The Liquid Weekly #16

Brought to you by the letters G S and L.

Quick Links

Liquid` Sightings

Going Global
Liquid on the GSL.

Jinrolled
Our MLG Champion speaks.

Dreaming of Sweden
Dreamhack meets Harry Potter.

This Week In Replays

TL T-Shirt Giveaway

Jinro, HayprO, Ret Qualify for GSL Open S3, 15th - 16th Nov 2010

Tyler and TLO to Dreamhack, 26th - 28th Nov 2010

As we all know, TLAF-Liquid`Tyler and TLAF-Liquid`TLO will be in Sweden next week for the Dreamhack Winter 2010 Starcraft 2 tournament. [More]

Liquid at GSL Open #3 Quals, 15th - 16th Nov 2010

Liquid stormed Seoul this week with TLAF-Liquid`Jinro, TLAF-Liquid`HayprO, TLAF-Liquid`Ret all qualifying for the third GSL Open! This is the team's most successful GSL qualifier, and as a community we expect greater things to come.

While Jinro and Haypro finished their matches yesterday, Ret's games were today, and he played and qualified just hours ago. Unfortunately, TLAF-Liquid`HuK fell fighting 1 - 2 in his final round today and was not able to qualify for this GSL. Of course, if there's one thing the Canadian Protoss is known for it's his determination to succeed, and we're sure that this temporary setback is only going to make him train harder as he continues to live and practice at the Liquid-oGs house in Incheon. Good luck, HuK, and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield very soon.

This has been a great qualifier for Liquid all around though, and we're proud to bring you the thoughts of Jinro, Haypro and Ret, as they talk about qualifying and what the future holds for them (while you're at it, also see what Jinro has to say about his MLG experience). All three players will be playing in their first GSL Ro64 soon, so be sure to keep your eyes on TL and be here when the action unfolds. After all, this is going to be the best GSL Open yet. Gogo Liquid!

Tyler and TLO to Dreamhack, 26th - 28th Nov 2010

As we all know, TLAF-Liquid`Tyler and TLAF-Liquid`TLO will be in Sweden next week for the Dreamhack Winter 2010 Starcraft 2 tournament. Placing 4th and 5th respectively at MLG Dallas, these Liquidians are ready to take Europe by storm. While the invite list shows that Liquid's finest are sure to be put to the test, we have no doubt that they will deliver just like they did in the US.

Check out Dreaming of Sweden for more on Tyler, TLO and how ready they are to take part in the world's biggest LAN.

We've got interviews for you from our three GSL S3 qualifiers, so read on to see what they have to say about practice, play, and the Ro64 that is to come. Please note that the Jinro and Haypro interviews are cross posted from yesterday's interview thread and are included here for fans that may have missed them the first time around. The Ret interview is hot off the presses, though. Enjoy!

TLAF-Liquid`HayprO

Picture via Fomos.

Hi Hayder! Congratulations on qualifying for your first GSL! How does it feel to be playing on TV in Korea?

Thank you! I'm really happy I managed to qualify this time since I was so close on my first try. Its gonna be nice to play TV matches.

What was different this time, both in terms of how you approached the event and also the event itself?

For the last tournament I had been in Korea for only 4 days, but now I’ve been here for a longer time. In the first qualifier I made mistakes which costed me the qualification but this time I managed to play better and therefore I could qualify.

Do you see a difference in the level of competition between the S2 and S3 quals, or has it been mostly the same?

I think that’s hard to determine since it’s still a bit of luck with the brackets, But if I compare my S2 qualifier with my S3, I think they were the same level.

Let's talk a little about your games now. Take us through each round and give us a brief summary of what went down?

First round was ZvP and I won easily I think. Don’t really remember. Second round was ZvZ and they were pretty close games but I had luck on my side and managed to win. Third round was ZvP and those were pretty fast wins. In the final round it was ZvT and it was short, but with hectic games.

While Liquid performed well today, oGs players such as Ensnare and TOP did not make it. What happened?
I think these qualifiers are always hard and that you need to have luck on your side both during games and in the brackets. So, while I’m happy I qualified, I’m sad that so many oGs players didn’t.

This GSL has even more foreigners trying to qualify. How would you say their chances are in general?

We will most likely see the biggest number of foreigners in the GSL this season. I’m confident that Ret, Huk and Idra will qualify.

If you could peg one foreigner to go all the way, who would you pick?

Ret for sure. That guy has so much potential. He just needs to take care of some personal issues.

Let’s talk a bit about the Liquid-oGs house. What has it been like since RetHuK arrived? Does it help that there are more people who speak English?

I was really excited about Ret and Huk joining up especially since Dario left. They are both very friendly and the Koreans liked them from the start.

In particular, is it nice to have another Zerg around? What do you and Ret talk about the most?

The last 2 days we've been talking a lot about the Zerg matchups and how win using Zerg. We've also discussed what to do with the money after winning GSL. The ideas were a bit scary so I can’t reveal them until an eventual GSL win.

Haha, OK. Now with the Ro64 in sight, what plans? Any matchups you'll be focusing on more?

I’m gonna practice very hard for each match and wont focus specifically on any matchups.

So we’ll see you in the Ro32?

That’s what I’m planning on doing!

All right! Good luck, and we look forward to seeing you carry the Liquid flag far and wide this GSL. HayprO fighting!

Thanks!

TLAF-Liquid`Jinro

Photograph from Gamemeca.

Hi Jinro! Congrats on qualifying! What does being in the Ro64 at long last feel like?

It feels great, a huge weight off my shoulders - finally I get to do some matchup specific practice!

You came straight out of a convincing MLG win to qualify easily for the GSL. What was different about this attempt to qualify?

Not sure anything was different - the first time I was sick and not that good, the last time I was pretty good (I was actually quite high up the Korean ELL ranking at that time) and my condition was great, but my builds were a bit unsafe for the type of competition you meet in these prelims; more suited for a better player where you want to cut corners. This time I was sick, my condition hadnt been amazing, but somehow everything just came together; I guess Im a little stronger mentally now too.

Even after losing the first game in the final I felt confident I would be able to turn this around; I was telling myself I could turn it around, remembered Minchul starting out 0-1 and coming back, and I actually believed it.

I noticed in the MLG finals I had the same confident feeling during the game that disced.

Do you see a difference in the level of competition between the S2 and S3 quals, or has it been mostly the same?

I would assume the level is higher now; it seems a lot more good players had to be put into the same groups, while at the first prelim they were able to spread them out fairly well. Most of the prelim games were quite challenging.

How did the games go? Talk us through each round tell us how things went down.

Round 1 - TvP vs a protoss who wasn’t bad at all; was scared for a while when I accidently landed all my vikings instead of using point defense drone... but then I remembered I had 4 bases and 10+ barracks and won.

Round 2, TvZ vs a Zerg who tried some 1 base roach stuff, my build was very strong vs that so... went quite well.

Round 3 was vs oGsRajum, one of the oGs practice partners. I have played him a loooooot, as you might expect, and the games went pretty much like any of our everyday ranking games. I was very close to losing game 1, but I turned it around by wiping every single scv he had while he was attacking my nat, and converted a narrow defense into a win. Game 2 I managed to scout his semi-cheese which put me in a good position.

The final games were vs Crystal[inca], old BW progamer whom I actually used to play a fair bit with after he came back from the army in 2006 or so; he remembered me so that was fun. He played a bit of a different style than I expected him to, and it caught me off-guard in game 1 where I thought I was winning handily

However, despite losing game one, I felt I had an edge as long as I just made it a long game due to the way he played - not exactly all-in, not in the way most would think of it, but his play was not late game oriented; more midgame.

Despite having scrap station for game 3, and cross position metal for game 2, it went OK. Funnily enough, I think the poor conditions (sick, not eating anything until just before the finals, bad sleep) helped me stay sharp as I was very aware of the need to really focus on my game. I was so focused I even stopped coughing while playing, must be what they call zen or something.

Minchul got in but TOP and Ensnare didn't qualify. What went wrong?

Im not sure what happened to TOP, I think he lost while I was playing. Ensnare got eliminated by another oGs member, Hero, and it sucks when that happens - we had a total of 3 team kills today.

There were a lot of foreigners at the quals today, with even more playing tomorrow. How many do you think will make the Ro64?

I’m not sure how many will make it; I think there are 5 Chinese speaking players playing tomorrow, as well as IdrA, HuK and Ret, and if I’m not mistaken, out of these 8 players, 7 play at 1 pm...

I think we might see a foreigner vs foreigner final in one group, which is too bad.

I feel pretty confident in Huk/Ret/IdrA/Loner/Sen making it unless they get unlucky, but I dont know enough about the remaining players game to say anymore.

If a non-Korean were to take the title this time, who would it be?

Me! Set your aims high and all that. A Liquid vs oGs final would be nice.

How's the team house now that Ret and HuK are there? Is communication easier now that you have three others who speak the same language? Has this in any way affected strategy, planning and play?

It’s nice, I get to do a lot of Konglish/Korean translations which is really fun and makes me feel like my Korean has gotten better. Ret has lots of good insight, and it’s nice to finally have a Liquid Protoss around!

You're gonna play your first televised SC2 game soon. Excited? What should fans look out for in the Ro64 from you?

I’m sure I will feel excited about it once the day sinks in. I don’t really know what to expect until I see the brackets and know my opponent however.

Well, good luck and we hope to see you sail through to the next round with ease. Jinro fighting!

Thank you =] Thanks to Gon & Rajum for getting us all burgers before the finals, would have died without them I’m pretty sure. Thanks to TL and oGs for support!

TLAF-Liquid`Ret

Photograph from Fomos.

Hi Ret! Congrats on qualifying. What's going through your head right now?

I’m just very relieved. Qualifying has been the only thing on my mind since getting here so I'm glad it's out of the way.

Why don’t you tell us a little about your games and how they went down?

I got a bye in round 1 and then played 3 terrans. None of them managed to kill me early, so after a few minutes the map was covered in creep and banelings were running rampant in mineral lines, while Infestors covered the terran units in green goo

Aaaand... thousands of ladder Zergs just let out deep sighs. If only every day was like this! Now, with the Ro64 on the horizon, what is your plan of action?

Gonna try to get into a better sleeping schedule and implement some healthy habits into my lifestyle here. I'll be playing ladder till I find out who I play and then focus on the matchup I’ll be playing in the ro64, hopefully the ogs guys will help me out!

With no way to prepare for a specific matchup in the lead up to the quals, what was your primary focusing since you got to Korea? Also, how has the Liquid-oGs house been so far?

Just been trying to get a good amount of sleep, and I've been playing games against the ogs guys, as well as ladder, talking with my teammates about how to play and such, to get as safe and solid as possible b4 the quals. Liquid-oGs house has been really nice, all the koreans are very friendly and it's a much better experience than last time around when I was in a similar situation. I'm happy!

Does it help to have a Liquid player of each race in the same house? When do you guys talk shop and how does it normally go down?

Well me Jinro and Huk have good talks. Hayder is on a level far below so hes just very confused and ask too many questions like... 'are roaches any good guyzzzzz?'. Usually somebody loses to something and then mention 'OH MY GAWD THIS SHIT IS IMBA!!!' and someone else says 'make this unit' and then it fixes everything~~

Sounds very scientific. Let’s talk a bit about the Ro64. This will be your first televised game. On a scale of 1 – 10, how psyched are you?

Playing competitive starcraft is rough. I am pretty psyced, but also nervous and worried. I want to win... I won't be able to truely enjoy any of this untill after I win the entire thing. But I'll give it a 8, because being in Korea and playing on tv is pretty awesome.

There's always a next game after every victory. You can't truely enjoy it untill the tournaments over and you're #1 and even then, there will be another tournament around the corner... Maybe I need someone to teach me how to enjoy all of this more

We think you'll enjoy it just fine when you're up there, haha. TL will be behind you guys all the way, of course. Any words for your fans before we wrap this up?

Well hope you guys will be cheering for me and the other liquid guys when we play our games next week......also....I'm really hoping ill obtain some cute fangirls soon like TLO and Huk...

Hahaha. All right Ret, we’re going to let you get back to a well earned evening off after a very fruitful day of Starcraft 2. Good luck, own face, and we’ll see you in the Ro64. Ret fighting!

Thank you!

As established earlier, Jinro is on a battlecruiser.

Destroyer of Dallas and protector of everything that is good and righteous and in Starcraft 2, Jinro rode into the GSL S3 qualifiers on his battlecruiser and managed to qualify with ease. This interview was conducted a few days before his quals, and goes into MLG, his expectations for the GSL qualifiers, and what the future has in store for both himself and Liquid. When you're done reading, don't forget to grab the Jinro replay pack we have for you this week as well.

Hi Jinro. We haven't spoken to you in some time, but what better time to say hi again than soon after you've become MLG National Champion? Congratulations!

Hi! And thank you!

I think what everyone wants to know is - how was the rest of the event for you, and more importantly, what was the after party like?

The event was fine, the party was fine but I was too sick to enjoy it. I could barely eat/drink anything. I wasn’t like actively sick but just enough to not be able to enjoy it. :/ Damn you, Jos.

Oh, that sucks! Feeling better now? Getting ready for the GSL quals?
Yeah, still a bit of a cough etc. but mostly fine - Haypro is worse off.

Well, good luck with practice as you prepare for the quals next week. But let’s talk more about MLG Dallas. It was your first non-GSL tournament in months. How did you prepare for it and what was your mindset as you flew out to the US?

I didn’t prepare specifically for it, just general GSL practice - ie ranking games on GSL maps every day. In terms of mindset, uhm, I was a bit down before the event due to doing poorly in practice the last few weeks, but everyone (ie oGs guys and TL) told me I’d do good.

This was also the first time, or at least the first time in months that you played against many of the players there. Did you get a chance to think about any of your opponents and their play styles or did you just roll with what you had in general?

Hm, I didn’t get to do much thinking about my opponents. However, I deliberately didn’t make any banshees vs Socke because I remembered how much he liked phoenix (also positions / maps were bad for it).

I knew nothing about Painuser or Response so I couldn’t do much but just play. Vs TT1 I didn’t really know much except that he was considered a strong macro/standard Protoss, so overall I’d say I just played my own game.

At MLG you looked really strong all-round, but were there any matchups you were still unsure of as you went into the tourney?

TvZ and TvP. I got lucky I didn’t have to play any TvZs, as I didn’ t really have any builds prepared beyond the one I used vs Ret.

TvP I still don’t feel entirely comfortable with, but the banshee build I used is pretty strong except vs a few openings.

That's funny in retrospect, especially seeing that what was arguably your best game, and indeed what many would say was the best game of the tournament, was your TvP vs Socke on Oasis!

I got a huge lead from the early game, as Socke turned his scout back before seeing my lack of gas, and proceeded to open phoenix vs 1 rax CC - pretty much the only BO phoenix is really bad vs.

Game 1 I still don’t know how I won!

Your multi task was impeccable throughout the game, and at times you seemed to be everywhere at once. How did you continue to stay alert and focused even as the match dragged on?

Just in whatever mental place you are always in when gaming. It got harder and harder though, hands were getting colder and colder. This only seemed to be a problem on Day 2 though as the temperature was different the last day from what I remember anyway.

We don't often see nukes in TvP, or at all, in fact. Were they a part of your build from the start?

No, I just always use them late game TvP if the Protoss player makes templars/cannons as you can’t harass with dropships once he has that combination.

What would you say was the most challenging part about that game and after which point were you more or less sure that you had it in the bag?

I thought I had won and then I was beating myself up for having lost it. Then, I had it won again - I dunno, dealing with all the warp prisms I guess would be the most challenging part.

Soon after becoming the only Terran on Liquid you went out and won a major tourney. Would you say this is enough evidence to declare your race OP once and for all?

Yeah, I’m pretty sure TLO was just holding me back with his radical ideas - once free of his influence I was able to unleash the true imba inherent in the race.

In TvP you once favoured Raven auto-turrent harass with mech but also get it with bio for point defence drone now, as seen in your games at MLG. Not a lot of Terrans do this at the moment, but do you see it catching on?

It will catch on because it’s incredibly useful for protecting your air units from stalkers when facing colossi, and lets you kill observers and dts at will.

Now that Ret and HuK are both there, is Liquid hard at work preparing for the quals next week?

No, mostly just drinking and doing drugs.

Sounds about right.

Not really yet, just been too busy - picked up Huk at 5 am yesterday, said good bye to Dario at 12, picked up Ret at 4 - just no time.

You guys are coming from a strong showing at Dalls though. Is everyone pumped and ready to rumble? What about you?

I’m feeling pretty ok, just gotta do some more TvZ work and I should be good. Jos is still feeling the trip, but I think everyone is pretty ready to go.

Awesome! On that note we’re gonna let you go then, but good luck as you prepare for Monday and obviously, all of us will be here rooting for you as all of you take on the quals. Jinro fighting! Gogo Liquid!

Thank you, hopefully I won’t let anyone down.

Tyler and TLO discuss PvZ.

Hi Tyler, Hi Dario! What's going on?

Tyler: Hello, just enjoying the end of a relaxing Sunday. =]

TLO: Haha still being jetlagged and sleeping at bad times!

Tyler: http://content9.flixster.com/rtmovie/71/25/71251_gal.jpg
This is my expression for you, Dario.

I feel for you and I wish you the best.
http://content8.flixster.com/rtmovie/71/25/71250_gal.jpg

And when you finally do fall asleep, I stare at you all night.

TLO: wtf

Tyler: http://content9.flixster.com/rtmovie/71/23/71239_gal.jpg

There's your wtf face.

Is HuK on Tyler's MSN?

TLO: No this is Tyler alright.

HuK has been added to the conversation.

Tyler: I invited him too.

LOL

Tyler: Oh man all these harry potter pictures. So many expressions.

TLO: You basically don’t need any other way to express your feelings any more!

HuK, thanks for your cameo appearance during this Dreamhack Winter 2010 interview.

Tyler: OK continue interview gogogo. He is in game, he won’t be talking.

Tyler, Dario - if your counterpart was a Harry Potter character who would he be?

Tyler: I would be Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort. But I would have become Dumbledore's pupil while I had the chance. Though Salazar Slytherin's blood may have run through my veins, I would overcome it with love.

No, no! You have to give Dario and character, and vice versa.

TLO:I didn't get that either.

Tyler: Oh I see. Dario would be... hmm… Dario would be Cedric Diggory. So handsome, so charismatic, so lovely.

TLO: Haha thanks, but that is not Voldemort speaking. It’s tough really, especially now that he gave himself the character already, and apparently actually knows the harry potter lore unlike me.

Tyler: Dario is totally a Ravenclaw.

OK on to a more serious question - if the following HP characters played SC2, which races would they play? Harry, Draco, Mad Eye Moody, Fred and George Weasely (2v2 team).

Tyler: Harry Protoss, Draco Zerg, Mad Eye Moody random, Fred and George double Zerg.
Apparently, Harry Potter characters need more Terrans.

Hermione?

HuK: You guys are having wayyy to much fun with this.

Tyler: Hermione would be a commentator obv. Hermione would be the Artosis of the wizarding world.

Hi HuK - who is your favourite Harry Potter character, and what race would he/she play?

Tyler: This conversation is too high level for Huk.

TLO: Aww.. poor Huk,, he gets too much BM from us lately.

Tyler, as we keep looking for Harry Potter Terrans, what do you think of Snape? At first glance at least he seems secretive, ultra-defensive and also frequently resorts to bm and various kinds of cheese to get what he wants.

TLO: Snape is Idra. He seems like a jerk but in his heart he is a good guy.

Tyler: But Snape is like the 3rd best wizard after Voldemort and Dumbledore. IdrA is what like, top 16 maybe?

TLO: But its true ^^ yea... well, he still has work ahead of course.

Tyler: Yeah

TLO: Maybe one day he can be Snape.

K so no Terrans in Harry Potter land. How sad. Anyway, on to the mundane now. Dreamhack. It's the first time for both of you, so what are you looking forward to the most?

Tyler: I am looking forward to visiting Europe again. What a nice part of the world.

TLO: Sweden is a very nice country, I wanted to visit it for a long time and its soo advanced when it comes to e-Sport. Can’t wait for it Really

Tyler, what do you like about Europe?

Tyler: The friendly people of course. I just... I'll have to be careful to avoid Dario's eyes, lest I get lost in them

TLO: Careful you are married!

HuK: Sorry I keep getting games. Favorite harry potter character would have to be w/e fat kid they put in it for comedic relief.

MLG Dallas was a big event, but Dreamhack is going to many times that size. Have you ever been to a massive LAN like this before, and if so, what did you take away from it? If you haven't, what are you looking forward to the most about being at the world's biggest LAN?

Huk: I wish I was going. TT

TLO: I haven’t been to any event like Dreamhack before, and it’s gonna be sick to see so many players. Of course there are tons of fans at other events but here were actually have thousands of competitors gathering in a bunch of tours. So I guess that will be quite different from any other experience so far.

Tyler: Oh hey Huk, I’m really really, really tired of PvP now so tomorrow I’m going to play single player a ton and solve it. And I’m not gonna teach it to you. I will horde my discoveries so I can smash you in a tournament for once.

TLO: I solved Protoss. Switch from random to Terran or Zerg.

Tyler: I really love the atmosphere of these big events and I can only imagine Dreamhack is gonna be 10x better!

You guys were out in force at MLG Dallas, but only two of you will be there in Sweden next week. What will you miss about not having Liquid there in its entirety?

Tyler: I need the cheers. My biggest fan, Chris Loranger (he's a pretty decent Protoss player himself, maybe he'll make a name for himself some day) was leading cheers for me whenever I was playing a commentated match.

TLO: Haypro’s incredible humour. Seriously I would never have realised how amazingly funny he is if not for MLG.

The brackets are looking pretty stacked, with the likes of Whitera, Idra, BRAT_OK, Morrow, Demuslim, Dimaga and Socke showing up. If you could choose, which players would you have in your group, and why?

TLO: I like how you dont mention Idra

Tyler: He mentioned IdrA... the question is why did your mind ignore it?

TLO: Haha no reason^^

Paging Dr. Freud.

Tyler: Hmmmmmm… Of those players, I'll take Dimaga and Socke. I think I can beat their ZvP and PvP respectively.

TLO: I think I would pick Morrow. I saw one of his ZvZs and it looked like 1st week beta.

HuK: Wow so bm, Tyler. You owe me like 210391290x strategies, I made you many fan in Dallas
with my awesome cheers.

Tyler: lol

Alright, well good luck at Dreamhack Winter, and we hope you guys grab the podium places! Anything you'd like to say to your fans before they see you live on stream?

TLO: We need your support guys, give us all you got. Cheerfuls, show up with your TL shirt. Scream your heart out! People shall know no team is anything compared to us. And the most awesome team in the world also goes with the best fans you could imagine!

Tyler: Thanks for your support, it's great!!!! I will continue to show you all awesome Protoss builds I promise!!

The man of the hour is TLAF-Liquid`Jinro, and what we have for you this week is a neat little replay pack of him taking on the Korean ladder. Includes a game vs Moon that you really don't want to miss. Enjoy, TL!

Download Jinro Ladder Replay Pack

The TL t-shirt contest is on hiatus and will be back next week!

+ Show Spoiler [Last Winner] +

Congrats to Twitter user HurricaneTL for winning last week's cheerful contest.

@TeamLiquidnet @lilappfactory Game three Jinro vs PainUser. Jinro having balls of steel with that amazing marine/thor/raven timing attack.

Please pm 'riptide' on TL for more information on how to get your t-shirt.

Liquid` is proudly sponsored by The Little App Factory, makers of fine applications for Windows and Mac OS X and fans of great Starcraft! Their flagship program, iRip allows you to recover your music from iPods - a life saver if you, like many of us, do tech support for friends and family. In fact, for a limited time, you can use the coupon code TEAMLIQUID to get 25% off when you get TLAF products!