TaeJa post-retirement interview "Since I couldn't practice…

Earlier in August, we saw one of the all-time Terran greats finally bring his career to an end. TaeJa had teased his retirement for years, but always found a reason to stick around and win more championships. Knowing TaeJa to also be one of the worst interviewees of all time, this writer dared to ask the Liquid legend why this GSL run was truly the final chapter.


Wax: You've finally played your last official match and are properly retired. How do you feel?

TaeJa: I feel some bitterness. As my enlistment day comes closer, the more I feel I've really retired.

When do you enter the military? What do you plan to do until then?

I enter the military on November 10th. I was enjoying competitive play on Overwatch until now, but now that the season is over I'm spending my days being bored. I don't have anything to do so I occasionally play StarCraft, trying to hit Grandmaster with Protoss.

I heard you're pretty good at Overwatch. How high did you climb on ladder? Also, what are your main characters?

I got up to 79 skill rating with Zarya, but I had to take 1~2 weeks off preparing for GSL so I finished the season at 77.

A lot of fans say you're skilled enough to continue as a pro, and you looked good in GSL as well. Why did you choose to retire at this point?

When Legacy of the Void came out, I wanted to try hard as well. But whenever I put in a lot of effort, my arm started hurting, so I couldn't. Also, since I had to take care of my mandatory military service at some point, so I decided to enlist.

You're called one of the most talented player ever, especially in Korea. Do you feel like you managed to get the most out of your talent? Do you have any regrets?

I wasn't able to practice properly because of injuries, but I think I grew in other aspects because of that. Since I couldn't practice a lot, I didn't practice meaninglessly. I put thought into every single game I played.

Still, I think sometimes that I could have taken care of my health properly.

You announced your retirement in June, and went on to have a good season in GSL. Your comeback vs. Zest was especially notable. Did you expect to perform so well?

Preparing for the Ro16, I didn't have any idea what you had to do to beat Protoss. After losing the first game, I thought "am I just going to lose like this?" So I went for the Concussive Shell-Marauder build Journey used in Season 1, looking to counter a Dark Templar-Prism strategy. It ended up working out perfectly. I got confidence from winning that game, and I think I was able to pull off the comeback because of that.

Have you thought about your future some more? I think you previously said you wanted to be a social studies teacher, but have your thoughts on post-military life changed? Any thoughts on returning to gaming?

I plan to think about my future during the two years I'm in the military. Nothing is determined yet.

You said you felt some bitterness after retiring. Why was that?

I watched some VODs of my old games, and there were some games I had regrets about. A lot of past memories are coming to mind.

Any games you remember in particular? Any that were especially meaningful?

Game four against Life at BlizzCon 2014.

The WCS 2016 changes are a big talking point in the foreign scene right now. As a Korean player, how was this year?

I think last year was better.

...Okay let's wrap things up. Anything you want to say to end?

I felt good that I was able go out by giving the fans a good showing until the very end. I'll never forget my time as a StarCraft 2 progamer, and I want to say thank you to my fans.