UPDATED WITH MORE GAMEPLAY QUESTIONS ANSWERED THOROUGHLY!!! CHECK BELOW!!!
I’ve had a chance to have an interview with HuK who won my small tournament (TDS). I’m surprised there haven’t been many interviews about him as he is no doubt the best Protoss player in North America, participating in almost every tournament and finishing at the top. He is known for his incredible PvT and taking down the best players consistently.
First and foremost, tell us about yourself. HuK: My name is Chris Loranger, I'm 21 years old and I go by the name HuK.
Tournament
Well firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on winning my small, horribly organized tournament where you had to wait for weeks. How does it feel? HuK: Great of course. Yeah it wasn't exactly what everyone had hoped but all and all I think it went pretty well. There were a lot of great players too so it’s always nice to compete.
You beat your clan mate Antimage 4-0. Would you say this had to do more with your PvP skill or the fact that you know how he plays, since you do practice with him? HuK: Actually me and Victor never practice (Victor and I ). I just think he was having a bad day and I was pretty well warmed up from that morning from an EU tournament.
General
Looking at the tournament stats during the StarCraft 2 Beta, with many #1 placed winnings, you are no doubt the best Protoss in North America. Do you agree with this? (It’s fine to gloat!) Huk: LoL, I wouldn't want to say that myself but if others think that—that’s fine too . Definitely think NA Protoss players are lacking, there’s a lot of great Terran NA players, but Protoss/Zerg seem a lot weaker.
You and many of other top players come from a StarCraft background; however, there have been many WarCraft 3 players who are dominating as well. Do you believe that StarCraft 2 caters equally to both StarCraft and WarCraft 3 players? HuK: No I think a StarCraft background is a bit better, but both games are WAY better than anything else. It's pretty close but overall I think StarCraft players have a slight edge. (Yes I'm biased.)
Your beastly Protoss play has earned you nicknames such as Huk Norris and The Incredible Huk. I’m sure you love those names, but if you had to choose one for people to refer you as, what would it be? Or would you prefer more than one being used? Huk: I really love all my nicknames, and my fans for giving them to me. I don't really prefer any one over another but it seems that Huk Norris is the most popular so if I had to choose I guess that one.
I’ve come up with something. When you do lose, people can say Fuk. HuK: Nice , yeah I've heard people say fuk you Huk . By the way there’s another good Canadian user named Dukke who should change his name to DuK.
What are your thoughts on StarCraft 2, especially compared to its predecessor? HuK: Think it's great, thinks it's really going to be the closest competition to SC1 that you can get as a great game, but I think for as long as I live SC1 forever going to be my favourite game, just the "wow factor" you can pull off in that game makes the crowd really please. LIM YO HWAN!
Any improvements you feel that are needed in this game? HuK: A lot, just to sum it up fix battle.net 2.0 because it’s horrible. Balance wise or anything else I don't feel really qualified to talk too much about it.
Battle.net 2.0
I’m not going to get in depth with Battle.net 2.0 because it’s safe to assume you loathe it just like the rest of us. HuK:
Blizzard has stated that for all the games in the invite Pro League (above Diamond League), replays will be publicly available for everyone to watch. Considering that this league will be a gateway to big tournaments, and you are limited one account per game, how do you feel about this?
HuK: Mixed feelings I guess, no smurfing is a double edge sword in many, many ways. But competition wise it’s obviously great.
Protoss
Why does Blizzard hate such a beautiful race? HuK: Hate us because were beautiful of course .
What would you say your best match up is, and what makes you good at it? HuK: PvT when the beta closed I would say, just because Protoss have a lot of control in that game and can counter easily. Maybe because I was a Terran user in SC1, idk .
There has been of talk about PvT imbalance. One big one that many Protoss players feel the need to emphasize on is the Ghost’s EMP. In the ESL, Brat_OK’s Marines and Ghosts with EMP totally demolished your army despite you being ahead in food count. I know you try not to think about imbalance, but do you feel that this may be too powerful against Protoss? HuK: I don't think it’s the best balance it could be but I don't think its OP either. Brat_OK simply played a lot better than me that day, and definitely changed his play up. He was the better player that day and it showed, the mistakes I made in that game were obvious, especially because a failed DT rush just puts you super behind.
The Archon, Carrier and Mothership are rarely used in the Protoss arsenal. Do you feel they will ever be viable if these units do not get changed? HuK: Although there not used as much I still think, they’re viable, just better players haven’t seen their strengths yet. They definitely could use a buff but as the game progresses strategically I think more and more people are going to use these units.
In the original StarCraft, we can agree that Protoss is generally the easiest race to play. However in StarCraft 2, Protoss definitely has a lot to do that requires going back to the base, such as warping in units and chrono boosting. What are your thoughts on Protoss’ ease of play compared to the other races? HuK: In SC2 I’m not sure because I haven’t really played the other races as much. When they took out the grid chrono that hurt a lot but it hurt Zerg a lot too so I didn't mind it as much. I think there are all pretty equally "hard to play" right now although I'm sure some other top players are more biased.
Are you going to stick with Protoss forever or do you feel that you may change races? HuK: No I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with Protoss.
Playing
For the HuK fans, and the Protoss players who want to be as monstrous as you, what is your hotkey set up? HuK: Jeez, well I'll tell you mine right now but it’s really weird and changes constantly. 0-nexussssss 9-scout probe at beginning (then 2nd nexus 8-3rd nexus 7- 4th 5- robo or stargate depending on priority 4- robo or stargate depending on priorirty 3- dropship, phoenxes, dts, etc (harass units) 2- collosus/ht/sentry 1- main army Something along these lines I guess ^^.
What is your most memorable game that you just felt so awesome about? HuK: Well would have to be my 5th win against TLO in ESL May Finale, just because it was my biggest win and I felt way behind, even though I was ahead most of the game. Other than that I felt I transitioned well for not practicing that map/strategy a lot.
If there is one player (that doesn’t certainly have to be the best) will beat you most of the time, who would you say it would be and why? In addition, who do you think will be the most feared and dangerous player once the game is released? HuK: First one I would say Capoch but there are a lot of players that give me trouble. Capoch has a habit of knocking me out of tournaments in PvP with the same strategy every game. Second one is HINCRAM! They both do the same strategy every time and I just fail TT. Most skilled player on release either I would pick Dimaga or Sen.
How often do you practice and what tips would you give to gamers who want to play competitively? HuK: Before release I would say I would practice 3-4 hours a day on average of actually playing. As for tips, play a lot and consciously try to play better; don't just robot through useless sessions then rage at the end when you get nowhere.
The StarCraft 2 eSports scene seems to be dominating worldwide, rather than just in South Korea with StarCraft. Do you feel that the best StarCraft 2 players will reside in one country? HuK: No, although I think there could be stronger players from the Asian scene but worldwide competitions can still be pretty even. At least I hope so.
You should have cheesed Idra in the final game of the Gosu Coaching Weekly. HuK: LOL, thing that is hilarious to me is people are like "wow man he totally mind tricked you into playing straight up and losing that game". But if I had cheesed and lost they would have said same thing. You’re probably right but I felt it would be dishonourable to do so after such a long series.
Last question I’d like to ask is where do you see yourself a few years from now? HuK: Best SC2 player in the world obviously . Playing SC2 upside down in a hyperbaric chamber.
Conclusion
As a Canadian and Protoss player myself, I have nothing but respect for you as a gamer. Despite the sad news that you are leaving vT Gaming to pursue new opportunities I’m sure all your clan members and fans wish you good luck, and so do I. C’est la vie.
And poutines are awesome. HuK: Yes thank you all, I will do my best to keep playing the best I can for everyone. And yes they are ^^.
Against a build like Brat_OK’s Marine and Ghost with later tech switching, what would you say is the best counter as a Protoss?
HuK: I think that a Stalker Blink opening to mid-game High Templar would be best. You basically open as normal, pressure with Stalkers then transition into Blink (with Observers or Hallucination if possible). Micro well, then as you get to 2 base vs 2 base or more, transition to High Templar and micro the best you can. Stalkers are really fun and work well against Marines if you can micro well and transitioning to High Templar is fairly easy. In addition, with something like this you can be really aggressive for a good amount of the game not rally having to worry about many early pushes or aggression. So all around I really like this opening against this type of Terran build, but I will say that this is unproven and only theory crafted in my brain so don’t get your hopes up!
Hincram is known for his very aggressive proxy Marauder or Reaper rushes that is extremely hard for a Protoss to defend. You and many other Protosses have lost many times to this. Any new idea you feel that would counter this well?
HuK: Know that it’s coming and play safe. It’s not hard to counter a build that’s “all inish” such as this but you have to know it’s coming. He’s done this to me 6-7 games in a row in tournaments which sucks. The most recent I scouted the whole map and he actually built it in an empty base on Lost Temple. You need to use Sentries along with Zealots effectively to pin his Marauders down, and pull Probes if needed. Against Reapers, if the Stalker doesn’t come out you have to try your best to chase with Zealots and the Probes.
Despite this you have great success against Terran. What big mistakes are Terran players doing against Protoss?
HuK: Not varying their play well. In my eyes, a Terran player should play different strategies for different maps and have a wide range of play. I feel most Terran players only have a few strategies up their sleeves instead of a wide range of openings they feel comfortable with.
And in addition, what mistakes do you see a lot of Protoss players doing against Terran?
HuK: Not being as aggressive as they should be and not scouting properly. Then if they do scout properly, they usually don’t know what to think of what they see. Using your first probe scout, keep it alive as long as possible. Most people will lose it and not harass with it. I will keep it alive as long as possible and harass as much as I can. Check how many Marines, how early are the Tech Labs, etc. If he doesn’t Tech Lab and pumps a couple of Marines, you send your first Stalker and pressure and now he has like 4-5 Marines. Immediately in my mind I’m running through strategies of what he’s going, such as FE, Mass Marines + Medivac, Biomech, etc. Then I think of opponent/map and what they usually go, and then I go through my range of builds and think what would have the highest percentage success against their range.
Zerg
Many Protoss players are prone to Banelings busts early on the game. What advice would you give to those who struggle to defend this?
HuK: Well like everything else, scout. If you see it coming, do not worry. If you fast expand it is harder to defend, but always against Zerg you need to wall. In addition, have good building placement and have Sentries to micro and defend along with well placed Forcefields.
Warp gate timing pushes sometimes can be hard for Zerg to defend. What advice would you give to those Zerg who lose to this?
HuK: Watch my Zerg play (Godder/Mark/Taylor). Sorry bit of an inside joke there, but don’t over Drone and know your timings. You can Drone still appropriately but make sure you can get cost effectiveness out of the Drones you make before the push comes. Micro well and don’t get cocky, remember if you defend his push without taking too much damage, you will usually be significantly ahead. Try variations with Spine Crawlers, Queens, Roaches, Speedlings, Carapace Upgrade, and see what mix works with what timing push. Against an Immortal timing push, a Mass Speedling would be the best. However, against a 4-5 Gate All In with +1, Zerglings without Carapace would get raped. In that situation you can try getting the Carapace upgrade (although still risky) or getting many Roaches.
Coincidentally, if a warp gate timing rush fails to do significant damage, Zerg is generally ahead. How does a Protoss recover from this?
HuK: Know your opponent and how much he is prepared. I mean, if he invests a lot in Spine Crawlers and units, you can transition relatively easily, such as expanding or teching. Once again it is really situational in my eyes. I think too many Protoss go this build against a top player and would fail hard when they could easily transition out of it. The Asian players are a lot better at transitioning out of these “cheesy” builds.
During mid game, it seems that Hydralisks absolutely destroy gateway units. Most Protoss usually opt for Colossi, but what is your opinion on Star Gate and Templar tech?
HuK: I think as the game progresses and better players adjust that it will become more about Psionic Storm than Colossus builds. But right now, yes, the 2 base Protoss + attack upgraded Colossus is really popular among a ton of players. I have been trying out Star Gate and Templar tech near the end of the beta, but not many of the games were shown to the public. I actually had a really good game against MoMan, my new team mate, on Desert Oasis but it was the latest patch and the replay won’t work =[.
Protoss
Although an early patch fixed the fast four warp gate all in strategy that was in PvP, it is still possible although a bit slower. However, it is still as powerful and many Protoss players have a hard time with this. Is there a way to counter this?
HuK: Yes, you got to really watch how fast your opponent gets his Cybernetics Core and how much he saves his energy. I mean, if he is making that and he’s already at like 50+ energy, chances are he’s going to do this strategy and constantly boost the Warp Gate upgrade. The response to this is save your own and do all the same, cut less probes than he does and defend. Generally if you do, you will be ahead.
In late game PvP, it seems that if both players mass ground armies, the player with more Colossi in their army is usually the victor. Do you believe this is true and what ways can the other player transition against a greater number of Colossi?
HuK: Wow, lol, I really wish I could get the newest replays from the patch to work to show you a really good PvP I had against Robot Ferret last day of the beta on ICCUP TV. There are actually some really micro intensive things you can do in PvP that I found work extremely well so let me try to give you an example.: - Pretty standard PvP game with standard openings - Both players go Colossi - Mid game Player A’s army looks something like 12 Zealots, 2 Sentries, 3 Stalkers, 4 Colossi - Player B’s army looks something like 9 Zealots, 1 Sentry, 2 Colossi , Warp Prism (Speed/No speed) with 2 Immortals With proper micro Player B in my eyes will win this fight, as the Immortals can be dropped behind the Colossi. Also many people underrate the Phoenix Build that was popularized by Nony which I feel is one of the biggest +EV builds out there.
Blink Stalkers in PvP seem to be amazing if played right. Against a player who is abusing to a great amount, causing your army to move around constantly, what would be a good response to this?
Depends on what you commit to but generally depends on what he’s got. If he’s doing this without Obs, obviously DTs is the best answer in my eyes. Safest against this build I would say is 2-3 Gate 1 Robo Immortal, but really depends on the micro from both sides. But the Stalker player usually controls the tempo of the game. PvP is very rock paper scissorish, if you try to transition most of the time you are super behind. Generally if you already committed to Star Gate/Robo/Etc you should stick it out and make the best unit combo you can from those. Sure he can micro well with the Blink but he can’t commit to a head to head on fight. So you have to either try to trap him with some tricky positioning or play, or make him commit by expanding or pressuring him/forcing a fight.
Do you think that there are effective upgrades rarely seen in PvP, such as +1 and Hallcuination that are useful in PvP?
Yes I mean anything that squeezes a little more value out of your units. Hallucination pushes to break Forcefields or absorb damage. They are generally underused but should be played around with.
General
Do you feel that there is any situation you should skip the Warp Gate upgrade?
Only if you’re doing some cheesy all in build like 2-3 Gate All In. I mean it’s definitely viable against the other 4-5 Warp Gate PvP build because most people don’t even make units out of their Gateways. So if you can trick them and push in with units really early then it’s great. Other than that, you should always get the Warp Gate upgrade.
A lot of people are having one control group syndrome, which is very dangerous as a Protoss player, especially against Terran. Any advice on how to get rid of this habit?
Lol not really, you got to force yourself into it. It’s really hard to break old habits especially if you’ve been doing it for a while. You have to take a lot of losses on the chin to worse players to break the habbit because if will fuck you up in games but in the long run it’s way better. SO DO IT!
When you are significantly behind in a match up, what is the best thing to do as (against each race)? Turtle? Take a hidden expansion?
It really depends on the skill level of my opponents. Against better players, hidden expos rarely work. If you’re behind in games you have to take chances. Try to tech up to something like 1-2 more expos when you know if they do a timing push you will mostly likely be dead. Too many times I see good players way behind and they know, yet they try to play a straight up game against a high level opponent when it’s obviously not going to work. Other things you can do is tech up some units that can change game, all in them if you’re up in army but behind in eco, try to play straight up and hope they make MANY mistakes (this being the worst choice against top players).
What’s the best way to remember to chrono boost?
I think Day9 said it best but I can’t remember his exact words. Basically have in mind constantly what your current objective is, whether it be 4-5 Warp Gate timing push (Chrono Warp Gate upgrade), tech to Colossus (Chrono Colossus/range upgrade), play straight up and out macro (Chrono Probes). Just always try to keep an objective of what you want to do and then it will be easier to remember in your eyes. Other than that, play more .
On June 16 2010 14:53 RogerChillingworth wrote: Who said HuK was the best NA Protoss?
Tournament Results. He is definitely one of the best and arguably the best. Not really a big deal if you think differently, but he's definitely up there.
Huks a great player and a good friend. I have full confidence that he is the best NA player and one of the top in the world. I hope he goes deep in the OSL2.
Does HuK live in the Montreal area? I would love to stand by his house and just stare at the window. If I eat his hands I will gain his starcraft power. I'm not crazy btw.
On June 17 2010 01:48 Back wrote: Does HuK live in the Montreal area? I would love to stand by his house and just stare at the window. If I eat his hands I will gain his starcraft power. I'm not crazy btw.
User was given a restraining order for this post.
This post made me laugh in real life, thank you sir. I was unfortunate enough to play HuK TWICE in a row in the ladder, absolutely demolished both times T_T
On June 17 2010 01:48 Back wrote: Does HuK live in the Montreal area? I would love to stand by his house and just stare at the window. If I eat his hands I will gain his starcraft power. I'm not crazy btw.
nice interview...huk is good...but....he won the tournament when other people were still left in it?
TDS is over? lol? I was still in the bracket stages, waited 3 weeks for opponent's to finish matches, then cauthon and I never got ours in (bnet issues etc.) but the tournament is over? poorly run indeed. Did you have a secret finals and not tell anyone? just wondering!
Huk and NonY are probably the two best NA Protoss players; I think they are a level above all the others. Decent interview, but I don't like when the players don't really elaborate though, it makes for a disappointingly short read. I'm surprised he only played a few hours every day, although if all those hours were straight gaming, maybe it's more than it seems.
The tournament was a mess and I only could seem to get in contact with HuK and Antimage on a regular basis. HuK was already in the finals and Antimage was one round away.
Asides from that, it is true that there are many other great Protoss players out there. However, if you do not join tournaments and only play within your clan mates, you will not get a name for yourself. If you want to prove you're the best Protoss in NA then join every tournament possible and get a name. It seems that HuK is the only one who does this. Keep in mind that it's the beta, and things will definitely change once the game is released.
On June 17 2010 04:16 Salv wrote: Huk and NonY are probably the two best NA Protoss players; I think they are a level above all the others. Decent interview, but I don't like when the players don't really elaborate though, it makes for a disappointingly short read. I'm surprised he only played a few hours every day, although if all those hours were straight gaming, maybe it's more than it seems.
lol no one's ever heard of KiWiKaKi apparently, i wish he entered more tournaments, he won the vT invitational, he won a tst... i think that's all he ever entered (2 out of 2) + Canada Ace in the nationwars, regardless, HuK is an amazing P player and has earned this by winning so much, representing his team and the NA server
From my perspective, I would say HuK is ONE of the top. Its never polite to say hes the top NA protoss. I would rank him up there with kiwi inc nony and antimage, just naming the ppl who I saw posted in this thread. I play alot with kiwi, and personally I'm more afraid of Kiwi atm. =X (Not saying kiwi is top, just saying that... oh forget it..lol)
"First one I would say Capoch but there are a lot of players that give me trouble. Capoch has a habit of knocking me out of tournaments in PvP with the same strategy every game."
Capoch, from L_Clan was previously 2200 rating Age of Empires II: TC, very good player there, glad to see him as good here as well
I wonder when he is going to announce his team transfer that he mentioned in a previous interview. I'm pretty curious since he said it was a major euro team.
On June 17 2010 04:42 TheWinterLord wrote: Good interview, but whats up with the question: why does blizzard hate Protoss? the stongest race through the majority of the beta?
I was referring to the amount of Protoss nerfs.
And I do apologize for saying "the top" in the topic title, it should have been just "top".
On June 17 2010 04:44 kNyTTyM wrote: I wonder when he is going to announce his team transfer that he mentioned in a previous interview. I'm pretty curious since he said it was a major euro team.
On June 17 2010 04:01 kajeus wrote: Aww, I'm sorry I offended you.
HuK is the only NA protoss who ever impressed me personally in SC2. Let's put it that way.
On June 15 2010 06:21 kajeus wrote: LOL, so much elitism in this community now.
Aww man, come on. Don't go searching through my posts. It's not elitism to think you're not as good as HuK. :-/
You don't want to be held responsible for what you've written?
I didn't say that is elitist. What I think is elitist is you saying that HuK is the only North American Protoss that impressed you. Nothing that I did, or incontrol did, or kiwikaki did, etc, was impressive to you? Not only that, but we're all pretty bad? That's elitist. Hell, I'm sure even HuK himself is impressed by some of the things his NA Protoss brethren did. And he sure doesn't think we're all bad. But kajeus does! He has higher standards!
On June 17 2010 04:01 kajeus wrote: Aww, I'm sorry I offended you.
HuK is the only NA protoss who ever impressed me personally in SC2. Let's put it that way.
On June 15 2010 06:21 kajeus wrote: LOL, so much elitism in this community now.
Aww man, come on. Don't go searching through my posts. It's not elitism to think you're not as good as HuK. :-/
You don't want to be held responsible for what you've written?
I didn't say that is elitist. What I think is elitist is you saying that HuK is the only North American Protoss that impressed you. Nothing that I did, or incontrol did, or kiwikaki did, etc, was impressive to you? Not only that, but we're all pretty bad? That's elitist. Hell, I'm sure even HuK himself is impressed by some of the things his NA Protoss brethren did. And he sure doesn't think we're all bad. But kajeus does! He has higher standards!
Good lord, NonY...
If it makes you feel any better, I think you're a pretty good BW player.
Plenty of good Protoss players out there. Huk, InControl, Nony. Ryan, Sinatra, Antimage, Arlock, Copperhead. Been hearing tons of good things about KiwiKaki.
On June 17 2010 04:01 kajeus wrote: Aww, I'm sorry I offended you.
HuK is the only NA protoss who ever impressed me personally in SC2. Let's put it that way.
On June 15 2010 06:21 kajeus wrote: LOL, so much elitism in this community now.
Aww man, come on. Don't go searching through my posts. It's not elitism to think you're not as good as HuK. :-/
You don't want to be held responsible for what you've written?
I didn't say that is elitist. What I think is elitist is you saying that HuK is the only North American Protoss that impressed you. Nothing that I did, or incontrol did, or kiwikaki did, etc, was impressive to you? Not only that, but we're all pretty bad? That's elitist. Hell, I'm sure even HuK himself is impressed by some of the things his NA Protoss brethren did. And he sure doesn't think we're all bad. But kajeus does! He has higher standards!
Nony, I agree with ya completely. Still, I'm sure you have some fans that would easily say this same stuff about you, in fact you had one saying u were top two NA. Thats why I love this game, some people looooooove watching some ppl's games and think there the best even when they may not be. (How do you think I got any fans?) And I gotta say ur play on Kulas was impressive to me and I play Z xD!
On June 17 2010 04:01 kajeus wrote: Aww, I'm sorry I offended you.
HuK is the only NA protoss who ever impressed me personally in SC2. Let's put it that way.
On June 15 2010 06:21 kajeus wrote: LOL, so much elitism in this community now.
Aww man, come on. Don't go searching through my posts. It's not elitism to think you're not as good as HuK. :-/
You don't want to be held responsible for what you've written?
I didn't say that is elitist. What I think is elitist is you saying that HuK is the only North American Protoss that impressed you. Nothing that I did, or incontrol did, or kiwikaki did, etc, was impressive to you? Not only that, but we're all pretty bad? That's elitist. Hell, I'm sure even HuK himself is impressed by some of the things his NA Protoss brethren did. And he sure doesn't think we're all bad. But kajeus does! He has higher standards!
Good lord, NonY...
What? Go ahead and explain what you're implying. I can't fathom anything that makes sense so please enlighten me.
On June 17 2010 04:42 TheWinterLord wrote: Good interview, but whats up with the question: why does blizzard hate Protoss? the stongest race through the majority of the beta?
I was referring to the amount of Protoss nerfs.
And I do apologize for saying "the top" in the topic title, it should have been just "top".
Yeh I know, but its called balancing. I think Blizzard loves protoss and made them so strong, and they are still strong, comon, just look at Huk! And if theres any need for more adjustments they will tweak it later for the best of the game's sake.
On June 17 2010 04:44 kNyTTyM wrote: I wonder when he is going to announce his team transfer that he mentioned in a previous interview. I'm pretty curious since he said it was a major euro team.
Well fan or no fan you can't just go around saying well THIS guy is the THE BEST when he didn't do much to prove it.
As nony said we didn't really get to hear much about the achievements of HuK. The tournaments he won weren't major tournaments or stuff, and there wasn't much of an opposition in most of them.
HuK is a great player, and maybe the best protoss in NA, but let's wait to see him win something big, or achieve something against strong opponents before saying so, because for now, he have as much to prove as the other protoss players around.
On June 17 2010 01:48 Back wrote: Does HuK live in the Montreal area? I would love to stand by his house and just stare at the window. If I eat his hands I will gain his starcraft power. I'm not crazy btw.
User was given a restraining order for this post.
Lol. I don't know if he is good enough to force me into cannibalism.
On June 17 2010 07:54 Anfere wrote: Well fan or no fan you can't just go around saying well THIS guy is the THE BEST when he didn't do much to prove it.
As nony said we didn't really get to hear much about the achievements of HuK. The tournaments he won weren't major tournaments or stuff, and there wasn't much of an opposition in most of them.
HuK is a great player, and maybe the best protoss in NA, but let's wait to see him win something big, or achieve something against strong opponents before saying so, because for now, he have as much to prove as the other protoss players around.
I love the bickering about who is "top dog" and to think we are in the BETA for gods sake! lmao.... That being said I look up to both Nony and Huk. I really enjoy watching them stream as they're both solid players while at the same time throwing creative twists in their game...
i could do the same for NonY or incontroll or what ever other protoss players around, link replays, and say hey this one won this or this so he is the best !
what i'm saying is that there isn't enough for us to say, OMG HuK the best NA protoss player ! The game is in beta and there wasn't that much major tournements around for us to say something like that.
It's not like Huk was dominating the sc2 scene for a long period of time, winning many major tournements and stuff, there you can say, yes HuK is the best protoss player, for now he is indeed a strong protoss player, one of the best around, but let's stay objective and don't forget that the game is in beta, there isn't much to base that on, and there is also a lot of other strong protoss players that are as capable as HuK.
You can't say this guy is the absolute best as you seem to be convinced to after 1 or 2 wins during a 3 month beta, that's just not smart at all.
Give time for the scene to develop, the game to get released, and players to start taking part to tournements and stuff, before jumping to conclusions, so strongly :p
On June 17 2010 01:48 Back wrote: Does HuK live in the Montreal area? I would love to stand by his house and just stare at the window. If I eat his hands I will gain his starcraft power. I'm not crazy btw.
User was given a restraining order for this post.
You idiot.
You have to chop off his head with a katana for that.
On June 17 2010 08:21 Anfere wrote: i could do the same for NonY or incontroll or what ever other protoss players around, link replays, and say hey this one won this or this so he is the best !
what i'm saying is that there isn't enough for us to say, OMG HuK the best NA protoss player ! The game is in beta and there wasn't that much major tournements around for us to say something like that.
It's not like Huk was dominating the sc2 scene for a long period of time, winning many major tournements and stuff, there you can say, yes HuK is the best protoss player, for now he is indeed a strong protoss player, one of the best around, but let's stay objective and don't forget that the game is in beta, there isn't much to base that on, and there is also a lot of other strong protoss players that are as capable as HuK.
You can't say this guy is the absolute best as you seem to be convinced to after 1 or 2 wins during a 3 month beta, that's just not smart at all.
Give time for the scene to develop, the game to get released, and players to start taking part to tournements and stuff, before jumping to conclusions, so strongly :p
Huh? I linked a replay and a tournament because I didn't want to track down and link more than that. I can show you replays of NonY losing to the same people, if you want.
P.S. I don't have "strong opinions". I just think it's pretty clear that HuK is the only NA protoss player who proved to be really good over the course of the beta. And I think it's pretty clear from this thread that what I think is very very important.
There's alot of badass players in the NA Protoss scene. But to me HuK is the best currently.
To consider he was winning all kinds of major showmatches and events when he was FORCED to go all low econ cause of his computer. He dominated a good deal of top players.
Don't get me wrong all the other mentioned names (Nony, inControl, Kiwi) did amazing as well, but HuK was the most active and was quite dominant for most of his time here. He pretty much laid the foundation for insane one base attacks.
Humm you don't seem to understand, i don't care about nony or huk or what ever player loosing to this or winning to that, i'm not a fan of either nony or huk, or anyone else (except day9 of course the mighty thought hammer!).
The game have 3 months beta without any leagues/standings or major tournaments and you'r already able to label who is the best and who's not, man you are strong. /respect ! Sorry i doubt you'r higher intellect in judging peoples skills.
And yes if you are already able to say who's the best without any doubt possible, you'r opinion is very very important just like you said.
lol no major tournaments!?!? ROFFFLLLLL there were several major tournaments. several invitationals several zotacs several esc's or w/e they are called. if u wanna go see huk's LONG list of accomplishments go to his new team's website. you will see all of it there. uggggggh....i'm so tired of people that try and act like the know some shit when they wouldn't know if it hit em in the face ;P cheers!
On June 17 2010 08:36 Anfere wrote: Humm you don't seem to understand, i don't care about nony or huk or what ever player loosing to this or winning to that, i'm not a fan of either nony or huk, or anyone else (except day9 of course the mighty thought hammer!).
The game have 3 months beta without any leagues/standings or major tournaments and you'r already able to label who is the best and who's not, man you are strong. /respect ! Sorry i doubt you'r higher intellect in judging peoples skills.
No I do understand. I can tell you if I play Idra I will lose 104 times out of 100. I can judge the skill difference.
Don't forget I hand pick every ITL matchup and about 90% of them go exactly how I think they will.
We don't need a stupid number system to tell who is the best. Once you play alot and watch 1000+ matches (like I did) you start to be able to tell the differences.
On June 17 2010 08:40 ReachTheSky wrote: lol no major tournaments!?!? ROFFFLLLLL there were several major tournaments. several invitationals several zotacs several esc's or w/e they are called. if u wanna go see huk's LONG list of accomplishments go to his new team's website. you will see all of it there. uggggggh....i'm so tired of people that try and act like the know some shit when they wouldn't know if it hit em in the face ;P cheers!
Yea man just cause there was only one event with a major prize pool does not mean thier not major events. The MSL KOTBH, HDH, TLI's, Zotac's, ITL's, etc are all really major events. You know why? The feature the best players in the world. They don't need big $ to be amazing games.
It's true that this is just the beta. As stated before, making conclusions about who is going to be the best is absurd. But there is no doubt that during the beta, HuK has achieved the most for a Protoss in NA. If there are other players who claim to be good, the only way to really "show" is to do what he did--place #1 in many tournaments.
Remember, you may be the best player, but if there's no one there to see it--you're nothing. Also HuK did not elaborate on this interview as much so he accepted to do another one emphasizing on game play. It'll be updated soon!
HuK: I don't think it’s the best balance it could be but I don't think its OP either. Brat_OK simply played a lot better than me that day, and definitely changed his play up. He was the better player that day and it showed, the mistakes I made in that game were obvious, especially because a failed DT rush just puts you super behind.
Great to see a top player who respects his opponents and doesn't cry imbalance whenever he loses to something.
HuK: I don't think it’s the best balance it could be but I don't think its OP either. Brat_OK simply played a lot better than me that day, and definitely changed his play up. He was the better player that day and it showed, the mistakes I made in that game were obvious, especially because a failed DT rush just puts you super behind.
Great to see a top player who respects his opponents and doesn't cry imbalance whenever he loses to something.
Did you forget to read the first 9 words of that sentence?
There are essentially 4 top tier NA protoss players, HuK, Kiwikaki, Nony, and Incontrol. Huk is arguably the best, but has the best tourny results as far as I am aware.
HuK: I don't think it’s the best balance it could be but I don't think its OP either. Brat_OK simply played a lot better than me that day, and definitely changed his play up. He was the better player that day and it showed, the mistakes I made in that game were obvious, especially because a failed DT rush just puts you super behind.
Great to see a top player who respects his opponents and doesn't cry imbalance whenever he loses to something.
Did you forget to read the first 9 words of that sentence?
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
InControl consistently does well in what he enters. I'm not going to spend my time finding games he's played because anyone can find them. He probably doesn't enter as much as he should, but when he does play, he plays well.
NonY? How is he not a top sc2 player? I'm never find any reason to think NonY did bad. He's a great player.
Plenty of good Protoss players out there, no point in trying to make some standard list because they all have good and bad days and they're all so damn good.
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
InControl consistently does well in what he enters. I'm not going to spend my time finding games he's played because anyone can find them. He probably doesn't enter as much as he should, but when he does play, he plays well.
NonY? How is he not a top sc2 player? I'm never find any reason to think NonY did bad. He's a great player.
Plenty of good Protoss players out there, no point in trying to make some standard list because they all have good and bad days and they're all so damn good.
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
Wow I think this guy likes digging himself a hole....
TBH though beta is... well beta. I'm sure there will be a lot of great players in SC2 once retail hits because I'm sure there are it will reach ppl who haven't had a chance to play sc2.
What's with all the hate/elitism/whatever you wanna call it against other top NA toss players? The game isn't even out and its still buggy as hell. You're basically arguing about who is the best in a game that is still an unfinished product.
Updated the original post with MANY game play related questions thoroughly answered by him. Hope this helps out a lot of people and not just Protoss players. Enjoy.
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
This is probably my favourite InControl match, great use of many different protoss units.
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
This is probably my favourite InControl match, great use of many different protoss units.
On June 17 2010 09:13 kajeus wrote: I'm not sure why InControl and NonY are considered top sc2 players. Could somebody show me some good replays please?
Edit: Nothing from the HDH, please. I've seen those.
We all understood that you were a die hard HuK fan, no need to spit in the face of the other great players of the scene.
Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
In the end of the beta-king of the kill iccup stream these were the results when I stopped watching:
Protoss: 11 wins Zerg: 1 win Terran: 0 wins
Keep in mind that the zerg victory was a ZvZ...
Saying things like this about a race that has been dominating most of the tourneys of the beta will just give other Protoss players a bad rep.
From a spectator point of view, what is worrying, is that the 30APM a1ffff lategame collossi/sentry/stalker blob will demolish any maxed zerg army, even if the Protoss army is handed over to someone that has been learning sc for 1 hour.
On June 17 2010 20:42 NB wrote: i would like to fix the title to "one of the best" instead of "the top", friendly
no comment on the interview
skill = accomplishment in my eyes and apart from white-ra hes the only other p that has performed consistently well in every tournament, in any case its good to see so many top p users coming out of canada, should make for some fun lans
On June 17 2010 20:31 HowardRoark wrote: "why does blizzard hate Protoss?"
In the end of the beta-king of the kill iccup stream these were the results when I stopped watching:
Protoss: 11 wins Zerg: 1 win Terran: 0 wins
Keep in mind that the zerg victory was a ZvZ...
Saying things like this about a race that has been dominating most of the tourneys of the beta will just give other Protoss players a bad rep.
From a spectator point of view, what is worrying, is that the 30APM a1ffff lategame collossi/sentry/stalker blob will demolish any maxed zerg army, even if the Protoss army is handed over to someone that has been learning sc for 1 hour.
Most of our players were Protoss. Don't spew data around without giving all of it.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Just because nobody talks about HuK's innovation doesn't mean he isn't innovative. He executes a good number of strategies very well, and plays extremely well. From the way he played and from talking with him on vent, I'd say that although Nony as the name behind him and is a fantastic player, HuK's play (experienced first-hand) has consistently set him apart from the other toss players I've encountered.
Not saying he's 100% #1 for sure, but in the end, it's just a title that doesn't mean that much. I think KiWiKaKi is a good fight, but having not experienced Incontrol's or Inka's play recently, I don't know too much about those two but they definitely present strong PvP's as well.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Just because nobody talks about HuK's innovation doesn't mean he isn't innovative. He executes a good number of strategies very well, and plays extremely well. From the way he played and from talking with him on vent, I'd say that although Nony as the name behind him and is a fantastic player, HuK's play (experienced first-hand) has consistently set him apart from the other toss players I've encountered.
Not saying he's 100% #1 for sure, but in the end, it's just a title that doesn't mean that much. I think KiWiKaKi is a good fight, but having not experienced Incontrol's or Inka's play recently, I don't know too much about those two but they definitely present strong PvP's as well.
I never suggested HuK wasnt a fantastic player/innovator, In fact in my earlier post I did say he was the top player. I just feel like Nony has the most potential of just about any player in NA. Nothing negative to the other players, they are fantastic players as well.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Nah, the Phoenix thing gets way overhyped. I knew tons of people who were using Phoenixes in what is, honestly, a very obvious way to use them. In fact, I'd been watching a friend use Phoenixes that way for a solid month before NonY got covered by Day[9] and became an "innovator" for it.
I dunno -- NonY was a good BW player and has been a fixture in the community for some time. But he just didn't do anything impressive in the SC2 beta. Is that really so hard to accept?
HuK dominated. He cleaned Antimage's clock. Let's just accept that and golfclap where it's deserved -- rather than where it's not.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Just because nobody talks about HuK's innovation doesn't mean he isn't innovative. He executes a good number of strategies very well, and plays extremely well. From the way he played and from talking with him on vent, I'd say that although Nony as the name behind him and is a fantastic player, HuK's play (experienced first-hand) has consistently set him apart from the other toss players I've encountered.
Not saying he's 100% #1 for sure, but in the end, it's just a title that doesn't mean that much. I think KiWiKaKi is a good fight, but having not experienced Incontrol's or Inka's play recently, I don't know too much about those two but they definitely present strong PvP's as well.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Nah, the Phoenix thing gets way overhyped. I knew tons of people who were using Phoenixes in what is, honestly, a very obvious way to use them. In fact, I'd been watching a friend use Phoenixes that way for a solid month before NonY got covered by Day[9] and became an "innovator" for it.
I dunno -- NonY was a good BW player and has been a fixture in the community for some time. But he just didn't do anything impressive in the SC2 beta. Is that really so hard to accept?
HuK dominated. He cleaned Antimage's clock. Let's just accept that and golfclap where it's deserved -- rather than where it's not.
Nony did pretty well in the HDH to beat TLO in a best of 7 and claim third.
While not in NA, White-Ra is currently the boss of toss and makes this little argument about HuK and Nony kind of pointless from a bigger perspective imo.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Nah, the Phoenix thing gets way overhyped. I knew tons of people who were using Phoenixes in what is, honestly, a very obvious way to use them. In fact, I'd been watching a friend use Phoenixes that way for a solid month before NonY got covered by Day[9] and became an "innovator" for it.
I dunno -- NonY was a good BW player and has been a fixture in the community for some time. But he just didn't do anything impressive in the SC2 beta. Is that really so hard to accept?
HuK dominated. He cleaned Antimage's clock. Let's just accept that and golfclap where it's deserved -- rather than where it's not.
Nony did pretty well in the HDH to beat TLO in a best of 7 and claim third.
While not in NA, White-Ra is currently the boss of toss and makes this little argument about HuK and Nony kind of pointless from a bigger perspective imo.
Agreed. White-Ra is definitely the best.
TLO... is a mystery. TLO is awesome. Is TLO good? Dunno bout that.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Nah, the Phoenix thing gets way overhyped. I knew tons of people who were using Phoenixes in what is, honestly, a very obvious way to use them. In fact, I'd been watching a friend use Phoenixes that way for a solid month before NonY got covered by Day[9] and became an "innovator" for it.
I dunno -- NonY was a good BW player and has been a fixture in the community for some time. But he just didn't do anything impressive in the SC2 beta. Is that really so hard to accept?
HuK dominated. He cleaned Antimage's clock. Let's just accept that and golfclap where it's deserved -- rather than where it's not.
Nony did pretty well in the HDH to beat TLO in a best of 7 and claim third.
While not in NA, White-Ra is currently the boss of toss and makes this little argument about HuK and Nony kind of pointless from a bigger perspective imo.
Agreed. White-Ra is definitely the best.
TLO... is a mystery. TLO is awesome. Is TLO good? Dunno bout that.
TLO has had a little bit of trouble finishing high level opponents in tournaments but they have generally been in the final and have been against really tough opposition (e.g. Sen and White-Ra). We also saw TLO thrash freedom and beat pretty much everyone near the end of the beta.
Also as you say, he's awesome to watch which has to count for something.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Nah, the Phoenix thing gets way overhyped. I knew tons of people who were using Phoenixes in what is, honestly, a very obvious way to use them. In fact, I'd been watching a friend use Phoenixes that way for a solid month before NonY got covered by Day[9] and became an "innovator" for it.
I dunno -- NonY was a good BW player and has been a fixture in the community for some time. But he just didn't do anything impressive in the SC2 beta. Is that really so hard to accept?
HuK dominated. He cleaned Antimage's clock. Let's just accept that and golfclap where it's deserved -- rather than where it's not.
Nony did pretty well in the HDH to beat TLO in a best of 7 and claim third.
While not in NA, White-Ra is currently the boss of toss and makes this little argument about HuK and Nony kind of pointless from a bigger perspective imo.
Agreed. White-Ra is definitely the best.
TLO... is a mystery. TLO is awesome. Is TLO good? Dunno bout that.
This is all kind of silly. All of the players in the HDH were/are good. Were/are better than 90+% of the player pool. We/are better and know more about the game than nearly everyone with their arbitrary lists of players that impressed them over youtube while their hotdogs were in the microwave.
It's really impossible to tell who's the best. Everyone has their own opinions--their own community heart throbs. But, when boiled down, we've only seen a handful of performances from a handful of players in a short amount of time during the beta of an incomplete game.
On June 17 2010 13:09 notuswind wrote: Personally, I think that NonY is on a trajectory of being the best NA Protoss long-term. His heady approach to Starcraft and deep understanding of the game will enable him to pull away from other players like Huk (who are also very good) as the SC2 metagame continues to develop.
All the higher-level players have solid mechanics (from my nooby point of view), what really separates NonY from the rest is brainpower.
This is pretty much how I feel, he is the one who is always coming up with strange builds and diff strats (who woulda thunk Pheonixs were useful when everyone was whining that they were pointless.)
Yeah, he pretty much pioneered his own Protoss build from scratch. No one was talking about Phoenixes in a positive way until NonY showed us all how you could win with them. He's also revealed in another thread that he was working on a serious [non-cheesy] DT build but that the first phase of Beta testing ended before he could try it out on the ladder. Hopefully, we'll get to see it in the second phase of Beta testing (crossing my fingers here).
NonY has that enviable quality of being creative and not limiting his thinking to what the mainstream SC2 community has already figured out.
EPT
