Stats interview @IEM: Drinking with foreign pros, why SC2…

Eight-year StarCraft veteran Stats had a breakout year in 2016, winning the Korean Cross Finals and finishing in the top four of the WCS Global Finals. I caught up with the newly teamless Stats at IEM Gyeonggi to try and talk about WCS 2017. He hadn't read the actual announcement, so we ended up talking mostly about drinking.

*This interview has been edited and rearranged for clarity



Waxangel: How have you been since BlizzCon?

Stats: I’ve been well after BlizzCon. But because IEM matches were coming not long after in mid-December, I only took one or two days off before getting right back into practice.

You told me you didn’t give WCS 2017 a close look yet. In that case, could you point out some issues with 2016? What could have been improved for Korea?

I haven’t really thought about those kind of things deeply. If I have a game ahead of me, then I have a game. We had Proleague in 2016—it’s nice to have a lot of individual leagues, but even if you didn’t get to play in them, you could keep busy by preparing for Proleague. I’ve always kept myself busy that way, so I don’t know really know about problems with the format.

Is there a kind of awkwardness between the players regarding retirement? Like, wanting to retire, but then thinking about the prize money in a smaller pool of players.

I’ve told the guys who were considering retirement, that all the time you put in, and all the skill you built up in StarCraft, it would be a shame if you retired now. I’ve tried to convince people not to retire.

A lot of people retired before the 2016 season as well. Do you think the level of the game itself is still high?

I think the level of the game is very high. What should I call it, maybe ‘adjusting’ to the game? In the case of StarCraft II, it takes a lot of time to adjust to the game. It’s a difficult game to get into and bring up your skill level quickly.

Did you think about going back to Brood War? Some of your ex-teammates are doing that.

I did think about it. But I still think StarCraft II is more fun—I say that not having played Brood War at all recently—but I do enjoy playing StarCraft II more right now. So I haven’t really considered changing games seriously.

Why do you think StarCraft II is more fun? Does it fit you better?

There’s some of that, but I think in StarCraft II, the more I’ve played, the more I’ve figured out how things work, the cause and effect of things. I feel like I can keep perfecting and optimizing my game by working harder, so the game is fun to me.

You’re looking to join a foreign team right now. What are you looking for from a team? Do you have a lot of demands, or are you willing to join anyone?

A few teams contacted me after I sent out a tweet recently, and I was very thankful for that. However, I received a salary when I was on a KeSPA team, and there’s a certain level of salary I’m looking for…

It’s hard for them to meet that.

Yeah, it seems so. So I’m still looking.

Let’s try and make a pitch. What are your strengths as a player? “Highly skilled.”

*Laughs* I’m diligent, and I practice very hard *laughs*

But everyone says that. What do you think sets you apart from others?

I think, strangely, I play a lot better in tournaments.

A big game player?

Yeah, I think I’m strong at broadcast games, tournament games.

So you’re going to win a championship in 2017 for sure then, right?

Obviously, I always work hard with a championship as my goal. If I keep working hard and preparing like this, why wouldn't I reach that goal?

Do you think your playstyle is boring?

I do think so a lot, personally. Looking at the big picture, I want to say that’s a part of the Protoss race as a whole. But I can’t really complain, because not all Protoss players are like that… sOs… He’s so good in a weird way, so I don’t have any excuses.

You’re undoubtedly an excellent pro at the in-game portion of StarCraft. But to attract a foreign team, you have to be good at out-of-game things as well. What kind of effort are you making in that area?

You have to know English if you want to interact with international fans, so I’m planning on studying English in 2017.

Do you plan to stream for foreign fans via twitch, like soO?

Of course I plan to do so. However, I have some games ahead of me, and some things that I haven’t prepared yet. But once I’m ready, I’ll begin, early next year at the absolutely latest.

When you were with KeSPA, you sort of had a “boring” image. But I’ve heard you’re quite different in real life…

All the players who had to suffer living with me say that I’m amusing.

Do you think some of that will come out via Twitch?

I don’t think so at first, but if I keep at it, I think those aspects will start coming out.

How was HomeStory Cup?

It was great. It was the first time I experienced that atmosphere, with a party, practice, and tournament games going on in the same place. All the gamers are in such close quarters, talking to each other. It was a good chance to become closer with foreign pros, and also the Korean pros I came with,

Are there any foreign players you’re close with?

I remember two guys. A German player DnS—I only had a low MMR ID to practice on for Europe, so he lent me his ladder ID to practice on. Also, I remember Zanster, who came to me and said “we have to drink.”

Did you?

I did, but Zanster wasn’t there at the time. I saw him again when I was already drunk. He asked me if I was okay, if I had drank a lot. So he gave me water and tried to take care of me.

This isn’t about HSC, but I also remember Neeb from BlizzCon. When he first saw me, he came up to me and said “big fan!” and told me he was a fan of mine. So I was thankful for that.

Did you guys drink a lot? I saw a lot of Twitter photos of the aftermath.

Yeah. Stephano, he came up to me and said “I’m buying all these drinks, so why aren’t you, too?” So I said it’s because I don’t have any money on me right now. aLive was next to me at the time, and he said “hey I have 50 euros on me right now, you want to borrow it?” even though he didn’t have to mention that… So I took that and bought what, tequila, vodka, jaegerbombs? And we all had a toast.

I’ve heard from foreigners that Korean players can’t drink much. Is that so?

That’s true. They’re so good at drinking. Lambo, he taught me the technique to drinking a lot. He said you have to hold your breath while you’re drinking, and then start breathing again as you drink some chaser like red bull. But it really worked, it made liquor really drinkable. So I took four shots in a row after that, and I was fine at the time. But 30 minutes later, I was gone *laughs*

Was it weird, the drinking culture in Europe? Because in Korea, you always have food with alcohol.

I don’t drink much in Korea anyway. Even if there’s something getting me down, I don’t go drink like some other players might. I really enjoyed drinking in Europe; I don’t know that the culture was so different, it was just a lot of fun.

How was the food?

Obviously it was terrible.

So you’re the type of player who always takes ramen, and the other Korean food when you travel.

Yes, always.

Did you meet any fans at HSC?

Yes, fans were inside, looking around. There were some fans who were talking a lot, so it was really unfortunate that my English wasn’t up to having longer conversations. I just had some short chats. Some really polite people would translate on their phones and show us what they meant.

Who was the most popular?

I think Zest and TY were the most popular.

Were you envious?

Definitely, I thought I needed to work harder *laughs*

Foreigners did well at KeSPA Cup and BlizzCon, but they got crushed at HSC. What do you think about the skill gap?

I think the gap has definitely narrowed. I think it was because foreign players weren’t able to adjust to the recent patch. I think in a few months they’ll all have adapted and be able to play fun games against Korean players.

So you think in the global tournaments next year, foreigners have a shot at winning?

Yes, they’re clearly players you have to be wary about.

Let’s end by giving foreign teams your official sales pitch.

One of the best Protoss players is a bum right now. Pick him up already, please.

One of the best? Who’s the best Protoss now?

M….me?

How about something in English to wrap up?

Hi.

I’m Stats.

Yeah.

*laughs*

Fighting.

*laughs*


You can send Stats your offers via Twitter at @SC2_Stats