Hey HerO! It's great to have you on Liquid. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your history with gaming? How did you become a professional StarCraft 2 player? A ton of people are going to want to know everything about you.

Hi, my name is Song Hyun Deok and I'm twenty-one year old Protoss player. I started playing Starcraft 1 when I was sixteen, playing just for fun at first. But as I played I realized I was the best in my school and started playing with more interest, which led to me dreaming of becoming a pro-gamer. When I was seventeen, I qualified as a semi-pro through the 21st Courage tournament [Note: The Courage league is the system through which KeSPA - the governing body of Korean Brood War - gives out semi-pro licenses]. After that, I participated in the draft and was recruited by Lecaf OZ (now Hwaseung OZ).

I particpated in the GSL Open preliminary for fun, but there I met coach Kim Seong Gon (oGs.Gon) who had been my captain and teammate during the Lecaf OZ days. Through him, I joined oGs.

What made decide to make the move from oGs to Liquid, and do you think you'll be able to adjust well? What has your relationship with Liquid been like prior to this announcement?

Well, because of the cooperation between oGs and TL, players like Jonathan and Chris have lived at our house. Personally, I thought of them very highly. They were foreigners who had come to Korea with a goal, and that seemed so cool and new to me at the time. They are the first foreigners I've gotten to know, and they're great people I've grown to love.

I heard this later, but Jonathan and Chris recommended me to Victor. To be honest, when I was first told to consider joining Liquid, the first thing that came to mind was that I would feel so sorry to Manager Park Sang Ik (oGs.TheWind) and Coach Kim Sung Gon (oGs.Gon). But both of them told me that this would be a great opportunity, and that even though it would be a loss from the team's perspective, it could be a turning point in my life. Because they thought about it from my point of view and respected my feelings about it, I was able to decide with a lighter heart.

Personally, I'm so thankful to Victor, and Jonathan and Chris who recommended me. The competition is tough in Korea where the reliance on GSL is high. It's true that I thought it was exhausting. I was really afraid that it would end up for me like Starcraft 1, where I did well in practice but couldn't produce any results.

Thank you Team Liquid for giving me the opportunity to gain experience, expand my horizons, and succeed.


As a Liquid member you will start participating in many international events. Which international events do you look forward to the most, and what Liquid players are you looking forward to being reunited with?

Personally I'm really looking forward to the MLG tournaments. I'm going to compete at Raleigh very soon, and I'm giddy because it's my first international tournament. Watching MLG from afar, I've always wanted to compete. When I saw Moon Sung Won (SlayerS_MMA) earn his Code-S spot at MLG, I thought to myself "I can do it, too!"

Also, the response from the fans overseas is huge compared Korea. I've always been envious of that environment as an observer, and I'd like to play for once, drawing strength from those kind of fans.

I'd like to meet all the Liquid members, but if I had to pick one, I'd say Hayder. We had a lot of fun together, and he taught me a lot of English. Whenever I didn't know something he'd just laugh and help me out. I was sad when he had to leave. I made fun of him a lot for not eating meat when he was in Korea, so I'd like to apologize to him here.

Like you mentioned before, you'll be playing at MLG Raleigh in a few weeks. Are you in good condition going into this tournament? Also, Korean Terrans dominated the last MLG, and more may be on the way with MVP and Bomber receiving invites to the next tournament. Do you think you can beat those kind of players?

My condition's alright, and I'll do my best to prepare. MVP and Bomber are good players, but I think they're players I'm capable of beating. I'm not too worried.

You already have a fan club on Team Liquid, which you've posted in. How closely do you follow the foreign community? Do you read Team Liquid very often? Also, we hear that your English is quite good. Can we look forward to you speaking in English at foreign tournaments, like MC and DongRaeGu?

I visit TeamLiquid pretty often, as for my English... I'll try harder to get better. Honestly, I was never one for studying, but I liked English. I'd like to use English at foreign tournaments like MC or DongRaeGu, but I'm not confident enough yet, so I need to try harder.

You are now a Liquid` member, but you are going to keep living at the oGs-TL house, practicing and living with the same people. Will joining Liquid` make for any changes in your everyday life, or will things pretty much stay the same?

I don't think it's going to affect my everyday life. The oGs players and coaches think of oGs and TL as one team because of our cooperation. Since I'm Korean, I don't think it will change too much.

Who are you closest to in the oGs-TL house and who are your usual practice partners? Who do you think is a good player who hasn't gotten much exposure?

I'm friends with everyone, but if I had to pick I'd say MC and Inca who I've learned a lot from. I practice a lot with oGsJ (aka Luvsic), oGsJookto, and oGsTheStC. I think oGsJ is underated.

How about some personal questions? What's your favorite food?

For my favorite food, it's actually a problem because I like to eat everything. I guess it would be whole roasted chicken? I like poultry a lot.

Movies? Anything you've seen lately that was interesting?

I really love watching movies, I like them all regardless of their genre.

Recently, we were all watching Scream 4 together, and after the movie I started feeling mischievious. So I hid and waited for TheStC to give him a scare with some stabbing motions, which really, really scared him. After that, people at the house teased me a lot.

Favorite K-Pop star?

Hyuna

Okay, to wrap up, say something to your foreign fans!

That's pretty difficult...

[At this point, the interviewer talked about "special tektics", White-Ra, MC, and the fact that having imperfect English can often be a good thing.]

"Hellow everyone
i'm always thanks for fan
if not have fan ,,
maybe i'm not here
Always thanks and expect me
i will give you grace ??"

Is that okay?

Perfect.

Okay, thank you.

Thanks for the interview!

T_T