EPT
IM_YoDa![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0GXPD.jpg)
Source: This Is Game
What are your thoughts on advancing to the Code S Round of 16 for the first time in your career?
It felt unreal to me before, and it still feels unreal to me. I think it'll start to sink in while I go back to my team house (laughs).
Why do you think you were knocked out of the Code S Round of 32 last season?
I feel that it was due to a lack of psychological endurance. I was unable to adjust to playing on stage, and I was lacking in both skill and mental focus. But I've grown since last season, which is why I was able to advance like this.
You didn't have to worry about the possibility of facing Rain once he forfeited. Did this help you during your games today?
To tell the truth, I was prepared to defeat Rain twice in order to advance. His fans are raising him up on too high a pedestal, so I wanted to try my hand at beating him. He may have had a lot of momentum recently, but that didn't matter to me. As long as I believed in my own skill, I felt that I would be able to play some good games. But when Rain ended up forfeiting, I did feel more comfortable (laughs).
You showed off some strong aggressive play today. How would you rate your performance?
I would give myself 80%. My early and mid game play was strong, but I had trouble closing my sets out.
You are one of the LG-IM players who have never had the opportunity to set foot onto the Round of 16 of Code S.
I wasn't worried about that, and I just felt that I needed to keep working hard. Since my opportunity could come at any time, I prepared as thoroughly as I could in order to seize such a chance.
What are your goals for this season?
Since I'm in the Round of 16, I want to go to the quarterfinals.
Do you have anything more to say?
The SC2 community ignored me today. Everyone said that either HyuN, GuMiho, or Rain would advance, so I felt the determination to show them what for. Even though I'm lacking in many areas, I'm continuously improving, so please look forward to more of me in the future.
Because my own mouse broke down, I ended up using my manager's to practice, and that helped me achieve good results today. I want to thank Happy, dreamertt-hyung, True, and First for practicing with me, as well as my teammates who came with me today. Finally, I want to thank my parents and my sister-in-law, as well as my team's sponsors, LG Electronics, NVidia, Googims Company, Coca-Cola, and SteelSeries.
TSL_HyuN![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/wV7mS.jpg)
Source: This Is Game
This is your first time reaching the Code S Round of 16. How do you feel?
I'm in a good mood, but I'm worried because I don't feel that my performance was up to par today. Since I have many matches ahead of me in the Round of 16 and Round of 8, I'll have to improve the weaker aspects of my play.
Rain's forfeit gave you a walkover into the winners' match.
I just received notice about his forfeiture this morning, and I did feel good when I heard about it. My ZvP was the only matchup I had trouble with during practice. I did lose an opportunity to play a match against a champion, which is a disappointment.
You showed a lot of mistakes here and there during today's matches. Were you nervous?
That's partially it, but there were other reasons. I don't know whether there's something wrong with my settings, but my keyboard occasionally begins to stop functioning properly. On top of that, I lost the winners' match that I expected to win, which threw me off balance. In particular, I had prepared especially hard for the first set against YoDa but lost to an 11-11rax cheese, which was a psychological blow to me. From then on, I had trouble playing properly.
You have been called the strongest player in online tournaments, but your results offline haven't been so good. What do you think is the reason for this?
As long as I show good results in the future, I think I'll be okay. The issue is my performance during the present. The difference in my level of play between practice and on the stage is large. It's so bad that I make my teammates who watch my games frustrated. What I need to do now is take my skill during practice and transfer it 100% into the booth. It was a weakness that I had since I played Brood War, so I'm worried that it might follow me into SC2. It feels to me as if once I reach the late game, my ability to concentrate appears to dissipate, creating problems for me. Since I know what's wrong with me, I believe that I'll be able to fix my problem soon.
What are your goals for this season?
As a pro, I believe that I need to aim for the championship, but for now, I'll work on beating my opponents in the Round of 16 after the group nominations.
Do you have anything more that you would like to say?
I want to thank my juniors for helping me practice. Revival is leaving for MLG while Polt is going to both MLG and the Lone Star Clash, so I hope they return with good results. Since my juniors worked so hard during practice with me, I'll treat them to dinner. Counting myself, three players from my team have made it to the group nominations, so I hope it ends up being exciting. I'm looking forward to my first group nomination in SC2.
