Talking to Liquid`Nazgul recently it became clear that he shared the love our news room has for team leagues, but was unsure as to exactly why. I think the experience delivered to the fans is considerably more meaningful in a team league for a few specific reasons, though they are not immediately obvious as compared to the kind of structure you see in a more traditional starleague.



Breaking into an established competitive scene is extremely harsh, each time a new level of play is reached your game has to be adjusted for a higher level of competition. Adding to that, when you finally hit the top there is the added stress of having to learn to play in a booth, an experience that can make even the most hardened of amateurs queasy.

In Brood war, Proleague serves as a training area for the promising recruits in a practice house. It is surprisingly common for professionals to be extremely good in non-televised games but unable to convert that to mainstream success (maGma anyone?), and the slightest mistakes in Code A/S means waiting another month to face the booth demons again. A team league means a much more smoothed out schedule, where the chance to demonstrate ability is given much more regularly.


With a format like GSL, there end up being a lot of lopsided victories. The disparity between the best and worst in an individual event is large, it is normal in even the toughest tournaments to have a few rounds of blowouts. By increasing the player pool it allows for the inclusion of many players at a similar level, those good enough to train in a team house but who have yet to refine their game to GSL-winning caliber.

The common motif in casting is that a game is only worth watching when it fits the qualification of "high level". This isn't true, what really makes a game interesting is when both players are close enough in skill level that each has an equal chance of winning throughout the game, tension built from a winner not being obvious is the essence of spectating. What has made past GSTL Final matches so excited is that each team is so equally matched that it has gone to the 9th game each time.


What is there not to like about a fantasy league? It lets you, as a viewer, in on the competition! Pitting fans' opinions against each other, it makes every match a heated affair. Every season friendships are destroyed by the ups and downs of players and the results of poorly thought out trades. Sure these exist as bracket contests in individual leagues but they can never match the drama and suspense that comes with a weekly, less predictable schedule.


These will always exist in Starcraft no matter its form, but individual rivalries are rarely as persistent as those that go beyond a single player's career. There are battles that transcend accomplishments of any one person,

Even beyond that, following a team as a fan can be a much more enjoyable experience than merely trying to stick with a player or two. It gives reason to follow up and coming players through the trials and tribulations of becoming a professional, and watch as older gamers transform and slip into the role of coach and mentor over player.

HotBid made a very strong case for why the bond is often stronger with people who are fans of teams instead of a collection of players some years ago.

The trend here is that all of these things are parts of Starcraft that we already have, except they become magnified. The team league is a way to get more of a good thing, to squeeze out the essential components of what makes Starcraft enjoyable and serve them in their most raw and concentrated form.

Are team leagues the future? We can hope so.

What influenced GOM's decision to make GSTL run more frequently than once a month?

In sports, cheering for a team has always been more popular than cheering for individuals. It also creates a larger fan base as fans supporting individuals are brought together. However in the beginning we weren’t quite sure how many SC2 teams will be able to stabilize, so we only ran a short term GSTL which was 4 days to create fan base for GSTL.

After 3 GSTL, teams such as Slayers, IM, and MVP gained a huge fan base and we came to the conclusion that teams are now stabilized and that time was ripe to expand GSTL.

Do you expect GSTL to be as popular than the regular individual GSLs, or more popular?

If you look at the average popularity, I would say GSTL’s popularity is slightly higher. But GSL and GSTL are not competition to each other, but rather form a synergy.
If a player does well in GSTL, naturally he will attract more viewers in Code A or Code S, and vice versa as players in rivalry will play against each other in GSTL.
I have high expectation that team league and individual league will create synergy.

Are you happy about foreigner participation in the team format? Are you hoping for more in the future?

I am very happy. Personally in terms of talent, I don’t think there is any gap between Koreans and non-Koreans. I do however feel that team house or pro-gamer system in Korea is superior to those outside Korea.

The development of a system leads to development of individual players and that again makes the system even more solid. This widens the gap further and further and I have witnessed this in Brood War.

But it’s not the same in Starcraft2. I am not content with just Korean league as in Brood War. I want to create more opportunity for foreign teams and players so they have a chance to understand and experience Korean system. That way foreign teams will improve fast and due to competition progress will become rapid.

This is also beneficial for the viewers as they get to see higher quality content. At the moment foreign players are participating such as FXO or F.United.
I’m hoping more teams will participate in the future. For them, for us and for e-sports.

Are there plans to expand it even more in the future, to more than twice a week?

Right now I think 2 days a week is appropriate. In the long run, say after a year, it may be possible to do it 3days a week. However, if I increase the days, just because it’s popular, there is a chance that fans become tired of it sooner. So for now I think 2 days a week is fine.

In past GSTLs, the stars of the tournament have sometimes been players not qualified for GSL. Do you think this will happen this season?

It is possible to happen in this season. As number of matches has increased more variety of players will get chance to play.
This creates opportunity for players who haven’t played in GSL individual league to redeem themselves. DongRaeGu from the last season will be able to show his play 2~3 times more this season. I think this is the synergy effect between individual league and team league.

Do you know of any up and comers to watch for?

The player I’m most focusing on is DongRaeGu. As for foreign players I have high expectation from Naniwa, sJow and ThorZain.
From what I have seen at MLG all three of them have great skill. If they practice in Korea where they can get more productive practice, they have potential to become the very best.
DongRaeGu has been an excellent player for a while now but he always failed to qualify. I am hoping he will make it through in upcoming qualifier.

Have you met the FXO team yet? Do you like their chances of success?

I met all FXO members when they came to the studio for Super Tournament semi final.
I believe that although their challenge will not be easy, but their courageous effort will give them strength. I have noticed that they are practicing very hard.
FXO has a chance to make it to top 3 in group B. I wish to see FXO in play-off.

What do you think is the most interesting part of a team format for viewers?

The most interesting part is the fact that the team which has lost the recent set can choose the race and the map for the next set.
Because symmetry between strategies are very strong in SC2, its very convenient to snipe someone by choosing certain race or map.

So not only the skill level of each player is important but coach’s decision on whom to send out is also very important. Managing to bring out your opponent’s team ace at the precise time you want is the key point in GSTL.

It is not a coincidence that all past three GSTL finals lead to full set. I strongly believe that it was due to GSTL’s system in which loser gets to choose map.

Foreigners have shown a very positive reaction to team formats, do you think this league will help promote and grow Starcraft 2 inside of Korea as well?

There has been very positive reaction concerning team league in Korea too. I think the taste of viewers are pretty much the same both inside and outside Korea.
More viewers will be able to enjoy GSL through the synergy of GSL and GSTL.

Any final words or messages for fans?

As the organizer of GSL, I have always been grateful to foreign fans. I thank them for their passion, watching GSL all the time.

My key concern in organizing GSL is providing more opportunities for the players. Number of opportunities has a great effect on players’ motivation. I believe this is most important in GSL because motivation of players leads to enjoyment of viewers. I will continue to work hard for foreign players and fans.

And to all non-Korean players, you can make it happen! Get up Get out and Get even. We are waiting for you.

You have moved from being one of the premier players of Root gaming to being a premier player for FXO gaming, how are you liking your new home with FXO gaming and how does it differ from your experience with ROOT?

I really enjoy being on FXOpen. I have a lot more opportunities as a player to excel and take on new challenges. I'm particularly happy with our transition to Korea for the upcoming GSTL and GSL seasons.

What are your thoughts on the NASL as a player?

My main complaint with nasl was their inflexibility in scheduling. The games basically needed to be played at the time they said or you would be given a forfeit. There was a slight amount of leeway (a day or 2) but not much more. This combined with some miscommunication resulted in me getting a forfeit. The format seems fine although a more traditional tournament structure seems more favorable. Players can get to a point where they don't have much incentive to continue preparation for each match as they cannot advance.

You didn't do so well in the league, would you like to address that?

Being abroad in Spain and also having matches start and continue around my spring break and finals made it harder to prepare properly. All of my matches were played on Tuesday as well which is usually a day I need to use for hw + rest as the weekends are pretty tournament heavy. I guess I underestimated the amount of preparation I would need in general.

Who are your most common practice partners?

Lately I've been playing a lot on the Korean ladder to get used to the environment and the play style there. Before that my most common practice partners were tournaments. I tend to play in tournaments more than I do just practice for practice sake.

At MLG Columbus you lost an epic best of three with Thorzain, what was the MLG experience like for you and what are you hoping to change for Anaheim?

MLG was an endurance test more than anything else. I went to 2 am one night and midnight another where one day I had around 6 hours of constant matches with only a 5-10 minute break in between. Next time I expect to crush through the foreigners and make pool play at least.

Do you think your experience in Korea will develop the skills of you and your team to do better in NA tournaments?

I feel like playing on Korea has already pushed me as a player and helped me progress. There's nothing like getting stomped to give incentive to improve and play better.

What is your favorite matchup at the moment and why?

I don't really have a favorite matchup right now. I feel equally comfortable in every matchup but at different stages. I'm more comfortable early game vs some races while better late game vs. others.

How long do you plan on being in Korea for? Will you be staying even if you do not manage to qualify for Code a?

I'd like to stay in Korea until I have to return to school in September regardless of how I do in GSL/GSTL.

How do you imagine your team will practice for the GSTL? Will your personal practice methods change dramatically?

I don't really know what team practice will be like having never done it before but I predict it will be a lot of grinding out specific matchups on specific maps.

Can we get any spoilers about some team strategies? Such as your ace player and match up snipers, or are you waiting to figure out your opponent before you begin discussions like that?

We're still working out our plans for GSTL in terms of strategy and ace players.

What do you think FXO's chances are like of winning the entire GSTL?

I don't really know where we stand compared to the other teams in our group. I hope that we can prove that we can stand with the best.

Is there a particular Korean player that you would like the chance to play against?

I would like to play MMA. He is a player of a lot of potential and I would like to see how I fare against him.

Do you have much experience playing on the Korean ladder? How have you found your aggressive style to work against the Korean style of play?

My main problem so far on the Korean ladder has been keeping my mechanics up as well as figuring out what strategy my opponent is doing. There is a lot more variety in strategy here and almost all of the ones I see at high masters/gm level are extremely deadly if not prepared for quickly. Win quickly win often is kind of the motto of the Korean server.

Do you plan on doing any streaming from Korea?

We're cutting down on streaming while in Korea to keep our strategies more concealed. Right now it looks like we'll be doing a team stream where we alternate somewhat frequently but beyond that I'm not sure.

Where can people follow you and find out more about you?

check out my twitter qxc0000 / facebook page qxc / website fxoqxc.com.

Since Korea is not an island, are you worried that you won't scan it properly?

Scanning Korea is trivial.

How many Koreans fans do you think have heard of you?

Hah. Assuming it all works out... many many more than before.

You have become quite popular in the foreign scene recently.

Yes, because of GSTL and maybe also from winning LG Cinema qualifier in Busan.

Tell us how the qualifiers in Busan went.

Qualifiers were very easy, I got lucky. I played diamond Protoss, bronze Terran and such.

Did you meet any progamers in Busan? Rumor is Losira lost to a 6 pool.

Yes, right. Best of 1 is a very dangerous format for a tournament, nobody knows who will come out on top.

Who was your final series against? Were the games good?

I played Lucky[fOu], I played well but he was nervous and so the games were not particularly close.

Were you nervous during your first GSTL game?

Every time, before the game I was nervous, because I only played the last matches where this is so much pressure. At the start of the game I enjoyed the nervous feeling however.

You still managed to defeat many good gamers, you are good at defending.

I play Zerg, they are good at defense. Zerg is just the defend race, losing to a rush again and again makes ability in defending very strong.

How do you stop yourself from being nervous during huge games like these?

Don't stop being nervous, zerg should be nervous during the game.

That doesn't affect your decision making? Because you defended Ganzi's tank push really well in GSTL.

Yep right. But in that game, I think I lost no banelings, only zerglings, so I thought I couldn't defend it. I'm just lucky I guess, I don't know.

Is that why you haven't reached GSL Code A yet? Zerg needs too much luck?

Yeah, but that luck is a Zerg player's skill too.

How to practice being as lucky as DRG?

Well..just play many many games is the key

You said you practice 20 games a day?

Yes, but nowadays I'm lazy.

We all wish we could be lazy and still top 3 on Korean grandmaster. In the GSTL which was your best game?

Everybody thinks vs MMA, but I feel frustrated at how that game ended.

It looked like you had the lead at one point, around 18 minutes in you had 200 population vs 150, but then all your banelings hit tanks instead of marines and it went to 120 to 150. Is that when you lost it?

I missed 3-4 chances to win that game. I think it is really good to reduce tank numbers so I am not unhappy with that battle.

Which point do you think you lost it?

That time that MMA split his units at the 6 o'clock expansion and I killed half of them, I used my remaining army to attack the planetary fortress which was a really bad decision. It lead to losing the game.

What did you learn after playing that game vs MMA?

1. Don't be lead around by medivacs.
2. Don't attack a planetary fortress.
3. Must finish the game when I can.

What does being lead by medivacs mean?

When I was at 170 vs MMA's 130, I should attack and kill MMA's units. Instead I focused only on the medivacs, it disturbed my gameplan.

MMA is really good at dropping. How do you deal with those drops as a zerg?

Yep I noticed too. Mostly you just have to defend, and trade armies when you can to reduce their unit count.

During the game, you also had a pause. What happened?

In the mechanical keyboard stopped working, something got under the number 7 key and I couldn't push it down. 7 = third hatchery so its important. I number hatcheries each at their own number.

What is your hotkey set up? What keyboard and mouse do you use?

1-4 for units, 5-0 are hatcheries. My keyboard is a Zenics tesoro M7 mechanical keyboard and the mouse is...I don't know. I stole some PC cafe's mouse, I don't know the model but its an LG. I used to have a Logitech football optical mouse but the one I stole is really good for me so I changed.

After the last GSTL, TeamLiquid created a fan club for you and created an ID to post on it. What do you think about that fanclub?

It's really awesome, I never thank people for my fan club, I appreciate it.

What do you want to say to all those in your fan club that want you to stream again? They are very sad you know.

I am sorry, I can't begin streaming again. I belong to the SC2 Association ([i]E/N: this) and they prefer progamers don't stream.

Instead, maybe you can provide some of DRG's Zerg knowledge to TL again? Your Spanishiwa ZvT is good, what do you think about that.

But my knowledge is my livelihood...

Spanishiwa is really good at ZvT, I think its a good main build. I have been doing it regularly since seeing a post on PlayXP. It is stable and rich, a good standard vs a Terran.

Some say it is risky early game because of the lack of gas.

Well, Spanishiwa build is really gas rich later on so I don't think it matters, you can get so many mutas quickly.

What do you think about your other matchups?

Well, my ZvZ is as good as my ZvT and I am confident in those. But ZvP I need more practice maybe, worst win ratio is against Protoss.

Why is your ZvP bad? Many Zergs have changed a lot of their style vs Protoss, using roach/infestor/baneling for instance.

I can't find my own style vs Protoss yet. Ling/bling+infestor or muta+ling or hydra+roach or ling/bling/roach, there are many many styles. I use all of them in practice but I can't find the right one for me yet.

Why are those bad?

They're not bad, they are all very good. I can't quite adopt the right one for me yet.

Many foreigners have been talking about the 8 roach+zergling build, what do you think of that?

I use that build too, its very good vs 3 gate expansion, if the Protoss is bad at forcefield you can finish the game immediately.

Do you think that Protoss has to change styles soon? To combat 8 roach+zergling.

I think just be ing good at control can defend that well enough.

Before, many people complain that Zerg has a hard time scouting against Protoss before lair, what do you think now?

I feel the same, it is a lot of deduction/inference/guessing. Counting sentries is one of the keys, you can also look at gas with a scouting drone of an overlord sometimes.

Some Protosses have now been doing DT sentry expand, do you like this build?

No, its not good. Its very very easy to beat.

Because you can easily count the sentries?

Yes, its easy to figure out what is happening. I can make many many drones and go lair, and Protoss can't do anything. Mutalisk, hydra, roaches all win from there.

So you have seen this build a lot?

Yes, after the GSL final many Protosses used it in ladder.

You say your ZvZ is good while many Zergs complain about that matchup, what is your advice for it? How do you manage the zergling and baneling fights?

Its also a guessing game, figure out when its good to make drones and when to make units.

The fights are just experience, control fights. Playing many games is the best way to learn that control.

After televised games, what do you think about ceremonies?

It's very good fan service, any progamer should do that. It is a good way to grow SC2.

I'll try to practice some for GSL.

Who do you want to play in GSL?

NesTea, and MVP and MMA. I want to be a Zerg king.

MMA because of your GSTL games? Who are the top 3 TvZs?

Yes, revenge. MVP, MMA, MKP are all the best at TvZ.

The secret to a strong TvZ is a 3 letter ID that starts with M?

Yes! 3M!!

What about a Protoss you want to play vs?

MC? That is all. There aren't a lot of strong Protoss besides him.

In the Super Tournament, the new map Bel'Shir beach has been added. What do you think about this map?

In ZvT it is good for T. Defending expansions is hard, they're so wide open. The situation is opposite in ZvP, it is very hard for Protoss to take an expansion. The first overlord can be watching everything.

Whats your favorite unit in the game?

Zerglinggggggggggg. So fasttttt, and cuteeeeeee.

Is that why you like early pool, to get lings fast? Many players have different ideas on defending 6-9 pool as Protoss, is 2 g ate or gate+forge better in your opinion?

Yes!! 2 gate is best. Zealot push is really good vs fast pool because Zerg can't make drones.

Now that GSTL is over, what do you plan on doing for the next few weeks until Code A qualifiers start? E/N: this took place before the Code A Qualifiers happened

Inhouse games. Did you know the third Code A qualifier map is changing to Temple? Scrap station -> Shattered Temple, its not as good for Zerg. I don't know why but on ladder I lose so many games on Shattered Temple.

How come its a bad Zerg map?

Well, Terran and Protoss can take expansions too easily. Gold minerals or break the rocks and take those expos.

What advice do you have for Zergs that want to be as good as DRG?

Nothing. Don't take my place.

Anything else you would like to say to Team Liquid.

Keep watching. Watch me win more in the future.