The original article is in Chinese.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the StarsWars7 (SW7) Western Qualifiers, Grubby defeated Dimaga with a score of 3:2 and will be heading to Shanghai in June to take part in the SW7 finals. After the game, s.163.com and SW7 had a combined interview with Grubby. The Warcraft 3 king of orcs expresses he is very happy to be able to return to China, as the last time he was in China was in January 2011. He likens himself to the tortoise in the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare", expressing that even though his progress might be slow, it never stops.
Grubby broke through to win the tournament spot from the western qualifiers.
Will we see another battle like Sky vs. Grubby?
Q: Hi Grubby. Congratulations on defeating Dimaga and winning the SW7 online western qualifiers, and successfully clinching a spot in the offline tournament. First, could you bring us through the BO5 series against Dimaga?
A: To the people in China, hello! Thankful to be receiving this interview from SW7 and s.163.com.
Dimaga is a great player with very interesting strategies. To be able to defeat him, I had to understand and find his strengths and weaknesses. However, I didn't have enough time to be able to prepare, so I had to employ the use of some new strategies. It was my first time using them, and apparently, Dimaga didn't know about it. Since he was then also unable to understand me through my replays, it became my greatest advantage.
Of course, I had a bit of luck during the tournament, in that I managed to guess Dimaga's strategies. I was able to win quite smoothly in the end, and I am very happy to be able to go to China once again.
Q: Recently, in tournaments such as MLG and the like, we see you appearing more as a commentator. How do you balance between playing and commentating?
A: I am of course mainly a player, but I just spend about 3% of my time doing commentating. I think this is something that both me and my fans really enjoy, and I have also gotten a lot of positive feedback.
I hope that I will be able to gain a whole new level of appreciation and understanding of the game, and be able to do a better job for everyone.
Q: Regarding this offline tournament, you'll be going up against players like MacSed, Sen, MMA and other well-known players. How will you face this tournament?
A: I will give it my best! China is my second home. I am really looking forward to be able to win the tournament trophy in front of my hometown fans.
Q: Currently on the ladder, Terran and Zerg players have been expressing their views that Protoss late game is imba. How do you view this argument about Protoss being imba?
A: That is not the case. Protoss has to kill off Zerg as soon as possible. Otherwise, Protoss will definitely lose. Protoss can win the late game only if Zerg makes a lot of serious mistakes.
As for PvT, whether it be early, mid, or late game, Terran and Protoss both have chances of winning. I like late game PvT. It might seem harder to Terran players, but it's nothing unwinnable. As of now, Terrans in the late game are producing a lot of vikings and banshees, and also incorporating the use of nukes. Terrans nowadays are performing better and better in PvT.
Q: Who do you think are the representative players for each race in Europe?
A: Protoss: Socke and Mana have the best offline results.
Zerg: Stephano...
Terran: ThorZain
Q: You have many fans in China. You also took your wedding pictures in China. How do you view this fate that you have with China?
A: Because the China fans really love me, I love them too. To me, being in China is like being surrounded by many many friends.
I have had unforgettable times in China, and I don't want them to just become memories. And so I am very happy to have the chance to return to China in June, considering the last time I was in China was 17 months ago, in January 2011.
Q: You're now 26 years old. How many more years do you think you can continue on being a professional gamer? Any plans after that?
A: Haha, I am hoping to have as long a professional gaming career as possible. As of now, I have no other plans.
Q: Many people think that players who transfer to Starcraft 2 from Warcraft 3 are not successful, but that seems to have been disproved recently. Naniwa, ThorZain, viOlet etc. are all Warcraft 3 players who have won tournaments in Starcraft 2.
On the other hand, players like you, Moon, who were once kings, are lacking in results as compared to players like Violet. What are your views on this?
A: I think that I did spend a long time to get used to Starcraft 2. I got into Starcraft 2 about a year later than most competitors. Because of that, I need more time than them.
Putting it in a Chinese way, I think I am like the tortoise in the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare". Even though the progress is slow, it never stops. Doesn't it seem that way? Haha.
Q: You were previously sponsored by SteelSeries, but not anymore. Will you now join a Starcraft 2 team?
A: I am now an independent Starcraft 2 gamer. I have gotten a personal sponsorship with TwitchTV, and I will stream my ladder games to people around the world through TwitchTV. I also hope the China fans will be able to join in on this and follow my site http://www.twitch.tv/followgrubby
Because I have the support of my sponsors and fans, I am able to survive without a team. I think for me personally, being independent is more suitable as it gives me a lot of freedom.
Q: Thank you for accepting our interview. Why don't you say something to end off this interview.
A: Thank you everyone (In Chinese Pinyin)!! I look forward to meeting you all in Shanghai, and also to SW7 (In Chinese)!!