Clem: "I'm really looking forward to playing some Korean Z…

Most of Clem's major successes came during the online-era of StarCraft II, but the Terran virtuoso didn't seem too worried about returning to a live setting when we talked to him ahead of IEM Katowice 2022.

Read on to see what Clem had to say about returning to the live stage, finally getting to play against Korean Zergs without lag, and the deadly field of players contending for the title at Katowice.

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This interview has been edited and condensed.

TL (Waxangel): How are you feeling ahead of Katowice?

Clem: So, I'm feeling really good actually because I've been practicing a ton the last few weeks, way more than I usually do for any other tournament [Note: Interview was conducted on Feb 14]. So I really hope I'm going to do well because I'm practicing a lot and I'm in pretty good shape I would say right now.

Probably the best shape I've been in since at least a few months. So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to playing Katowice.

Q: What kind of practice have you been doing? Just laddering? Custom games?

Well it's a bit of everything, like some ladder, some customs games, too. I would say I just play both of them. It's mostly playing way more games than I usually played in the past. Way higher game count in total.

Q: Have you been doing anything special in terms of customs? Last year Reynor talked up the 1v4, 1v5 practice after winning the championship.

No, it's pretty much the same, just more of it. Maybe practicing some stuff in particular, but…

I don't know, I don't really think that the 1v4 whatever is very useful. I think it's a bit worse than playing against an actual player of the opponent race.

Q: So it's just a meme?

No, I don't think it's really good *laughs*.

Or maybe [Reynor] does it because, like, he has no Terrans to play against, so it's better to just play against like a four-person archon than just playing a 5.5k MMR Terrans or whatever. But I... I don't know, it's just my opinion, maybe, but I don't think it's that good.

Q: Are you looking forward to playing at a big live event again? You looked great at the Underdogs event played from the O'Gaming studio in Paris.

Yeah, yeah, I really am. Playing in Underdogs was really cool. Seeing the French scene and playing in front of the French crowd was really cool—and gives you kind of a live feeling before playing in Katowice, I guess?

But, yeah, I'm really looking forward to playing offline again. It's been so long, I'm super excited for it actually. I really hope I'm going to do well in the group stage, so I can play on the big stage.

Q: Most of your major successes happened during the online era....

I think it's just a coincidence to be honest. Like, the moment I went full time, the moment I got better than when I used to be was during the pandemic when everything was online

I mean back then [before the online era], I really don't think I was that good back then, but I was still getting like top 16 at DreamHack or whatever. And I think for my level back then, it was not bad actually.

And I don't think the stage is that big of a problem, I just think the moment I got better was during the pandemic, pretty much.

Q: So do you think you play better in a live setting then?

It's different for sure because the mood is different. It feels a bit more... It feels like the matches are more important. It can make you be a little more stressed I think, but it can also do the opposite and make you really focused and really want to win and really as motivated as you could be.

So I think for me, usually, sometimes I get a bit stressed, and maybe I play a bit worse sometimes. But I would say that there's also times where it makes me really motivated and
and it makes me play well and be really focused, because I really want to do so well when I'm playing on stage.

Q: Any particular player or match-up you're excited to play without lag? Dark has talked about how everyone needs to play offline in a fair setting to find out who's truly better. Are you looking forward to TvZ's in that setting?

Yeah, I would say that one, playing against the Korean Zergs without lag. It's gonna be really interesting. I'm really looking forward to playing some Korean Zergs without ping because, yeah, we know I haven't been doing well against them online. But also honestly, playing TvZ is like…

170 ping? Even if we both have 170 ping, splitting and target firing banes and stuff is SO hard to do. So I'm… I'm not saying I'm necessarily going to do way better offline. I'm just kinda looking forward to seeing how I do, and if I do better, and how it's going to go.

It's kind of fair though, what he said about playing in a fair setting, everyone in the same place, no ping for everyone.

It's kinda crazy that during the pandemic that there were SO many online tournaments. And cross server, whereas, before the pandemic, EU vs Korea wasn't even a thing, because it was like 'no it's way too laggy, we're not going to play EU vs Korea it's way too laggy.' And then during the pandemic we kinda had to play cross server all the time, and I feel like at some point, I just had enough of cross server and I really wanted to play offline.

Just to see a bit how it goes, it's going to be way nicer when you're playing you know? It's a way nicer feeling to play no ping than playing with ping.

Q: I've heard both sides of the argument in terms of who has the advantage with or without lag. So you think you have the advantage in TvZ?

Um, it's always hard to say, right? Cause, it also depends on the day in particular, the shape of
how I'm feeling and how my opponent is feeling and stuff. It's always a bit difficult to say in advance who's going to win, but I just think I have good chances of doing better in offline events than in online for sure. I think so. But then again, we'll see.

Q: A lot of foreign Terrans seem to be stronger in TvP than TvZ recently. What's going on? Is it about the maps, or something with the meta?

Yah, I see that, that's pretty fair to say. I think the map pool in TvZ currently is Zerg favored, at least it's more Zerg favored than the last one for sure—that was a bit Terran favored probably. So yeah, the map pool changing is a big part of it. And then again, honestly, also sometimes playing against Lurkers is not always easy on these maps.

So it's a bit of... I think it's mostly TvZ being harder on these maps. And in the previous season we had like Oxide which was a good Terran map, Blackburn, also Beckett which was really good for Terran. We had a couple of good Terran maps, and I feel like in this current map pool we have way less of them and more Zerg maps, so the map pool is a big big part of it.

Q: At least according to Aligulac, TvP is your best match-up now [Note: Not actually correct, though the gap is slim between Clem's TvP and TvZ]. Would you agree, or is that kind of deceptive?

Maybe it's kind of how the meta evolved the last few weeks and stuff. We really have some potential as Terran to make stuff happen, make plays happen. But I think it's also, it might also be our TvZ going down that makes it look like our TvP is our best match-up? My TvZ was my best match-up in the previous map pool and the previous season—if my TvZ goes down, then my TvP will be my best match-up, you know? That's maye a bit how it works.

And also, if you're playing on the EU ladder, I'm not sure how it is on the other ladders and stuff, but if you're playing on the EU ladder it's like 80 or 90 percent Protoss some of the time. So you're basically only playing TvP as a Terran, so maybe that also contributes to our TvP being
pretty strong compared to other matchups, because we just play a lot of it.

Q: Personally which match-up are you the most confident in? Are you still most confident in TvZ?

I would say my TvZ and TvP feel a bit similar I guess. It would be hard for me to say if I feel more confident in TvP or TvZ, I'm not too sure, I feel like it's a bit similar. Then TvT, I always feel a bit less confident—it's been like this for a while, it's just like a me thing.

But yeah, I would say right now in TvZ and TvP I feel I have kind of the same level of confidence.

Q: Speaking of TvT... You're in a group with Maru which is pretty rough. Does it feel annoying to have to practice late game TvT specifically for him?

That's true, but also I think practicing late game TvT is never bad. There's alway some TvT's that go to the late game. And if you're really good in the late game, then it's kind of your opponent's role to make a play happen, to not let it get there. If the guy knows he's going to lose in the late game, he's going to try to make stuff happen, and then you can get an advantage by holding off his attacks and stuff. So I think practicing late game is never bad.

But it's more like practicing TvT in general when you're an EU Terran is really hard. Especially for a tournament like Katowice which is going to be played offline, practicing with the Koreans feels a bit weird because you're going to practice on ping to play a tournament without ping.

And if you want to play against the EU Terrans it's not always easy. There's not many of them so it's not that easy to play TvT's, and I play way more TvZ's and TvP's than I play TvT for sure.

Q: So what have you been doing to try and get more TvT in?

I guess it's just asking the TL Terrans and the EU Terrans in general for customs games, so I can play some TvT's; that's just mostly it.

[Wax doesn't really ask a question but just rambles some more about Maru being really good at late game TvT]

I mean yeah, for sure Maru is strong in any match-up—TvZ, TvP,TvZ he's looking at the late game, the camping god. He stays there with his Ghosts and stuff against Zerg and Protoss, with his Vikings and everything. The same in TvT—if you go into the late game against Maru, even if you're ahead it's gonna be super, super, super hard to face him.

Yeah, I'm not sure if he just played more late games than everybody else or if he's just way better at it, but he's clearly the best late game player for sure.

Q: How do you feel about your group in general [Note: Maru, Clem, Reynor, Scarlett, Zoun]? A lot of people are calling it the group of death.

Yeah, I think it's probably the hardest group. It's also the one, if you add all of the players' EPT points, it's the group that has the most total points. I think it's the hardest group probably, but obviously every group is really hard. I'm going to try to do my best... I think I have a good shot.

Q: Last year you took a painful loss to Zest in the playoffs of IEM Katowice. What did you learn or take away from it?

It's always a learning experience, especially playing games that far in a tournament, it's not always like the same kind of match you're going into. Yeah it's cool to have experience in those kinds of matches.

And for sure that best of five was a bit painful *laughs* but also to be honest I was also kind of happy with my performance overall that tournament, so I don't mind it that much. But for sure, it's always nice to play matches like that, because I feel like I always learn a lot from them.

Q: In terms of best-of-five series planning or something like that?

It's not really about BO5 or BO7; it's more like…

It's hard to explain, but sometimes when you're playing matches that far into a tournament there is a bit more pressure and… I don't know, it feels a bit different, because sometimes your preparation time is also a bit different than if you're playing a group stage with 8 players or 6 players in your group or whatever.

The kind of match you're going into seems a bit different, and it's playing against Zest who obviously is a super good player, a super good Korean Protoss. It always, always makes you learn a lot.

Q: What are your chances of winning it all this tournament?

It's super hard to say honestly. Especially in this tournament there's so many really good players that could win. It's so hard to say exactly what chances everyone has. Honestly, I don't really want to say anything because...

Like, I could lose in the group stage, I could do very well—it's honestly so hard because there's so many good players, I'm really not sure.

Q: Who's your toughest potential opponent?

I would say Maru for sure. I think he's the best—especially over the last few months, he's been the best player in general. And especially TvT, for me personally is really hard, so Maru for sure.

Q: What do you think of Reynor's form? He hasn't been putting up great results lately, but we all know what happened last year.

Yeah, Reynor is... Even though he hasn't been doing that amazing over the last few
months, you just know he's going to show up for Katowice. He's going to be pumped, he's going to have his Italian rap on, you just know he's going to be in good form and he's going to do well, probably.

So, yeah, even though he hasn't been doing that good in the past few months and weeks, he's going to show up I'm sure.

Q: If you had to predict the winner, who would it be?

I would say Maru, I think that's a bit of the obvious answer.

Honestly, so many people could… Like I think there are like a solid ten players that I could see very well taking the trophy. So, I think it really depends on how the bracket plays out and how the matches play out. It's really so hard to say—it's the tournament where there are the most
strong players, and it's just so hard to say honestly.

Q: How about Serral? Most other players seem to be giving him a ton of respect, even if he also hasn't been putting up the absolute best results lately.

Well, Serral is always super dangerous no matter what, he's an insane player honestly. You can never be like, 'oh Serral , it will be fine [against him], Serral is that not in good shape right now'. No, Serral is always super, super scary.

If I had to play against him I would just… I'm not sure, he's just always good, that's what I'm saying.

Q: Any concerns about the pandemic and the potential of being unable to play if you test positive?

I actually read that yeah, that's kinda crazy. You know, I was thinking about it yesterday and I was like, of all of the players playing at Katowice, there might be like one guy that can't play because he tested positive. That would be really sad for him, and I hope it's not going to be me.

I mean, I'm pretty scared about it honestly. Cause that would really really suck, and I really hope nobody is going to be unable to participate because of it, because that would really suck for them, and I would really not want to be them.

Q: So you're just staying holed up at home until the event?

Yeah, I'm just not going out a lot, just trying to stay as safe as I can to have the least chances of getting it.

Q: Any final comments or shoutouts?

Well shout out to Team Liquid of course. As usual they've been super supportive and amazing, so shout out to Team Liquid.

And yeah, I'm just looking forward to playing in Katowice. I hope people will be watching, I'm sure people will be happy with how the tournament goes, it's going to be really hype. I'm really excited and I hope the viewers are also really excited.

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You can follow Clem on Twitch at Twitch.tv/liquidclem and on Twitter at @clem_sc2.