Liquid's Terran ace talks about how he's not the best Terran in the world, shows his appreciation for San, and shamelessly complains about balance.

We hoped to talk to Liquid`TaeJa right after his amazing championship run at DreamHack Bucharest, but a long break for the Korean holiday of Chuseok left us waiting for over a week. Which was apparently just enough time for TaeJa to start downplaying his skill and find justification in complaining about Terran balance.

On winning DreamHack Bucharest, and the best Terrans in the world

Waxangel: Hey, #1 Terran!

TaeJa: ??

Is it okay if we do an interview for TL.net? Oh, it's #1 player in the world, right?

Okay;;

Before the WCS Season 2 Finals, you said you weren't that confident because you hadn't been able to practice. Two weeks later you go off and win DreamHack without a single loss from the Ro16 on. I guess you practiced?

Hmmm, honestly I wasn't that confident at DreamHack. I think I just gained the confidence I needed by beating strong players in the SC2L finals the night before. Having that confidence let me play better.

Was that part of the reason you were unusually emotional and happy after winning DreamHack Bucharest? Because it was particularly hard to win?

Honestly I didn't go thinking that I would win the championship. I just went with the goal of winning the team tournament (SC2L), so I was really happy when I ended up winning DreamHack. It had the strongest line-up of any tournament I've been in so far, and it was difficult because I didn't have much confidence in my skill. It was an abrupt participation, because of the SC2L finals.

Your TvT in particular looked very strong. Did you figure things out as you prepared? You mentioned at the tournament that you discovered the strength of mech

Hmm, I don't think my TvT is strong, I just think it's about average.

As I was playing ladder games, most of my opponents were using mech. I felt that it was a strong composition as I lost a lot of games; it's good at both harassment and straight up engagements.

A lot of people are calling you the best Terran in the world now. What do you think?

During practice, I don't think that I'm that good. But I think people call me the best because I suddenly do well when I go to tournaments. There's a bit of a skill gap between me and the best Terran players.

Then who do you think is the best?

Looking at TvZ and TvP, I think INnoVation is good. In TvT, I think Polt is good. (Interview was before Polt and INnoVation played their WCS groups).

Anything funny happen in Romania?

Well, nothing funny. The other players did get ripped off by a taxi driver though, so I guess that was notable.

This gif is pretty popular in the foreign community. Any thoughts? http://i.imgur.com/9pIhSQa.gif

ROFL, why is it censored???????

Your self-clapping is also getting some attention. What's up with that?

I didn't know that I could play at that level at the time, and I was proud of myself so I clapped.

Being San's #1 fan

You appeared in ASUS ROG Summer as a member of [SanFan] clan, but it seems you have left since. What happened?

Oh, San hyung told me to delete the clan, lol.

Wait, you were the clan leader? What kind of player gives another one that kind of free publicity?

Oh, we're just friends, and I'm a fan of his, lol. He always maintains a position toward the top of the ladder, and in particular he's really, really good at PvZ.

He's always doing super well in prelims and online tournaments, but can't seem to get things going in live events. You think that's a nervousness issue?

Hmm, I don't know him to be the type that gets very nervous.

So, Liquid`San?

We have HerO who's doing so well, so we can't have Liquid`San.

Wow, that PR.

;;

What do you do with your prize money? Your friends probably ask you to buy them stuff to eat?

My friends who live in Pyungtaek ask me a lot to buy them dinner at VIPS (a Western style restaurant in Korea), but there really hasn't been a time where we could all get together.

What about other pros?

I'm still young, so they should be the ones buying me meals, keke.

WCS Season 3 and balance

Looking at WCS points, it seems like you're nearly confirmed for Blizzcon already. What level do you think you'll be at by then?

There's a lot of time left, so I think I can bring myself up as much as possible.

You still feel like you're lacking in comparison to your peak last year?

Hmmm, I think I'm better than I was last year in terms of skill, but it's just that other players have become that much better as well. So I'll have to keep improving as well.

Any thoughts on the recent balance test map?

Looking at all the tournaments right now, Terran is doing poorly. Buffing the other races in that situation is ridiculous. Buffing mech means that mech will be all you can play in TvT.

Terran... bad... then maybe you should stop winning?

Ah, I mean WCS KR/EU/NA.

Uh, Terrans won the last season of KR, AM, and the Season Finals...

I mean this season, season 3, keke.

Why don't you just throw season 3 then, for balance.

No.

So, your WCS AM Group has Top, HuK, and Major in it. What do you think about it?

I think I got a fairly managable group compared to the other Korean players.

If you look at who's made the Ro16 so far, you think you could win WCS AM?

It depends on how I play once I'm there. I've run out of confidence again lately, because Terran is so bad.

Any final words for your fans, and David Kim?

Thanks to all my fans for always cheering me on. I don't know if David Kim will see this, but please don't nerf Terran.