Interview with LRM)OctZerg

Congratulations on qualifying! Were you ever worried?

Thanks

And I was worried on the last day, after my big fall from A to B+. But I was pretty sure I would qualify.

What made you keep playing even though you got to A rank? You could have stopped and finished in the Top 12!

Well I was a bit inactive last month so I needed practice. I wanted to try to get A+ but that was impossible. When you are on fire, you don't want to stop .

Many players and fans have said you do not deserve your rank. They say you play "cheesy" and can only build zerglings. What do you have to say to them?

Hehe about that I really do not care much, because I play how I want and how I know. If I can get A or A-, it's my success and not theirs. I just love this game as much I love bowling [Editor's Note: OctZerg is a semi-professional bowler in Macedonia], so I play to have more fun. I play with zerglings because when I start to play "normal" there will be some Protoss or Terran who will cheese me and piss me off

Your best matchup is ZvZ, and you are guaranteed to play a Zerg in the first round, either Kolll or Naugrim. What are your chances to advance against them and against Morrow?

My ZvZ seems like my best matchup to me, even though I like to play ZvT the most. But in ladder games, if I don't cheese, Terrans cheese me. So my best games are against some of my friends like Yosh, Strelok, and Hayder -- these games are the best practice for me. I think my chances to advance to final 16 are low, but I will give my best. I know some of MorroW's weaknesses so if I play him, I have a chance, but overall I don't expect too much.

You have a bit of a rivalry with Idra. You two have exchanged heated words on the forums quite a few times. Do you want him be eliminated, or do you want him to qualify so you have a chance to play him?

Well it's not really a rivalry in StarCraft because he's training hard to be a progamer and I'm just a standard noobie But our "rivalry" is not about the game. He thinks because he's American, he is the smartest guy and the best player. He thinks other countries' players are poor, stupid and don't have talent. He thinks he has talent and he is Korea, but he's not showing anything special. But sure, I want to play him and beat him with 12 lings and see how BM he can be ^^

Are you cheering for anyone else? Which groups look the hardest?

Yes I'm cheering for Mondragon, Ret, and Strelok, I am closest with them. And also BRAT_OK, he is an excellent guy and player. The hardest group for me is Group B

Thank you and good luck!

Thank you too. Continue with the great tournament. Sometime you and me have a bowling match

Interview with ESC.Kolll

Congratulations on qualifying! Were you ever worried that you would not make it?

Nah, I was pretty sure I would qualify. Because you can always rely on dodging Koreans and only playing TSL players.

Many fans were eager to see you in TSL after you beat Idra in WCG. Why did you wait so long to get started in the ladder? People were worried!

I didnt find it necessary to start so early. I was pretty sure I could do it in two weeks or less.

Can you tell us a bit more about WCG? Can you beat Idra again?

I think it was kind of a lucky win versus Idra at WCG. I don't know why but he played much worse than usual. I don't think I can beat him in a Bo3 or Bo5 again, but with a bit of luck I could beat him in a Bo1.

What do you think of your chances against Naugrim, Octzerg, and Morrow?

I've never played against Naugrim or watched any of his replays, so I don't really know if he's any good in ZvZ. I really can't say if I'm going to beat him or not. Against OctZerg, I think I should win but its ZvZ so anything can happen. He could get lucky and play 12-hatch two times when I play early gas two times. Anything can happen really. If I beat both of them, I should be able to win a Bo5 versus Morrow, since my ZvT is pretty stable right now.

Is your ZvT your best matchup? Are you happy you did not get a protoss in your group?

No, I would say my matchups are all about equal skill, and my "best matchup" changes daily.

Are you cheering for any friends or teammates? Which group is particularly hard?

I haven't really looked at other groups since it doesn't concern me right now. I'm of course cheering for every German player. I think any group with Ret or Sziky is going to be hard.

Thanks, and good luck!

Thanks, you too.

Interview with EG.iNcontroL

Congratulations on advancing, do you have anything to say to your fans? You post quite a bit on TL so our users know you very well.

Yes of course, THANKS! I have had some tremendous support and it has really helped me as a gamer. With my students, teammates and general friends on the forum I have enjoyed the life of a gamer in the spotlight. Thanks to those that care, I will do my best to thrash throats!

You were not in a great position heading into the final few days, were you ever worried? What did you do to make sure you qualified?

I was terrified. I had reached 9800 which was well within qualifying range and had fallen back. I think having been there then lost it made the anxiety worse. It is far more embarrassing to have something then lose it than to have never gotten there in the first place! In order to qualify I secluded myself to my house with nothing to eat but pizza and green tea for the last few days. It ended up going to the wire but I am happy with the results!

What was the greatest moment for you as a player in this ladder? Any especially memorable games?

I had overcame a few nemeses during this ladder. Oystein had always dominated me but during the course of the ladder I was able to put up good scores vs him. Fenix had always beaten me in the past and I think I closed that gap as well. I think the growth I experienced as a player is what I am most proud of. That and maybe 1-hatching Fenix.

One hatching Fenix??

Well we were playing a series and I predicted some cheese from him on HBR so I went 9-pool speed to hard counter it. He walled and the 9pool did nothing, so I canceled speed, went 1-hatch lurker, and the rest is history!

What about as a spectator? Were any parts of the ladder especially memorable?

From the start I was saying $22k is going to make some good people do bad things. I had NO idea it would be this many. Dimaga, Yosh, Fraer, F91, etc... these are people who could qualify in their sleep. We can attribute the abuse to the immense pressure this ladder put on the gamers and the huge prize pool. I think the day I saw all those abusers caught was most memorable. That or my son LzGaMeR falling short on the bubble.

Yes, he was at 9500 points and kept playing because he didn't know the abusers would be disqualified. He finished short by 46 points, quite a tragedy.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy too. Also G5 was kicked out last TSL and this TSL he was kicked in, wtf? UNIVERSE? Yeah all those dead dogs he cleaned up made something happen. [Editor's Note: G5 works for animal control / rescue].

What do you think about your group? You will play Technics, then if you win, Shaman and Mondragon?

TechnicS is a bit of an enigma. I checked all LRM clanwars, he NEVER played?! I checked all replay databases and the most recent replay I found was from 2006. The guy 4-1'd SEn and 2-0'd Kolll right before the ladder ended. He is solid. However I feel confident that I can take the match. I'm going to work my ass off to back that up.

Shaman is a long time friend and opponent of mine. He will be tough on Outsider but I feel confident on the other maps vs him. Then there is Mondragon. Should I face him, expect blood. I love Mondragon and ToT, but ever since I left that clan I have had a taste for ToT blood. I want to knock his ass to the curb so bad you have no idea.

Who are you cheering for in the other groups?

Nyoken has his work cut out for him. Dreiven is his road block historically and Fenix is damn tough PvT. I think he can beat Casper TvT but getting past Dreiven is the big test. G5 has his work cut out for him against ClouD as well. If G5 advances, he will get to Ret and give him a hell of a series.

How would you describe your gaming style?

I would say I am a very aggressive intelligent play oriented gamer. I take risks and cut corners and that is why I win or lose. I have the ability to beat the best and lose to the worst. An angry ultralisk bear in a chinashop is what would best describe me.

You had a very heated incident with Morrow on the forums. What happened there?

Morrow asked for a game, I obliged. We played HBR where he did a 5th or 6th SCV proxy barracks where you block the Z's choke with depot and bunker rush. I held it off but was obviously behind and eventually lost. I asked for re and he said, "No, you are too good" which at the time was infuriating. I yelled at him because it is common knowledge that the polite thing to do in BW etiquette is to allow a re-game if you win and especially if you cheese.

Eventually we met again, I asked for three games he agreed. Game one, I absolutely demolish him and we rematch. He wins game two and I expected a 3rd game. He then said "Nah, I have to go" which blew my mind. Why would you agree to three games if you knew you had to go in twenty minutes? From there it was a downward spiral. I happened to share my views about him on TL and he wanted more games. We played two more, he won straight up, since then I have been fairly silent about him because he earned that much. I do not respect him, and I think he will lose soon.

Well, you certainly bring a fresh personality and you know how to get people's attention. Thanks for the interview. Good luck in the qualifiers!

Thanks, you too.