Hi Dario - you've had a busy week. How was it?
Indeed, I had the time of life. Even though I didn’t do too well in the tournament it was just a mind blowing experience. Blizzcon is amazing and I think it was really important for me to be there.
I think I might have lost my fire for a while since I didn’t have many tournaments in Korea and things didn’t go too well but since Blizzcon and switching to Zerg, I have a smile on my face while playing again.


Yes, and that's the big news, isn't it? TLO to Zerg! Who? Where? What? Why?
Haha, I feel stupid for having played Terran for so long now, even though a while ago I said Terran is the race that suits me best. Apparently, I was wrong. I didn’t see the endless options and unused potential Zerg had back then. In many situation as a Terran I felt like I couldn’t really do anything, while as Zerg you can basically never play perfect in my opinion. I don’t think having 500 apm as Zerg would be enough, and you know what? That sounds a lot like supreme commander to me!


You've been playing Z for a while but only went public at Blizzcon. How have these past few weeks with the swarm been for you gameplay wise?
Hmmm, I couldn’t really play Zerg a lot before Blizzcon because of GSL, and it’s really only now that I can fully embrace it and I must say it’s awesome. I come up with new styles and builds every day and some of them actually seem to work. I do quite okay in ranking games in house. Obviously my win rate is a lot lower than as a Terran still but I must say for 3 days of full Zerg practice and maybe 2 weeks of playing it a little, I am doing better than expected.


What is your favourite thing about being Z again?
What I just said - I am under constant strain when I play Zerg. You can never rest, no matter what is happening. There are always things to be done - spread creep, gain mapcontrol, fly overlords, harrass with a couple of overseers, burrow baneling, annoy with infestors, inject larva, heal units with queens, burrow units to heal. It’s sick!


If there's one thing you miss at least a little about being Terran, what is it?
Hellions and nukes. ^^


Do you think the time you spent as T will pay off in ZvT for you? How have your ZvT games so far been?
I definitely understand the match a lot better than the other too, as I obviously know the weaknesses and timings very well. Well, at least some of them - my TvZ style was not very mainstream so Bio sometimes catches me off guard.


Zerg has also undergone a few changes since you played last. What do you have to say about the Roach range increase?
I still think it’s not really necessary, at least not 4. I was hoping for a 3.5 and thought that would be more than adequate.


What about ZvZ, the matchup which is often criticised for being a pure ling/bling fest? How do you see it?
I usually aim for the late game in ZvZ, early game can be a hard sometimes but I think
ling/bling can be dealt with via roach+bling and some simcity quite effectively.


So once you get into the midgame, what is your unit composition/strategy of choice usually?
Hmmm, it’s usually a healthy mix of Roaches/infestors Zerglings and some blings and a bunch of queens.


So, the Blizzcon games. You didn't do as well as you would have liked - what happened, and what do you take away from the experience?
Well I didn't expect to do so well yet since it was a quite new experience to play Zerg again. However I should have had won those games, and it was small stupid mistakes that cost me in the end. In the first game vs Sen I had a pretty nice sim city set and then just got my roaches out of position without any reason to do it. The 2nd game I had ultralisks ready and was on equal bases I think, but instead of waiting for more infestors and ultras I attacked too early into his roach only which cost me the game.

You decided on playing Zerg long before patch 1.2 was announced. Has the new patch made you feel happy about your decision, or would you have been fine even if Terran didn't receive the early game nerfs and Roach range stayed the same?
Lets just say it makes it a lot easier for me to switch now. Playing zerg is not that hard right now so I can get into the race a little bit more comfortably again I am counting on a new patching changing things a little bit pretty soon, but I don't think its gonna make my playstyle impossible^^


You've played both foreign and Korean Zergs lately. Are there any major differences between the scenes/servers in terms of playstyle?
No not really, it felt pretty much the same to me to be honest.


Finally, let's return to your Blizzcon experience. What was your favourite part of the weekend, and what are you looking forward to the most about next year?
Being at an event at which tens of thousands of people who share the same passion! However, Blizzcon itself was nothing compared to the TL party! There are so many things I will remember from that weekend that it’s hard to even to try to make a list. It’s always a pleasure to hang with your fellow foreign progamers, and it’s really amazing how everyone gets along so well. Overall it was an overwhelming experience for me. Of course, next year the TL party will be bigger than Blizzcon itself so that’s what I am looking forward to the most!

Hi HuK! How was Blizzcon?
Bad that I lost, good that I had a good time otherwise. Besides losing it was the best event I've ever been to. Blizzard knows how to take care of players as far as food, room service, drugs etc. Also got to meet Boxer. <33


Oh, yes – what was that like?
Great, he was really nice, played really well, and of course is my hero so has to be super awesome.


Well, Lim Yo Hwan is back in Korea now, but soon you'll be there as well. You're just over a week away from leaving. Everything done and good to go?
Not really I'm actually going to go do a lot of stuff tomorrow like buying luggage, getting insurance, making sure banking accounts are finished, other stuff like that. Hopefully i can get everything done.


Let's talk a bit about gameplay. How do you see the changes that took place with Patch 1.2, and what changes, if any, have you had to make in your play to adapt to them?
The Nexus buff on hp actually helps a bit. Other than that, Zerg is a lot stronger because of roaches and they are more common. Medivacs are slower which is good but they are still balanced and used a lot.
Other than that, the void ray nerf was stupid. I don’t think many people will use them ever, now. Overall nothing really changed my play too much except maybe the fact that roaches are more common so I guess in my PvZ I will have to adapt a lot.


How has your PvZ been going since we spoke last? Any improvements? Is there any build/strategy you've been focusing on in particular in this matchup?
Bad. I still win most games but it is like it used to be vs Terran, I lose to mediocre players simply because they make a lot of zergling/roachand attack move. I am getting there though, slowly but surely. Hopefully protoss can adapt better overall, but generally I'm just playing pretty standard with a lot of variations.


Are you seeing any differences in how foreigners and Koreans play Protoss in general and PvZ in particular?
Not really. I don't watch many Korean replays, although I was hoping Sangho would play FD in the GSL. Generally I think they are struggling now too.


You're known to be a mass gamer so the practice regimen in Korea wont be difficult for you. What about the ladder itself though - are there any areas of your play you feel you'll need to improve in order to do well in that environment?
Well, in general I would like to just add a lot of depth to my play. I definitely don’t want be known for one style. I would prefer to go towards a more heavy micro / high apm style.


Are there any Korean Protoss players you have your eye on? Who are you looking forward to playing the most on the KR ladder?
Not really. I hear really good things about Sangho. Other than that the usuals like tester, nexgenius, inca etc. Don't think I'll be to worried about ladder once I get over there.


There's another big event before Korea though. MLG Dallas! You've placed 1st and 3rd at Raleigh and DC respectively and thus currently lead the MLG SC2 rankings points wise. What is your mindset going into the MLG National Championship?
Hoping to feel comfortable as possible, play my best, and win obviously. I want to leave North America successful and return that way as well.


Alright, on that note we're gonna say own hard, and Liquid fighting! Wishing you good games and good luck for Dallas, HuK.
Thank you <33