EPT
MLG Spring Championship Winner Interview: MvP.DongRaeGu
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Waxangel/drgchampsmall.jpg)
Photo by R1CH
Photo by R1CH
Q: You've won an MLG Arena, but this is the first time you've won at a live championship event. How do you feel?
DRG: I did win an Arena, but I wanted to win in front of the fans. I was disappointed when I failed at the previous championships, but I'm happy to win this time after beating a lot of good players.
How did you feel when the fans were chanting your name?
It was electric. Whenever I played at MLGs, I was only able to watch from the back as the champions had their names chanted by the crowd. It made me feel bitter as I thought how great it would be if I could be in their place. When I finally received those cheers, I felt electricity through my entire body.
Your road to the title was relatively easy. Were there any memorable or tough games along the way?
Getting first place in your group and going directly to the winners' final is the easiest way to win MLG, so I was going for that... But Socke played well, and I was in danger of losing #1 in the group. However, SaSe came in late and beat Socke, which was great for me. I was watching their match thinking “Please lose, please lose,” and I was really thankful to SaSe. When he won that match, I felt that I had a good shot at winning the entire tournament.
A lot of people expected you to play MarineKing in the finals, but you ended up playing Alicia.
MKP is good at TvP so I thought he would make his way up, but Alicia had momentum and managed to beat MKP. I thought that maybe things weren't going exactly as planned, but since I'm very confident in ZvP normally, I was still very confident that I would win the championship.
Do you think the patch helped you a lot in winning the championship?
To be honest, ZvP didn't change much at all. But ZvT became... as long as I don't make a mistake – regardless of whether my opponent plays well or not – as long as I don't make a mistake, I play thinking that I am going to win. The queen range buff was just so huge.
A lot of new Heart of the Swarm info was revealed at MLG. Do you think you can do well in HOTS as well?
I think HOTS will take a lot more micro, there will be a lot more tasks to do. Having fast hands is my strength, so I think I can keep producing better results than other players.
Any thoughts on the new units?
I think the Viper could be pretty good if you make them, but it's kind of weird to add it into the your composition, and it's hive tech as well...
In ZvT, I got really hurt by mines – it was like if you make mines, you win the game. I hope they fix them, or just remove them altogether.
Did you catch the KeSPA show matches? What did you think about the games?
I saw just the RO8 matches. I didn't really expect much because they haven't been playing for that long, but I thought a few of the players had improved a lot compared to how long they had played. So I'm half looking forward to what's to come, and half afraid as well. I think in the near future we'll be able to play close games.
Do you think that once Heart of the Swarm comes out, you'll all start out on even footing?
I think of it as a totally new game, and our start would be the same. I don't think there will be a gap between us, like there is now.
The foreigners did surprisingly well this tournament. Do you think they've closed the gap, or that this tournament was just a one off?
SC2 keeps moving towards long, macro games, and I think a few foreigners like Stephano – or SaSe who played really well this tournament – are good at macro games. But I think as the game trends more towards macro games, Korean players will be favored more and more.
I think in the future, there will be a handful of foreigners who can produce good results, but I think the majority of the best players will still be Korean.
You have Code S coming up. Does winning MLG help you?
Yes, it helps. There are things I've learned through this tournament, and I think I've become a better player as I beat good players on the way to the championship. I feel like I can beat anyone in the world, so as long as I don't make any mistakes, I think I can finish high in the GSL.
Any plans on how to use the prize money?
I'm just saving it all up, because my dream is to be able to buy a home before I have to go to the army. So I'm not spending any of it and just saving.
Where do you want to buy a house? Busan? Seoul?
If I can keep saving up more money, maybe Seoul?
Your English was very good. Are you studying in particular?
I've bought textbooks and novels in order to study English, but I just don't have time to read them because I'm playing games. I just try to improve my English by using it a lot when I go abroad.
Any final comments?
I want to thank my team MvP, our partner MYM and Razer who sponsors us. Also, thanks to my teammates who help me practice, my head coach and his family, my family, friends, girlfriend, my fans, everyone!
Zerg got better, so I think I can keep producing good results, so keep watching my games!
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