Prime interviews

Q: Please introduce yourself
A: My name is Jeon Ji Won, my ID is TerrOrPrime. I am 18 years old.

Q: Are you still going to school or playing full time ?
A: I am going to a special school where i only have to attend 1 day every 2 weeks.

Q: What is the first video game you ever played ?
A: Crazy Arcade. (ED: Korean game that you can play in PCBangs : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Arcade)

Q: How did you come become a StarCraft player ?
A: I was a Starcraft1 player and i was trying to become a pro-gamer. I had some friends in the Prime team so after the release of SC2 i joined them in the team house.

Q: What are your friends and family thinking about your career choice ?
A: My friends are very curious because it's kind of original. For my family i had to convince them since i was in middle school but nowadays it's ok they accept it.

Q: How long have you been with the PRIME team ?
A: About 1 year.

Q: How long have you been in the team house ? How do you like it ?
A: In the beginning it was very akward because i didn't knew a lot of people but Creator helped me a lot to adapt and since everyone is really friendly in here, nowadays it just feels like a family.

Q: How would describe your play style ?
A: I like to attack first and be agressive but always back it up with strong macro.

Q: I watched you practice several times and i saw you are always very high ranked in the Korean ladder. But it seems that you can't get through the qualifier tournament for the individual tournaments, what is the reason for this ?
A: I also think my skill level is high enough to qualify and i couldn't understand why i was failing at the qualifier so i asked my team mates. MaruPrime told me that i was lacking tournament experience and i think this is my problem.

Q: You played in GSTL and at the last game you finally managed to win your first televised game. Do you feel that after winning on the stage you can control your nerve better ?
A: First time i played the GSTL, i was very nervous to play in Public. After winning against GuMiho i was feeling so relieved and happy that i completely misplayed the next game and lost really hard against Hurricane :D !

Q: Give me either the top 5 best SC2 players or the strongest player for each race
A: #1 Maru #2 INnoVation #3 Soulkey
Except those 3, i think everyone else is pretty similar.

Q: Who do you think is gonna win Blizzcon ?
A: MaruPrime

Q: You just won a plane ticket and can go anywhere you want tomorrow. Where do you go ?
A: France.

Q: What is your favorite food ?
A: Chicken.

Q: With beer ?
A: AAAAaaahh no ~ (ED: Friend chicken and beer is a very common thing to do in Korea but legal drinking age is 19 )

Q: Favorite movie or TV Show ?
A: Radiostar. It's a korean talk show and it's funny.

Q: Favorite music ?
A: I usually listen to hip-hop music.

Q: Do you listen to music when you play ?
A: It's forbidden to listen to music when playing but sometimes i'm doing it.

Q: Do you read any books or comics ?
A: No.

Q: Anything else to add ?
A: Since MKP changed game i want everyone to know that from now on i will carry the team.

Q: Can you please introduce yourself ?
A: My name is Joo Jin Hyuk, i am 20 years old and i play Terran. Nice to meet you.

Q: Are you a full time progamer these days ?
A: Actually i am a student but i skipped these semester to focus on pro-gaming. I am trying to change school actually.

Q: What were you studying before and what do you plan on study next ?
A: When i was in university they knew i was trying to be a progamer so i had a special status and it was ok to skip some classes. Now i don't want to go back to study until i achieve something as a pro gamer and it will probably take 2 to 3 years.

Q: When was the first time you played a computer game ?
A: I remember a shooter game called "Pochulka".

Q: How did you get into competitive gaming in the first place and made the transition to being a Starcraft2 progamer ?
A: When i was young, my mom and dad were working so i was alone at home with my brother a lot and we played a lot of game. One day i turned on the TV and saw the Starcraft games and i was very impressed to see that the game could also be a real competition.

Q: Was there a player you particularly liked to watch ?
A: In star1 i liked to watch Lee Jae Dong, for star2 i like to watch IM.MVP

Q: How is being a progamer accepted by your friends and family ?
A: Usually i am an enthusiast person but with programing it's different and my parent can feel that i am truly passionate about it so they cheer for me.

Q: You arrived in the team house with ChancePrime ?
A: No no no, he arrived before me and me i just arrived 3 month ago.

Q: How is life in the team house ?
A: Living in the team house feels like being on a trip with my high school friend. Also there are rules that makes the adaptation very easy.

Q: Who is the easiest person to live with and who is the hardest person to live with ?
A: There is no one with whom the cohabitation is difficult, but it's easier for me to spend time with ChancePrime because he is my dongsaeng. (ED. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dongsaeng)

Q: Prime has a big history with Terran players. How does it feel being the Terran rookie in a team that had legendary Terran players carrying it ?
A: Before i came i knew that Prime was famous for its Terran line-up. Now that i am a member i want to make a lot of effort to be one of those players. I see it as a motivation.

Q: Your id actually means "one" in german, is it on purpose because it fits well with the team name ?
A: Yes i choose that ID because of this reason.

Q: Can you actually speak German ?!
A: Aha nono !

Q: So is there a reason to pick a german word or is it just because it sounds nice ?
A: I just though german has a nice sound.

Q: How would you describe your play style ?
A: I like to be aggressive and rely on my control and micro-management.

Q: Prime Style ! If you had to compare your level to Code S player, where do you think you are at today ?
A: I think nowadays i'm more challenger league level player, i don't have the level for Code S just yet.

Q: How did you end up playing for Prime ?
A: Actually i majored ESPORTS in university and my professor suggested me as a recruit when there was news that progamer spots were opening.

Q: Wow, what university is that ?
A: Chungnam Techno University. (ED. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunnam_Techno_University - looks like they sponsor couple LoL team : http://lol.gamepedia.com/Chunnam_Techno_University)

Q: Is it the same university that is sponsoring New Star HoSeo ?
A: No it's not.

Q: Can you give me your top3 Starcraft players ?
A: Terran: Maru
Zerg : Soulkey
Protoss : Dear

Q: Can you give me your top3 Starcraft players, but NOT korean ?
Terran: SjoW
Zerg: DIMAGA
Protoss: NaNiwa

Q: Why are you laughing when you say Naniwa's name ?
A: I heard there was a lot of scandals around him maybe ?

Q: Yeah, foreigners either love or hate Naniwa. Do you think that players with strong personality, that can sometimes make scandals, are a good thing or a bad thing for the game ?
A: If it's not to much, i think it's good.

Q: If tomorrow you get a free plane ticket to go anywhere you want, where do you go ?
A: Australia. There are a lot of Korean people going there so i want to check it out to.

Q: Favorite food ?
A: Kimchi Jigae.

Q: Favorite movie or TV Show ?
A: My favorite movie is Leon.

Q: Favorite music ?
A: I like the ballads.

Q: Favorite books or comic book ?
A: I like One Piece but i read a lot of books to, i read very regularly.

Q: You can remove one unit from SC2, which unit do you choose ?
A: Mothership core.

Q: You get a spell from the game in the real life, which one would you choose ?
A: I would choose blink.

Q: Any last word to finish the interview ?
A: I am new but i will always enter the competitions and practice a lot so keep an eye on me !

Q: Can you please introduce yourself ?
A: Hello, my name is Jung Chan Woo, i am 16 years old and i play Protoss.

Q: You just said "Hello" in English, can you speak english ?
A: I don't but i could try to introduce myself in english.

Q: Well the interview will be transcript to text so i don't think it's necessary. You are very young, are you still going to school or are you a full time progamer ?
A: I quit school just after i entered the team.

Q: How long has it been ?
A: I came here late spring 2013, it's about 6 month now.

Q: What is the first video game you remember ever playing ?
A: Super Mario.

Q: On Famicom or Superfamicom ?
A: It wasn't a Nintendo. (ED. There was a total ban on Japanese cultural import in Korea until 1998, but you could still buy consoles with all the popular nintendo games on it).

Q: How did you got into competitive gaming and especially Starcraft ?
A: Actually my father brought the Starcraft 1 CD and he wanted to play the game after the work when he comes home. So i was using the CD when my father was not using it. In the beginning it was a hobby but i slowly got addicted.

Q: Did you used to watch things like OSL or ProLeague ?
A: Of course and I was always trying to learn from the pros.

Q: Are there any players you really liked to watch ?
A: For Star1 i liked to watch Lee Jae Dong, for SC2 i like to watch Liquid`HerO.

Q: What are the views of your friends and family about being a progamer ?
A: Everybody is being supportive because i'm very young and i'm on TV. They all cheer for me !

Q: How did you enter the Prime team ?
A: I had a friend in the Azubu team, Patience (formerly known as LucyPrime). So he recommended me as a player and i did the tryout. I wanted it really bad and i succeeded.

Q: How many times did you try the qualifier for WCS/GSL ?
A: I tried about 4 times. I feel sad about loosing the qualifier tournament.

Q: Yeah it's very hard. I'm sure you will succeed soon ! How would you describe your play style ?
A: Whatever the matchup, i always try to attack. Even tho i'm protoss and we should focus on defense first, i always try to attack and sometimes it can make me loose ^_^

Q: If you had to rate your level compare to Code S players, where would you stand ?
A: I think i'm a little bit under the Code S level, but if i prepare really well i think i'm about Code S level.

Q: Do you think your play style fits more weekend tournament or tournament where the preparation is more important ?
A: Since i focus a lot on aggression, i think my style is more fitted to weekend tournaments where you have a to play a lot of games in row quickly. It's not that i don't want to prepare for big games tho !

Q: Can you tell us about your ID and why you picked it ?
A: Actually i want to change my ID, but the coach made my ID. Since i have the character 찬 ("Chan") in my name and i'm at Chance at being a new Protoss player for Prime.

Q: Oh yeah ? And can you tell us what will be your new ID?
A: Remember.

Q: Because you want to be remembered ?
A: I used to play for a foreign team and my nickname was wildmore but i think it was a little bit to aggressive and i want to have a softer ID.

Q: What team did you use to play for ?
A: OG Gaming on the NA server.

Q: How was that experience ? Being in a foreign team compare to a Korean team.
A: Korean gamers always have rules and follow them. Their play style tend to be standard. Foreigner players are very free and have no boundaries and are always doing unexpected and confusing things in the game.

Q: How does it feel living in the team house ?
A: I really like to live in here because i can be with all my team mates when i practice.

Q: Give me your top 5 player :
Liquid`HerO SKT.Rain sOs Dear SaSe
I put sase in there because of his play style. I watch his stream a lot, i don't think his level is top notch but i really love his style, i think it's truly outstanding.

I want to add RootMinigun because i learned a lot from him and his style.

Q: Did you use to practice together ?
No but I met him on the ladder and i won.

Q: I'm surprised you know so much about the foreigner Starcraft players.
A: I really like them and i would really love to play foreign tournaments.

Q: If you had the chance to play WCS Europe or WCS NA, would you rather play that ?
A: I would love to play in those tournaments yeah ! I'm down for it.

Q: Who do you think will win Blizzcon ?
A: I'm not sure who will be there exactly.

Q: MaruPrime, Innovation, Soulkey, Jaedong, Rain, sOs, …
A: I think MaruPrime or sOs.

Q: Tomorrow you get a free plane ticket to go anywhere you want, where do you go ?
A: America or Australia.

Q: Where in America ? East Coast or West Coast ?
A: If i have enough time, i would go to every single state.

Q: Favorite food ?
A: Rice.

Q: Favorite movie or TV Show ?
A: I like action movie or war movie like saving private Ryan.

Q: Favorite music ?
A: I like international Pop song, especially One direction.

Q: Favorite book or comic ?
A: Not really no. I really like movies.

Q: Anything to add ?
A: I hope everybody will remember me because i really want to play in foreign tournament so i will practice hard to make it happen.

Q: Please introduce yourself.
A: Hi, My name is Jang Hyun, my ID is Splendid, i've been in the teamhouse for three month.

Q: How old are you ?
A: 19 [ED. that's korean age so he is 18 or 17].

Q: What is the first video game you ever played ?
A: My parents own a PC Bang so i used to always see my father play Lineage and i wanted to play to but he forbid me to play it because he though i would get addicted, so i started to play Starcraft instead.

Q: I guess you used to watch PL, OSL, MSL…is there a player you particularly liked to watch ?
A: I like to watch Rain and Parting because they have a similar style to me. + Show Spoiler +

Q: How did you end up in the Prime team ?
A: I knew Creator since quite some time and he promised me that he will make me pass the tryout if i can join the Grandmaster league. I managed to enter Grandmaster but i didn't told him. He messaged me himself when he found out and asked me to join the team.

Q: So before joining the teamhouse you used to be in high school and now you playing full time ?
A: I am still going to high school but i have a special schedule so i can focus on progaming.

Q: Did you ever try to play in the Code A qualifier ?
A: I tried the IPL qualifier couple of month ago[ED. He did say IPL but even in September 2013 there was no IPL anymore so i think he mistaken it with another tournament like IEM or MLG]. My opponent was a really strong a famous player and he beat me so that's kind of bad.

Q: How do you rate your skill level ? If you have to play the Code A qualifier tomorrow do you think you can pass ?
A: This competition is really special and quite different from the other one, but if i have enough preparation i think i can do it.

Q: You said your style is similar to Parting and Rain. I would describe it as conservative and solid with sometimes aggressive builds on specific maps. Is it how you would describe your style to ?
A: My style is may be not aggressive, but if i can macro well it is perfect to win.

Q: What do you think about other players like Dear who focus on a very aggressive brand of Protoss based on timing attacks ?
A: To understand and master the race one need to learn properly scouting and reacting. It's true that to win you have to use aggression and risky build to win but first one need to get the basics down perfectly.

Q: Who do you think is the strongest player for each race ?
A: Protoss : Rain and Dear - Terran : INnoVation and Bomber - Zerg : Symbol

Q: Same thing but with foreigner players ?
A: Zerg : Stephano

Q: ...Did you know Stephano retired already ?
A: Even tho he retired i consider him as the father of the Zerg. He is a legend and no one can equal him.

Then for Protoss there is NaNiwa.

Q: And Terran ?
A: ….

Q: Yeah for the foreigner community it's always a big topic that although Korean terrans are very strong, foreigners terrans tends be way weaker than zergs and protoss. Do you think there is a reason for this ?
A: The main difference is that foreigners are playing the game whereas Koreans are studying the game, so we know more about timings and specific strategies. This is very important for Terran.

Q: MaruPrime just left for Blizzcon, do you think he will win or do you think it will be someone else ?
A: MaruPrime is absolutely a genius. He is not the type of player that practices a lot, he would sometime skip entires day of practice saying that his wrist is hurting him to much, but he stills always win. If he practices he lot i think he is invincible.

Q: I give you a free plane ticket that leaves for anywhere you want tomorrow, where do you go ?
A: MMMhhhhh…I saw some beautiful beaches on the internet with transparent and turquoise water…

Q: I guess where you want to go is south east asia : Vietnam, Thailand, Phillipine and Indonesia have awesome landscapes if you like beaches and islands. If you could take one player with you, who would you take ?
A: [Splendid peaks outside of the room and checks that no one is listening to the interview] My girlfriend ^_^.

[ED. Before somebody try to interpret this to : Splendid is dating Barbie, he is not. He is referring to his girlfriend who is not a member of the team, basically saying he would take her over any member of the team]

Q: If you could remove one unit from the game ?
A: I am afraid you will blame me for saying this : Viper.

Q: It's ok. It's just a fun question anyways. Choose one spell or ability in the game that you would like to have in real life.
A: All the spells are for killing stuff, so it's useless to have any of them in real life ! If there is one thing i would choose it's invisibility.

Q: Favorite food ?
A: Daeji Kogi [ED. Marinated Pork, really good at BBQ].

Q: Favorite movie ?
A: I don't have any time to watch movies or TV Shows !

Q: Favorite music ?
A: There is not anything in particular but love to sing and go to nulebang.

Q: Who is the best singer in the team ?
A: MKP.

Q: Favorite book ?
A: There is no way i would read a book !!

Q: Any last word ?
A: You better be my fan right now because i'm gonna be really famous.