of yourself invested into their games.


Indeed! Jinro, among others, has mentioned that you help them a lot in their prep work. As a manager/coach/mentor, where do you fit in to their lives and what sort of regular tasks do you end up doing together with them?

I don't have as much time to watch their games because there are just too many other things to do on TL/TSL and the team. We're trying to fill up certain things to be taken over by others but these things take time because you want the right people in the right place. From a personal and professional point of view losing Plexa really sucked because he is so good at everything he does that it's a huge loss for us and we will need to look at how to fill the gaps that he leaves behind.

Now that I am two weeks in Korea it's very easy to follow their games and we have a lot of back and forth discussion about strategy. Even if sometimes you don't agree.. just thinking about it and having someone to bring things up will make you think about the decisions you make and why you make them. You hear the same theory sometimes from guys that coach who say that coaching makes them think about the game in ways they never thought about before. I believe that for any player it's good to have a lot of discussion about the game instead of just surrounding yourself with people who agree with you on everything. You see this happen plenty even amongst top players and it bothers me a lot that players aren't willing to open themselves up more.

It's a reminder of the scene we used to be and that with time players will become more and more professional about how to get the best results out of themselves. Regarding my relationship to the players I like to include them in a lot of the team decisions that we make. If we play in a team league it's because we agreed upon it together, if we decline one it's because for some reason the players and I didn't think it was a good idea. Listen to the people that have something useful to say and then base your decisions off of that.


What's on the cards for Liquid in the rest of 2011? Looking a bit further into the future, where would you like to see the team in a few years?

Competitively I'm really happy with how we have been doing so far and I hope we can continue that path in 2011. TLO, Ret, Jinro and Huk have all won big live tournaments and it would be nice if Haypro and Tyler joined them in that this year to really show people the depth of our team. I think they have the skill to do it it's just a matter of time and opportunity.

In a few years I want to have the professional side of the team be set up with more - financial as well as organizational - structure and more staff so that we can continue to provide these guys with the best.


Fantastic! All the best to you guys in the TSL - we look forward to seeing many Liquidians in the Ro8 and beyond. Liquid fighting!