[Interview] Oversky's Finale

Translator's comment: Oversky retired a few weeks ago in a quiet manner. This is the (hopefully not!) final interview with him by Fomos. It also contains some info about CJ, CJ before CJ (as in, during the G.O period) and sheds some life about Korean military service.

Oversky: "My greatest gift was my fans."
His career may be over and he may be continuing his studies, but his connection to e-Sports has yet to end.

Today's interview felt different from the previous interviews with the retirees. Most E-sports stars fade away quietly after a long, familiar process starting with the irrecoverable and rapid loss of ability, followed by reduced playing opportunities, and ending in a long, hopeless slump. Interviews with these players are often crushingly sad for their fans, because it is likely retirement was announced following a sudden decision to enter the military or career ending injury.

But this time, it was different. It is because today's star is none other than 26 year old (Z)

OversKy - a player, who despite having no luck with individual leagues was widely recognized as a key member on a top team, was popular enough to even get the nickname "Handsome Zerg" and recently finished his military service with class. Relatively well educated for a progamer, he prepares to continue his education after retirement.

On a sunny day, we met up with the Handsome Zerg at Apgujangdong.

"My skin condition is terrible recently. I don't know why. It wasn't like this in the past. Please do some photoshopping."
"Pwahaha. I told you you'll look the same (as me) once you finish your military service, didn't I? You barely got the worst of it. I saw (T)

Rookie who was out on leave some time back and his skin condition was so bad. He is suffering a lot as a Guard-of-Honor."

At a cafe near Dosan Park, Oversky and CJ Entus' Coach (Z)

KIMDONGWOO were chatting up like brothers who who haven't met in a long time, as the cameras and notebooks were being set up. Although they had met here to conduct an interview regarding Oversky's retirement, both the weather and the mood for this interview were quite sunny. Suddenly reminded of his interview before he joined Air Force ACE, I joined in the chat.

"Why does time fly so fast? It only seems like yesterday when I conducted a live interview with you before you joined the army, and now it's already a month since the end of your military service." Of course, I already had anticipated his reaction when I asked this question, as he blinked his eyes and shook his hands, saying "that's definitely not it."

"So what did you do since you got back? What have you been up to?"
"I just rested. I also traveled outside Seoul by myself to meet my friends. It was good. Should I say my head felt clearer? It was the first time my body and mind was at peace. It was the first time I felt such freedom in many years. I never had such freedom since 2002."

"I heard you were going to retire. When did you decide on that?"
"When you're a Sergeant nearing the end of his military service, you can't help but have such thoughts. I made up my mind around that point of time. It may seem bad to retire immediately after being released from the air force, but I am old now and I also made a promise with my parents.

"So, it's because of education isn't it?"
"That's right. I am thinking of resuming my education next year."

"If you retire, will it be the last we see of you?"
"No. I may have retired, but I have never thought of cutting all ties with e-sports. Also, there was a recent broadcast proposal sent to me by Ongamenet. It was going to be done together with commentator Kingdom and stargirl Seo Yeon Ji. It's a program where a few other progamers will be involved. I also wanted to be in a broadcast, and since there is some time left before I resume my studies, I pleasantly took up the offer."

"I see. If you are interested in broadcasts, did you ever consider being a commentator?"
"I wonder. No matter what it is, as long as they have their own charm, I might try them out. So long as I am given the chance."

"But if you retire, you can no longer be active as a progamer, so you must feel a bit disappointed no matter what you do in the future. You were a progamer for almost 7 years."
"That's right. I got my progamer license when I was in the second year of high school. I defeated (P)

IntoTheRain, and I earned the rights to sign contracts at PKO. There were also leagues going on on iTV, but because of my parents, I wasn't able to participate in them."

Leaving ACE with regrets - still a smart move

"Then let's talk about the past. Starting with your stay in ACE. You seemed to have performed rather well in ACE, but what are your thoughts about your performance?"
"It was disappointing. To tell you the truth, ever since I became a Sergeant, my concentration dropped exponentially. I was so troubled over my future that one time, I cut down my sleeping time to study, but that didn't work out too well. That is why there were times where I played without any practice, and I even thought of retiring once I was discharged from the army as my losing streak continued. Even now, I am still confident in my gaming skills but I served the army at an older age. I think that's the key reason why I decided to retire. For players like (T)

RuBy, who just joined the team, they need not worry over such matters, and they can definitely continue being a progamer after serving the army."

In the eyes of the spectators, as the team's senior, the memories of Oversky scoring many precious victories clearly remain, but Oversky himself did not seem too satisfied with his performance. We asked Oversky, who is said to be a person "who wouldn't disturb you as long as you do what you must" about the army life's know-hows.

"There are many progamers who aren't decided on joining ACE, as well as friends who were in the same team as you, such as (T)

XellOs and (T)

DarkElf and are now in ACE. As their seniors, please teach us some good advice or know-hows to live a better army life."
"When you first join ACE, as long as you work hard from Private to Private First Class, you will be recognized by others. Those are the basics, but above all that, practicing (gaming) hard is the key to having a good army life in ACE. If you lose focus, your results will deteriorate, and as you get stressed over it, your stay in ACE will get more and more unpleasant. Simply put, your army life will be screwed. If you manage to join ACE, you really have to practice very hard."

It was probably because it was a very sincere piece of advice, which was why Oversky continued to emphasis that "you have to practice hard to have a good army life". He also said that "life as a Sergeant" passes by very slowly, almost a complete different army life.

"Also, XellOs and Darkelf are already in the army, so I want to say something to (P)

Much, who will be joining them soon. If you try and cut corners during basic training your superiors will eventually hear about it, so just don't ever do it. I know Much well, which is why I want to warn him more (laugh). If you laze around during the initial training, even if you get dispatched to elsewhere, you will be starting off on the wrong tone, so I want to tell him to work hard."

So, what did Oversky attain after 2 years of military service?

"Well. I think I learned to evaluate myself more realistically. It is as meaningful as undergoing a very sincere self-evaluation."

Together with some of the first generation ACE players, they went to visit the current ACE players, for which Oversky commented that "as expected, Ruby and Darkelf and competing for the number 1, 2 spot within the team", and that "they are growing to be reliable players".

Beyond the Greatest One, to CJ Entus

If you exclude his time spent as in ACE during his 7 years as a progamer, Oversky stayed only in CJ. And of course, you cannot leave out stories of his time during G.O.

"After I was discharged from the army, I went to visit people whom I wanted to thank not too long ago. It was then where I met Airwalk's (an old sponsor of G.O). Mr. Kang, who gave me some profile photos and posters that we took back in the day. As I saw that, I thought to myself, "Those were the good days." It was the toughest period for us, but it was the most memorable too. I can't forget the days where (P)

fOru,

Rage,

XellOs,

Much,

Iris,

sAviOr and I - the seven of us - played together.

The fact that Iris and sAviOr, who were the youngest two among the seven of them back then are now the veterans of CJ Entus, as well as the captains just shows how much time has passed.

"This is really old talk, seeing how there are only two progamers left from G.O who are still in CJ Entus. I have seen sAviOr since young. I always thought he was a kid, but now both sAviOr and Iris know what they should do, so I don't worry about them anymore."

What does Oversky, who decided on retirement immediately after his discharge from his army find most regretful? We thought it would be not winning a title during his stay in CJ, and as expected, that was what Oversky said.

"Was it 2006? It was when I was a captain and there was a game I had to win which I lost, leaving me filled with regrets. If I had won that game, we might have been able to ride on the momentum and won the proleague championship. Actually, because we were carrying the name of CJ, we had big expectations. At that point of time, we felt we were able to do anything, as long as we had a sponsor. Even now, I feel apologetic towards manager Cho Kyu Nam, coach (Z)

KIMDONGWOO and agent Oh Sang Hyeon."

Suddenly, the mood seems to have gotten too serious, so I decided to change the topic. A suitable question for the 'Handsome Zerg' Oversky, who looks even better with a modest expression.

"Ah. There is talk that CJ has a "Handsome Guy Attractor", and that only good-looking gamers get to join the team. We can't leave you out of that group of handsome progamers. What do you think?"
"It's embarrassing to talk about myself. I can't judge myself, but if you say so, thanks."

"Then, if you exclude yourself, who do you think looks the most handsome?"
"Everybody has different attractive points. I personally think (T)

ChRh had the best style, and I think he played well too. But now, I think it's SKT1's (P)

Bisu."

A new beginning, the start of the second chapter of his life

When asked what did he gain and lose after choosing to be a progamer, Oversky's answer to both questions was "people". He said losing touch with school friends in his early 20s when he should be socializing with them was regretful, but in return, he is thankful for meeting the coaches, team seniors and other people around him who gave him help. Oversky also shared a few stories of his special encounters with his fans.

"As a progamer, I benefited a lot, such as easily making appearances on television, starting my social life earlier than people in my age and others, but amongst all that, I was always thankful towards my fans who continuously gave me support. The most important thing I gained as a pro was the support and care of my fans."

Just like the lyrics of a song,- "we have met for 7 years, and we didn't know we would separate so easily" - Oversky too suddenly ended his 7 years of progaming career and announced his retirement to his fans. But as a first-generation progamer, be it related to e-sports or not, we will be looking forward to him starting his second chapter of his life, and it should be now that we give him our fullest support.

As the hour-long interview came to a close and our drinks, finished - we asked him one last question.

"What is 'retirement' to you?"
"Retirement... a new challenge? It's 'a new challenge'!"

Source: Fomos

Special thanks to GTR and Waxangel for reading through and cleaning up the article

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