[TSL] Mondragon Interview Post-Semifinals

Interview with ToT)Mondragon(

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Congratulations, Mondragon, for advancing to the Finals. Tell us a bit about the series from your point of view.

ToT)Mondragon(:
Thanks a lot. The series started off on Andromeda and it was the only map I thought about a strategy before. I prepared a 'special' strategy - nothing new but there were some thoughts behind it. I was 100% sure that Sen would go either 12 hatch expansion or 9 pool, because those two strategies are the only valid ones on Andromeda. Thus I decided to go overpool, because I would be ahead vs 9 pool and I would be able to kill his expansion if I micro decently. After I saw his build I was confident about winning the first game.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
In Game 2 you made use of your earlier speed upgrade.

ToT)Mondragon(:
The second game was on Tornado where I did not plan any strategy before and decided to go 9 pool with speed first. He went 9 pool as well but with lair first I think. Since I knew he had to be at 6 o'clock due to overlord movements, I directy went to attack his main and caught 3 or 4 lings off guard while he was attacking me with 6 lings, though as his lings arrived at my base I had 6 lings waiting and could beat his attack. In the meantime I was able to harass him and kill like 2 or 3 drones which gave me a huge edge. The first muta battle did not go as I wanted it to go, but due to my heavy economy advantage and taking the expansion it was just a matter of time until I won.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Why did you 9 pool again in the third game?

ToT)Mondragon(:
Third game I decided to go 9 pool once again because I thought "he has to go 12 hatch expansion once!". But again, he did not go for expansion but for 9 Gas 10 Pool or so and played it very very risky in my opinion. He went lair first without even knowing what I was doing. Therefore his lings came pretty late and I was able to harass him and deal huge damage with my lings, so that eventually he only had 4 Drones left when his spire finished.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Did you watch Sen's previous TSL games (especially the match vs ret) in preparation for the match? And if so did it influence your preparation at all. Also, did you have any strategies in mind for a possible 4th (Destination) and 5th (Fighting Spirit) game?

ToT)Mondragon(:
Since I don't like watching vods to prepare games, I didn't see the games of Sen vs Jos. I only knew Sen went 12 hatch every game, but I was sure he wouldn't do the same again. That's why I didn't really think about any specific strategies, because ZvZ is much about build order luck anyway and there are only a few valid strategies you can use. In the end all those strategies are like the rock paper scissors system. Thus it means to just use a strategy you feel confident in this 1 second you decide about it while playing!

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
You often call ZvZ a coinflip. You must have practiced a lot of coin flipping to make it 3-0! What did you expect going into the match, are you surprised the the victory was this decisive?

ToT)Mondragon(:
As I mentioned before, ZvZ is like the rock paper scissors system, which is more or less like flipping a coin. If you have a build order where you are far behind the other, it's almost impossible to win if the opponent doesn't make a huge mistake - unless your name is Jaedong. To be honest I didn't practice too much ZvZ this week because I both have to study a lot, and because most of my fellow ToT players are busy with the Starcraft 2 beta and don't care about playing BW at the moment. Thanks to Gan and TechnicS who played a bit with me this week! I was definitely surprised it ended 3-0 but anything can happen in ZvZ and today the luck was on my side.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Sen was in ToT for a long time and you two were widely considered the two best non-Korean Zerg players, are you guys still close?

ToT)Mondragon(:
I wouldn't say we are close, we pretty much lost contact during the years because of his retirement. But we are definitely good friends and it's always a pleasure to talk and play with Senny He's one of the most mannered top players in the history of BW.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
He certainly is. You just mentioned being busy with exams at the moment, some people feel really uncomfortable in matches when they lack practice. How important do you personally feel practice is, especially going into the Final next week?

ToT)Mondragon(:
Somehow I have the habit to perform better when I don't have much time to practice. It's a mystery, maybe I just practice more intensely when I am lacking time and can focus better . Unfortunately I haven't played ZvP since 1-2 months ago because I was working on my ZvT [Editor's note: except for the semifinals, all of Mondragon's TSL matches were ZvT] . This means that I have to learn ZvP from scratch with a few games this week.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Let's hope you find some time! Nony will be your opponent in the Grand Final. On his way there he defeated IdrA, who most people thought was the favourite to win it all. How do you feel about Nony, and not having to play Idra?

ToT)Mondragon(:
I definitely prefer to play NonY over IdrA, although I am more confident with my ZvT which makes it equal. NonY has shown that he's a great player by showing great performances throughout the entire tournament. Seeing his performance against players such as Tarson, IdrA and JF, I definitely consider him better than me at this point considering his PvZ is supposed to be better than his PvT.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
The Final will be best of 7. Most tournaments don't have such long series, how do you feel about that?

ToT)Mondragon(:
An old man like me doesn't like to play such long series I often get bored after 2-3 practice games and a bo7 looks like a nightmare to me, but I'll try to get the best out of it.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
You don't have to tell us any specifics, but can we expect some trademark ZvP moves, like the plagues & guardians you showcased in your ZvTs?

ToT)Mondragon(:
Hehe, I haven't thought about anything yet, but I think it's difficult to surprise with anything in ZvP and my runby lings are outdated But sometimes historical moments return!

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
We shall see! Before we wrap this up: You said most of your ToT mates were playing SC2 beta right now, do you have a key as well? And if so did you give it a try yet?

ToT)Mondragon(:
Yep, I do have a key and I played more games than I wanted to. I was forced to give it a try because no one wanted to practice ZvZ with me Overall it's better than the last time i played it (in 2008 or so) but once you switch back from SC2 to BW you realize how good BW is and how much overview and control you have over your units

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Will you play SC2 some more during the beta phase?

ToT)Mondragon(:
I'll absolutely try it more after both TSL is finished and all my exams are over. I hope that the Beta will still last a bit.

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Any thoughts about Sen vs JF for third place? Any shoutouts you'd like to make?

ToT)Mondragon(:
I think that Sen and JF are both on the same level and predicting the winner seems kind of impossible. Thus good luck to both and shoutouts to Gan and TechnicS for playing ZvZ with me during this week and thanks to everyone who is cheering for me. And last but not least, Thanks to PokerStrategy.com and Teamliquid for sponsoring and hosting this event!

PokerStrategy.com TSL:
Well, thanks for the interview and good luck in the final!

ToT)Mondragon(:
Thank you!