IEM World Championship 2014: Pre-tournament Interviews

Oz and Revival — MaNa and Nerchio — StarDust and San — jjakji and TaeJa

IEM Season 8
World Championship

Countdown:

Detailed information on Liquipedia

Interviews by Waxangel

On March 13th, some of the best StarCraft 2 players in the world will gather in Katowice, Poland for a shot at winning the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship and its $100,000 grand prize. Not just the grand prize, but only prize.

IEM's decision to make the World Championship winner-take-all has been controversial, with some fans eagerly anticipating the heightened stakes, and other fans angered by the inequitable distribution of prizes.

But what do the players think? We asked two of the Terran players competing in the main bracket, mYi.jjakji and Liquid`TaeJa, for their thoughts.

Interviews have been edited and condensed.

mYi.jjakji

"When I won the GSL it was during a period where Terran was strong, so my championship was under-appreciated. That fact has always stayed in my head, so I think this period where Terran is weak is actually an opportunity for me."


How are you feeling ahead of IEM?
I got back from SeatStory Cup a few days ago, which only gave me about two days time before leaving to IEM. So instead of practicing, I've focused on getting rest and watching VODs. I think I'm at a level where I can win the tournament, and my physical condition should be good as well due to getting rest.

A lot of the players at SSC thought you would win the entire tournament. Where did things go wrong?
My skill level and condition were alright so I went to the tournament thinking that I had the highest chance to win as well.

When I played HyuN in the semifinals, I lost in our first game which took an hour and 20 minutes. More than mentally, it taxed me a lot physically. Also, because HyuN's style is so unique, a lot of situations I hadn't encountered in practice came out, and I reacted to them very poorly.

It was a tournament that I had been confident going into, but losing 0-3 in the semis took a big toll on me. I had to play the 3rd/4th place match in that state, so it affected my play a lot.

You qualified for IEM at a time when Terrans were really struggling. The recent balance patch has made it easier to play against Protoss; are you confident against Protoss in this tournament?
Yes, of the three things that were patched, two affected TvP. So MSC blink-stalker rushes are less common than before etc. I think now the better player wins in TvP.

I think my TvP is some of the best among all Terran players, so I'm confident. However, when I played at IEM Sao Paulo and IEM Cologne, I lost consecutively to Protoss players, so I did end up feeling that tournament games are different from practice.

When I won the GSL it was during a period where Terran was strong, so my championship was under-appreciated. That fact has always stayed in my head, so I think this period where Terran is weak is actually an opportunity for me.

This is probably the biggest tournament you've played in since then. Are you nervous about it?
I think I can play up to the semifinals without being very nervous, but after that the difference between $100,000 and $0 is probably going to make me very nervous, lol.

What do you think about that format? The GSL has a big gap between #1 and #2, but IEM is another story altogether.
I've talked to some pros about it, not all of them, but I don't think there's a single player out there who thinks it's good from a player's perspective. For the fans, I think it will be a very entertaining tournament. The format for this year is set, but I hope that next time they go back to their old format.

To bring up something a bit dated, you faced off against Leenock, your old GSL finals opponent, in the Ro8 of HomeStory Cup last year. How was it facing him again?
Well, I had the experience of beating him on a big stage, and at that time Leenock's form wasn't that good, so I felt that I would be able to win.

He's playing in the open bracket at IEM as well. What if you played him again?
He has a unique style so I think there will be some fun games, but of course I will win.

If you win IEM Katowice, it would be the second time in your career where you earn a ton of money at once. Any thoughts on where you'd spend it?
I haven't thought about it yet, it would be like counting your chickens before they hatch. I think most of the money I make before I go to the military I will save, and buy nice meals for the people I know.

Anyone at the tournament you are worried about or would like to avoid?
Looking at the list of players there's no one who's particularly difficult or I would like to avoid. I would like to meet players I've lost to in previous tournaments and get revenge on them, players like HyuN or Life.

Other players would lose confidence after a string of disappointing results. How do you manage to maintain your confidence?
I tend to get discouraged if I don't get the results I expected in tournaments, but I'm also the kind of person who forgets about it after a good night's sleep.

Alright, any final comments?
This is kind of out of nowhere - I planned to mention this in an interview after winning SSC.

On the train from the mYi house to Germany, there was a fan who recognized us so I took a picture with him and signed an autograph. As we were talking to him we came into our station, and we told him we were going to go to our hotel and have dinner. Suddenly, he told us that he wanted to pay for us and handed us 50 euros. Thanks to him we were able to have a tasty dinner, and I'm really thankful for that. It was also a new experience for me.

Even though I couldn't mention him in the champion's interview at SSC, I want to use this opportunity to say thank you Philip!

Also, I don't know if they'll see this interview, but I want to thank my girlfriend and family who are always on my side, and tell them I love them.

Liquid`TaeJa

You're one of the two invited players at IEM Katowice alongside sOs. How do you feel about getting invited?
I've never competed in an IEM before, so I'm glad I'm getting such a nice chance.

You're the king of $10,000 tournaments. Now you have a chance to make $100,000. Does that change the way you approach this tournament?
No, it doesn't change it. I just want to take first place because that's the only placement that has prize money.

There's a lot of talk around that format. What do you think about it personally?
I think second place will suffer a big blow.

So you want a better distribution?
Yes.

Some people are worried about your form or your mentality these days. What do you think?
I don't think I'm playing as well as I was before. Still, I'm trying to work hard.

What are your chances of winning then?

1 hour later

Are you alive?

20 minutes later

I think it's possible as long as I don't meet a Protoss in the early rounds.

Other players are doing pretty good in TvP due to the mine changes. It's still hard for you then?
TvP does happen to be easier than TvZ. However, because the common opinion is that TvP is hard, it ends up feeling hard to me as well. I think it will be okay to face a Protoss player.

San says you're one of the championship candidates for this tournament. Your thoughts?
The reason San says he can't win is because he actually does think he can win.

So who do you think are the top candidates to win? San?
And Life.

And you?
I don't know, I get nervous when I play these days.

So humble! Other players like PartinG and Life seem to get arrogant when they win. What do you think about that kind of attitude?

90 minutes later

It's good that they can be confident.

Good as in you're envious?
Yes

Ugh, GG. Let's just wrap. Anything you want to say to end?
I'll practice hard and try to win as many tournaments as I can in 2014.

Interviews: Waxangel
Photos: 7mk, ESL