EPTTranscribed by: www.scboy.cc(member-only)
Translated by me: A bit GPT + correction.
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F91: Hello, everyone. Today, we finally have the pleasure of interviewing 李少(a CNSC nickname)—Peinan 'Oliveira' Li. Last week, I posted on the forum asking everyone what questions they'd like to ask Oliveira, so I'm taking this opportunity at today's farewell meal to do so.
Oliveira: I wouldn’t exactly call this a farewell dinner (laughs).
F91: Let’s call it a get-together, right? I'll ask him some questions. These are mostly questions collected from everyone on the forum, and we've filtered them a bit. Now, let me start with my own question.
Part 1: F91's Interview.
F91: Without the pressure of competing professionally or participating in tournaments anymore, how do you feel mentally?
Oliveira: It's been a bit strange at first. Before, I'd wake up every day with a goal—like working out, then training, and practicing until the late of night, always striving to improve. But now, after retiring, it feels different, just a different vibe altogether. The pressure is definitely off, though. Honestly, for the first time in years, I traveled to Shanghai or other places without bringing my mouse and keyboard.
F91: So it feels like a big release of pressure?
Oliveira: Not exactly, just more relaxed.
F91: Pretty relaxed. I know you struggled with the decision to retire for a long time. Earlier, you mentioned that XiaoSe called you late at night to tell you that the SC2 might no longer be at EWC. Did you feel like you hit rock bottom emotionally at that moment?
Oliveira: Not really. Back in September and October, I was still practicing hard, practicing with Serral and some other players. Before he went to HomeStory Cup, we were all practicing a lot, especially since we knew there'd be a new patch. But later, when I heard IEM might be gone, and then got that call from XiaoSe about the SC2 at EWC potentially being canceled, I just thought, "What am I even training for?" You know? It was like all the motivation was drained out of me.
F91: So after learning about it, I noticed you kept practicing, but it seemed like you were lost, without a clear direction. Is that how you felt?
Oliveira: Yeah, it was like, "What's the point of all this effort if there isn't a future?" That was the feeling I had at the time.
F91: So, in the end, before you told me that no matter what, whether the EWC happened or not, you would retire, how did you come to that decision?
Oliveira: To be honest, I was already considering retiring after winning Katowice in 2023. But then came Gamers8 and other tournaments, so I thought, why not persist a bit longer? As I continued, I felt like I was pushing myself beyond my limits. Sometimes, you can't ask for too much—you can't demand everything at once. After winning Katowice, I felt that it was still very important to achieve more in my career. I didn't want to win one championship and then just "retire at the top" and relax. That didn't sit right with me.
Although my results last year in 2024 weren't great—since I didn't perform well in the two biggest tournaments—I still wanted to achieve something. Even before I officially announced my retirement, I thought about giving it one more push in 2025. After all, I didn't do well in two biggest tournaments, and with the new patch, I felt like I was adapting well to it. So, I wanted to try again.
But then, a series of events happened. I don't like being in limbo. We were told that ESL was supposed to announce the 2025 plans in November, but here we are in January, and there's still no announcement. For my life and my own future, I can't keep myself in such an unstable situation. After all, I'm turning 25 this year.
F91: That's true. I think, in this situation, Oliveira is a player who has a clear plan for himself. Many players don't have such plans—they just take things day by day with a casual attitude.
F91: So when you decided to retire, how did your dad react?
Oliveira: Surprisingly, my family was very happy. Even my grandmother was happy. In fact, she was the first to call me, saying, “You're finally retired.” Back in 2023, my grandma and family had already suggested that I should retire, feeling that I had too much pressure on me.
F91: You'd already reached the peak.
Oliveira: Yes, they thought I had already won the big one (the IEM championship), and my career was complete. They suggested retiring because there were many things at home I could help take care of. But I felt that retiring at that point didn't have enough meaning. I wanted to achieve a bit more—it could've been even better. Back then, after I won IEM, a lot of StarCraft fans came back into the game. If I had announced my retirement right after that, I think people would have been quite disappointed. So, I decided I'd play for another year or two.
F91: Was that a sense of responsibility to the community? (laughs)
Oliveira: Not really. My family's attitude was supportive—they thought it was fine either way. After all, I'm already 24, and there are plenty of other things I can do as well.
F91: You're not too fixated on it. Your family probably feels that you've already become a world champion, as your dad once said, you planted the Chinese flag on foreign soil, right? They feel you've accomplished that dream of youth, and now it's time to focus on more practical things, like personal life plans or things your family has planned out for you.
Oliveira: Exactly. I remember a fan once told me something in a comment—they said, “Winning the championship is the ending of a novel. What comes after is the true beginning of life.”
F91: (laughs) Can't argue with that. Well, that's enough casual talk. Next, I'll ask some of the questions from the forum fans.
Part 2: Questions from the Community
F91: The first question: People heard that you were planning to go back to school. Where would you go, and what would you study?
Oliveira: I'm not going back to school. I don't know who spread that.
F91: (laughs) I did.
Oliveira: I'm not going back to school because I feel it's too unrealistic at this age. But my family does hope I'll travel a bit, maybe to Australia, since I have relatives there. I might go visit Sydney.
F91: Didn't you tell me you wanted to improve your English?
Oliveira: Oh, that's more like learning something new, not going to school. I think picking up more skills while you're young is always a good idea.
F91: See, I kept your secret safe, didn't I?
Oliveira: OK.
F91: Even though I said you were going to study, I never mentioned what specifically.
F91: So, the first question is answered. Now, onto the second question.
F91: You've retired from esports after so many years in the scene. Now that you've essentially switched tracks, do you think you'll ever work in esports again?
Oliveira: Well, I think people's mindsets vary at different times. For now, if you ask me, I'd say I've done plenty of work in the spotlight. And I'm not too interested in continuing in esports. I'd rather do something in another field where nobody recognized me. However, yesterday Haohan(major sponsor of DKZ Gaming) and I had a talk, and he thinks there are still opportunities in esports that I might pursue. So, I can't give you a definitive answer right now. My mindset might change in the future. For now, I plan to take the next two or three months to reflect and settle myself.
F91: I think there's no need to make any definitive statements like “I'll never work in esports again.” After all, you've spent 10 years in the scene and made so many friends, right? Through those connections, you might end up working on some collaborative esports projects in the future—it's hard to say. I believe it's too early to rule out working in esports again because no one knows what the future holds.
F91: Now for the third question: As a retired player moving out of the spotlight, can you handle the loss of attention and exposure?
Oliveira: I can handle it just fine—I actually prefer it this way (laughs). Honestly, I've never been one to seek attention. Even after I won the championship and had to do commercials, I wasn't too into it. I prefer to focus on doing things steadily step by step.
F91: From a player's perspective, being a world champion, doing commercials could earn you more money than competing. But I think Oliveira values results. He probably avoided doing too many commercials because he was worried people would criticize him if his performance dropped (laughs).
Oliveira: No, no, that's not it. I need to clarify that. Back then, after winning the championship, I had a lot of opportunities to do commercials, but I chose not to and focused on training instead. I felt that after winning, there were precedents where players became too relaxed, took on too many commercials, and then their performance plummeted, and they couldn't recover from that. I didn't want to become one of those players.
F91: That reminds me of a player called Sky. After winning a championship, he'd take everyone out for dinner that night, but the next day, he'd quietly go back to training. If he lost, he'd buy a plane ticket immediately and head home to practice.
Oliveira: Right. Even though I didn't accept commercials and my results afterward weren't great, I don't regret that decision.
F91: Next question: As a player, you've been very successful. After 10 years, you've won a world championship and many regional titles. Looking back at all those years of competing and practicing, is there anything you regret in particular?
Oliveira: Definitely. Being a world champion isn't something you can dwell on forever. I won in 2023, and that's that—there's nothing more to say about it. But what I do regret is my performance at the two biggest tournaments last year (2024). IEM and EWC—in both I was basically eliminated in the first round. Even though I won some regional events later, those two tournaments really left me with regrets. I had trained so much and even set up a self-funded training camp in Chengdu. I wouldn't have spent that money if I didn't care about results—I could have used it on other things.
Another regret is that I never managed to beat Serral in series. The closest was a 2-3 loss. I've beaten him several times in custom games, though. I 3-2ed him quite a few times on the new patch, and even 4-0 him once. But those were just practice games.
F91: As XiaoSe would say, “Why would ladder games matter? I'm still the one winning tournaments.” (laughs).
Oliveira: Yeah, that's definitely something I regret. Another thing I've mentioned before is that I wanted to win one more world championship, mainly for the fans. But honestly, I don't see a bright future for StarCraft II. Things are too uncertain, and I don't think I can keep myself going under these conditions.
F91: I completely understand. Once you reach a certain age, it's hard to focus solely on practice. You start thinking more about personal matters, especially when the future of the game you're competing in looks so bleak.
F91: Next question: What was the tournament you wanted to win the most but didn't? Was it the NSL where you, as a member of XTeam, lost to IA in the final? Or was there another one?
(Background story: There's a famous video where, after losing to IA, young Oliveira, who was still TIME at that time, leant weeping on the table in the glass booth. IA and other seniors came over to comfort him.)
Oliveira: Not really. I think I was upset that time because it was my first major loss. Back then, I'd only been playing professionally for about a year or less—was it 2015 or 2016? Anyway, it was normal. For someone my age, it was rare to experience such a big defeat so early on. What made it hard was feeling like I was letting my teammates down—not myself. We all thought we were done for during the Archon match, but then Cloudy made an incredible comeback. And there we were in the final. I felt like I had let the team down in that final match. That's why I was so upset.
F91: Honestly, I've always wanted to tell you that I feel responsible for that loss. Not because I put you in the lineup, but back then, we did discuss it and Cloudy could have played. I insisted you go because you were the team's ace. And the ace has to face the challenge.
Oliveira: I think it was fine.
F91: It was my decision to put you in.
Oliveira: But I think it was the right call. Even at the time, I wanted to play.
F91: The pressure of a team final is really intense—I totally get that.
Oliveira: I feel like without those early losses, I wouldn't be the person I am today.
F91: (laughs)
Oliveira: There was another time, when KZG won WTL. I wanted to play that time as well. I figured, after what happened at NSL, I might as well do it.
F91: As a player, learning to overcome the pressure of competition is the key.
Oliveira: People often say I have a problem with nerves in tournaments, but honestly, I don't think that's the case.
F91: Hmm.
Oliveira: Every player gets nervous before a big match. But I don't think my mindset is as bad as people make it out to be. If anything, I feel calmer in bigger matches. It's just that I think my skills weren't enough sometimes. Winning IEM might have set people's expectations too high. Some think I'm always at this peak level (gestures high), but if you watch my other matches, you'd know that I'm usually at this level (gestures much lower) (laughs). People expect too much from me.
F91: After you became a world champion, it's natural for people to have high expectations. They can't accept it when you lose in the group stage afterward—they think you should at least make it to the quarterfinals or semifinals.
Oliveira: Yeah, and honestly, I couldn't take it myself either.
F91: Alright, let's move on to the next question. A fan asked, what if, one day, StarCraft II makes a comeback? Would Oliveira return in that case? Or no. Is it a farewell forever and ever?
Oliveira: I probably wouldn't. I believe you can't keep holding on to something after leaving a career—at least, that's how I feel. Everyone has their own choice, but for me, once I've made a decision, that's it.
F91: I think, as far as competitive StarCraft II is concerned, Oliveira definitely wouldn't return. He might play a few casual matches when he's bored, but coming back to play as a pro-gamer again is impossible. As for other games, like working on something related to esports, it is possible. Who knows what the future holds?
F91: Next question—this one's about us. Will you occasionally show up in the Scboy livestream?
Oliveira: Maybe. Who knows?
F91: (laughs) I think you will. Let me tell everyone how he works: If I ask him once, he probably won't show up. But if I ask twice, he definitely will. He'll show up the second time for sure. And if there's really something that needs his help, he'll come without hesitation. Oliveira is someone who's always willing to help. Let me put this nice hat on your head first (laughs).
F91: Ninth question. Can you record a farewell video? (Turns to the camera) Actually, no need to answer this one—we'll record one later.
F91: On to the tenth question. A fan asked if you could have one last match against IGXY, like the ending of *Yu-Gi-Oh GX*, tying the story together full circle.
(Background story: IGXY is the major reason why Oliveira chose Terran as his main race.)
Oliveira: I don't think I'll play vs him again. Speaking of this, people might wonder why I played Protoss in my last few matches. The truth is, I already decided to retire at the end of December. But I promised Saber(a.k.a. Liuli, organizer of LiuLi Cup) and F91 that I'd finish playing in their tournaments. I couldn't play in the playoffs because there wouldn't be enough time left for me. If I won with Terran and then forfeit, it would have been unfair to the other players. So, I felt the best way to end it was just to play without caring about Ws and Ls, and to enjoy those final matches.
F91: I totally understand Oliveira's opinion. For him, if he'd won those matches, he would've had to prepare for the next round. And that would've been tough since he'd already made his decision to retire. If he won and then forfeit, it would've been unfair to the players that got eliminated because of him.
Oliveira: Exactly.
F91: Final question. A fan asked if you could create a social media account, like a Weibo account, and occasionally share updates about your daily life. For example, when you go abroad, you could share interesting things or experiences with everyone. I think that's feasible.
Oliveira: We'll see. Honestly, I don't feel like it right now. I just want to stay on a low profile and keep things simple.
F91: How about this? After you register an account—or if you don't want to, I'll ask one of our colleagues to do it—you can send photos or updates to them, and they'll make posts for you. That way, you don't have to manage these stuff yourself.
Oliveira: We'll see. I can't make promises now. (laughs).
F91: (laughs) Alright, that's all the questions from the fans on the scboy.cc forum. I filtered through them and didn't pick too many. But I think everyone now has a general idea of Oliveira's plans after retirement and his mindset leading up to it. Thanks to everyone who's been loving and supporting him. Oliveira, please say something as a final goodbye.
Part 3: Oliveira's Goodbye Message
Oliveira: Ok I'll say a few final words, just casual talk with everyone. Firstly, I'd like to thank you all. It's been 10 years now, exactly 10 years. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. You've all helped me fulfill a dream. Some of you have been watching me since I first started competing at 15, while others might have started following me after I won IEM. Either way, I'm deeply grateful to all of you.
If you ask me about regrets, I'd say that after winning IEM, I didn't achieve much after that. That's definitely a regret for me personally, perhaps for many of you as well. Back in XiAn (at StarsWar), I said I wanted to win another world championship for you, but I didn't make it. It's already time for me to move on to a new career.
Actually, after winning IEM, something even more meaningful happened to me. It wasn't just the joy of winning the title—it was hearing from so many people who said that my run, not just the results but the story itself, inspired them during tough times. In XiAn, a lot of people told me that my experience motivated them, and I received letters from people saying that seeing my story helped them change their lives when they were struggling. It made their lives better.
I believe the measure of a person's success is deeply connected to how many people they've influenced. Knowing that my IEM run inspired so many people made me feel like I was finally on the right path, doing the right thing—not as some random guy who plays computer games, but as someone who made a meaningful difference.
So, as we say goodbye, I don't think there's need to be too sad. It's not like we'll never see each other again. It's more like a transition. For some people who've followed me for 10 years, maybe even met me in person at tournaments, it might feel like losing an old friend, and I completely understand that. But I hope we don't focus too much on the sorrow.
Just as F91 said, you can wrap it up one last time.
F91: (laughs) Alright, on behalf of Oliveira, let me say the final words of farewell. Brothers, the mountains remain green, and the rivers still flow. Until we meet again. Goodbye!
Oliveira: I wish everyone the very best. To keep it simple, I hope your lives can all become better and better. If you ever see me abroad or somewhere in China, don't hesitate to say hello!
The End
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GG WP, Oliveira. Until we meet again.
