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Active: 3281 users

Dark reflects on his BlizzCon experience

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33592 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-09 16:35:35
November 08 2018 18:03 GMT
#1
Dark has been an unusually outspoken progamer throughout his career, and he provided a lot of fun at BlizzCon by taunting Serral and downplaying his abilities. After suffering a 0-3 loss to Serral in the quarterfinals, Dark returned home and shared some of his thoughts on his experience.

Dark's post on his TGD/T'gether, a streamer community site

I got back safely yesterday evening. Man, I learned and felt a lot at this BlizzCon. I'm bitter that I lost, but on the other hand it's a huge source of motivation, so I don't feel too regretful or sad about it. I'll talk about it more on tomorrow's stream~

Thanks for cheering me on for another year. I'll work harder next year to grow as a player and get better results, and try to take on Serral as the challenger. I'm able to keep going forward because everyone keeps showing that they care about me and cheering me on.

Thank you, I love you~ Ofc I love my girlfriend more~ Cya tomorrow~


Highlight/summary of Dark's stream, curated by me

Serral: Dark said Serral is like a machine, in the sense that he doesn't make mistakes. Dark speculated the way to beat him might be to take him to the late game and just overwhelm him with better mechanics [cue foreign Zerg pros going ???????????]. When chat mentioned that it seemed Rogue was doing okay vs Serral in macro games, Dark noted that Rogue's hands are a biiiiit on the slow side.

Has: Has didn't practice on site, so it was f***ing scary for Dark going up against him. "He wasn't even warming up, so he must be SUPER confident. I might lose, there must be a reason for that confidence." Hours later, he threw crazy shade at Has after losing to Has' cannon rushes on the ladder. "Well I went pool-first vs him at BlizzCon, thinking I couldn't lose against someone so f***ing bad. I could 12 pool into macro and win."

Stats vs Serral: Dark thought it was Stats' series to win. He was frustrated seeing all the Protoss units getting abducted on Para Site. Dark joked that he should play Protoss, because he would have positioned his Templars better to feedback the Vipers.

Mocking/Praising Classic: Dark thought perhaps Classic could have won the finals, because Classic is the very essence of Protoss in being a player who makes you rage.

The "real story" of why Classic got eliminated: Classic didn't know who he was going to face in his group decider match, so he was just laddering on NA. However, Dark said NA ladder is totally worthless for practice, because everyone on NA is so terrible. Thus, Dark asked Classic if he'd just help him practice for ShoWTimE instead, which would be better warm-up. However, Classic just refused to help Dark and kept on laddering. At that moment, Dark knew he was going to lose in group decider match. And it showed in the match—Classic didn't play like Classic, which means his hands weren't moving the way they normally do.

Funny moment: Dark said he needed to stop bashing Blizzard on stream and generally needed to stop cursing so much—Blizzard Korea people told him that Blizzard HQ watch his stream so he should tone it down. "Yeah I think I'll start toning it down"—*Protoss starts cannons in his natural*—"you son of a bitch."

Is SC2 still fun?

"StarCraft II? It's been forever since it stopped being 'fun.' You think I'm still looking for fun? Any time your hobby becomes your job, it's not fun anymore. Try playing games 15 hours a day, 10+ hours a day all the time, the same game every day. See if that's still fun."

On breaking the ice with Zest and talking trash: Dark managed to stop using honorifics with Zest at BlizzCon (basically means they became a bit friendlier), although it's still a bit awkward between them. Chat pointed out that he's thrown shade at Zest and sOs in the past; Dark said that trash talking is all 'business' and insisted that he's a good guy IRL.

AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
midhigh
Profile Joined July 2018
49 Posts
November 08 2018 18:18 GMT
#2
You cannot hate this guy. He is so much fun to watch and read. I like his takes on Classic, and would have been interesting to hear about Maru vs sOs game. Also his comments on Rogue makes me think what the (top) players thinking about each other.
Musicus
Profile Joined August 2011
Germany23576 Posts
November 08 2018 18:31 GMT
#3
hahaha oh Dark, even a bit awkward with other korean players from throwing shade and getting warnings from blizzard

maybe tone it down a bit, but I can't say I dislike it
Maru and Serral are probably top 5.
FrostedMiniWheats
Profile Joined August 2010
United States30730 Posts
November 08 2018 18:42 GMT
#4
Serral Iron Shiek'd his ass xD
NesTea | Mvp | MC | Leenock | Losira | Gumiho | DRG | Taeja | Jinro | Stephano | Thorzain | Sen | Idra |Polt | Bomber | Symbol | Squirtle | Fantasy | Jaedong | Maru | sOs | Seed | ByuN | ByuL | Neeb| Scarlett | Rogue | IM forever
StasisField
Profile Joined August 2013
United States1086 Posts
November 08 2018 18:45 GMT
#5
I love Dark's attitude. His cocky arrogance both pre-game and post-game are things that make his matches that much more enjoyable. Whether it's him losing to Serral and eating his own words or completely dominating and making that confidence look well earned, I'll always be entertained by a Dark match
What do you mean Immortals can't shoot up?
Hvvacha
Profile Joined April 2018
82 Posts
November 08 2018 18:47 GMT
#6
On November 09 2018 03:31 Musicus wrote:
hahaha oh Dark, even a bit awkward with other korean players from throwing shade and getting warnings from blizzard

maybe tone it down a bit, but I can't say I dislike it


what about avilo etc, when someone like him acting similar it's suddenly bad.
JimmyJRaynor
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada17449 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-08 18:51:49
November 08 2018 18:47 GMT
#7
thanks for posting this... this is fascinating stuff.
On November 09 2018 03:42 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:
Serral Iron Shiek'd his ass xD

who was Dark in this analogy then? Bob Backlund? Backlund didn't quit; his manager Arnold Skoland threw in the towel against his wishes.
Ray Kassar To David Crane : "you're no more important to Atari than the factory workers assembling the cartridges"
Musicus
Profile Joined August 2011
Germany23576 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-08 19:04:29
November 08 2018 19:03 GMT
#8
On November 09 2018 03:47 Hvvacha wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 09 2018 03:31 Musicus wrote:
hahaha oh Dark, even a bit awkward with other korean players from throwing shade and getting warnings from blizzard

maybe tone it down a bit, but I can't say I dislike it


what about avilo etc, when someone like him acting similar it's suddenly bad.

Not really sure, I don't follow avilo's stream. But from what I've seen in clips he calls his opponents cheaters even when they are cleary not cheating and talks trash about players like Maru, calls them bad, says they copy him (even zerg pros copy him ?!?). That's clearly different from Dark, who doesn't accuse people of cheating and is allowed to talk trash due to his skill/achievements.

When avilo complains about balance or blizzard I really don't mind it, he had some solid posts on TL before imo.
Maru and Serral are probably top 5.
sneakyfox
Profile Joined January 2017
8216 Posts
November 08 2018 19:05 GMT
#9
Thanks for the translation! Really enjoy when you post these.
"I saw what sneakyfox wrote on TL.net and it made me furious" - PartinG
DSK
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
England1110 Posts
November 08 2018 19:15 GMT
#10
Great insight, thank you. Seems like Classic of all people went full NA.
**@ YT: SC2POVs at https://www.youtube.com/c/SC2POVsTV | https://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/SC2POVs @**
Nakajin
Profile Blog Joined September 2014
Canada8989 Posts
November 08 2018 19:20 GMT
#11
The part on Has is hilarious
Writerhttp://i.imgur.com/9p6ufcB.jpg
FrostedMiniWheats
Profile Joined August 2010
United States30730 Posts
November 08 2018 19:24 GMT
#12
On November 09 2018 03:47 JimmyJRaynor wrote:
thanks for posting this... this is fascinating stuff.
Show nested quote +
On November 09 2018 03:42 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:
Serral Iron Shiek'd his ass xD

who was Dark in this analogy then? Bob Backlund? Backlund didn't quit; his manager Arnold Skoland threw in the towel against his wishes.


Dark is the guy who got, "humbled". Although, not really based on this interview
NesTea | Mvp | MC | Leenock | Losira | Gumiho | DRG | Taeja | Jinro | Stephano | Thorzain | Sen | Idra |Polt | Bomber | Symbol | Squirtle | Fantasy | Jaedong | Maru | sOs | Seed | ByuN | ByuL | Neeb| Scarlett | Rogue | IM forever
Edulis
Profile Joined July 2018
United States21 Posts
November 08 2018 19:29 GMT
#13
F Yes Dark fan forever!!! Gotta love him for bringing something different to the rather polite Korean scene. (Btw the way in my humble trash player opinion, I think the key to beat serral is to pay special attetion to block scouting. Most games I've seen serral lost were games where he's caught off-guard. Without his ability to judge the situation, he would be just another EU zerg with good mechanics.)
Psychonian
Profile Joined March 2012
United States2322 Posts
November 08 2018 19:31 GMT
#14
"yeah i think I'll start toning it down" -cannon rush- "you son of a bitch

god I have never heard a bigger zerg mood, this is why i love dark
Trans Rights
yubo56
Profile Joined May 2014
690 Posts
November 08 2018 19:33 GMT
#15
On November 09 2018 04:24 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 09 2018 03:47 JimmyJRaynor wrote:
thanks for posting this... this is fascinating stuff.
On November 09 2018 03:42 FrostedMiniWheats wrote:
Serral Iron Shiek'd his ass xD

who was Dark in this analogy then? Bob Backlund? Backlund didn't quit; his manager Arnold Skoland threw in the towel against his wishes.


Dark is the guy who got, "humbled". Although, not really based on this interview


Dark said Serral is like a machine, in the sense that he doesn't make mistakes.


He sounds pretty respectful here, how much more humbled would you expect he be? He also only "speculates" (could be translation artifact) about how to beat Serral, implying he's not really sure how to. I don't think it would be very like any entertainer, let alone Dark, mope about on stream over their loss, it seems like about as much respect as you can give short of stating explicitly "he's a better player than me". But Dark kinda already implies it I think
Jung Yoon Jong fighting, even after retirement! Feel better soon.
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
November 08 2018 20:11 GMT
#16
Taking it to the late-game and trying to out-mechanic Serral is an... interesting strategy.
xtorn
Profile Blog Joined December 2013
4060 Posts
November 08 2018 20:52 GMT
#17
"Dark said Serral is like a machine, in the sense that he doesn't make mistakes. Dark speculated the way to beat him might be to take him to the late game and just overwhelm him with better mechanics"

incredible how things have changed, Koreans trying to find ways to win

Dark fighting! <3

Life - forever the Legend in my heart
Shuffleblade
Profile Joined February 2012
Sweden1903 Posts
November 08 2018 21:32 GMT
#18
This was a fun read, thanks for sharing Wax!
Maru, Bomber, TY, Dear, Classic, DeParture and Rogue!
Mun_Su
Profile Joined December 2012
France2063 Posts
November 08 2018 21:42 GMT
#19
Thanks for sharing and translating, good read
INno <3 - TY - Maru - Taeja - Rain <3 - Classic <3 - Stephano <3 - soO <3 - Soulkey - Dark - SERRAL =O / END REGION LOCK
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
November 08 2018 21:45 GMT
#20
On November 09 2018 03:47 Hvvacha wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 09 2018 03:31 Musicus wrote:
hahaha oh Dark, even a bit awkward with other korean players from throwing shade and getting warnings from blizzard

maybe tone it down a bit, but I can't say I dislike it


what about avilo etc, when someone like him acting similar it's suddenly bad.

Dark doesn't accuse people of cheating and doesn't frequently use insults and childish language towards other players when he loses.

Also trash talk is just more appropriate when you're actually good.
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33592 Posts
November 08 2018 21:46 GMT
#21
Well he does no-GG quite a bit. He's no angel, at least.
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
Echoic_
Profile Joined April 2018
12 Posts
November 08 2018 22:05 GMT
#22
Love this. Dark seems like a cool dude.
Jinro | MMA | MVP | Polt | Taeja | TY | HasHe | SeleCT | Alicia | Zest | Stats | LosirA | Leenock | DongRaeGu | July | Dark
Kalera
Profile Joined January 2018
United States338 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-08 22:30:02
November 08 2018 22:23 GMT
#23
On November 09 2018 03:47 Hvvacha wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 09 2018 03:31 Musicus wrote:
hahaha oh Dark, even a bit awkward with other korean players from throwing shade and getting warnings from blizzard

maybe tone it down a bit, but I can't say I dislike it


what about avilo etc, when someone like him acting similar it's suddenly bad.


Even when Dark said "son of a bitch", it was hardly angry or ragey, more resigned than anything. You can watch the clip yourself (not in English). Feel like it's basically what most zergs say to themselves when they see a cannon rush. Meanwhile avilo often gets emotional and lashes out at other players. It's on a totally different level.
Anc13nt
Profile Blog Joined October 2017
1557 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-08 22:52:07
November 08 2018 22:50 GMT
#24
I love Dark lol. I actually think what he said was somewhat true about Serral's weakness being late game. I would say he is legitimately unbeatable between 0-100 and he is actually beatable from 100-200 (the first max). But then in ultra late game he becomes really difficult to beat again. If you watch most of his losses in ZvP, it's usually when the Protoss is nearing its first max or if it's a two base timing attack.

Edir: That's why I don't know why everyone is trying to cheese him; it rarely works tbh. Only way to beat him is straight up and even then it's obviously tough but possible.
Toua
Profile Joined February 2017
Denmark318 Posts
November 08 2018 23:31 GMT
#25
Dark will come back next year and win a GSL I believe
Go Dark!
Stats, Dark, Maru <3
franzji
Profile Joined September 2013
United States583 Posts
November 09 2018 03:44 GMT
#26
me and dark must have been watching different games, because any time Stats tried to use feedback, the broodlords spaced out the templar, it was pretty amazing to see serral abuse how slow templar are.
Argonauta
Profile Joined July 2016
Spain4967 Posts
November 09 2018 08:31 GMT
#27
keep posting this kind of interviews/extracts from the korean comunity please!
Rogue | Maru | Scarlett | Trap
TL+ Member
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
November 09 2018 11:02 GMT
#28
I agree, they are very interesting!
Sound1
Profile Joined August 2016
France93 Posts
November 09 2018 11:22 GMT
#29
On November 09 2018 04:29 Edulis wrote:
Most games I've seen serral lost were games where he's caught off-guard. Without his ability to judge the situation, he would be just another EU zerg with good mechanics.)



Yep, I though to myself same things. It is like he uses map hack, his early zerglings scout is amazing as the way he uses them to know what it goes out from the opponent base. Probably the best player to catch informations from his opponent, and that is the name of the game.
Startale Sound Fan boy Forever !
SetStndbySmn
Profile Joined August 2010
United States657 Posts
Last Edited: 2018-11-12 19:31:30
November 12 2018 19:27 GMT
#30
When the histories are written, let it be said that NA did its part. We ruined the form of a top Korean contender with our nonsense. We did it boys and girls.
"He doesn't operate under some divine shroud that lets him determine what is or is not valid culture. He cannot rob you, retroactively, of wholly valid experiences; he cannot transform them into worthless things." - Tycho
Shathe
Profile Joined July 2017
Hungary422 Posts
November 12 2018 20:58 GMT
#31
good read
phodacbiet
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1740 Posts
November 12 2018 21:23 GMT
#32
On November 13 2018 04:27 SetStndbySmn wrote:
When the histories are written, let it be said that NA did its part. We ruined the form of a top Korean contender with our nonsense. We did it boys and girls.


Team work makes the dream work!
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