Sharp, Brave: "I want to be surrounded by more fans."
SPL Round 1 featured the dominance of Khan rookies. In Round 2, they are continuing that dominance and pushing the team along. Despite the loss by Jangbi, Brave and Sharp each took their set, adding 2 wins to the match score. With today's win, Brave now has the best winning percentage in SPL amongst his teammates.
Q & A:
Q: First thoughts on leading the victory!
Brave: In the last few matches when I won, the team ended up losing. Today, I won and the team also won, so it feels great. I'm somewhat uncomfortable with playing in the first set, but thankfully I was able to come away with a win. I really prefer the later sets though.
Sharp: I second what Brave said, it's a great feeling to win along with the team. I will continue to be a contributive team member in the future.
Q: Finally, you won your first match!
Sharp: I was so desperate for this win. In order to make additional media impact, I did a little ceremony - but I didn't show any spectacular plays in-game so regret that a little.
Q: Although the team's Terrans are all rookies, Khan's Terran record is pretty good. Were you affected by this?
Sharp: I wasn't doing so well lately in individual leagues' preliminary rounds and SPL didn't go so well for me either. Watching Reality and Turn playing fabulously in SPL really motivated me. I was able to turn that motivation into a win today.
Q: Why do you dislike playing in the first or second set?
Brave: In the later sets, I can somewhat guess the opponent entry and prepare my mindset prior to the match, whereas in the first set, I'm just thrown in and expected to play soon after. I need slightly more time than that to prepare myself fully.
Q: Good winning percentage, and good amount of wins as well. Any secrets to your success so far?
Brave: Well, I've been lucky a few times. Opponents seem to be underestimating me a little bit too. They don't seem to be taking my record into consideration. Rather, they seem to think 'I'm not playing Stork or Jangbi' and get too comfortable in their seats.
Q: Still, your gameplay has improved overall this season.
Brave: I too feel that I've evolved a lot as a player. Build preparations and basic micro/macro have improved, as well as the ability to adjust to the opponent's plays. I'm going to say that my play influenced by 20% Stork, 20% Jangbi. Rest of it, I just can't follow because I have slow hands (laughs).
Q: Again, Khan rookie Terrans are doing well.
Sharp: Last season, we did not show our full potential. Our potential is finally blooming into results this season. As a result, we're continually setting new goals for ourselves, which is perhaps the secret to continuing success.
Q: What then, are the goals for you this season?
Sharp: I want to be a player recognized by many fans. Also, I want to eventually win an OSL or MSL title. Plus, I want our team to win the SPL this season. If I make it to the group selection ceremony of either league next season, I will showcase an awesome ceremony. Cross-dressing aside, I have a lot of talent to show!
Q: A word's been around that you really wanted to be interviewed.
Sharp: I seem to have a lot of fans online but not offline. I also want to be surrounded by many fans and have a happy fan-meeting session. To the fans that will come to me next time, I'll treat you well (laughs).
Q: You seem to have something important to say.
Brave: I'm an avid viewer of the Daily E-Sports 'EagleEye' section. Recently, it said that I'd lose against anybody. You guys make me sad. Today it also said that I'd lose today, but come on, I wish the prediction would say I will win (laughs). Thankfully, Mr. Nam's (journalist/writer of DES) predictions are said to guarantee the opposite, so maybe that's why I keep winning (laughs).
Q: Last words?
Brave: Thanks to Byul and SorrOw for the practice matches. They fully knew my build and still lost to me for the sake of practice. I want to be friends with Neo.G_Soulkey and Snow. Also, I want more fans too. If I got one more fan for each win, I should have 8 more fans than pre-season but I currently don't have any more fans than I had before.
Sharp: A special shout-out goes to user 'Bart_Simpson' of this e-sports website who always offers me encouragement. I check the comment board everyday so I ask for your continuing support. To my practice partners Kop, TurN, and Always - thanks! To Chavi, thanks for being my workout partner. To my mother, you're the best. To the fans, thanks for your support and love, and I want more! I want to get letters from fans too [T/N: I think he's jealous of Stork's popularity. Poor lad D=]. Last but not least, thanks to my uncle who is like a second father to me! I love you!
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Stork, great: "We have a good feeling about Round 2."
If Round 1 was about the rookies bringing home the bacon, Round 2 features the resurgence of team's traditional core players and raising the team's ranks towards the middle of the pack. With Stork and Great playing as well as they should, Samsung Khan is enjoying the perfect blending of the old and the new.
Q & A:
Q: First thoughts on winning?
Stork: The strategy I used in PvZ practice seemed to be countered easily so I was hesitant about using it today. Luckily the opponent played exactly the way I predicted so I won fairly easily. It feels good.
great: I got to close out the match twice in a row now. Being the closer is always a great feeling.
Q: The game ended very easily.
great: While preparing for my match on Grand Line SE, I expected Lomo or Hiya to be my opponent. Instead, my opponent today was a rookie, so I modified my opening to be more aggressive than I planned. A rookie is usually tense and nervous, so I calculated that an aggressive style would be best to take advantage of that.
Q: The opponent's GG timing was somewhat early.
great: I agree, I expected him to hold out a little longer. He kind of gave up too easily. Maybe he thought I was pumping more lings and surrendered without further thoughts.
Q: You decided to use DT drops, a strategy that seems rare these days.
Stork: The recent PvZ trend has been featuring the same builds over and over, so I decided to give it a little twist. I think DT drops work great against Zergs that are focusing on building choke-based simcities.
Q: You are making new changes to your playing style these days.
Stork: All of these changes are aimed for one result: victory. These days, I focus on finishing the game when the opportunity is there. That's why my plays have been seemingly aggressive.
Q: There's been a definite change from Round 1 to Round 2.
great: In the previous round, I was nervous and anxious when it was my turn to play. My mindset was that it was a 50:50 game, but as I started winning, I regained my confidence and now I am more comfortable when I play. This is translating into better results and better games overall.
Stork: Amount of practice is about the same, and my skill level hasn't changed much, but sometimes things just go my way and sometimes they don't. I have a strange luck with things related to number 2. I'm good when I play in set 2, and I'm traditionally good in Round 2.
Q: Your rookies are 4-dimensional [T/N: creative/spontaneous/random].
Stork: Life in the dorm is a ton of fun. I don't know about other teams but our team is really hilarious. I think the result/record-related stresses have mutated our innocent and shy rookies into 4-dimensional guys (laughs).
great: When I was a rookie, I never even imagined of this kind of interview. I'm quite amazed with the rookies. I was like 'what the heck' when I saw Sharp practice his ceremony early in the morning.
Q: Last words?
great: My MSL match is next week and I really want to advance to the Ro16, so I'm hoping for lots of fan support. That day is actually Christmas Day, and I wish for torrential rain.
Stork: After moving into our new dorm, I haven't been around a lot. Today's system is really tough for the players. I want to see my girlfriend but I can't so I'm very lonely these days. I don't think I can spare a day until the end of this month, but I want to take this opportunity to say thanks to my girlfriend for her unconditional support. Also thanks to the practice... /source article cuts off here
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Source: Daily E-Sports
Bonus: from the LR thread.
On December 18 2010 15:57 Xiphos wrote:
Thanks in advance, can build this 4-2 victory, yes we Khan!
Thanks in advance, can build this 4-2 victory, yes we Khan!