[Interview] DuSt Bunny - Post-GSL Code S Ro32

Bidoux

Canada60 Posts

January 10 2017 21:01 GMT

After a great run in GSL Code S RO32 we decided to sit down with Bunny and ask him a few questions

Hey Bunny! Great run at GSL! How do you feel after making it to the RO16 GSL Code S with a group like you had with Rogue, Zest and KeeN? Did you feel confident you would advance as a 1st seed or were you surprised? I think many people had you as the underdog.

Mmm... If it was me from last year then it would have been difficult to survive from this group. But as of right now, I've increased my practice time by three times as much than when I was in CJ Entus, and I'm having a lot of fun while working really hard at the same time. They were all players that I had already beaten before and I had confidence in my skills so I thought that I would advance through. I didn't know that I would advance out as first but I was really happy about that fact. In the end, my match against Zest was not an easy one though.

Did it surprise you that KeeN was able to advance over Zest and Rogue? do you feel like KESPA falling off or the current balance had anything to do with it? Or do you feel with the current balance, it's anyone's game?

While it's true that Terran is a little favored over Protoss, there's no way that KeeN could have won had he not put in his own effort and carried his own skills. If you watch KeeN's matches, you can see just how hard he's been working. You could also see how earnest he was in regards to how hard he worked. I feel that the KeSPA teams disbanding definitely did have a big influence here. There is a pre-determined framework and a pre-determined practice time you had to have met back when everyone was on a team, but right now everything is accomplished through your own self-will.

With KeSPA teams disbanding do you think a lot of these team less players will find teams or do you see a lot of them going individual like ByuN did or just retiring? What are your thoughts on that? Because you are friends with a lot of them.

I know that everyone desires to find a team right now. Honestly, in the end, there is a difference between doing it on your own and being on a team. It's really hard. I am not sure what will happen if players fail to find teams to join, really not sure.

Well hopefully Koreans being left on their own more or less will see more players stepping up with great performances and keeping their motivation. You mentioned that you're practicing 3 times as much now than you did on CJ Entus. How much are you practicing now typically?

If we're talking about number of games then I would say I'm playing around 40 games per day and continuing to experiment as I go along.

WOW that's a lot of games, do you find ladder to be the most productive way to practice or are you doing a lot of custom games with other pro gamers depending on matchups?

When it comes to honing your basics, I feel that ladder helps out the best there. When it comes to practicing with custom games, that helps out when you're experimenting with build orders or trying to focus on little details with build orders.

I see, as people may or may not know, with KeSPA teams disbanding we saw your old team CJ Entus disband as well. Now you have joined DuSt Gaming, a North American team. With the month you've had now on that team, what are you noticing as big differences between KESPA teams and foreign teams (other than the team house aspect). What made you seek a foreign team as opposed to being an individual like ByuN did last year? And what does it mean to be apart of DuSt Gaming?

Well, when I was on a KeSPA team, I was given lots of restrictions in regards to what I was allowed to do. Such as, my eligibility to participate in overseas tournaments was always denied, I could not participate in online tournaments, and I wasn't allowed to stream etc. Being on DuSt Gaming means I have more freedom and I feel more at peace. I decided to join DuSt after CJ disbanded because I had always wanted to join a foreign team at least once. I came to join DuSt Gaming because of their management's great propositions. As of right now, I have a sense of attachment towards DuSt Gaming and I am very satisfied.

Also joining the team was your CJ Entus teammate Hush. How did it feel coming to a foreign team with such a close teammate and friend? Unfortunately he failed to qualify for GSL Code S, losing a close series to TY after beating him previously. He is obviously super talented, what can you tell people about what we will see from him this year?

First off, we are so close that I was happy that we were able to do this together. Hush is someone who works really hard and practices really hard but he hasn't been able to put out good results yet so it's a shame. But the fact of the matter is, I have no doubt Hush will be able to do really well this year.

I agree, Hush is pretty sick! You've gotten a taste for the foreign scene with team leagues like DuSt League and WardiTV Team League that we're in. So far in your debut in the DuSt League Season 4 you all killed OSC-ROOT in week 2, who could be arguably one of the best North American teams out there. What did you think about those matches and what do you think about the foreign scene in general? Do you feel like your KESPA background gives you an advantage above all of them?

I already knew that ROOT was a good team and that is why it felt really good when I was able to all-kill them. I would like it if both the DuSt League and the WardiTV Team League became much more active and grew in popularity. There are not many team leagues out there since Proleague closed. I also plan on having DuSt Gaming at the top of both those leagues. That's where I come in. In the end, because of my Proleague experiences, I feel that I have a bit more of an advantage over the other players. And yes, I am enjoying participating in team leagues. I expect to play in a lot more.

Since joining DuSt Gaming you are no longer prohibited from streaming and you've already begun to do that pretty regularly. You got good viewership right away and you have a lot of foreign fans, especially more after your current GSL results. You also interact with your English supporters which is good. Can we expect more of that from you? Does streaming tie into your schedule?

I have always wanted to interact with my overseas fans and my fans in Korea through streaming. Now that I am able to, I am enjoying the experience and I'm having a lot of fun while doing it. I will work even harder so that I can show an even better form to my fans. In terms of streaming tying into my scheduling, I am maintaining everything really well so streaming so far has not been a hindrance to my schedules. I also want to grow better English skills so it's a good platform for that.

I think everyone wants to know what a GSL Code S player does in his spare time when he's not gaming. Do you have any hobbies outside of SC2?

I'll go out and have a drink or go out for dinner together with close friends like herO, Hush, ByuL, RagnaroK, etc. Honestly, aside from gaming, I don't really do anything else haha.

Fair enough, do you have any final words to say to your fans? What can they expect from you this year and any other mentions?

First off, I want to thank my fans for cheering me on. I received a lot of love from my GSL performance that I didn't really know was even there, thank you. If you're impressed with me already, I will show an even better form from here on out. My goal for this year is to win the WCS championship and the BlizzCon championship. I am practicing so much and I really want this. My goal is to also go to some foreign tournaments and win them. You can follow my twitter and twitch as I stream very often, and of course follow my team DuSt Gaming and our sponsor Tt eSports as they will be promoting me as well.

Thanks for the interview Bunny, good luck in your GSL Code S RO16 group in the upcoming month.

Interview by: DuSt Gaming
Translated by: Seeker

Follow Bunny on Twitter
Follow Bunny on Twitch

Follow his team DuSt Gaming on Twitter and Facebook
You can also check out his sponsor Tt eSports and follow them on Twitter and Facebook

sWs

United States409 Posts

January 10 2017 21:15 GMT

Very interesting interview :D thanks Bunny

Charoisaur

Germany15967 Posts

January 10 2017 21:25 GMT

If he really practices 3 times as much as he did on CJ he must have practiced very little on CJ.
But maybe he's just exaggerating.

dr3am_b3ing

Canada188 Posts

January 10 2017 21:38 GMT

I for one am very stoked that the b-tier and lower GSL players are no longer on teams - it feels as if they are starting to get more interactive with the greater community. Increased amounts of GSL players are seen streaming on twitch, it feels as if when these players sign to foreigner teams, that they are promoted and it is made sure that the community knows when these signings happen (Bunny was one of my examples, I also think of Armani and Ryung). I just hope GSL doesn't close it's doors as well in x years time.

fishjie

United States1519 Posts

January 10 2017 22:01 GMT

wait a minute - kespa is disbanding!??! tried search function didnt see anything, when was this announced

DSK

England1110 Posts

January 10 2017 22:13 GMT

On January 11 2017 07:01 fishjie wrote:
wait a minute - kespa is disbanding!??! tried search function didnt see anything, when was this announced

I think it's referencing the cancellation of (KESPA) ProLeague, which is why the great BW teams (SKT, KT, CJ, Samsung) were originally formed and continued on until last year.

ArtyK

France3143 Posts

January 10 2017 22:25 GMT

I can hardly believe cj let him play only ~13 games a day, has to be a mistranslation. Otherwise korean practice isn't as intensive as the legends say :>

And about teams preventing you to play in online cups, was it only for some players? Because gumiho was basically playing every online cup last year already

Executer08

Germany163 Posts

January 10 2017 23:04 GMT

maybe bunny was the maid in the cj house and thus couldnt practice as much as the others :D honestly though, three times as much and then 40 games? seems exaggerated

Elentos

55552 Posts

January 10 2017 23:05 GMT

On January 11 2017 07:25 ArtyK wrote:
I can hardly believe cj let him play only ~13 games a day, has to be a mistranslation. Otherwise korean practice isn't as intensive as the legends say :>

And about teams preventing you to play in online cups, was it only for some players? Because gumiho was basically playing every online cup last year already

The 4 big ones - that is Jin Air, CJ, KT and SKT - prevented players from playing online cups most of the time (very few exceptions for online tournaments with good reputation and sizable prize pools like Kung Fu Cup or Shoutcraft), even B-teamers who got no playtime in Proleague. Samsung, MVP and Afreeca allowed players to participate in cups though.

As for the math of how many games he played... it doesn't sound that unlikely to me honestly. Some time last year Jin Air did a Q&A on Twitter with their SC2 squad where they said Trap is the player on the team who practices the most by far, and he said he practiced 8 hours a day. I think you'd play about 40 games in 8 hours, probably less depending on breaks and game length.

(Plus maybe he didn't have to play every day on CJ and now he uses those extra days for another 40 games)

Certainly would explain why Bunny is just breaking out atm.

ArtyK

France3143 Posts

January 10 2017 23:17 GMT

#10

On January 11 2017 08:05 Elentos wrote:

Show nested quote +

I mean sure, but 13 games is 2.5 hours a day or so, even if you're not the one who practices the most in the team that sounds awfully low for a progamer.

Solar said he played 70 games a day the week before his SSL finals vs Dark...

BigRedDog

461 Posts

January 10 2017 23:19 GMT

#11

On January 11 2017 08:05 Elentos wrote:

As for the math of how many games he played... it doesn't sound that unlikely to me honestly. Some time last year Jin Air did a Q&A on Twitter with their SC2 squad where they said Trap is the player on the team who practices the most by far, and he said he practiced 8 hours a day. I think you'd play about 40 games in 8 hours, probably less depending on breaks and game length.

(Plus maybe he didn't have to play every day on CJ and now he uses those extra days for another 40 games)

Certainly would explain why Bunny is just breaking out atm.

8 hr = 480 min. That's 12 min a game if he plays 40 games straight. I would say he is playing closer to 12 hours with breaks and what not.

Unless he is practicing some cheese or timing.

ParksonVN

Australia370 Posts

January 10 2017 23:41 GMT

#12

So now Koreans dont have infratructure advance over foreigners anymore (kespa teams and proleague). They practice on their own and also join foreign teams. Then why region lock still exists ?

Gwavajuice

France1810 Posts

January 11 2017 00:13 GMT

#13

On January 11 2017 08:41 ParksonVN wrote:
So now Koreans dont have infratructure advance over foreigners anymore (kespa teams and proleague). They practice on their own and also join foreign teams. Then why region lock still exists ?

To protect the Koreans...