EPT
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Interview with the TSL Winner:
Excello.IefNaijCongratulations on your victory! How fast is your heart beating?
Thanks! Maybe 150 Beats per second? Sorry, that joke wasnt funny =p
How did you prepare for the TSL Grand Finals? How much and with whom did you practice? Did you plan your builds beforehand?
I actually didn't play much in preparations for the finals. I had many tests / projects this week and spent all the week days on it. So I had basically only Friday night/ Saturday to prepare. But good thing I have some very generous friends that were willing to donate their time and efforts in helping me practice (Infernal, Oldy, G5 and some others).
I used and tested a variety of builds against them which helped me to determine which BO i should use on which map. So thanks a lot to them!
In game 1 when your probe arrived in Draco's main you must have instantly known what was coming, what went through your head at that moment?
I said 'oh shit, proxy!'. I immediately knew he was up to some cheesy proxy all in, so I put up my 2nd gate asap. I knew if I could defend well without losing many probes, I would win, however that did not happen. But I'm still surprised I managed come back after that devastating start.
You went on to make proxy DT after you defended the rush. Unluckily it was not successful. Were you thinking "If Draco can proxy, so can I" when you built it? ^^
I only proxied because I wanted my dts to reach his base ASAP, i knew that every second counted. But yes, countering cheeses with more cheeses is always fun, usually works ^^
So you would say it was mostly a strategic decision?
Yes.
You were down 0-2 after the second game. How did it feel? What went through your head? Did you think you still had a chance?
I really thought 'oh man, 0-3, now everyone on TL is gonna bash me and call me noob'. I was ready to face that but I continued to play my best, and not to let my fans down. I am still very shocked that I came back from that. You usually don't see a person winning a series after being down 0-2, especially of games at this level.
Many people consider Reavers to be your trademark unit, coincidentally they paved your way to victory in game 3-5. Do you think they are especially good on Wuthering Heights?
I think with proper control reavers are inevitably the strongest unit in the game, regardless of the map. But no, I don't think they are especially good on Wuthering Heights. Reavers' long range and massive damage are benefited when used on maps that have chokes / high grounds, such as Othello. Many say that my reaver micro is extraordinaire but I don't think highly of them. If you compare my micro to the amateur koreans, I am just a norm. Nothing special, really.
In game 4 on Zodiac you used a build that I have seen you use in Ascension, as well as in your game vs Cloud in TSL Ro16 (Gate Robo opening and taking the island expansion first). Is it your favourite build? Can you elaborate a bit about it strenghts and maybe possible weaknesses?
It's my one of my stronger builds on Zodiac and I love abusing the islands and making my opponent waste a handful of units to even scratch it. I use it often because the foreign scene aren't used to seeing such a build, thus confusing them on the spot and making them wonder of what to do next. I take advantage of that and keep on the pressure. It's a build that often wins, I rarely lose with it. But there are many flaws to it, but I won't reveal it.
When game 4 ended and the score was 2-2 after having been down 0-2, what were you thinking?
When I was 2-2, I was 'OMG maybe I can come back from 0-2!' Othello is a map that I'm fairly strong at. I practiced it 2 times more than the other maps simply because it was a map played twice. I felt confident and just played safe, but Draco's build really surprised me.
Draco's build was indeed unusual. You got contained in your base, because he opened with 3 Gate Goon (even into 4 Gate Goon). Even though you opened Gate Robo yourself you added Templar tech after you sneaked a Probe into Draco's main. Tell us a bit about this choice and how the game ended due to it.
My original plan was to go 2 gate goons / 1 reaver timing push because I've seen always seen draco go fast expo on this map.
When I scouted his base, I saw 4 gates and nothing else. I was very surprised Draco was playing so risky, I figured he would play safe and take it to late game. But as I saw the 4 gate goon, I figured I needed to get some dark templars out ASAP because without observers, it is an absolute win.
What are you going to do with your 5000 dollars?
As I've said earlier, treating my friends to dinner and then saving the rest. I don't have anything that I really want at the moment, only time will tell.
Can we expect you to actively prepare for TSL2?
Well it's summer time for me, so playing and practicing for TSL 2 would not be a problem.
Looking back at the whole TSL season, what were your honest expectations for how well you could do in it. What did you like about TSL, what could be better?
I would've never thought I was going to make it this far. I thought maybe 16th-4th at most. I guess I exceeded my own expectations and I'm glad. I'm very thankful for all the people believing me, I didn't let you guys down ^^ I am very happy I made it this far.
TSL has been excellent. Very nice coverage and everything was so organized, very professional. I don't think there can be any imrovements to TSL
Thanks for your time and congratulations again
Now go and celebrate!Thank you~
![[image loading]](http://usuarios.lycos.es/starcraftbroodwar/imagenes/reaver.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Plexa/TSL_Finals/jf.png)
