Hello, Dario! First off, congrats on qualifying! How does it feel to be one of the few foreigners playing in the first major Korean SC2 tournament?

Hi! It feels great! I was pretty sure I would qualify for one of the GOM tournaments sooner or later but I thought the first might be too hard as we haven’t been here for long.


Yes indeed. And how has this first week been?

Well, adjusting to the weather and getting rid of jetlag was kinda annoying, but everybody on TL and oGs is being super helpful. We haven’t seen so much of Seoul yet as we are mostly preparing for the tournament but what I have seen so far was cool and I liked it.


In your interview with Artosis, you mentioned liking Korean food. Which dishes have you had the chance to try, and which is your favourite?’

Oh, haha... I dont even know the names to be honest, but we had Korean barbecue a couple of time and that was just D-elicious! Well, at least when I was able to catch a piece from time to time, because I’m still learning to use chopsticks.^^


So you're still a chopsticks Bronze leaguer then?

Indeed but I am going to grind the korean food ladder to get to #1 Diamond there as well!


Haha. So, talking of laddering, how is it going down there in Korea? Are you guys mostly inhousing or playing the open ladder these days?

We are doing both. It’s really funny how Jinro and I are now using a mix of oGs BOs and the ones we already knew. But it’s even cooler that we managed to teach them some too! I think currently I am placed 3rd in my division and I think I can get to 1st place today or tomorrow.


On that note, let's talk a little about something everyone wants to know about. The oGs guys - how are they? What's the coolest thing about getting to play with them?

The oGs guys are awesome. ^^ We are having a lot of fun, even though communicating is a bit hard. However, that hasn’t stopped us from becoming good friends I think! During the past few past days we played Ping Pong with some of the guys, but talking about starcraft is the best part. It’s pretty amazing and over the past four days I have really learned so much and improved in every single matchup by a lot, thanks to them obviously.^^


When you guys inhouse, how does it usually work - do you just pair up and play a few games and switch, or do you focus exclusively on a matchup with specific builds being played by each player? I think TL will definitely want to hear more about inhousing in detail.

Well right we often play from PC Bangs as our PCs have not arrived yet, and so the situation isn’t going to be perfect for a few more days. ^^ But when we had the chance to play inhouse I mostly practiced specific builds so 1 day I did 1-2 TvT build orders and then the next day I did the same for the other 2 races.

Inhousing is really important in Korea... like once I came up with a new TvtT build and played it on ladder around 12:30pm. Just a few hours later, people on ladder did it against me!


What? How did they get it so fast?

Well I played it ladder against a couple of people and it spread sick fast. ^^


Haha, nice. So the ladder is on the whole quite different from Europe? You mentioned that builds and playstyles spread fast - what else is different about laddering on KR?

People are even cheesier on Korea than on Europe, but people are also very solid... overall it’s a lot harder here. I think in Europe and the US you have top players who are just as good as top Koreans, but there are way more players in Korea that are almost up there.


When you say solid, you mean mechanics, execution, timings?

Yes, like they know how to follow it up. They don’t rely on the cheese killing you, and instead use it to hurt you.


Has this forced you to play more solid as well? If one thing has changed about your play, or since this is still your first week there, if one thing is changing about your game - what would it be?

Mostly my TvP in general, Protoss gave me problems from the very beginning... I hate them! It’s so hard to play late game against them, I think I need to multitask and group my units a lot better in that matchup.


Which oGs players have you enjoyed playing with the most, and who do you look forward to playing with in the weeks to come?

Playing oGsGon was the most fun. Especially as he suddenly started chatting in German using google transalator! I am looking forward to play Inca again as he keeps kicking my ass. I have to change that!


You’ve also had the chance to live with some of your fellow Liquidians for the first time. What's the best thing about hanging out with Jinro and Nazgul?

That’s hard. It’s so much fun!I really enjoy Nazgul teaching us stuff how to behave and act in Korea. And we make fun of each other all the time. We have a lot of things to laugh about, so it won’t get boring. ^^


Has Jinro busted out the Korean rap yet, or is he still learning?

I think he is almost ready! He is learning Korean so quickly... I am jealous of that. ^^


So, you're going to be on Korean TV soon. We're all psyched for you, but we'd just like to hear it from you - after years of watching the big names in streams and on VODs, how does it feel to be going up on cable TV yourself?

I don’t think much about it. It’s best to try to stay as relaxed as possible. As soon as the game starts I will try to forget everything except the match itself. I can tell you how it feels in more detail after I actually play.


Haha, fair enough! Talking about being relaxed - how did you manage to keep your composure at the qualifiers? You've been at live events a lot these past few weeks, but did you feel the pressure going into the GSL quals?

No, I think that the showmatch vs Madfrog and IEM was super important for me. It helped me adjust to the whole live event atmosphere... I am still quite inexperienced with it but think I’ll be fine.


Let's talk more about the GSL itself - that's what everyone is eager to hear about right now! You're in group C of the Ro64 bracket and first playing a Korean - Losira (Zerg), a Hwaseung OZ Terran. What are your thoughts on this series?

I am prepared well and still have the time improve even more. He should not be a big obstacle for me. My Terran vs Zerg is stronger than ever. So realistically, I should crush him.


Awesome! Nice to see you so confident. In what ways has your TvZ improved, and are there any Zergs in particular that have helped you develop your game so far?

I have some new build orders and my whole understanding of the matchup is better than before. Practicing wiht oGsZenio and Thewind certainly helped with that as well.


Looking a little beyond the Ro64, how does your group look? Advancing, you will face Hyperdub or DosWerra, meaning that a TvT and a TvP are both possible. How ready are you for these matchups?

It kinda sucks that I might face an oGs guy so soon, but I guess with so many of them in GSL it was almost impossible to not meet them early. TvP still is my weakest matchup but my TvT has improved in several interesting areas. I will see how I do with it in training for the next days I guess, but it should be great. ^^


Well Dario, we don't want to keep you any longer. You have games to play and a tournament to prepare for. Good luck have fun from everyone here at TL, and please know that we're rooting for you all the way!

Thanks! We love you, Team Liquid, without you we would not be here!

Hi Naz, thanks for taking time off to talk to us. How has Seoul been so far?

We haven't seen so much of Seoul but I'm sure it is doing well. Since GOM has given us so little time to prepare for this move we have spent all our energy adjusting to play, jetlag and culture. It's been a tough period for the guys but we managed to get through and now it really begins.


Indeed, it does. As someone who has been to Korea more than a few times before, was there anything different about arriving there this time, as not just a player, but a leader of a team?

In that regard it is completely different. The settings we're going to give the Liquid players are just going to be so amazing that sometimes I wish I had had these opportunities when I was younger. I'm an old man now so the only thing on my mind is making sure they are taken care of and that everything is as it should be. The level of responsibility is just very different compared to when I was a player myself.


How happy are you with how Dario and Jonathan have begun to fit into progaming life in Korea? Do you see them performing well in that setting in the months to come?

Absolutely. The oGs players have received us with a lot of warmth and generosity. I know from my time in Korea that this was definitely possible but with all the stories about how the Korean teams treated foreigners during the past 5 years it would have been weird to not worry even a little bit.

Everyone is really nice though and we're all helping each other with our games. Currently we are staying at the old oGs place but on the 5th we are moving to the oGs-Liquid house which will be bigger and a lot more suited to house both teams.

Dario and Jonathan fit in very well here it's honestly not as hard as the stories would have you believe. As long as both parties are willing and open to each other it can be done without too many problems. Being here and being able to play full time as a professional with the support of other top players is going to increase their skill dramatically.


That's good news. Speaking of Liquid-oGs though, we saw the players of both teams sporting logo patches of the other at the GSL quals. You clarified a little in your post in the ThisIsGame interview translation thread, but could you tell us more what this co-sponsorship arrangement between the two teams will entail in the long run?

We are out there to help each other and support each other. The details of the cooperation are private but we aren't a combined team, changing our names or anything like that. We are two teams working very closely together. The patches on our clothing represent this bond, and in a way can be compared to co-sponsoring each other.


In terms of the immediate future, what else is in store for Liquid? New recruits? Lots of practice? Jinro rapping in Korean on TV?

I clearly can't go into much detail without disappointing people later on or saying things I can't live up to, but it's not our intention to stop recruiting. We would love to have a fully operational team in Korea consisting of top foreigners willing to make that big step to improve their game and compete at the highest level. Combine that with a professional level of practice and hopefully we
can really make a difference out there.

Jinro's Korean is very impressive. When he was still playing BW around 2006 he was learning Korean online and this is proving to be very useful for him now. He's way too nice for rap so maybe poetry would be more for him.


Let's talk a little about practice regimen - TLO says that you guys have been alternating between laddering and inhousing. Seeing that you'll be instrumental in setting up a training schedule for Liquid in the weeks to come, what areas do you think the guys will be focusing on the most?

It depends a bit. When not training specific strategies, the ladder works very well and is useful to get a better sense of how to counter all the variations of different strategies that are out there. Be it standard play, or allin strategies, playing ladder can teach you how to deal with those. Once you feel like you got a build order or strategy that you need to test though, in-house games are always the better option.

Though very important to have a team around you for practice a lot of its just comes from watching each other play and discussing strategies in a real life setting. These are things that are possibly even more beneficial than just having practice partners to play games with. The oGs guys always think a lot about what strategies are good and we intend to do the same.


The language barrier must be pretty thick at the moment with Liquid knowing very little Korean and oGs knowing little English - how are you guys getting around this? TLO mentioned that the teams were socialising via stuff like ping-pong - how does that work?

Most conversations consist of basic English with some basic Korean mixed in. When playing SC2 or doing universal things such as ping-pong this can get you quite far. When there is something we can't figure out Spunky is often around to help with translating and of course oGsGon uses his awesome google translate powers.


Haha yes, we've already heard of those via TLO! I think we're about ready wrap this up, but just tell us a bit about where you are seated right now and what Jinro and TLO are doing as we speak.

Jinro has been playing By.irOn for a bunch of games now and Dario just started his first game after finishing the interview. We are sitting in a PC room near the place we stay at. Because Dario and Jinro's computers will be set up when we move to the new place, there aren't enough computers right now for us to play at peak times.


So after this it's dinner and then some chill time before bed?

Probably a lot of time before bed. Gamer’s rhythm and all!

Alright! Well, more power to you guys then. Good luck have fun to everyone, and we'll see you guys in the next Weekly!

For once, we have a common answer. All three Liquidians currently in Seoul agree that Korean BBQ is by far the best food they have eaten over there.