EPT(link has pictures of sOs holding a probe plushie in various ways)
[Park Sang Jin’s EStory]
sOs, the Last HOTS Protoss Talks About LOTV
Until the end of 2011, having an international Starcraft league was like a dream. Then, the World Championship Series which started in 2012 eventually brought together all StarCraft 2 individual leagues across the globe by 2013, and Blizzcon became a stage where the best StarCraft 2 player of the year could be crowned.
At the StarCraft Grand Finals of 2015, sOs, the Protoss from Jin Air Greenwings, took the big trophy home. Also a Grand Finals winner in 2013, sOs defeated the 2014 champion Life to become the first player to win 2 Grand Finals.
sOs has constantly proved himself to be a strong contestant, especially in tourneys in which the prize money exceeds $100k. What would he be doing now that he had conquered HOTS once more? We met sOs in the Jin Air Greenwings quarters practicing hard with the newest expansion of Starcraft. There was no trace of arrogance in the hard working player even after becoming the number one player not only once, but twice.
Q. How does it feel to be on the top for the second time?
It was completely different from 2013. I started from the bottom this year so I was really hungry for some wins. As I clawed my way up, I began to want more. I am happy to add another win to my career, and I think more people are cheering me on every time. I think the crowd congratulating me grew even larger with my second win.
When I first became a pro, I wanted to leave my mark in Protoss history, even if I wasn’t considered the best player around. I think I got a step closer to my goal with this second Grand Final win.
Q. You didn’t do so brilliantly in WoL, but suddenly began to rise in HOTS.
Back in the WoL days, I couldn’t practice as much because I was doing both SCBW and WoL. There were players who started off with WoL and it was hard to chase after them since they were much more experienced in the game. In HOTS, everyone was unranked again. I had the confidence I could do better than anyone if we both had equal starts.
Also, HOTS is a game really suited towards my playstyle. When I thought of a build and tried it out, it usually worked really well. Since I prepared for Proleague more than individual leagues, I had to have new strategies every game. I focused on catching my opponents off guard, and doing what they would not expect. One of the strategies based off of that was my cannon rushes. People always ask me how much I practice cannon rushing, but it became second nature after a while. After cannon rushing became like second nature, I began to decide whether to cannon rush based off of the opponent’s drone count. I usually get the feel for it through ladder, and use it on teammates before Proleague.
Q. What are the reactions of your teammates to your cannon rushes?
I usually opt for a macro game, but I start cannon rushing when I feel the map is bad or my opponent is doing really well. If it works out, I start perfecting it based off on predictions of my opponent’s build order. In individual leagues, I really cannon rush based on gut instinct. When my teammates get cannon rushed during practiced, they first say ‘cannons OP’, and then they comment that the cannon smith is going for an easy win again.
Q. In the group selection for the 2015 Starleague Season 2, Trap declared you as one of the biggest reasons that made his life miserable. He says you nag him a lot.
It’s a misunderstanding. I’m not nagging anybody. Silent team life isn’t really fun, so I talk a lot to other people. Right now though, I end up muttering to myself more because I’m practicing LOTV so I need to keep my mentality stable.
Q. Is LOTV that hard?
I haven’t played the game much compared to other players. However, I think the balance is lacking right now. I know this sounds like whining, but all the Protoss have trouble playing right now. I think LOTV Protoss definitely needs a lot more experimentation until it starts to hold its own.
LOTV Zerg is strong like HOTS Protoss. LOTV Zerg is strong early game, mid game, and even the late game. I first thought I just sucked at LOTV, but everyone told me they have trouble against Zerg as well. So I gave up and began to experiment and do what I want.
Ravagers are really hard to play against. Ravagers can be used both offensively and defensively. While I’m struggling with the roach/ravager force, Mutalisks begin to cruise the skies and I am just left pondering where it all went wrong.
Lurkers are really good too. I have to use Disruptors against them since they are produced at about the same moment of the game, but there is a big difference between the amount of Disruptors I can produce and Lurkers morphing in. I kill one Lurker, then two takes its place. It was harder to deal with than I originally thought. Adepts and Disruptors do help, but I still feel other race got the better units.
PvT was really easy at the start of LOTV, but Terrans improved exponentially after all the pros began to play LOTV, so it’s not as easy to kill them now. It’s still easier than PvZ though.
Q. What do you want changed?
I think tweaking Protoss could mess up the entire balance of the game. Instead, I think Ravagers and Lurkers should be nerfed. It’s a really delicate issue so I can’t really say much, but those two units are really good right now.
Q. How are your teammates dealing with LOTV?
Trap is actually better in LOTV than me right now. Maru is boss in Terran, and Cure is doing as well as Maru. I don’t know too much about other teams because barcode, but Solar and Soulkey are doing really good for Zerg.
Maru is stubborn, but he does take advice. His style is changing slowly. Some say Maru doesn’t play well in the mid/late game, but I think he plays well in all stages. I feel like Maru is a guy born to play games.
Rogue improved a lot this year as well. He was an ordinary maco Zerg, but he started to experiment with some of his own builds and comes up with really cool ones that even I have never thought of. I think that is why he has done so well in Proleague. He’s continuing to work on stranger builds after becoming motivated with his wins, so I think it’s safe to expect some weird stuff coming out from him in LOTV.
Q. Creator joined Jin Air recently.
I came back from Blizzcon, and Creator joined a few days later. I like it now that there are three Protoss in the team house.
I always thought of Creator as the outgoing type. His reactions on air were exaggerated and he even broke a monitor once, so I was kinda awed, but he is actually a really calm dude. I envy his solid macro builds since I feel I am a weaker macro player. I think we can learn a thing or two from each other.
I am also jealous of Creator’s age. He isn’t even 20 yet. I believe in the potential he has and think Creator can become big later on.
Q. Do you consider anyone as your rival?
No. Instead of trying to make rivals, I focus on trying to be the best Protoss player there is. I’ve never thought of anyone as being my rival or anything.
Q. In 2013 GSL, Soulkey singled you out as his next rival after MenSol.
I thought Soulkey quit playing games entirely. I hadn’t seen him around and he never talked about gaming, even when I called him once in a while. I figured he was enjoying life or something. I met him recently, and he was really good in LOTV. I think he’s a kind of genius. Even so, Soulkey can’t call himself my rival with the way he played in the end of HOTS.
I am really surprised Soulkey made it back to such a top level form. It’s really hard to come back from a big slump, but Soulkey actually made it happen. I hope he gets even better so he doesn’t get called a washed out old man anymore (laughs).
Q. You are often seen on KT coach Ryu Won’s Facebook comments.
Its imperative that I tease coach Ryu Won when I get the chance. I have to strike first because he’s going to if I don’t.
Q. What are your goals for next season?
I want to get used to LOTV quickly and find my style so that I can win Proleague and individual leagues. I was overconfident, so I always lost important matches in Korean individual leagues. In foreign leagues I played with a calmer mindset, and I think that was the key to my success there.
Last year I received an award for most matches won in Proleague, but I didn’t do as well this year. I think my lackluster performance was due to my anxiety early on in the season when we didn’t do very well. Next year, if I begin to play poorly, I hope people will think that I will make a comeback later on, instead of thinking ‘welp, he was good while he lasted.’
Q. Last words for the fans.
I won a popularity award in the E-Sports Awards Ceremony this year. I was informed that it was based off of fan votes, and I am thankful for being included in the top 3. I want to thank my fans for the continuous love, and hopefully you guys don’t diss me too much when I play poor. I promise I will perform well in Korea as well!
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