[Interview] WCS LR1 D2 Winners

Source: This Is Game

You avoided elimination and advanced in to the the secound round.

I couldn't prepare very well since I had ProLeague yesterday. I just played a fundamental game but I am so relieved that I won. Right now KeSPA players are doing a good job of not getting eliminated so I told myself that I couldn't be the first one to and worked hard.

KeSPA players are doing well in this tournament.

I've thoroughly watched almost every Protoss related match up. But I still feel like I am not as good as the GSL players. I think more time is still needed. Personally, I feel like I have the potential to do really well in the WCS and all the other tournaments. I felt like I wasn't going to get eliminated quickly. Even though a championship, or a finals appearance will be difficult, right now I feel this way.

How did you feel after getting sent to the losers' bracket by losing to Curious?

In that first game, I didn't hold my zealots very well so I took that loss. In the second game, I couldn't follow my opponent's rhythm very well. A loss is a loss. So I admitted my loss and decided I would do better in my next performance. In order to ensure I don't get eliminated in the next round, I'm going to keep this mentality.

You said you played fundamental games.

I had the advantage in game one but I put myself on a tilt after I lost my mothership so easily. I didn't think I was going to play a long macro game. I was going to move out after preparing a huge one hit army but he defended really well. I normally play long games on ladder anyways so it wasn't a big deal for me though.

You seemed to be getting shaken up during the third game.

I lost my nexus due to his roach rush but I scouted him with my probe and saw he was teching late and that his fourth hatchery was late as well. I told myself that if I play this little by little I would eventually be able to catch up.

In game one you even got carriers.

I was planning on it from the start. It was too hard of a map to just rely on my ground army. There are three roads you can take but I had lost control of the middle road and I knew that the Zerg could defend the other two roads really easily. I was planning on using carriers but my mothership died way too quickly.

Do you think you're progressing well with SC2 ?

There are a lot of competitions so I don't get nervous and I get motivated a lot. My practice method is to focus on ladder. Since there's still a lot that I don't know and I lack in basics, I think ladder is really good for me.

Your next opponent is Leenock, who is also a Zerg.

I think I'm going to lose (laughs). Leenock is really good. He's also really good at ZvPs. I think he is the best at ZvP out of all the Zergs. I am going to prepare extensively for him. The match is tomorrow so I'm just going to do the best I can.

Anything else you would like to say?

Last time when I faced Curious, and for today's match as well, SlayerS gave me permission to use their gaming chair so I want to thank them for that. I also want to thank the fans who came out to cheer for us today. Right now SKTelecom is in that stage in ProLeague where we make the Postseason or not is determined so we are all doing our very best right now.

Source: This Is Game

How do you feel about making it to the second round of the losers' bracket?

Truth be told, I came today without any expectations. I kept thinking to myself that I was going to get eliminated but luck followed me today.

How come you had no expectations?

CoCa is a really good player, and my pace was off. I only wanted to focus on ProLeague so I really didn't have any expectations. But I played with a clam mindset so I got really lucky.

Every KeSPA player avoided elimination.

After Sun won his match I realized that all the KeSPA players had won their matches. I asked myself what would happen if I was the only one to lose but truth be told, if I were to get eliminated in this tournament it wouldn't come as a shock. I played today's games with the mentality of not caring if I got eliminated.

KeSPA players seem to be performing better than people had anticipated.

The GSL players are feeling a lot of burdens right now. The burden of "what would happen if I lose?" I don't think they're performing up to their usual standards. On the other hand, KeSPA players are playing more calmly than ever. Thanks to that the games are going really well for us right now.

Through today's games it was apparent that you use Infestors really well.

Personally I feel that the infestor is the most unit in for the Zerg race. I think the infestor is OP. It's like the equivalent of BW's defiler. In BW, I use defilers well so I practiced a lot to be able to do the same for the infestor.

In game one, you won in a dominating fashion.

It was a build order issue. I felt like I had won that game from the beginning. I played with a lot of confidence.

You had a dangerous moment in game two.

I felt like I was at a disadvantage. So I was planning on doing one final attack and then GGing afterwards. But luckily I fought well and won the engagement. Because there was so much stuff going on at once I don't know whether or not I used my infestors better than him. But I do know that I saw his army composition well so I won because of that.

You won your very first match for the WCS. It seems you gained a lot from it.

I told myself that today was going to be a learning experience as I came to the studio. That's why I opted to play macro games. Because I won through macro games, I gained some confidence from this. I think I can do well in the ProLeague also with this kind of confidence.

Your next opponent is HerO.

I feel like I'm really comfortable with ZvP. I think it's going to be a fun match. I know I'm going to be learning a lot from this match so I want the fans to tune in.

Anything else you would like to say?

I am showing mediocre performances in the ProLeague but with today's victory I plan on changing that. I will win the upcoming match against Samsung KHAN this weekend and work hard to ensure our team's placement in the postseason.

Source: This Is Game

How do you feel about making it to the second round?

It's so nerve wracking. While I was watching professional matches from home I kept asking "why are these players performing so badly?" Now that I myself am experiencing televised matches, I understand the feeling. You can't really see the mini map well and there's just no time to think. I was told my opponent also got really nervous. I think I won because he got more nervous than I did.

You achieved today's victory through proper macro games.

I don't think I was getting good results in the past because I was performing badly. I plan on doing well from here on out. I'm going to work even harder.

Today's game one was impressive.

I couldn't even show half of what I had prepared. I only won because my opponent was more nervous than I was. I had also prepared extensively for this match.

You lost game two rather disappointingly.

I told myself that I absolutely had to win the next game (laughs). I wasn't shaken up mentally. I was just constantly nervous today.

Even though you were that nevous, what was the reason you attempted a bunker rush in game three?

I noticed during game two that my opponent doesn't really scout a lot. Truth be told, I also messed up in game three. I moved my army out in plain view of my opponent. But I think BBoongBBoong missed my army's movements.

It seems like nerves are your biggest issues.

I don't have a lot of experiences with televised matches. I thought it wasn't going to be that different but it clearly was. I was even more nervous than I was for the Ro32. I think I'm going to be feeling a lot of distress from here on out.

Your next opponent is aLive, who is in no way an easy opponent.

I do have a the experience of beating him on an online tourney about a month back. As long as I don't get nervous I think I'll have a good chance since it's a TvT. But because it's going to be a televised match, I think I'm at a disadvantage.

What are your goals for this tournament?

As far as I can see, I am still lacking in my skills. I don't know when my day will come but I will keep performing while showing progress along the way.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to wish a lot of luck to our coach, YongHwa, NesTea, and Mvp who went to Germany this weekend. I want to thank the coach's wife for always working so hard for us. I want to thank True for helping me with practice and Happy for giving me advice. Unfortunately, horror lost today but he is a really hard worker. I hope he can pick himself back up and not allow this loss to affect him so much. I also read Genius' interview after he beat me in the Ro32. I'm not sure if he'll read my interview but after reading his interview I am determined to work even harder. The next time we meet I am going to make him know his place. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors LG, SteelSeries, Googims Company, Invidia, and Coca-Cola.