WCSToday we kicked off TSL4 with a series of, appropriately enough, four matches. In the first Major took out his friend TSL_HyuN 3-2 with repeated use of blue flame hellions and in the second ST_Curious went 3-0 against MillǂLaLush, showing how strong a Code S opponent can be even against one of the more sophisticated ZvZ players in Europe. K3ǂVortiX and FXOBabyKnight battled with the Karont3 Zerg coming out ahead 3-1 largely thanks to his use of banelings falling from the sky, and at the end of the day ST_Squirtle muscled out Liquid`Ret 3-2 in a series of close and intense games.
After each game we collected the winner's thoughts to discuss their TSL4 prospects and what they thought of their games and the experience overall.
Interview with Major
So you just won against your former roommate HyuN 3-2 after being down 0-2, how does that feel?
It’s a mix of feelings to be honest. For one side I feel good for beating HyuN in a tournament, I always lost vs him 1-2 in Playhem finals curiously enough every Playhem I played and get to the finals I end up facing HyuN and I always lose 1-2. But I managed to overcome it and for the other side I feel sad because he is my friend and he’s a great player, best Zerg in TSL, if I could change I would rather play anyone else in TSL instead of him just because I don’t like to eliminate friends in tournaments doesn’t feel nice.
Are you two close from when you spent time in the TSL house?
When I was in TSL house in my first trip to Korea he wasn’t there yet, however I got to meet him online and we became good friends just like any other guy on TSL. After I had to leave Korea because I couldn’t find a team to stay on he invited me over to the new TSL house and we had a nice dinner and I got to say good bye to all TSL members. Hopefully one day I can go back to Korea.
As for best friend in TSL when I was staying there probably was TSLShine but to the honest I had a good time with everyone, they are really friendly.
As for best friend in TSL when I was staying there probably was TSLShine but to the honest I had a good time with everyone, they are really friendly.
Were you worried after losing the first 2 games?
Yes, I was worried after seeing game 1 in all my practice games doing that build I was doing great with it but I played poorly and HyuN played perfectly. In game 2 I made a huge mistake when I saw roach, you need a bunker and to run-by hellions which I didn’t which ultimately made me behind which is really hard to comeback if you going mechanic against Zerg.
In game 5 you didn't build a bunker either and some lings got into your base, do you often skip it with that build?
To be honest I wasn’t expecting him to make that many roaches and attack, but I did a hellion run-by and killed some drones (don’t know exact amount maybe like 10) which gave me a good lead into mid game and it was my mistake to not make a bunker and wall off faster. Also my siege tank was on the high ground instead of low ground doing the extra damage needed, but even after his attack I was a little ahead in my view.
Did you do anything special to prepare for the series? You and HyuN have played a lot together so it must be hard.
I just figured if I play mech I had a better chance vs HyuN, he is known for being really good against marine tank with his baneling-muta-zergling attack and having strong mechanics to back it up. Also I feel mechanic if played correctly is unbeatable, we didn’t get to the stage of late game, but I normally don’t lose late game vs Zerg with mech. I want to thank people who helped me practice for this match, iSjecho , gix , QuanticHawk , EGIdra and coLgoswser don't know if I’m forgetting someone, if I am sorry. Also special shoutout to Nyoken mastermind behind mech play vs Zerg didnt get to show Thor drop or auto-turret madness.
You're the only North American in the TSL, how do you feel about that?
Didn’t think about that I dont know how to feel to be honest i guess good? There are many people that could have qualifed from NA, Scarlett, IdrA, Illusiion, theognis just to mention a few.
Since coming back from Korea your play looks very strong, are you confident about WCS Mexico next week?
I am confident about WCS Mexico and I’m going to practice really hard to be able to do something at WCS NA, I want to be champion of that tournament.
Did you enjoy your time in Korea? Would you like to go back?
Yes I want to go back but if I do, as I said, it’s not going to be to stay in the Gom house again, I would only go to a real proteam house because I feel I didn’t gain all I could from Korea even though I played a lot of ladder and customs with IM and TSL memebers. I didn’t feel it was as good as it could have been if I was in a team house.
Ah, why is that? Need practice partners?
Yes also I didn’t get to experience the knowledge from other persons for example in TSL house when I was in there I learned a lot from Polt against Protoss and Zerg even though our styles are completely different you still can learn things from everyone which is really good to grow as a player.
Next you will play either JonnyREcco or NaNiwa, do you prefer one of them over the other? Are you afraid of either?
Not really afraid but I said it before I hate to play TvP don’t like the matchup so I would rather play JonnyREcco but if I have to play NaNiwa I will have to prepare really hard in order to beat a really good Protoss player already proven in hardest tournament (GSL).
Anything else you want to add?
I know I been bad in the past but I have changed. I don’t get in trouble anymore, since I left CheckSix because TSL told me I was going in, but after leaving CheckSix a few days later TSL told me I wasn’t going to be able to join TSL because their sponsor didn’t want me. Since then I haven’t been able to find a new team, it’s been around 6months is really hard to play without a team.
Do you have any last words or shoutouts for your fans?
I would like to thank people that support me also I want to thank Nyoken for being with me during my practice games and giving me advice in my progress to beat Zerg and if you like Day9 for learning more check out hotkeyit.com my friend Skew coaching website. Also thanks to theognis.
Interview with ST_Curious
First, how do you feel about getting through the first round?
I'm happy to win, but there's a long road to the championship, and there's a team-kill possible in the next round (Note: The result of Ret vs Squirtle was not yet known at this time). If that comes to be, then I hope the eventual winner goes on to do well.
You won by an easy 3 - 0 score line. Did you expect to win like that?
I didn't have much info about my opponent so it was a bit hard to prepare, but I thought that if I won the first game, I could win 3 - 0.
LaLush left without a GG in the second game. What did you think about that?
I think he just got angry and ragequit after taking a build order loss. I thought he was on tilt, so I would be able to win 3 - 0.
Your opponent was Swedish, so did you ask NaNiwa or SaSe for any advice?
My English is bad, so even if I want to ask I can't. I didn't even know he was Swedish.
Your ZvZ record is very good. Do you feel it's your best match-up?
Right now I think ZvZ is the match-up that's going the best for me.
So if you do happen to face Squirtle, who do you think will win?
Well, Squirtle is good, and I'm not as confident against Protoss as I am against Zerg or Terran. But if we do meet, I will prepare hard so I can beat him.
If you get past that round, do you think the tournament is yours for the taking?
I think a match against Squirtle would be the most difficult obstacle in the tournament, and if I made it over him, then I could aim at winning the championship.
You made it into Code S yet again. Do you think this time around you'll be able to play up to your skill level?
Yes, I'm practicing even harder than usual so I can get good results. There's actually a long break until next season, so I'm focusing on practice and my mentality.
Any final comments?
I won one series and made it to the Ro16, but I can't be satisfied with that. I want to do well and show the fans good games. Ultimately, I'd like to get to the finals and go to America.
Interview with K3ǂVortiX
You just won your first TSL match 3-1, how does it feel?
Feels great, didn't feel too confident playing versus Babyknight as he's been playing really good lately but it turned out great.
You didn't feel confident?
Nope, my ZvP is weaker than my other matches right now and BabyK is a very unpredictable player even if I studied as much replays of him as I could.
Did you expect anything specific from him? Did you do a lot of studying before the match?
Well, I had watched some games of him in each of the maps, in Cloud Kingdom I knew he would do either 4 gate into expansion or 4 gate into dts, after seeing gas in the expansion I knew it would be DT, in Antiga I knew he would be 7-gating, eventhough I expected dts before it too, and in entombed and Daybreak I had no idea what he would be doing.
It sounds like you spent a lot of time looking into his style. Did you prepare specific strategies to combat him on those maps?
Haha well, not that much, only like 7-8 replays. Didn't prepare anything specific, I played kinda reactionary.
Using drops with your army proved to be pretty effective in game 1, did that affect your decision to use them again in games 2 and 3?
It did effect how I played game 3, because I thought that if it had worked in cloud kingdom it would work in daybreak, the way I played in entombed is just my standard playstyle in that map.
The last month has been pretty good for you, placing second at WCS Spain and then all-killing Empire and winning a TSL qualifier, do you feel good about your next match?
Yes, I feel pretty good about it, I've been playing really good lately, I did also win LucifroN in EPS final and I'm playing well overall, hope I can keep like that and even show it in big events.
Do you and Lucifron ever joke about who the best in Spain is? He won WCS but you beat him in EPS, do you think you have that title now?
Haha yes, he likes to say I'm the best, but I honestly thinks that he's the more solid. But yes, considering I won the last offline event by 2-1 in both winner final and grand final I guess I have the title right now.
You face either Welmu or Keen next, are you afraid of either of them?
In this tournament no opponent is easy so I have psyched myself not to be afraid of anyone. I think the hardest for me would be Welmu, because my ZvP is so-so lately and i feel really confident about my ZvT.
You have been winning an awful lot this summer and are still getting better, can we expect to see you in any LANs soon?
Yes, summer is the only time in year i have time for travelling, so I'm gonna be attending IEM in august, WCS Europe in September and DreamHack Valencia in September too, after that I guess I won't be going to any LAN until February probably.
Do you have more time to practice in the summer as well? You're a student during the year right?
Yes, I study a really hard career, so I can train and travel much more in summer time.
What do you study?
Computer science. (weird) :D
One more thing before we go, can you tell us something about yourself that your fans might not know? Do you have any unique hobbies?
Uhm, well when I was younger a school-mate showed me how to solve the rubik's cube and used to solve it in under 30 second (I'm such a geek) but I haven't touched one in a couple of years.
Anything else you want to say to your fans? Any shoutouts etc?
Well, shoutout to my team Karont3 for their huge support ever since I joined the team and to all my followers out there, who are supporting me day after day!
Interview with ST_Squirtle
How do you feel about reaching the Ro16 by beating Ret 3 - 2?
Well first off I'm glad I beat a good player like Ret, and I guess because I won a tough series, I'm even happier.
Ret played a lot of ZvP against Koreans lately at NASL. Did you use those games to scout out his style?
No, NASL was played really late in Korea time, so missed it. But I knew he was good when I saw he beat Puzzle.
So how much information did you have about your opponent?
I played him at the group stage of Red Bull Battlegrounds, so I did have a basic feel for his style, so I didn't do that much research.
The first game went very long. Did you try to force that kind of game?
I wanted to go colossus, but Ret showed me an early spire while going for infestors and rushing to brood lords behind it. He actually did this fake in most of his games, and he went mutas for real in the last game.
In the first game, I was fooled by his fake and I went directly to templar tech, but I had no timing to attack since he was going fast hive with infestors. So I had no choice to follow his lead and play defensively. It was a game I had all won, but I couldn't get the right vortex off in the last battle, so I was kind of disappointed to suddenly lose.
In the first game, I was fooled by his fake and I went directly to templar tech, but I had no timing to attack since he was going fast hive with infestors. So I had no choice to follow his lead and play defensively. It was a game I had all won, but I couldn't get the right vortex off in the last battle, so I was kind of disappointed to suddenly lose.
Your teammate Curious mentioned that ZvP is tough these days. What do you think about the match-up?
I don't know, lol. Because I'm toss, I never think that Protoss is imba, and that Zerg is plenty good enough. About half half? I think the best player wins, there's no balance problems.
You have to play Curious next. Curious said it was going to be a tough game for himself...
Hmm, Curious is a very good Zerg, so honestly I think he's just being fake modest, haha. I think it's about 50/50.
Are team kills very different from regular games? In terms of mind games, etc.?
It's a bit tough because we know each other well. Because we both have so much to think about, I think it might be advantageous to think about things simply.
The GSL final was a PvP match. What do you think your position is among Protoss pros?
When I took second at IPL and GSL, and I was #1 on the TLPD Korea rankings for several weeks, I thought that even if my resume wasn't as good as MC's, I was effectively the #1 Protoss in the world. However, now I've gone to too many tournaments, and my fundamentals have fallen off a lot. So now, I think I'm in and out of the top five, haha.
Do you plan to pace your international tournament participation like some other players?
Hmm, once I bring my fundamentals up again, I'd like to go to any foreign tournament I'm invited to. No plans to cut back! I think you travel so much like MC, you can get used to it get better results, so I don't have any plans to hold back.
Then the championship is your goal in TSL4?
Yes, of course it's winning the championship. As the tournament goes on, if I recover enough of my skill through hard practice, I think I can win it all.
Any opponents that might get in your way?
Honestly, I can't say much about players on other teams, but as long as there aren't any team-kills, I don't think there are any obstacles. If I had to pick, maybe TaeJa?
What do you think of his form these days?
Honestly, I think if I played him at our current skill in a multi-game series, then there's a high probability I would lose, lol. But if I get to the finals, then I think I'll be good enough to beat him by then.
Anything you want to say to your foreign fans?
Hmm... When I got knocked out of the GSL Ro16 last season, some people started talking about a slump. Right now I'm working on improving my fundamentals, so if I can make it through the WCS and WCG prelims alongside TSL4, you can look forward to me doing well in all three tournaments.
Okay, any final comments?
Thank you to all my fans, especially for cheering me on through twitter (@ST_Squirtle) whenever I have a tournament. I'd like to get invited to a lot of other foreign tournaments, keke?
Speaking of twitter, do you know what 'deal with it' means?
Uh, it means 'deal with it?'
Hmm, I just realized why that was a bad question.
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