[Interview] Code A Ro48 Day 3 2012 GSL Season 5 - Page 2

We would like to hear your thoughts on making it through to the second round of Code A.

I was very troubled because my skill level hasn't increased recently, so I'm glad that I won like this. I want to show some more refined play in my next match.

You've secured a spot in next season's Code A with today's victory.

My objective is Code S, so I don't want to place too much importance on qualifying for next season's Code A.

In the second set, you put just one SCV inside one of your Refineries. Was this intentional?

It was an optimized build. It was unnecessary to put in three SCVs, so I stuck with one for the sake of efficiency.

It seems that Brain's mistakes helped you out a lot.

Although I was extremely tense, my opponent showed even more nervousness, which helped me stay calm while playing.

Overall, how would you rate your performance today?

I'm still getting very nervous when I play. I didn't show anxiety when I played Brood War, but I'm not good at making decisions based on the situation at hand when I play SC2, so I keep getting tense and make mistakes.

How well do you think you would play if you weren't affected by nerves?

To be honest, I think I could make it to the second round of Code S. But because of nerves, I often get supply blocked and display poor control during engagements.

Your next round's opponent will be either Brave or Flash.

Because Flash-hyung plays incredibly well, I think that there's a high probability that I will be pitted against him. Even so, I have the most confidence in my matchup against Terran. I may have lost many times to Flash-hyung during BW, but I will try my best to get my revenge in SC2.

Do you have any last words?

I'm thankful to the fans who always cheered for me. Now that I'm in the second round of Code A, I will work my hardest to advance to Code S.

You've adorned your GSL debut with a victory. How do you feel?

Because I kept losing the ladder games that I played before coming to the studio, I felt uneasy, but I'm in a good mood now that I've easily won.

During the first set, you set up your Lair and were planning to enter the late game, but changed your mind after successfully scouting with Zerglings.

I had originally chosen to go for Mutalisk tech, but I scouted my opponent's build and felt that I would be sure to win if I went for a Baneling build.

You easily took a second victory with good Zergling scouting.

Watching MMA's VODs, I saw that he likes to start with Medivac attacks in order to give himself an advantage, so I felt that I could stop him if I secured a wide field of vision with Zerglings.

How did you prepare for today's match?

Because I don't have any Terran players on my B.net friends list, I wasn't able to practice much at all, but YoDa still helped me out.

Your opponent in the second round is KeeN, so you'll have to play ZvT again. Do you feel confident?

I think I can do it. I think I can manage to win if I watch many of his VODs and do research.

You're riding on a lot of momentum right now. What do you think your chances are of making it into Code S?

I think that I might do well enough to advance to Code S.

You're teamless right now, so you must have trouble practicing.

Nobody was helping me with practice when I was on the team, either, so there isn't all that big a difference from before (laughs).

You've said that you have trouble finding a Terran practice partner, but you're facing a Terran in the second round.

I think I'll find a practice partner soon. I wonder if maybe the Terran players who watched my games today could help me out (laughs).

As of now, you're playing while being teamless. Are you seeking out a new team?

I've done so, but nothing has been decided yet.

Do you have any last words?

I want to send my thanks to YoDa for helping me with practice. My friends came to cheer me on a lot today, so I'm thankful to them, too. I feel happy that I showed great skill during my first debut in the individual leagues.

You've defeated Rain and advanced to Round 2 of Code A. How do you feel?

I felt really nervous because I was facing an OSL champion, so I'm glad that I was able to win like this.

After your bracket was confirmed, you must have been very worried.

When I first saw my bracket, I felt that I was very unlucky, but my Protoss teammates told me that I could win and cheered me on.

In the first set, you showed some impressive Observer snipes.

Taking out the Observers was key. Because I chose a build that left me vulnerable to early game attacks, I judged that I could win as long as it wasn't seen.

You powered up your tech quickly.

My teammates informed me that Rain uses safe play, so I worked on playing greedily, confident that I wouldn't be attacked during the early game.

What thoughts ran through your head when you destroyed your opponent's Templar Archives with Medivac harassment?

At the moment I tried to harass with Medivacs, I was hit with Zealot harassment, too. To tell the truth, I felt so nervous at the time that I wasn't thinking at all; my hands were moving on their own.

So far, the highest you've gotten in the GSL is the Round of 8 of Code A. It seems that you could potentially advance to Code S now that you've taken down Rain.

I felt that if I could beat Rain, it would be possible for me to reach Code S. I've always gotten nervous in the booth, but I feel that I've mastered how to overcome my anxiety.

Your opponent for the next round is BBoongBBoong. How do you think things will go?

My teammates have told me that BBBB has strong ZvT. I think that as long as I can listen well to what my teammates tell me, I can win.

If you win your match against BBBB, you will fight against YoDa in the third round, but your win rate against Terran has been low. What do you think of this?

I'm not the type to believe in the statistics. I have a high win rate against Terran in practice matches, so I have confidence in my TvT, too.

Do you have any last words?

Even though DongRaeGu-hyung said that it would be absolutely impossible for me to win today, I still won. I'm thankful to Killer-hyung for giving me confidence, the Protoss players on my team, my team's sponsors, Lotte Chilsung, Razer, and GOMTV, and our partners, MYM and Wayi Spider.

You've advanced to Round 2 of Code A. Please tell us your thoughts.

I did manage to win, but I feel as if I've fallen into a dilemma regarding my TvP. I've reached the second round, so I will patch up my weaknesses and show a good performance for my next match.

You lost the first set to Brave's Hallucinated Colossus strategy.

I panicked during that game once I was fooled by the Hallucination. Although I've played over 500 practice games, I had never faced that kind of strategy. I panicked the moment that I saw two Colossi.

During the second and third sets, you lost the small engagements but twisted your way to victory.

Even I wasn't satisfied with my performance during the second game. I arrived late because of a traffic jam and had to play my first game in a while, so I got nervous. Next time, I want to prepare thoroughly, come on time, and play out some proper games.

In the third set, you appeared not to have seen your opponent going for a Warp Gate all-in rush.

Because Terran has a narrow field of vision, you have to save your scan in order to get as much out of it as possible. I got the feeling that my opponent would try something but felt that I would block it since I had a large army.

BaBy is your opponent next round. BaBy has stated through his interview that he wants revenge on you.

BaBy is doing well nowadays, but I have confidence against Terran, too, so I will prepare thoroughly and show a good match.

Rain, who made it to the Code S semifinals last season, has been knocked out.

I was late, so I wanted to see him win after going to the third set but was bewildered when I came and heard that he had lost. Because of that, I became more anxious when I played.

During the recent MLG Fall Championship that you attended, you reached the Round of 4 but unfortunately weren't able to make it to the finals.

I think it was partly because Life played well and partly because I let my guard down after previously defeating him in macro games. More than anything else, I found that you can't use mech against him because of his exceptional Infestor harassment compared to that of other players.

Since you went to the Invitational, this was your second time going to MLG.

I was happy about just being able to participate in an overseas tournament. It's unfortunate that I couldn't take the championship, of course, but I feel that I've gained a lot through the good results I achieved. I got the feeling that KeSPA players can compete with the eSF players now. I want to travel to foreign events whenever possible.

You must have gained a lot of confidence through the Fall Championship. What are your goals for this season?

My biggest goal is to advance to Code S because I feel that I'll have to make it there in order to feel comfortable. If I reach Code S, I think I'll be able to play out my matches more comfortably.

Do you have anyone whom you would like to play against or get revenge on?

It would be great if I could play against Life, but I haven't lost to him to the point that I'm seeking revenge. Everyone is spread across evenly, so it's hard to pick out any particular person.

You're expected to secure an MLG seed next year, too. How are overseas leagues different from domestic ones?

I don't think that they're all that different. Since there were good players at MLG, too, they felt similar to Korean ones, but I felt that I performed better when I traveled overseas. I want to do well in Korea, too, but I haven't been able to achieve good results because the circumstances weren't right.

Having to play three days of matches must have been taxing for your endurance.

I thought that I wouldn't have a hard time at foreign events as long as I didn't attend multiple ones in a row, but playing for three days straight was extremely difficult. The next time I go, I'll have to make use of some know-how.

Have you heard things about tournaments other than MLG?

I've heard that there are a lot of huge tournaments such as DreamHack going on currently. If I'm able to attend other events, I want to participate in tournaments where there's a lot of excitement.

Please tell us about your determination for the next round.

I lost in the second round during the last season, too, so I want to make sure that I advance directly into Code S this time.