EPT
After establishing himself as Australia's #1 player in 2017, Probe has decided to take it up a notch by taking a break from university to go full-time pro in WCS 2018. TeamLiquid.net chatted with Probe ahead of WCS Leipzig, talking to him about his deep connection with the LAN scene and his thoughts on playing StarCraft II full-time.
*This interview has been edited and condensed.
Wax: First off, could you introduce yourself for those who might not be familiar with you?
Probe: Hey guys, my ID is Probe, I'm a Protoss player from Australia representing Legacy Esports.
Others might also add the title of best Australian StarCraft II player. What do you think about that?
At this point you probably can't argue with that after my results overseas in 2017. Last year I actually only won one WCS Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) season. In two others I won the winners bracket, but would go on to lose the grand final. So it was only with me doing well overseas—making RO16 twice on the WCS Circuit—where I differentiated myself from
Seither and iaguz. Still, though, I can be a bit inconsistent, so if I have an off day then I can still definitely lose to the other top ANZ players. This year I want to further the gap and solidify that title.
What's your journey through competitive StarCraft been like? From what I gather, you were a guy who started off going to LANs for fun, but somehow ended up balancing competitive SC2/school to become a top player in your country.
Yeah, I just started playing the game for fun in early 2012. I signed up for online tournaments on SC2SEA.com and went to a few local Melbourne LANs. In 2013 I would have been NA GrandMaster I think?—definitely high masters—and started attending Australian Cyber League (ACL) events. These were sort of like Australia's mini MLGs. Then in 2014 and 2015 I just kept playing the game while somewhat balancing it with high school. My parents would definitely say I could have put a lot more effort into school, but I got through with really good marks and got into the university course I wanted. In terms of competitive StarCraft II, it was the end of 2015 that saw me win the last ever ACL event, and take my first overseas StarCraft trip to that first LotV Dreamhack Winter.
Was there ever a point where you made a conscious decision to play 'more seriously,' or did this entire process kind of happen naturally?
I just loved the game, so I just played it a lot and then found myself making money. If there is any point, it's this year, where I am taking some time of university to travel lots and play full-time. I'll be spending time at the ROOT house over the next coming months. Hopefully will go to Korea at some point as well. I really need to thank CatZ for letting me stay there, it really means a lot to me.
Do you have any expectations on where that will lead you? If I recall correctly,Polt went down a similar path, thinking pro StarCraft II would just be a brief excursion from school to try out something he really enjoyed. But it ended up spiraling into something else entirely.
No idea really. I have every intention of returning to university and finishing my degree. I want to give this a try, and I don't think I'll have any proper motivation to study unless I try and fail, or try and see that it isn't for me. Not that I was failing my course by any means, but I feel like I should be taking it seriously, which just wasn't going to be the case this year.
You can't get on with "the rest of your life" until you know you've given this esports thing a real shot, for better or for worse?
Yeah, essentially. I think it will also give me great experiences and life lessons that will hopefully mature me up.
Do you have a particular attachment to the LAN scene? From your beginnings there, to your own personal organizing efforts, to Cheeseadelphia 6 not long ago, it seems like you've been more involved than most.
I believe that LANs are the most important part of the scene. Online tournaments are good and all, but there is something extremely motivating about going to a venue to crush other nerds. It gives passion to the scene. So I always tried to attend as many as possible in Australia. Since I'm a pretty competitive person, so a lot of my fun was had beating/taking maps off the players in the tier just above me. One ACL I proxy gatediaguz and got him real tilted. The next I tried to do a 2 base carrier all in. I like to believe that it had a chance of working. Game 3 he scv pulled me T_T. I guess we all have our ups and downs....
When the LAN scene died down in favour of just WCS ANZ top 8, I felt something was missing so I ran my own.
Last year I ran the Probe Starcraft League, that gave away $7600 AUD, this was split over monthly online tournaments, as well as 2 one day LANs, and a massive 2 day championship LAN in December.
What's the difference between a 'LAN' and a 'offline/live event'? People tend to use the terms interchangeably.
You have people from all skill levels playing at LANs. There is an open bracket. Everyone can get involved. Even if those skill differences are just Masters - Low GM - High GM - Pro, compared to offline/live events that focus on just the pros, there is a community feel to the event.
How does one even get into organizing? You sit down one day and write some emails, make a few phone calls, and see where it takes you?
A lot of notepad documents drafting tournament ideas, formats, threads, prize pool distribution, money required, etc. Then using some of my connections I've made over the years to get stuff going. If you really want to organize something I actually don't think it is very hard. If you want to do it you just do it. Start small and work your way up. Before starting the Probe Starcraft League, I just ran a $500 LAN to test my idea and community interest. Then it just went from there.
What was the Cheesedelphia 6 experience like for you?
Really enjoyable. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my NA friends, and did quite well in the tournament as well. Bit disappointing being reverse swept in the semi finals, considering my position in games 3 and 5, but really enjoyed myself. It reminded me of the old ACL events.
What's the atmosphere of the "open" portion of WCS Circuit events in comparison?
Because I get seeded into the third group stage, I like showing up late and sleeping in, so I often miss that first bit. It is a bit more serious, and because you get less time on the computers, and those remaining are still taking it very seriously. The friendly atmosphere—while obviously it still exists—is slightly different. I do think that the atmosphere between the NA WCS events and EU WCS events are different as well, but that might just be because I know more people at the NA events. Still, the dinners and celebrations at all the events are the same, and that plays a key role in the overall enjoyment of events.
How do you feel headed into WCS Leipzig? You had some solid finishes last year, and your seeding will probably be better now. Do you think you can make the push past the Ro16?
Going into Leipzig I'm not too confident. I haven't had much opportunity to practice on the new maps with all my travelling. Therefore I'm not expecting myself to do well. At the other WCS events later in the year, I'm hoping that my practice will have paid off and I do finally push through the RO16.
How do you think countryman
Yours will do at Leipzig?
Considering this is his first real big overseas trip apart from WESG, I'm interested to see how he will do, but wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it past the group stage. In my opinion you have to go to these events a few times before you have a real shot. Heck, in my first tournament at DreamHack Winter, I went 0-5 in my group, despite having some close series and showing good games for fans.
Thanks for your time. Anything you want to say to conclude the interview?
Just a shoutout to my team Legacy Esports and the ANZ community who always have my back and always support me. Also to my parents for supporting me in my journey as well. I'm also just looking forward to not dying to Hydra timings every game and having my OP Disruptor back in the game on the new patch.
To see how Probe earned his spot at WCS Leipzig, check out his qualifying match against Yours in the WCS Australia Challenger tournament.
You can follow Probe and Legacy Esports on Twitter at @Probe_SC2 and @LegacyOCE. You can watch Probe stream on Twitch.TV.
*This interview has been edited and condensed.
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/misc/probe_anz.jpg)
Wax: First off, could you introduce yourself for those who might not be familiar with you?
Probe: Hey guys, my ID is Probe, I'm a Protoss player from Australia representing Legacy Esports.
Others might also add the title of best Australian StarCraft II player. What do you think about that?
At this point you probably can't argue with that after my results overseas in 2017. Last year I actually only won one WCS Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) season. In two others I won the winners bracket, but would go on to lose the grand final. So it was only with me doing well overseas—making RO16 twice on the WCS Circuit—where I differentiated myself from
Seither and iaguz. Still, though, I can be a bit inconsistent, so if I have an off day then I can still definitely lose to the other top ANZ players. This year I want to further the gap and solidify that title.What's your journey through competitive StarCraft been like? From what I gather, you were a guy who started off going to LANs for fun, but somehow ended up balancing competitive SC2/school to become a top player in your country.
Yeah, I just started playing the game for fun in early 2012. I signed up for online tournaments on SC2SEA.com and went to a few local Melbourne LANs. In 2013 I would have been NA GrandMaster I think?—definitely high masters—and started attending Australian Cyber League (ACL) events. These were sort of like Australia's mini MLGs. Then in 2014 and 2015 I just kept playing the game while somewhat balancing it with high school. My parents would definitely say I could have put a lot more effort into school, but I got through with really good marks and got into the university course I wanted. In terms of competitive StarCraft II, it was the end of 2015 that saw me win the last ever ACL event, and take my first overseas StarCraft trip to that first LotV Dreamhack Winter.
Was there ever a point where you made a conscious decision to play 'more seriously,' or did this entire process kind of happen naturally?
I just loved the game, so I just played it a lot and then found myself making money. If there is any point, it's this year, where I am taking some time of university to travel lots and play full-time. I'll be spending time at the ROOT house over the next coming months. Hopefully will go to Korea at some point as well. I really need to thank CatZ for letting me stay there, it really means a lot to me.
Do you have any expectations on where that will lead you? If I recall correctly,
Polt went down a similar path, thinking pro StarCraft II would just be a brief excursion from school to try out something he really enjoyed. But it ended up spiraling into something else entirely.No idea really. I have every intention of returning to university and finishing my degree. I want to give this a try, and I don't think I'll have any proper motivation to study unless I try and fail, or try and see that it isn't for me. Not that I was failing my course by any means, but I feel like I should be taking it seriously, which just wasn't going to be the case this year.
You can't get on with "the rest of your life" until you know you've given this esports thing a real shot, for better or for worse?
Yeah, essentially. I think it will also give me great experiences and life lessons that will hopefully mature me up.
Do you have a particular attachment to the LAN scene? From your beginnings there, to your own personal organizing efforts, to Cheeseadelphia 6 not long ago, it seems like you've been more involved than most.
I believe that LANs are the most important part of the scene. Online tournaments are good and all, but there is something extremely motivating about going to a venue to crush other nerds. It gives passion to the scene. So I always tried to attend as many as possible in Australia. Since I'm a pretty competitive person, so a lot of my fun was had beating/taking maps off the players in the tier just above me. One ACL I proxy gated
iaguz and got him real tilted. The next I tried to do a 2 base carrier all in. I like to believe that it had a chance of working. Game 3 he scv pulled me T_T. I guess we all have our ups and downs....When the LAN scene died down in favour of just WCS ANZ top 8, I felt something was missing so I ran my own.
Last year I ran the Probe Starcraft League, that gave away $7600 AUD, this was split over monthly online tournaments, as well as 2 one day LANs, and a massive 2 day championship LAN in December.
What's the difference between a 'LAN' and a 'offline/live event'? People tend to use the terms interchangeably.
You have people from all skill levels playing at LANs. There is an open bracket. Everyone can get involved. Even if those skill differences are just Masters - Low GM - High GM - Pro, compared to offline/live events that focus on just the pros, there is a community feel to the event.
How does one even get into organizing? You sit down one day and write some emails, make a few phone calls, and see where it takes you?
A lot of notepad documents drafting tournament ideas, formats, threads, prize pool distribution, money required, etc. Then using some of my connections I've made over the years to get stuff going. If you really want to organize something I actually don't think it is very hard. If you want to do it you just do it. Start small and work your way up. Before starting the Probe Starcraft League, I just ran a $500 LAN to test my idea and community interest. Then it just went from there.
What was the Cheesedelphia 6 experience like for you?
Really enjoyable. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my NA friends, and did quite well in the tournament as well. Bit disappointing being reverse swept in the semi finals, considering my position in games 3 and 5, but really enjoyed myself. It reminded me of the old ACL events.
What's the atmosphere of the "open" portion of WCS Circuit events in comparison?
Because I get seeded into the third group stage, I like showing up late and sleeping in, so I often miss that first bit. It is a bit more serious, and because you get less time on the computers, and those remaining are still taking it very seriously. The friendly atmosphere—while obviously it still exists—is slightly different. I do think that the atmosphere between the NA WCS events and EU WCS events are different as well, but that might just be because I know more people at the NA events. Still, the dinners and celebrations at all the events are the same, and that plays a key role in the overall enjoyment of events.
How do you feel headed into WCS Leipzig? You had some solid finishes last year, and your seeding will probably be better now. Do you think you can make the push past the Ro16?
Going into Leipzig I'm not too confident. I haven't had much opportunity to practice on the new maps with all my travelling. Therefore I'm not expecting myself to do well. At the other WCS events later in the year, I'm hoping that my practice will have paid off and I do finally push through the RO16.
How do you think countryman
Yours will do at Leipzig?Considering this is his first real big overseas trip apart from WESG, I'm interested to see how he will do, but wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it past the group stage. In my opinion you have to go to these events a few times before you have a real shot. Heck, in my first tournament at DreamHack Winter, I went 0-5 in my group, despite having some close series and showing good games for fans.
Thanks for your time. Anything you want to say to conclude the interview?
Just a shoutout to my team Legacy Esports and the ANZ community who always have my back and always support me. Also to my parents for supporting me in my journey as well. I'm also just looking forward to not dying to Hydra timings every game and having my OP Disruptor back in the game on the new patch.
To see how Probe earned his spot at WCS Leipzig, check out his qualifying match against Yours in the WCS Australia Challenger tournament.
You can follow Probe and Legacy Esports on Twitter at @Probe_SC2 and @LegacyOCE. You can watch Probe stream on Twitch.TV.
Shows Probes resolve, as well. Good on him!
