You'll be experiencing Code S one more time. How do you feel?
I'm happy, but I do feel sorry that I had to beat my teammate to get here.
Your opponent was your teammate, so it must have been difficult to get practice.
We agreed with one another to practice an appropriate amount. I think that today's win was solely due to good luck.
The winner was decided by a slim margin in every game.
PvP as a whole comes down to build order battles and control, and mind games are what are most important. Both of us knew each other well since we were teammates, so we tried adding small twists to our builds.
In the third and final set, even the commentators praised your Force Field usage.
I killed a lot of Stalkers at my natural, so I thought that my odds of winning would be good if I went for a timing rush. Flying-hyung's original build had been to macro greedily after pressuring with Blink Stalkers, but I was able to gain a great advantage because his Stalkers were positioned at my natural.
There is just one match remaining in Round 3 of Proleague. Are you preparing for Heart of the Swarm?
I'll have to practice starting from now. Since there's only one last match to deal with in Proleague and I don't even have to play in the Up & Downs, I think I'll begin.
You weren't able to escape the Code S Ro32 last season. What is your goal this time?
Since Heart of the Swarm is beginning, I don't think that any of the other players are playing perfectly, either. The players who work hard will be the ones to achieve good results.
Do you have any last words?
I'm sorry for beating Flying-hyung. He's skilled enough for the Up & Downs, though, so I hope that he makes it through into Code S.
You've made it directly into Code S. How do you feel?
My condition wasn't very good today, so I'm happy that I was able to win like this.
Your opponent was ByuN. Did you prepare in any special way?
There wasn't much time to prepare for today's match, so I prepared all-ins regardless of which player I was going to face.
Your Reaper strategy in Set 1 was quite effective.
I predicted that it would be effective in Set 1 no matter what.
You took an easy victory in Set 2, too. What factors do you think were involved?
I had been expecting a fast expand, and ByuN indeed did perform one. Because of that, I felt that I would win as long as I played as I had prepared during practice.
What are your goals for next season?
Next season, I want to stay comfortable in Code S instead of aiming for the finals. I've inherited the title of Code S gatekeeper, so I think I'll easily be able to advance to at least the Ro16 (laughs). I would like to create a new successor [for the title] next season, though (laughs).
Do you have any last words?
I'm thankful to StarTale's Terran players for giving me strategic advice. I love my parents and little brother, and I'm also thankful to the fans who always cheer for me, as well as manager Choya and coach Supreme. I would like to thank my team's sponsors, Razer, FXO, and Twitch.tv.
You've successfully made it directly into Code S. Tell us your thoughts.
Zerg isn't very good against Protoss in Heart of the Swarm, so I might possibly have fallen to Code B [next season] had I lost today. It's fortunate that I didn't lose.
This was a team-kill match. Did you have any difficulties preparing?
Since we were on the same team, I wasn't able to prepare much. We left each other alone and practiced on our own. I was mainly preparing for Heart of the Swarm, so I planned on winning this Wings of Liberty match with my fundamentals.
You lost Set 2 and let your opponent tie the match.
I lost too much to his attack. I was aware of how he had expanded, but he came in from multiple directions at once when he attacked. I feel that maybe I should have seen this coming and strengthened my army.
Lure also prepared an attack for Set 3, but he made many mistakes such as being supply blocked.
It was a teammate's build, and I'd suffered it before. But something did feel strange; I sensed that I was blocking his attack too easily, but I didn't know that he'd made mistakes like that.
You unfortunately got knocked out of Code S this season.
Whenever I mess around too much during interviews, I seem to end up dropping out (laughs). I felt that people would say bad things about me because I did the same thing this time, too. Next time, I'm thinking of keeping my mouth shut and not talking about my heyday or whatever (laughs).
What's Heart of the Swarm like?
ZvP is the toughest matchup; there is no way to win once you reach the late game. You can play a macro game against Terran as long you can make it past the early game, but Reapers are too powerful to not watch out for. Zerg begins at a disadvantage overall, and Zerg gets dragged around by the faster Medivacs. Everything is difficult, but I think that Terran is slightly easier to play against.
Next season will be transitioning to Heart of the Swarm. What are your goals?
For now, my goal is to reach the quarterfinals and secure a seed for the season afterwards. The game hasn't been fully balanced yet, so I'm aiming for the Ro8 since winning the whole tournament will be difficult. I've been in Code S for nine seasons in a row so far, so I'll earn the NesTea award if I make it to the quarterfinals this time. I'm going to make sure that I receive that award (laughs).
Do you have any last words?
I want to tell Lure that he did well and that I'm looking forward to him advancing through the Up & Downs. I want to send my thanks to my team's sponsors, Lotte Chilsung and Razer, as well as the manager and his family, our team members' families, my girlfriend, and my biggest fans.
First of all, tell us your thoughts on winning today.
I feel really great that I was able to advance to Code S so easily.
How did you prepare once aLive was selected as your opponent?
I only practiced a little bit yesterday, and I mostly just played Heart of the Swarm. I did feel uneasy because of of that; I mainly practiced build orders. I don't think it made much of a difference.
Unlike during the one-sided first set, you weren't able to successfully stay inside your opponent's base after breaking through his opening.
Since I'd already planned on macroing after the 8 Roach attack, I wasn't nervous. He only produced Marines and Marauders with no Siege Tanks. The situation was iffy, but I thought I could manage to win.
With today's victory, you'll be able to start in Code S next season. Until when do you think you'll be able to remain in Code S?
I think I'll be able to stay in Code S up until I retire (laughs). I do feel worried worried about continuously being knocked out of the Code S Ro16. I'll have to stay on my guard and work hard.
The next season will be transitioning to Heart of the Swarm. What is HotS like for you?
I've played about 200 games, and I think that the balance isn't good for Zerg. As long as the opponent makes no mistakes, it's difficult to defeat Protoss in the late game. Even so, I think ZvT is doable. Terran keeps starting in the lead, though, and there's nothing Zerg can do about it.
On the other hand, what would you say is strong about Zerg?
I think that the Viper's Blinding Cloud is useful, and I think the game becomes manageable once Zerg reaches Hive tech. Because Ultralisks have been strengthened against Light units, I think that they've become good.
Are there any players whom you're looking forward to next season? Do you have anyone whom you would like to face?
Bomber is ranked high on ladder, so I think he'll do extremely well. I don't have any particular players whom I want to play against; I just want to make it to the Code S Ro8. If I just rise to the Ro8, I think I'll easily be able to reach the finals.
You sound like you want to play longer series.
That is so. I have confidence in long series, too, and I'm definitely confident in winning three games in a Bo5.
What do you have scheduled for March?
I have MLG and IPL ahead of me. A lot of good players are coming to MLG this season, so I'm not expecting much, and I'd be satisfied with reaching the semifinals. It's hard to practice for IPL because they're using Wings of Liberty, but I want to perform well.
Tell us anything more that you have to say.
I'm thankful to my teammates for helping me practice. I also want to send my thanks to my team's sponsors, Red Bull, ZOWIE, and Joy Gear.
I have MLG and IPL ahead of me. A lot of good players are coming to MLG this season, so I'm not expecting much, and I'd be satisfied with reaching the semifinals.
Poor aLive indeed. But I do enjoy life's play so I'm glad to see him in Code S next season. Also glad to see he's already started practicing heavily in HotS so hopefully he'll do well from that get go, weak zerg or not. =P
On February 27 2013 21:51 KaiserKieran wrote: IPL why are you doing wol Anyways DRG and Life seemed good enough in their matches. Poor Alive though.
They're doing WoL because "The game of the main event has to match the game the qualifiers are being played on." and "We feel the players won't be completely familiar with HotS 2 weeks after the release of the game." and "Insert stupid excuse here."
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Agreed. DRG said there is no way to win against P in late game, I think that is pretty alarming.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
There's a huge difference between the "I think this matchup is difficult" of DRG and the "OH MY GOD ZERG WILL NEVER WIN ANOTHER GAME EVERY SINGLE TERRAN UNIT IS RETARDEDLY OVERPOWERED" of certain foreign players. So in comparison, this doesn't sound alarmist at all.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
Zerg complaining about beta balance forcing pro players to retire... Thanks for the good laugh.
When you read them, it's just more of a "heh, it's kind of hard. " When plarers are like that, you can probably run 2 month of pro playing the game fully ( face it, really few korean played the hots beta seriously ) until you need to act.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
Zerg complaining about beta balance forcing pro players to retire... Thanks for the good laugh.
Way to miss my point. Nobody is complaining about people being forced to retire. Read the post I responded to first. The point is that players of course aren't going to make sensationalist comments and call doom and gloom in an interview like this. They said their point, which is that they don't think the game is balanced, and that Zerg is weak. They're not going to say anything more alarmist than that.
But if DRG announces he's streaming with "Lets brake my mental in HotS by Zerg", and Hyun is saying "HotS ZvT sigh...." every day, it's not difficult to see how frustrated these guys are.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
Zerg complaining about beta balance forcing pro players to retire... Thanks for the good laugh.
Way to miss my point. Nobody is complaining about people being forced to retire. Read the post I responded to first. The point is that players of course aren't going to make sensationalist comments and call doom and gloom in an interview like this. They said their point, which is that they don't think the game is balanced, and that Zerg is weak. They're not going to say anything more alarmist than that.
But if DRG announces he's streaming with "Lets brake my mental in HotS by Zerg", and Hyun is saying "HotS ZvT sigh...." every day, it's not difficult to see how frustrated these guys are.
For starters I wouldn't even think of something ridiculous like pro players retiring over HotS beta balance state. The simple fact that you mention it proves that you think it might be warranted. Well it's not.
The whining isn't bad as it was during the era of Lost Temple tbh
Edit: No way in heck is balance now worse than the days of rax before depot and 5rax reaper. That's why I'm always so chill about balance. I've played through worse. Of course I want it to be better but unproductive whining won't help.
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
Zerg complaining about beta balance forcing pro players to retire... Thanks for the good laugh.
Way to miss my point. Nobody is complaining about people being forced to retire. Read the post I responded to first. The point is that players of course aren't going to make sensationalist comments and call doom and gloom in an interview like this. They said their point, which is that they don't think the game is balanced, and that Zerg is weak. They're not going to say anything more alarmist than that.
But if DRG announces he's streaming with "Lets brake my mental in HotS by Zerg", and Hyun is saying "HotS ZvT sigh...." every day, it's not difficult to see how frustrated these guys are.
Well, for starters I wouldn't even think of something ridiculous like pro players retiring over HotS beta balance state. The simple fact that you mention it proves that you think it might be warranted. Well it's not.
Edit: Re-added beta for emphasis.
Neither would I. That's the point! Nobody is going to say or do something more extreme than what they have already said. Are you being dense on purpose?
I mean, one of the best Zergs in the world, who's been in Code S 9 seasons straight, is saying he's relieved to have made Code S again, because he might have fallen to Code B if he had to play against a Protoss in Code A next season. What else does he need to say?
On February 27 2013 23:29 ZenithM wrote: It's certainly not worse now than how Terrans complained about late game TvZ for the last 8 months.
On February 27 2013 23:28 sitromit wrote:
On February 27 2013 23:19 ZenithM wrote:
On February 27 2013 23:06 sitromit wrote:
On February 27 2013 22:46 Noocta wrote:
On February 27 2013 22:21 T.O.P. wrote:
On February 27 2013 21:38 Noocta wrote: Happy to see that DRG and Life aren't as alarmist as other people concerning HotS Zerg state. It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world yet.
Both complained about zvp balance. Not alarmist?
Pros complain about balance all the time. Mvp was whining about Terran in 2011.
You just have to read between the lines. And when I see their anwsers, it basicly mean they find it difficult. And that's really not an alarmist fact.
What do you expect them to say? They clearly say they think Zerg is weak in both matchups. Should they threaten to quit the game if a balance patch isn't imminent? They have both tweeted already complaining about balance, along with pretty much every single Zerg pro. What else can they say?
Zerg complaining about beta balance forcing pro players to retire... Thanks for the good laugh.
Way to miss my point. Nobody is complaining about people being forced to retire. Read the post I responded to first. The point is that players of course aren't going to make sensationalist comments and call doom and gloom in an interview like this. They said their point, which is that they don't think the game is balanced, and that Zerg is weak. They're not going to say anything more alarmist than that.
But if DRG announces he's streaming with "Lets brake my mental in HotS by Zerg", and Hyun is saying "HotS ZvT sigh...." every day, it's not difficult to see how frustrated these guys are.
Well, for starters I wouldn't even think of something ridiculous like pro players retiring over HotS beta balance state. The simple fact that you mention it proves that you think it might be warranted. Well it's not.
Edit: Re-added beta for emphasis.
Neither would I. That's the point! Nobody is going to say or do something more extreme than what they have already said. Are you being dense on purpose?
You're the one who don't understand what I'm trying to say. When you say that they won't complain any more than that, then add that "zerg is clearly weak" and "it's not difficult to see how frustrated these guys are", you imply that they actually could complain way more than they are right now. What I'm saying is that the game isn't as imbalanced as you want it to be.
Anyway, imo they're complaining the right amount, the game does indeed seem to disfavor Zerg, but Zerg has been very successful at the GSTL special event and that wasn't even the best Zergs playing.
I have MLG and IPL ahead of me. A lot of good players are coming to MLG this season, so I'm not expecting much, and I'd be satisfied with reaching the semifinals. It's hard to practice for IPL because they're using Wings of Liberty, but I want to perform well.
On February 27 2013 22:25 Ryps wrote: DRG and Life whining about balance against protoss I hope they wont get banned on TL.
hahaha does Life even have a TL account or know any English other than "You are watching GSL, Global Standard."
I think the ZvP struggle is could be real considering MC said if you lose late game as Protoss you should quit the game lol and normally players just balance whine for their race no matter what haha.
On February 27 2013 23:22 Noocta wrote: When you read them, it's just more of a "heh, it's kind of hard. " When plarers are like that, you can probably run 2 month of pro playing the game fully ( face it, really few korean played the hots beta seriously ) until you need to act.
No, it's not "heh, it's kind of hard." ITS BREAKING HIS MENTAL!!!
thank you wozzot. Us hardcore DRG fans were calling for your downfall yesterday, but you've exonerated yourself from all crimes today with this work! <3
and <3333 DRG thanking his biggest fans again. Very peculiar statement coming from a pro-gamer, and it makes me very happy. XD
Thanks wozzot! Considering HoTS is still in beta, I'm sure there will be a couple of changes before game release. Let's just hope the changes don't completely tilt the balance in Zerg's favor after all is said and done and maintain a decent balance for the three races upon launch
A lot of you guys seem to be forgetting that beta testing ends on March the 1st. Any changes made after that won't be thoroughly tested by pro players and will most likely make it live. As is HoTS will probably ship with quite a lot of balance issues anyway.
Still, happy with Life and DRG making it through, two of my favorite zerg players due to their multi-tasking heavy styles and tendencies to mix up weird and wacky strategies every now and again.
EPT
WoongjinStars_sOs![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LV5w5H3.jpg)
FXO_GuMiho![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/D3R3B9O.jpg)
MVP_DongRaeGu![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/MaILOqW.png)
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