EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/monk/redbullnyc/partingwinsdp.jpg)
We got a chance to briefly interview Red Bull Battle Grounds champion
SKT_PartinG after his win.You showed a lot of confidence throughout the tournament. But on the inside, were you feeling the pressure of having been in a slump and not having won a tournament in nearly a very long time?
I've lived thinking that I have to take responsibility for the things I say. So, when I showed so much confidence here at Red Bull Battle Grounds, I was truly confident that I could win it. The moment the groups were drawn, I thought it was a win for sure. I felt that I would be hugely disappointed in myself if I couldn't win the championship.
So I taunted the other players a lot, saying that I would win for sure.
Well, you always taunt other players.
Yes that's true, but it was more so this tournament. I had no pressure.
When you were in a slump, your weak/strong match-ups seemed pretty clear. You were good at PvT and PvP, but not so good at PvZ. Do you think you had some bracket luck this tournament?
If it was my old self, if the old PartinG won this way, then it would have been said that I won because I was lucky. But I have come back a changed player. Maybe there was some luck, but even if I met a Zerg I would have won. To prove that, I'll beat Soulkey at the upcoming WCG. If I show people that, then they'll have to say I would have won Red Bull even if I had met a Zerg.
Yeah, you weren't really able to prove your PvT or PvZ against top Korean players in this tournament. Do you think you could beat them?
I think that I'm in the top three of Koreans right now, of all races combined. I'm not afraid of anyone I face, and no matter where we meet I will beat them.
You weren't able to use your famous Soul Train this tournament. Do you regret that? You even tweeted that you would use it for sure!
In a corner of my heart, I'm really sad about it. I wanted to do a Soul Train ceremony with the Thomas the Tank Engine, but there were no Zergs to perform it against.
When Scarlett was winning 2 - 0 against sOs, I thought "oh, could she really make it to the finals?" I had only been thinking of PvP builds up to then, but suddenly I changed my map strategizing to think about PvZ. Honestly, I was planning to Soul Train three times in a row. I wanted to show the fans that I could still use the Soul Train in a changed way, so I'm sorry to my fans that I wasn't able to show that to them at Red Bull. Next year, in 2014, there will be opportunities. So then, I will show my Soul Train to countless Zergs.
MC basically threatened you so you weren't able to perform a ceremony against him. If you had faced a different player, what would you have done?
I felt that my life was being threatened, so I couldn't perform a ceremony. If I had won, I wanted to throw some cookies on the ground, because you know, MC likes to eat. So I wanted to step on them and crush them while he was looking. It's a bit iffy to say he 'stopped' me from doing it, but in any case it's unfortunate I couldn't perform it, it would have been fun.
You came to a foreign tournament for the first time in a while. With Proleague starting in December, you'll have less opportunities to compete in them again. Isn't that kind of disappointing?
I made a promise to myself. When I first joined KeSPA, I said I would win championships in both individual and team tournaments. But I haven't been able to keep that promise yet. I will win the Proleague for my team, with my strength. I'll need the strength of my teammates as well, but I want to help as the main force. Also, I really want to win the GSL, the individual tournament.
Don't you feel like you might be a little overconfident ahead of WCG? Last year, you almost lost to a certain Canadian player...
The group stage changed to be a best of three this year. So, I don't think anyone's going to get lucky this year. As long as I don't play with one hand, I'm not going to lose. Honestly, I'm only thinking about Soulkey. Of course there's Sora, but honestly I think Sora is easy too. I've lost to Soulkey a lot so I can't call him easy. If I can beat him, then I can prove that 'PartinG is back.'
Your thoughts going into 2014?
This year, I devalued my name a lot because of my PvZ. I want to tell myself that I'm sorry. And I want to ask myself "why couldn't you do any better?" In 2014, I'll show you a PartinG that has fixed all his PvZ problems. I'll win Korean tournaments, not just international tournaments, so I hope my fans keep cheering for me.
Any last comments?
A big thanks to my team SK Telecom T1, and to my mother. I have a noona (older sister) in New York that I'm very close with, she heard that I was coming to New York and showed me around the city yesterday. I think I was able to win because of that...
Uh, not because you practiced hard?
Honestly, I didn't practice for this tournament. My noona helped me with my mental state, even since I was in Korea. I won't be able to see her anymore, but I'm very thankful to her. Love you! I'll only win from now, so don't worry about me.
Finally, the true world champion is back.
