[GSL] Up & Down Match Day 2 Winners Interviews

Byun – ‘I hate facing terrans’

- Your thoughts on keeping your code S spot?
It feels great. I mainly focused on preparing for the TvT, so I am happy I was able to win that.

- It feels like you don’t like to attack even when you are ahead.
My style is originally like that.

- Do you feel the need to change your usual style?
I planned to do so when I got further in the tournament, but I keep falling quickly so I haven’t done that yet.

- Your thoughts on why you won today?
I don’t think my opponent prepared for the TvT as much as me.

- Reasons for your poor performance this season?
It is because of terrans. My TvT isn’t so good, but my opponents (in the code S group) were all terrans. I don’t think the group itself was that bad, but it happened to be all terrans which made it bad for me.

- If you face terrans again in the future?
I will win this time.

- Your goals going into code S?
This time for sure, I need to make it at least to the round of 4. I hope the group nominations go well. I don’t want to face terrans.

- Any players you don’t want to face?
All the terrans. I don’t want to face any of them.

- What do you think about the 1.3.3 patch?
I like it because the ghost, a unit I like, has become cheaper (gas-wise).

- Any last comments?
My birthday was on Parents day. It feels like my gift was getting back into code S, so I am happy. One of the players that I used to live with during my Hwaseung days, NeeL, has decided to switch to SC2 so I wish him luck in that. I want to thank Coca, LosirA, sC, Hack, and Maka for helping me practice.
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aLive – ‘I will play with a smile on my face’

- Your thoughts on making it into code S?
It feels like I just started my life as a SC2 progamer. I will not rest because I made code S, but play harder to show even better games in the future.

- Did you predict that you would advance today?
100%. I predicted that I would beat Check. At first, I thought I should practice TvT, but I didn’t think that would help that much. If I practiced a lot for that match and lost, I my psyche going into the last match would have been bad, so in the end, I mainly practiced for my TvZ. I don’t think I would have felt that pressured even if I lost the first game in that series.

- It felt like you could have won the first game.
I was lacking in practice, and I was just letting my play go where my hands went. I didn’t have much desire to win that set.

- Your banshee cloak upgrade was a bit disappointing in the 1st game.
It is a build I use often on the ladder. My opponent was so well prepared for the strategy so I was a bit shocked.

- Who do you want to face in code S?
I will leave that up to chance. If possible I want to avoid terrans. I want to face either protosses or zergs. I usually have a bad time against zergs in practice, but do well against them in real matches.

- Your ambition going into code S?
Even if I lose my games against code S players, I don’t think my feeling will be hurt that much. I want to get to the finals stage with a smile on my face. In the group nomination, if they pick me, ‘I will send them away.’ (laugh).

- What do you think about the 1.3.3 patch?
At first glance, it looks like protoss is becoming weaker, but I don’t think that is necessarily the case. I don’t like the change on the bunker. I feel like to be fair, they should also nerf zergs. I think the balance right now is just right.

- There is a lot of talk about zergs being the weakest race.
If you play zerg like Nestea, then you can win. Also, if you are good at using infestors, both terrans and protosses will have a hard time.

- Any last comments?
I want to thank my team members for their continual support and interest. I wasn’t able to go back home for parents day and only talked with them on the phone, so I will try to make up for that here. I want to say that I love them.
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MC – ‘It’s about time to win again’

- Your thoughts on keeping your code S spot?
I have been losing against terrans recently, so I wanted to face one. I want to thank Lee Joon Ho the game director, for drawing a terran against me in the up and down group nominations.

- How did you overcome your PvT problems?
I have practiced a lot. I practiced with terrans that I consider to be at the top. My win rate was around half in practice, but since I practiced against the best, I built confidence in this matchup. It has been hard since they removed the amulet upgrade.

- You had many dangerous situations in the 1st set.
I block those kinds of rushes pretty well on the ladder. I have lost to them on broadcasted matches because of my overconfidence, and I believe my opponent was aiming for that as well. Players that know me very well do not use those builds against me. I usually thank my opponent if he opens like that. Although, when my sentry was caught, it reminded me slightly of my match against Marineking so I was panicked for a little bit.

- In the 2nd set, you were able to stop your opponent’s strategy well.
TSL’s Puma and my team’s TOP are very good at using medivac play. In my practice, I was able to improve my defense in stopping medivac play. I think I was able to stop it well today due to my practice with those players.

- You are/were playing in foreign tournaments at the same time as this one, is that tiring?
It may sound like an excuse, but I have had weeks where I have had to play 6 different matches. Even if you have a base skill that you can fall back on, you have to prepare for the matchup to be fully ready. I wasn’t able to do that, while my opponents were able to practice focusing for the game against me. I think in that aspect, it has been very tough. But I was able to get some good results in one or two tournaments so I am thankful for that.

- What do you think about your record against Polt?
Since he is 4-0 against me, it feels right to call him my nemesis but I am not afraid of him. Rather, I was a bit disappointed since he lost so quickly after winning against me. I hope next time we can advance together.

- You probably have some greed for the upcoming super tournament, right?
I thirst to be at the top of the money leader board. I also want to win and regain my spot as the 1st in the GSL point rankings. But I think because of the new patch, I may have a bit of a tough time.

- What do you think about the 1.3.3 patch?
With the buff on the spore crawler and the reduced pylon radius zergs will have an easier time against protosses. Also the warp gate nerf will have a big effect in terran matchups. I think protosses will have to put a lot of thought into researching different builds. But for now, I predict that protoss players’ results will be a bit worse.

- Any players you want to face in the super tournament?
I want to face Nestea and Mvp. If I were in the finals right now, I guarantee I would crush Nestea in the matchup. Inca hasn’t really found his rhythm for the PvZ matchup yet, but since I won today, I am going to go and help him prepare for his match.

- Are you helping Inca right now?
I spectate many of his matches and give him advice. Inca has changed his attitude and now is someone who takes advice very well from other players. I have some obligations on the day before the finals so I will not be there, but I will make sure to help him as much as I can for the finals.

- Jinro fell yesterday in his group, what is the consensus on his problems at the team house?
We feel like he is stuck in the past. He is using builds that are old and it is disappointing that he has stalled a bit. But I hope he can practice with a smile on his face. I want to thank him for taking his losses well, and hope that he can quickly return to code S.

- What do you think is the difference between foreign players and Korean players?
Korean players have a strong fighting spirit, especially when there is large money on the line. And originally, I thought that foreign players have a tendency to stick with builds that they are very comfortable with (**really good at). I think some of Jinro’s problems have come from that aspect. But ThorZaIN who I faced recently, used a variety of builds in the match to embarrass me. I think that foreign players will have to emulate the same burning fighting spirit as the Korean players, and the Korean players will have to emulate good playing aspects from the foreign players.

- Any last comments?
I have repeated as champ, quick exit, champ, quick exit. So I guess it is time for me to win again. I have been a bit disappointed since I have been losing so much recently. I know that many of my fans are worried about that, and so I haven’t been sleeping that well. But I want to thank the captain, coach, and manager for putting in a lot of effort for me and the team. I am happy that Inca was able to get to the finals, and I want to wish Huk a happy birthday. My girlfriend worries a lot for my games so I want to thank her as well. I will try my best to not show games of which I would be ashamed. Haypro will be soon leaving us, so I want to wish him well and hope that he takes care of himself.
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HongUn – ‘I will try to advance as far as possible’

- Your thoughts on keeping your code S spot?
I am feeling pretty bad since the 2nd set was so awful. I was on a different schedule yesterday, so I wasn’t able to practice too much. So my plan was to end games early. But I didn’t think my long game macro was that bad…If I don’t fix that aspect of my play, I feel that I will quickly return to the up and down matches.

- Your early attacks were pretty successful.
I saw the games that MC played (with Ryung) and he didn’t use any void rays. So in the 1st set, I chose void rays. I chose phoenix in the later set, because that strategy is not used too much on the ladder by other players.

- Your reason for your poor performance this season?
When I practiced for my match against Kyrix, I practiced against a variety of zerg strategies, but I didn’t think he would just produce mass roaches. If I had to face MC today, I was planning to only 4 gate because of my last meeting with him.

- What do you think about the 1.3.3 patch?
I am really happy about the archon change. But I am a bit disappointed since Protoss will lose a main strategy (4 gate). I am sad about that as a protoss player since the possibility of that strategy kept protoss in a favorable situation and now, that will disappear.

- How are you feeling recently?
My waist/hips feel bad recently. Recently, I have been trying my hardest. But my body isn’t allowing me to do whatever I want.

- Do you have any players you want to face or avoid in code S?
I don’t care who I face. My goal is to advance as far as possible. I think revealing who you don’t want to face reveals something about yourself as a player.

- Your goal in code S?
My thought is to advance as far as possible.

- Any last comments?
I was disappointed since my parents were cheering me on during the round of 32 and I lost. But I am thankful that I am back in code S. Parents day has passed but I want to say again that I am so thankful to them for raising me. I want to also thank Clide and Maka for helping me practice.
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Up & Down Group Winners Interviews
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Code S
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Code A
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