EPTToday I have a chat with Pavel "PiLiPiLi" Pilipenko, WCS Challenger in season 2 this year and entertaining twitch streamer with strong showings in the OSC Masters Cups
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Q: To ease us into the interview, how long have you been involved with Starcraft, and have you always played Protoss?
A: When I was around 6 years old I got introduced to broodwar and I played a bit through the campaign and against bots but that was all. Starcraft wasnt and still not a popular game in Kazakhstan (where I lived for 17 years) . Most people there prefer dota and csgo and never even heard of sc2.
But around Heart Of the Swarm's release one of my friends got me really exited about starcraft and I decided to buy it. I started playing with all races but chose Protoss at the end because I had really high win ratio with 4 gate and 1 base roach/1 base 5 rax allins weren't working as well :D
Q: Please describe your playstyle in 10 words or less
A: Protoss abuser
Does that work?
Q: Yes, yes it does
With all the games you've played, on ladder and in tournaments, who would you consider your greatest rival at the present time?
A: On ladder during HotS times I used to play hitman a lot and that was hella frustrating. His PvP is just insane and we usually were the only ones playing NA ladder on most nights but I wouldn't really call it a rivalry.
I think my biggest rival is jonsnow. We ALWAYS plays each other in WCS qualifiers or other online cups and we always go head to head.
http://aligulac.com/inference/match/?bo=1&ps=5499,4388 we are 10-10 in tournament matches :D
Q: If you had a chance to play Jonsnow in a BoX showmatch, how many games would you want to challenge him to, and why?
A: LotV or HotS?
Q: Which would you prefer if given the choice?
A: With current balance probably HotS haha
Bo3 probably because Bo5/Bo7 is very hard for toss imo because of the maps: if it goes to last 2-3 games you are forced to play on dash and terminal, bridgehead, and moonlight which isn't very good for Protoss
Q: A fair point!
On the topic of showmatches, and the Americas ladder, you have had a successful year. You've won three ESL Americas Open Cups (# 27, 28, & 38) and finished in the top 3 of NA Ladder Heroes twice. You've also taken a number of scalps in various online showmatches.
Aside from your excellent play leading into WCS Challenger, which we will get to shortly, which victories this year meant the most to you?
A: Well the biggest win was win over myself
This was the first year I actually started to compete in tournaments
and I started doing decently and winning some money
Lemme try to find a link to one of the tournaments I think I did well
This one: http://aligulac.com/results/events/45636-SEA-Masters-Cup-55/
That was a tournament I was definitely proud of
I managed to beat DemiLove, HuK and finally beat Kelazhur after being down 0-2 and I lost to him in like 4 other tournaments before this one 0-3 every time
I was very happy about that result
Also I think my showmatch vs HuK organized by Rotti was like my first step into competitive Starcraft2. That was my first big win for sure
After that I started doing well in other online cups/qualifiers
Q: And then came Season 2 of WCS . Could you share with us how you prepared for that, and how you felt breaking into the Challenger league?
A: I didn't actually have any special preparation for WCS qualfiers. I did some long ladder sessions on barcode off stream 1-2 weeks before qualifiers and was saving replays for each potential opponent in WCS qualifiers but that was it.
Also I think it is very important to not be burnt out before playing important matches so I always prefer to take a break off Starcraft for 1-2 days before important matches/qualifiers
Those days I usually either offrace, watch replays, or watch streams
Getting into challenger was huge for me
I couldnt even believe it for like an hour
I honestly didn't expect myself to qualify but I had really good runs in the first 2 qualifiers and that gave me confidence for 3rd qualifier where I managed to qualify
I went ham on twitter that day
It looks pretty silly for me now, but back then I just couldnt control my emotions
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/IlsatwM.jpg)
I didnt even spell her name right (facepalm)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/s8GlbTR.jpg)
I was so happy :D
Q: It was an incredible moment, and a lot of folks here in Oz were cheering you on!
How did achieving that milestone affect your motivation as a player and streamer?
A: It gave me huge motivation to start streaming more and more as I got featured on TL and was getting more and more viewers every day, but I think it did hurt me as a player a bit
I started to be overconfident and often lose to players I shouldnt lose in tournaments because I just didnt take them seriously
"who is this guy? some random low gm... I cant lose I am WCS challenger"
Then I lose :D
But the feeling of winning in the tournaments and beating big players really motivates me to keep practising during the tough times where everything seems to go wrong
Q: You've certainly made a splash in the Oseanic Starcraft 2 Championship Series!
You mentioned earlier your performance in Masters Cup #55, and you have had a strong showing in that particular OSC event: Three 2nd Place finishes (MC #55, 57, & 59), and 3rd place in MC #51 & 52.
Apart from the Masters cup, are there any other OSC events you'd consider participating in on a regular basis?
(A handy link for those unfamiliar with the OSC: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Oseanic_Championship_Series )
A: The reason I usually only participate in masters cup is timezones
I still attend college full time so its hard to play most of online cups as they usually start during uncomfortable times or during work days when I am at college
Also online cups tend to take a long time so entering it means you will have to at least spend 2-3 hours playing it with some downtime
But I am willing to attend every online cup that offers any prize as long timezone is good for me
Q: It would be awesome if timezones permitted us to see more of you in the brackets, that is for certain!
Even with that, though, you are currently 25th on the OSC World Rankings for Season 3 - http://tinyurl.com/OSC2015
Have you ever considered an OSC showmatch, where players challenge each other with some (or all) of their OSC points on the line to improve their rankings?
Looking at the current rankings, who would you want to challenge?
A: Yea I would like to play those, but I am a bit lazy to organize it
I think EnDerr being rank 1 is weird to say the least. Would definitely like to steal some of his points.
For others that are higher than me: Blysk, arc, probe, alopex, nxz, azure, wally, crimson, and kingkong would be players I would be most confident against.
Also would be fun to play against byun as he is currently rank 2 on aligulac ratings but I am not sure if I want to lose my OSC points :D
Q: It might be fun if something like that could be arranged! (I know several of those players will see this. I'll make sure of it, Kappa)
With your experience in online events, what is your favourite Starcraft 2 tournament format to play in?
(i.e Daily Cups, Single/Double Elim, GSL/WCS style ongoing group stage, round robin, etcetera?)
A: I hate double elimination thats for sure
It always makes a tournament last forever
I enjoy group stages especially when they announce what your opponents are going to be in advance and you have enough time to study your opponents and prepare good builds
WCS NA qualifier system is good too, where they spread good players so they don't play each other early, Bo3 each round single elimination
Q: Hopefully we'll see you in WCS Premier sometime!
You've been very active during a time when there was a soft region lock in WCS, and have had a chance to become familiar with the AM scene - what are your thoughts on the starcraft scene in the Americas at present?
And linked to that, what are your thoughts on the OSC, who run the Masters Cups, partnering with more events in the AM server regions?
A: the current WCS system is fine imo, only concern is there are more and more Koreans are willing to complete in WCS na 2016 and NA usually only gets around 16? spots for challenger and given that we already have polt, stardust, jd, hydra, true, apocalypse,violet planning to play WCS na making challenger as non Korean becomes quite a challenge
I am obviously against hard region lock simply because that will mean I cant play WCS na since I still have Kazakhstan citizenship
The OSC partnering with more and more NA events is amazing
I wish that had been done earlier in the year
Would make it easier to collect osc points
Q: Don't worry! There will be plenty of opportunities in Legacy of the Void!
Speaking of the new expansion, with the beta almost finished, what are your thoughts on the state of the game at present?
A: I am kind of on tilt right now :D
But current frustration aside I really enjoy playing lotv
The game is really fast which I think might make it harder for new players to get into
But we've got archon mode for that I guess
I dont really know anything about TvT ZvZ and ZvT
but PvP is a much better match up atm
It always comes down to stalker disruptor wars where player with better mechanics is almost always gonna win
while in HotS there were a lot of build order losses
The only problem I feel that in HotS there were a lot of different openings and army compositions while now it seems blink stalker disruptor is the best choice no matter what and I feel like it will become really boring with time
for now watching blink disruptors wars is really exciting tho
PvZ is very hard for Protoss but latest balance patch shows that blizzard understands the issue and hopefully it will become better soon
PvT seems like most balanced match up atm since last liberator change
Basically every Protoss match up became way more action packed and no more 200/200 turtle styles or just massing stalkers in PvZ
Q: I know that I have been enjoying the different feel and pace to ZvP/ZvT/ZvZ in the new expansion, and hopefully some tweaking will make things a little more balanced all round.
What are your thoughts on Archon Mode tournaments, and do you have a potential Archon partner already in mind if their popularity really takes off?
A: I dont like archon mode tbh
The reason I enjoy sc2 is because you only rely on yourself
I have nothing against playing with a friend in archon mode after a school day just to relax
But competitive archon isnt something I would enjoy
It is very hard for me to find player who was similar playstyle and similar habits to me
But if archon mode actually become a big thing I think playing with hitman would be the best
Q: That is a terrifying thought! You'd be a dangerous combination, for sure.
Would you share with us all a bit more about yourself outside of SC2? Favourite food, music, pastimes etcetera? What are you studying?
A: I study computer science but that might change
I honestly like almost every cuisine
I just dislike really spicy food and cooked vegetables
Seafood is probably my favorite
About music is really the same
I can listen to any genre as long as the song is good
But I do listen to Russian music the most
I enjoy playing tennis and swimming and thankfully I got it easily accessible in my community.
I travel quite a lot
I also used to play poker a lot
Q: Which are your favourite bands, if folks want to check them out?
A: hm
Well I enjoy Linkin Park
Limp Bizkit
Logic
Mostly I never look at who made the song
Also I mostly listen to music only when playing sc2 so remembering names of song or artist isn't a priority :D
Q: Haha, fair enough!
Travel wise, where would you most like to visit next?
A: For now I just want to travel around America since I got that opportunity
My favorite was going to England/France but it was mostly because I was going with my friends rather than with my family
Q: On a personal note, is there a moment in time which you consider particularly important or formative for who you are as a player and person now?
A: Well 2 years ago I moved to america
That was a big change in my life for sure
I didn't even speak English and I had to finish high school
Also of course making friends with close to 0 english was really hard so I started playing a lot of sc2
I also started to stream a lot which helped to my English a lot, and helped me to improve my mechanics as I was streaming quite a lot
Basically my improvement in English and Starcraft were kind of going along as I started playing sc2 and learning English almost at the same time
Q: That is incredible. Your English now is really quite good!
Could you share with us some of your goals for the near future, both in SC2 and outside of SC2?
A: Outside of sc2 I just want to get my degree and get working experience. The dream would be to get a position at Blizzard one day
For sc2 I am actually taking a break from streaming currently so I can focus on improving as a player, so hopefully I will get some good tournament results in 2016 to make up for not streaming
Q: I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of your name in finals brackets!
Finally, please feel free to self-promote, give sponsors shout-outs, and drop some links here if you want folks to follow you on the various social media/streaming sites
A: Thanks for inviting me to do the interview :D
https://twitter.com/PiLiPiLi96 - since I stopped streaming actively following my twitter is best
I'm currently teamless
Shout out to all people that were supporting me during my streaming "career"
There is just way too many people that helped/are helping me in my sc2 path
Q: Thank you for spending the time with me PiLiPiLi!
I can't wait to see what you do with Protoss in Legacy of the Void
A: :D
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Apart from being an all-round fun guy and entertaining streamer, PiLiPiLi is also one of our new coaches for OSC subscription supporters. Please show him some love for helping support the SEA scene!
As a bonus, you can learn more about PiLiPiLi in Feardragon's series Breaking Out
GLHF all!
~ x5.Crescendo
<This article has been cross-posted from SC2SEA.com>
