EPT
It feels like just yesterday when TeamLiquid interviewed the sixteen-year-old 
JonSnow, an aspiring Zerg player who had made it into WCS America. Years later, he's a WCS Challenger once more, headed to
WCS Jönköping to try and top his RO16 finish at WCS Austin. I talked to JonSnow about StarCraft II, and which pro-players correspond best to characters in Game of Thrones.
*This interview has been edited and condensed.
Wax: Hello, again! Can you start off by introducing yourself for those who might not be so familiar with you? Try to do a better job than the last time, when you said "Hello, I'm Jarod. lol, sorry, lemme retype."
JonSnow: Okay here we go. Hello, I'm Jarod "JonSnow" George a 20 year old Zerg player from the United States, also known as the NA Zerg God.
How are you feeling about your ID choice, now that you're older? Do you ever regret it and think you should have chosen more wisely?
I've always liked it a bit, and Game of Thrones has gotten pretty popular with the TV show so I think it wasn't a terrible choice. It's probably better than any other name I would have picked when I was 14. I've always wanted to change to my rapper name Jweezy but I don't think the people are ready for it.
Is Jon Snow still your favorite character?
Of the main characters I think he definitely is. There are side characters like The Hound that I really enjoy too, but probably wouldn't make for a good ID.
So, for this next, awesome segment, I'm going to name a character from Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire, and you're going tell me which progamer corresponds to that character best. You think you're ready for this challenge?
Born ready.
The Mountain
The mountain would be Showtime, a big scary EU Protoss that seems unfairly better than everyone.
Cersei Lannister
Cersei would be Naniwa since they both would do anything to win, and since Cersei is gonna get killed off this season, they will both be out of their respective scenes.
Sam Tarly
Sam would be TLO since he's not the best fighter but is smart and helps out Jon Snow.
Jon Snow
I guess in this universe JonSnow would be Snute since he's the one helped out by Sam, and is the good guy in the SC2 scene.
Tyrion Lannister
Tyrion would be Nerchio since all the Lannisters (Europeans) don't like him but he's still really clever, and he doesn't get a lot of credit for things.
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys would be PiliPili since they are both blond, and while Daenerys relies on her overpowered dragons to win, PiliPili relies on his Carriers.
Littlefinger
Littlefinger would be Bly since he's super sneaky and is the master of coin (online tournaments).
Arya Stark
Arya would be Kelazhur since she was sent to Braavos to train with the faceless men to become an assassin, while Kelagod was sent to Korea to train and has come back a foreigner assassin.
Damn, that's pretty solid. I originally thought you'd make the white walkers the Koreans, but now that you bring it up, the "faceless men" bit works really well. I have to wonder, why didn't you take Jon Snow for yourself though? Snute is too handsome and heroic?
I originally wanted to do someone that + Show Spoiler [Game of Thrones spoilers] + but couldn't think of someone. But yeah I don't think I've earned the right to be JonSnow yet, too handsome and hair too wavy.
Alright, let's talk about boring old StarCraft. I think we could say this has been your best competitive year, as far as Premier tournament placements go. How do you feel about placing well at WCS Austin, and earning the NA Challenger spot this time around? Was there any special impetus that made you a better player this year?
Yeah it's been pretty lit so far. I think I've just become a better tournament player over time, having confidence in my play and planning out series better. I also just found a way to not have much pressure on me in my matches. I think being in college at the same time takes a lot of the pressure off since it's not the end of the world if you don't qualify/lose early. You have to make sure you enjoy competing.
So all of these WCS main events—it's not a do or die thing. You're just appreciating having the opportunity, and you're happy with whatever result you get.
Yeah, it also feels like you can wait for your shot. Balance, bracket luck, and just how you're feeling on the day can play a big part on if you make it far or not.
You haven't to play a high-stakes, on-stage match yet, I think. You say you've learned to be a better tournament player, but do you think you're ready for that kind of pressure?
Yeah, I've played some matches on small stages on smaller LANs, but never to the scale of a WCS event. I definitely need more practice in that environment. Even vs Nerchio in the RO16 of WCS Austin (VOD), I lost my cool, and we were only being off-stage casted by BaseTradeTV.
Have you ever pulled a Nerchio and used your student status as a taunt or excuse?
Nah I think it's pretty BM to do that, but it is in the back of your mind sometimes when you're extra salty.
You should have beat Nerchio and done that to him.
Haha, Nerchio was actually very nice to me at Austin. Maybe he's a changed man.
I love Nerchio. He's the villain we deserve, but not the one we need right now, whatever that means. So, what are your thoughts headed into Jonkoping? Any personal goals? People you're interested in facing? People you're looking forward to hanging out with?
It's gonna be my first time in Europe so I'm excited for that. For a personal goal I'd really like to make RO16 again to show it wasn't a fluke at Austin, and then put up a better fight in the RO16. No people I particularly want to face, but it's gonna be cool seeing all the pros from Austin again; it's always cool to be around people so good at StarCraft. Nerchio and Neeb were fun to talk to, and people like Pili and Harstem are always having a good time.
Alright, here's our famous pirate question. If your loved ones were kidnapped by pirates, and you could only recruit three progamers to take with you on a rescue mission, who would you bring, and why?
I guess for the rescue mission I'd bring NoRegret since he would be the decoy and hopefully tank all the pirates for a while. I'd bring Pili since he was a boxer, and maybe he could knock some people out. Then I'd also bring Zest who hopefully can fight with his muscles. Then I'd rescue my love ones and leave the pros behind to sacrifice themselves so we could escape safely.
PiLiPiLi was a boxer, what the f***.
I think so or something like that.
Alright, any final comments, shoutouts, or things you wanna say?
Sure, shout out to PSISTORM Gaming for supporting me and shout out to Blizzard for running WCS =)
Make sure to check out how JonSnow gave Scarlett a lesson in Zerg vs Protoss balance during the WCS Austin Challenger tournament
You can follow JonSnow on Twitter at @JonSnowSC2, and you can find his competitive statistics on Aligulac.com.
You can read more interviews with the WCS Challengers who will compete at WCS Jönköping during June 17-19!
More interviews are coming soon™
JonSnow, an aspiring Zerg player who had made it into WCS America. Years later, he's a WCS Challenger once more, headed to WCS Jönköping to try and top his RO16 finish at WCS Austin. I talked to JonSnow about StarCraft II, and which pro-players correspond best to characters in Game of Thrones.
*This interview has been edited and condensed.
Wax: Hello, again! Can you start off by introducing yourself for those who might not be so familiar with you? Try to do a better job than the last time, when you said "Hello, I'm Jarod. lol, sorry, lemme retype."
JonSnow: Okay here we go. Hello, I'm Jarod "JonSnow" George a 20 year old Zerg player from the United States, also known as the NA Zerg God.
How are you feeling about your ID choice, now that you're older? Do you ever regret it and think you should have chosen more wisely?
I've always liked it a bit, and Game of Thrones has gotten pretty popular with the TV show so I think it wasn't a terrible choice. It's probably better than any other name I would have picked when I was 14. I've always wanted to change to my rapper name Jweezy but I don't think the people are ready for it.
Is Jon Snow still your favorite character?
Of the main characters I think he definitely is. There are side characters like The Hound that I really enjoy too, but probably wouldn't make for a good ID.
So, for this next, awesome segment, I'm going to name a character from Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire, and you're going tell me which progamer corresponds to that character best. You think you're ready for this challenge?
Born ready.
The Mountain
The mountain would be Showtime, a big scary EU Protoss that seems unfairly better than everyone.
Cersei Lannister
Cersei would be Naniwa since they both would do anything to win, and since Cersei is gonna get killed off this season, they will both be out of their respective scenes.
Sam Tarly
Sam would be TLO since he's not the best fighter but is smart and helps out Jon Snow.
Jon Snow
I guess in this universe JonSnow would be Snute since he's the one helped out by Sam, and is the good guy in the SC2 scene.
Tyrion Lannister
Tyrion would be Nerchio since all the Lannisters (Europeans) don't like him but he's still really clever, and he doesn't get a lot of credit for things.
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys would be PiliPili since they are both blond, and while Daenerys relies on her overpowered dragons to win, PiliPili relies on his Carriers.
Littlefinger
Littlefinger would be Bly since he's super sneaky and is the master of coin (online tournaments).
Arya Stark
Arya would be Kelazhur since she was sent to Braavos to train with the faceless men to become an assassin, while Kelagod was sent to Korea to train and has come back a foreigner assassin.
Damn, that's pretty solid. I originally thought you'd make the white walkers the Koreans, but now that you bring it up, the "faceless men" bit works really well. I have to wonder, why didn't you take Jon Snow for yourself though? Snute is too handsome and heroic?
I originally wanted to do someone that + Show Spoiler [Game of Thrones spoilers] +
retired and came back to the game
Alright, let's talk about boring old StarCraft. I think we could say this has been your best competitive year, as far as Premier tournament placements go. How do you feel about placing well at WCS Austin, and earning the NA Challenger spot this time around? Was there any special impetus that made you a better player this year?
Yeah it's been pretty lit so far. I think I've just become a better tournament player over time, having confidence in my play and planning out series better. I also just found a way to not have much pressure on me in my matches. I think being in college at the same time takes a lot of the pressure off since it's not the end of the world if you don't qualify/lose early. You have to make sure you enjoy competing.
So all of these WCS main events—it's not a do or die thing. You're just appreciating having the opportunity, and you're happy with whatever result you get.
Yeah, it also feels like you can wait for your shot. Balance, bracket luck, and just how you're feeling on the day can play a big part on if you make it far or not.
You haven't to play a high-stakes, on-stage match yet, I think. You say you've learned to be a better tournament player, but do you think you're ready for that kind of pressure?
Yeah, I've played some matches on small stages on smaller LANs, but never to the scale of a WCS event. I definitely need more practice in that environment. Even vs Nerchio in the RO16 of WCS Austin (VOD), I lost my cool, and we were only being off-stage casted by BaseTradeTV.
Have you ever pulled a Nerchio and used your student status as a taunt or excuse?
Nah I think it's pretty BM to do that, but it is in the back of your mind sometimes when you're extra salty.
You should have beat Nerchio and done that to him.
Haha, Nerchio was actually very nice to me at Austin. Maybe he's a changed man.
I love Nerchio. He's the villain we deserve, but not the one we need right now, whatever that means. So, what are your thoughts headed into Jonkoping? Any personal goals? People you're interested in facing? People you're looking forward to hanging out with?
It's gonna be my first time in Europe so I'm excited for that. For a personal goal I'd really like to make RO16 again to show it wasn't a fluke at Austin, and then put up a better fight in the RO16. No people I particularly want to face, but it's gonna be cool seeing all the pros from Austin again; it's always cool to be around people so good at StarCraft. Nerchio and Neeb were fun to talk to, and people like Pili and Harstem are always having a good time.
Alright, here's our famous pirate question. If your loved ones were kidnapped by pirates, and you could only recruit three progamers to take with you on a rescue mission, who would you bring, and why?
I guess for the rescue mission I'd bring NoRegret since he would be the decoy and hopefully tank all the pirates for a while. I'd bring Pili since he was a boxer, and maybe he could knock some people out. Then I'd also bring Zest who hopefully can fight with his muscles. Then I'd rescue my love ones and leave the pros behind to sacrifice themselves so we could escape safely.
PiLiPiLi was a boxer, what the f***.
I think so or something like that.
Alright, any final comments, shoutouts, or things you wanna say?
Sure, shout out to PSISTORM Gaming for supporting me and shout out to Blizzard for running WCS =)
Make sure to check out how JonSnow gave Scarlett a lesson in Zerg vs Protoss balance during the WCS Austin Challenger tournament
You can follow JonSnow on Twitter at @JonSnowSC2, and you can find his competitive statistics on Aligulac.com.
You can read more interviews with the WCS Challengers who will compete at WCS Jönköping during June 17-19!
More interviews are coming soon™
