Team Razer's Bnet World Championship Bios

Name: Song Hyeon Deok
Alias: HerO
Team: TeamLiquid
Age: 22
Nationality: South Korean
Race: Protoss
Notable achievements: 1st place DreamHack Winter 2011, 2nd place NASL2, Semi-finalist of Season 2 GSL Code-S
Trivia: Smokes to calm his nerves



Are you doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare for the global final?
Actually, I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary, I'm just practicing normally like playing on ladder , but recently, I'm playing many games more than before.

Do you have any concerns about participating in the Battle.net World Championhip? What do you think will be your biggest hurdle?
I'm concerned about protoss vs zerg race match up. Nowadays, all zerg players are improving so much, so zerg players will be my biggest hurdle - especially Stephano.

Do you have an expectations of how you'll perform? Have you set yourself any targets in regards to your performance?
I can't have performance expections for WCS global final. I will try my best and I just want to show my skill to fans. And my goal is win against all my opponents.

Will this be your First time visiting China?
No, I went China for WCS Asia final, it was a good time

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans who'll be watching you compete in China?
I would like to say 'Thank you' again, and looking forward to my match up at global final and I knew you will support me win or lose ! Fighting !

Name: Ryan Visbeck
Alias: State
Team: Quantic Gaming
Age: 20
Nationality: American
Race: Protoss
Notable achievements: 1st place Texas Starcraft Showdown, 5/6th place at WCS North America Final
Trivia: Started playing Starcraft 2 full-time in July 2012.



Are you doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare for the global final?
I'm currently training at the StarTale House in Korea to train for the Worlds Final. It's a lot different. I remember a few months ago when NaNiWa moved to Korea he spoke about how he was "finally learning to play the game properly", and I'm experiencing something similar - a lot of conceptions and habits foreign players have aren't really viable in the Korean metagame. I feel as though I'm patching some of the holes I've had in my play, and I'm learning a lot while doing it.

Do you think having a lower profile than much of the competition gives you any kind of advantage?
Hah, not really. I don't think Koreans plan to study up on many foreigners, so I don't expect my profile to play any big role.

Do you have an expectations of how you'll perform? Have you set yourself any targets in regards to your performance?
I think my results will be very group-dependant. If there is no more than one Korean in my group, I'm very confident that I will advance to the playoffs; but any more than two might be trouble. I've heard that Blizzard plans on diversifying their groups, so that's very good news for me.

Have you had the opportunity to experience much of Korea while you've been there?
Not so much. I visited some of Seoul with Chris (Illusion) and my friend David Lorio the day after I arrived, but since then it's just been practice, practice, practice. TheSTC said he'll give me a tour sometime soon, so hopefully that will change for the better.

Will this be your First time visiting China?
Yes! I'm very excited to try the food! I've heard Shanghai has some of the best food in China and I'm looking forward to experiencing as much of it as I can.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans who'll be watching you compete in China?
Thanks for supporting me and Razer! I'll try my best to show good games.

Name: Chris Lee
Alias: Illusion
Team: Quantic Gaming
Age: 16
Nationality: American
Race: Terran
Notable achievements: 7/8th place at WCS North America Final
Trivia: Listens to 1 song on repeat all through an event and occasionally sings along while in-game



Are you doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare for the global final?
I've been practicing in Korea. I'm also skipping MLG Dallas and declined an invitation to the Lone Star Clash to solely focus on WCS.

Do you have any concerns about participating in the Battle.net World Championhip? What do you think will be your biggest hurdle?
I'm a bit concerned that there are only 4 terrans, it kind of shows the state of Terran right now. It is widely considered that Korean Terrans are the best Terran players in the world, yet I see them struggle in many things, including qualifying for WCS Globals (I am aware some Terrans didn't play in the WCS qualifiers as it conflicted with one of the MLGs). I'm also in the Startale house, learning from Terrans, mainly Bomber and Hack, but they also seem to struggle in the other match-ups. I think the biggest hurdle to overcome will just be TvZ matchups, as there are plenty of good Zergs who have qualified, as well as many korean Protosses participating.

Do you have an expectations of how you'll perform? Have you set yourself any targets in regards to your performance?
Of course going into any tournament, a player is determined to win. If I get enough practice in, I think I can do just that. I'm still hoping for a top 3 finish no matter the circumstances though. It will be a hard tournament for sure, as I am sure most of the players are practicing just as hard.

Will this be your First time visiting China?
Yes. I haven't looked too much into Shanghai, nor have I heard much so I don't know what to expect. Mainly right now I'm just hoping it's a good environment so I can stay focused.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans who'll be watching you compete in China?
Sorry for not showing up at foreign events lately, I really wanted to participate in MLG, Lone Star, DH, etc. but I was worried that it would affect my performance at WCS Global Finals. Hopefully I represent myself well. Even if my results don't follow through the way I want to, I want to show that I can compete with the best. Thanks for cheering me on!

Name: Anton Plebanovich
Alias: LoWeLy
Team: FXOpen Europe
Age: 26
Nationality: Belarusian
Race: Zerg
Notable achievements: 1st place WCS Combined European Nationals
Trivia: A big fan of anime, his favourite series is One Piece and his favourite character is 'Rock Lee' from Naruto.



Are you doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare for the global final?
I can't practice more than my body allows, so no. I spend 12 hours a day playing matches, analyzing my replays looking for mistakes or watching VOD’s of other players.

Do you have any concerns about participating in the Battle.net World Championhip? What do you think will be your biggest hurdle?
All I want is to show my "A" game at WCS, so my only worry is that I won’t be able to do so. There are a lot of factors like fatigue, jetlag and unusual climates. I don't know how my body will react to all of this, so all I can do is pray that I'll adjust well. Also, it's hard for me to concentrate if I’m playing against someone who very famous.

Do you have an expectations of how you'll perform? Have you set yourself any targets in regards to your performance?
I'll be happy if I don’t lose in a first round. I can't have any targets higher than that. There will be 32 of the best players from all over the world and they’re all capable of beating one another. Anyone can take first place, so I think it’s just a matter of destiny.

Will this be your First time visiting China?
Yes, it’s my first time, but I'm always concentrating on a tourney and usually don't pay attention to the country I'm visiting.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans who'll be watching you compete in China?
I hope you'll have a lot of fun while watching!

Name: Jon Anderson
Alias: BabyKnight
Team: FXOpen Europe
Age: 20
Nationality: Danish
Race: Protoss
Notable achievements: 1st place WCS Danish Nationals
Trivia: Formerly a successful DotA player, placed 3rd at ESWC with MYM.DOTA. Switched to Starcraft 2 full-time in May of 2011



Are you doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare for the global final?
Nothing special, I'm just practicing a lot and preparing mentally for it.

Do you have any concerns about participating in the Battle.net World Championhip? What do you think will be your biggest hurdle?
Concerns? Not really, I'm basically just looking forward to it. If I play my best, I think I can get far, but it's also gonna depend on the bracket/groups.

Do you have an expectations of how you'll perform? Have you set yourself any targets in regards to your performance?
That's a very hard question to answer when I don't know who I will face but as I said if I play my best there's no telling how far I can go. I think it'll be important for me to just always look one match ahead, and never be completely satisfied with where I'm at.

After beating Ret and qualifying for the World Finals, I was satisfied, which was dumb. I did not play my best against VortiX and Lowely, and I was very frustrated with that. That's why I won't be satisfied even with a second place at the world finals, until the event is over. When the event is over, I'll put thought into that.

Will this be your First time visiting China?
Yup.

Is there anything you're looking forward to experiencing during your first trip to China?
Playing Starcraft 2.

Is there anything from your experiences as a DOTA player that has carried over, or that you still find useful now as a Starcraft 2 player?
Getting really good at one thing makes it a lot easier to get good at something else. Even though SC2 is a very different game than DotA, I still knew how to get better and I knew that I could become very good. If I didn't have that confidence and knowledge, then I think it would've taken me longer to get to where I am now. Apart from that I guess micro also carried over in a way, controling small groups of units in SC2 is very similar to a hero in DotA.

Is there anything you would like to say to your fans who'll be watching you compete in China?
Thank you guys so much for your support! If it weren't for the people supporting me, it would be incredibly tough to maintain playing. You guys are awesome! Hope you'll all be watching the WCS Grand Finals, and keep cheering for me.