[Interview] Code A Ro48 Day 1 2013 GSL Season 1

CJ Entus_Trust



Source: This Is Game

Tell us how you feel about advancing to the second round of Code A.

I feel so happy. My teammate hyungs helped me out a lot. I think I was able to win game one because I played a good macro game and for game two, I thought my strategy was going to work out well and it did so I feel good.

How did you prepare for your match against Genius?

I had excluded PvP from my head. I only practiced PvZ and PvT. But I didn't think it was going to be that bad since PvPs are all about 50/50 build order chances.

You had one huge battle in game one but you were about to get pushed back because of your lack of colossi.

I figured I had lost. I tried to regather my colossi as I kept on making zealots. I just told myself to do well in the next 200/200 battle.

Your next opponent will be the winner of YoDa and Tear. Who would you like to face?

I think I saw some of YoDa's games when he was in Code S. But for Tear, all I've ever heard about him is his ID. I'm confident in my PvT these days. I'll be confident even if I do meet a Protoss but I would prefer to play a PvT.

This was your first match. Were you nervous playing in a booth?

I was so nervous playing inside that booth. But I still manager to concentrate well during my games so it was fine.

This season's goals?

I already achieved my goal. Now I have a new goal. Getting to the Ro24 of Code A is my new goal.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank Kim Jung Hoon hyung and herO hyung for practicing with me all the way up to the last minute.

CJ Entus_Bbyong



Liquid`HerO



Source: This Is Game

You advanced to the second round of Code A with a 2-0 victory. Tell us how you feel.

Honestly, I couldn't practice a lot because of Proleague. I even saw falling to preliminaries as a possibility. It was terrifying. I'm glad that I luckily won but I had to beat YugiOh, whom I view as a friendly dongsaeng so it was a bittersweet victory.

How did you prepare for your match against YugiOh?

The match schedule came out late so I just prepared for this match along with my preparations for Proleague. I watched VODs with my players as I prepared.

We saw a long macro game and an elimination race.

I have almost no experience on Icarus. And Bel'Shir Vestige is a good map for Zergs so I prepared an all in strategy. But then he started fighting back so an elimination race was the end result. I got lucky on Icarus. YugiOh had really good creep spread so his pressure was enormous but I luckily took down all his brood lords so I was able to win.

You will face the winner of TY and Avenge. Who would you like to face?

I think playing against TY will be better for me. PvP is so versatile that I think a PvT would be better.

Isn't it difficult preparing for individual leagues since you also have Proleague commitments?

Since there are new maps, it's difficult to find practice partners. I think that's the hardest part right now.

Your win ratio for Intel e-Stadium is really good. People even call you "SongDoRim." (ShinDoRim is the city in which proleague takes place. And HerO's Korean name is Song Hyeon Deok.)

I'm not sure why but ShinDoRim is much more comfortable for me than YongSan. The more I win, the more comfortable I get.

EG-TL's Hwanni stated that you're the team's ace.

For an ace candidate, my win ratio is terrible but I am grateful that Hwanni thinks of me that way. I hate losing so I just do my best so that I can somehow get the win no matter what.

After one year you are now Code A. A lot of fans are lying in anticipation for you to return to Code S.

I'm not sure if I got sloppy or what but ever since I won NASL and DreamHack I feel like I haven't been performing as well and that my skills have fallen. So I was feeling really tortured inside but I plan on going back to the beginning so I can do my absolute best. I will return to Code S.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank our sponsors Twitch.tv, Razer, TLAF, and Barracuda Networks. I want to thank head coach Hwanni, coach Park, and Jaedong hyung, Revival, and Symbol, the players who helped me with practice. I also want to thank Liquid`Nazgul and Liquid`Bumblebee. I want to thank my fans for always cheering me on. Lastly, I want to conclude with a statement that I know that my recent performances haven't been the best but I am going to work hard so that I can show a great form again.

StarTale_Avenge



Source: This Is Game

You finally won on stage after a long time.

I got so nervous that my performance wasn't good but I feel happy since I won anyways.

Your opponent was Team 8's ace, TY. How did you prepare for your match?

I met Team 8's Cure during the qualifiers. I don't think that TY is better than Cure. So I approached my match comfortably.

All your games were played on the new maps. How were they?

I felt like the new maps were good for Terran but my Terran teammate hyungs told me that the maps were actually good for Protoss. But I still think they're good for Terrans.

Your next opponent will be Liquid's HerO. Are you confident?

It's going to be difficult since I'm so bad at PvPs. I'm expecting to go to the Up/Downs so I plan on approaching my match comfortably.

Your fans are wondering what you have been doing all this time.

I helped out a lot with practice at the team house with my teammate hyungs. I'm mostly a practice partner but I think my skills have really improved after practicing with my teammate hyungs.

Your personal best is this season's Ro32 placement. This season's goals?

I was able to win today so I snapped my seven game losing streak. I looked at my overall record and my win ratio is so low right now. If possible, I would like to go on a winning streak so that I can advance to Code S and raise my win ratio.

With today's victory, you secured your spot for next season's Code A. It's going to be HotS but how do you feel about it?

Protoss has changed a lot from WoL but I tried it out and I think I've gotten used it it now. Right now, I think I've somewhat grasped the concept of HotS.

Anything else you would like to say?

First off, I want to thank my parents. I want to thank my teammates for helping me with practice. I also want to thank Sting and Clarity Gaming's Shuttle hyung for helping me with practice. I hope everyone will have a safe trip during the Chinese New Year vacation time and that they will all have a happy new year. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors Red Bull, ZOWIE Gear, and Joy Gear.

LG-IM_YongHwa



Source: This Is Game

Tell us how you feel about advancing to the second round of Code A with a 2-0 score.

I would have fallen to the preliminaries had I lost to today so I wanted to win. I feel so happy cause I won.

Did you expect to win by a score of 2-0 against Reality?

I found out about the GSL maps late but I didn't have enough preparations done for the new maps. So I crammed my preparations and expected to win by a score of 2-1 but the win was much more easier than I expected.

How were the new maps?

Neo Planet S is exactly my kind of style. The paths are simple and it's easy to block medivac drops just like Daybreak.

You will face Creator in the next round.

I am confident but I don't think luck is following me. Even if I do manage to advance to the third round, I have to face Leenock then. But I think I can win easily as long as the maps come out in my favor.

You secured your spot for next season's Code A. You also have to prepare for HotS.

Up till now, I practiced nothing but WoL. I want to start off HotS from Code S so until the season ends for me, I won't be practicing anything but WoL.

This season's goals?

When the GSL Open seasons ended and the actual GSL began I was at Code B. But for HotS, I want to start off from Code S.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank YoDa, dreamertt hyung, Mvp hyung, MarineKing, Maru, Dream, and Sound for helping me with practice. Today, YoDa will play his Code A match also so I hope he wins. Several day's ago, the coach's wife fell ill. She always tries to maintain the condition of the team house all on her own so I would really like to help if possible. I really hope she will heal up soon. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors LG Electronics, Steelseries, ASRock, Kingston HyperX, Googims Company, and Coca-Cola.

MVP_Lure



Source: This Is Game

You took down Jaedong and advanced to the second round of Code A. How do you feel?

I feel glad that I secured my spot for next season's Code A. I'm going to work really hard so that I can advance to Code S.

For a while now, we haven't seen you at the GSL. What have you been doing?

I stayed at the team house and just kept on practicing real hard and I also recently won a tournament in China.

Your opponent was Jaedong. Was there anything you specially prepared?

There weren't a lot of VODs on Jaedong and the VODs were kind of old so it was difficult to prepare for him. So I just surveyed the maps and decided to go for all ins.

You used phoenixes and cannons and grabbed game one pretty convincingly.

These days, Protoss players use phoenixes and zealots a lot. But if the Zerg grabs brood lords quickly then they becomes useless. So I tried to buy time with my phoenixes and cannons and then went for a colossi/stalker timing attack. I have a good win ratio with that strategy and I also think that attack was much stronger this time around because of my 2/2 upgrades.

In game two on Whirlwind you didn't scout for a long time. Did you drop your guard for game two?

In game one, I showed only two sentries and then teched up to phoenixes. So I showed two sentries again for game two and tried to trick him into thinking I was going for phoenixes again but things didn't pan out the way I expected them to. If this strategy had worked, I was going to use five warp gates. But Jaedong won the mind game so he forced me to take a loss.

For game three, you showed a really popular BW strategy, "the Zealot rush."

I figured I had won the game after I saw Jaedong go for an economic build. Had he just played standard then he would have seen my warp prism and he probably would have had more than enough time to properly respond to it. Originally, I was just planning on harassing a little bit while transitioning to colossi but I got lucky (laughs).

Your next opponent will be the winner of ByuL vs EffOrt. Who would you like to face?

I've seen EffOrt's recent Proleague performances so I know what he can do. But I don't really know a lot about ByuL. So I can't help but feel like I would be better off facing EffOrt since I have more info on him. These days a lot of Zerg players are struggling and personally, I think my win ratio and current momentum is really good.

You haven't been able to get past the second round of Code A. What are your goals for this season?

I met a really big obstacle course today in Jaedong. But I was barely nervous and I got the feeling with today's victory that if I just put in a little more effort then I could probably make it to Code S. I also think that I will be able to place high in Code S for HotS.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank TAiLS hyung for recommending a build order to me and thank my teammates for cheering me on. I want to thank my parents and a close hyung of mine because he kept calling me to let me know that he was rooting for me. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors Lotte Chilsung and Razer.

Samsung KHAN_Shine



Source: This Is Game

You won your first debut match and advanced to the second round of Code A. Tell us how you feel.

It had been 5-6 years since my debut so it was weird playing my GSL debut on this stage. I got nervous so I made a lot of mistakes for game one but I started off well so I felt good too.

Your opponent was Proleague opponent EG's HuK. Were there any difficulties?

Personally, I fet like the maps were in my favor. This was my first match against a foreigner so I prepared extensively so I think the end result was good.

In game one, you decided to go for mutas. There was even an elimination race.

The situation was not in my favor. I told myself that I wouldn't be able to block my opponent's attack had I gone for infestors. So I decided to play the game with mutas. And I noticed that my opponent wasn't scouting me so I decided to gather up mutas and attack.

In game two, there was a lot of poking and then the game ended.

I prepared for game two by doing the same kind of play for game one but the win was easier than I expected.

Your next opponent will be the winner of FanTaSy and Zenio.

I practice a lot with RorO hyung these days so I think I've gotten better. Since I've gotten better, I want to show an improved ZvZ and I also want to show ZvTs since it feels like I haven't shown a lot of ZvT performances lately. I really don't care who makes it.

With today's victory, you secured your spot for next season's Code A. What are your goals this season?

Ever since I got through the qualifiers, my goal has been to win the championship. Getting to Code S and catching up to the other players is my first and foremost goal.

Anybody you specifically would want to face?

I watched a lot of Zerg player VODs like Stephano, DRG, and Life. So I would like to play against those kinds of players. I couldn't really find anything for other races. If the chance arrives, I would like to play against the players whose VODs I watched.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank my little sisters for coming to cheer me on. I will go and buy them something yummy after this. I want to thank oDin hyung and coach Oh for coming to the studio to watch over me today. I think I was able to win because of them.

LG-IM_YoDa



Source: This Is Game

Tell us how you feel about advancing to the second round of Code A after taking down Tear.

Out of all the games that I've played, I think this victory makes me the happiest. I probably would have panicked if I had fallen to the qualifiers during the last WoL season. For a lot of reasons, I feel so good right now.

Your opponent was 재야의 gosu, Tear. Were you confident?

I've played him several times on ladder before. I've won almost all our games. So I was confident.

You played on two of the new maps. Were there any difficulties in preparing for your match?

It was really difficult preparing for my match. On Akilon Flats, things are really good for Terran up till about the mid game but if it goes to the late game then the Protoss has the advantage. For Icarus, I have yet to grasp the concept of the map.

It seemed like things were a hassle.

I was expecting an immortal pressure build so I prepared my strategy that way. I normally don't use my supply depots but I ended up thinking too much so I even saw dark templars as a possiblity so I ended up taking a lot of damage from his immortals.

Your next opponent will be Trust.

I will do my best and prepare extensively for him.

Within three seasons, you returned to Code A. You must be experiencing mixed feelings.

I'm still feeling like I'm lacking but after I got eliminated from Code S I felt dysfunctional. My game is not going the way I want it to. Things aren't getting cleaned up quite just yet.

Anything else you would like to say?

Thanks to today's final game, I finally admitted for once that Terran was OP. I want to thank my Protoss teammates for helping me with practice. ByuL, Mvp, and First still have their matches ahead of them so I hope they will make good results. I want to thank the head coach for always saying such great things and I hope his wife will feel better soon. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors LG Electronics, Steelseries, ASRock, Kingston HyperX, Coca-Cola, and Googims Company.