EPT
Woongjin Star’s Geumchi, “A New Start”
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In the 3rd round of the 2009-10 Shinhan Bank Proleague, a new player from Woongjin Stars came to prominence. Struggling in Round 1 and 2, he recorded a nine game winning streak, including an all-kill against CJ Entus (Now Hite Entus) in Winner’s League. This player is none other than the Protoss player Geumchi.
Guemchi was considered by many to be the next leading Protoss player for Woongjin as he simultaneously passed the MSL Survivor Tournament and Starleague preliminaries. But in rounds 4 and 5 he lost his momentum and fell into decline. After the end of the season, he suddenly departed for India, shocking those around him.
I wanted to interview Geumchi but apart from rumors such as “He returned from India”, “He left the Woongjin team house”, and “He switched to Starcraft II”, it was difficult to get contact with him. Apart from a short meeting with him after the GSL Season 3 preliminaries, getting to interview him at length was not easy.
But he took the community by surprise again by announcing his return to Brood War. After hearing him declare that “I switched back to Starcraft I because of a strong desire to play it”, I suddenly felt that an interview with him now would be very appropriate and was finally able to meet him at the Woongjin Stars’ lodging.
Geumchi revealed his feelings that “he decided to return with the belief that he was starting over again”. I heard many of the circumstances surrounding his story.
Putting an all-kill and progaming career behind, the decision to travel to India.
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It’s nice to see you again. Do you have a few words for your fans?
I’ve struggled a lot with myself after last season, but after a lot has happened, I have ended up returning to Brood War. Since I’m starting over again, I hope my fans cheer for me a lot.
You seemed to be going through a lot of soul searching. But even last season you were anticipated to be the leader in Woongjin’s Protoss line.
At the time I started getting burned out and feeling very tired. I didn’t have any feelings of regret when I was quitting but when I started traveling my mind kept going back to thinking about games. I didn’t have any regrets at first.
It’s not like you didn’t have a decent fanbase, did you really not have any regrets at all?
Playing games felt frustrating at times and it was really weird to watch those who were with me from the beginning (T/N: No idea what he means by this). Also there were a lot of complicated issues going on and because it was difficult to deal with, I wanted to put it all behind and so I left.
The first thing you did was travel to India.
I’ve always wanted to travel if I ended up quitting playing games. I actually did go to India for a short while during the off-season. This time, I wanted to meet a lot of people while in India. I also wanted to start fresh and be able to think about things while relaxing. I also have had a lot of interested in India and I focused on exploring the north-central region. I even went as far north to Nepal and got to go trekking on the Himalayas. I also took a lot of pictures.
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I remember that you also went traveling with your teammates. You went to Cambodia with Neo G Soulkey and toured the cities there.
Yeah (laughs). I really like to travel. Progamers don’t have a lot of free time, which is something they can definitely relate to. But it’s only natural that progamers practice that hard. So I wanted to see as many things as possible when I had the chance.
It seems like you’ve had a lot of thoughts and ideas while you stayed in India for so long.
I really learned a lot while I was there. It’s kind of hard to explain in words exactly now that I have to (laughs). I had a lot of personal feelings and personal vows. The biggest thing I felt was that there are a lot of people in the world that live in much harder conditions than we do here. Seeing those people made me want to work harder in life.
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I heard you had an incident while you were in India.
I traveled by myself for quite a while. I arrived in India by myself at first but I was with other travelers for the first part of my trip. Then I separated from them and went to Nepal solo for 2 weeks. At one point, I found myself lost while climbing the mountain. When I was going up the mountain it was fine but then as I was going back down I lost the trail and ended up losing my way in the middle of the mountain. I felt like everything was going dark during this time. The whole place was really slippery because it started raining and there were a ton of leeches. I tried to call SOS to the Korean consulate using my emergency handphone but without success. I thought to myself “I guess I’m going to die in a place like this”. But then I was fortunate to find a stream, which saved me.
I followed the stream downward to find a lake where there were Nepalese locals who were fishing. They gave me food and tea and were very considerate and nice to me. I was able to borrow a boat and get back to town. I’m not a very eloquent speaker so you might not be able to feel my thoughts during the time but I was really scared and nervous. While I was on the mountain I felt all my life moments passing by (laughs).
Switching to Starcraft II after returning to Korea, another kind of start.
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It is in my understanding that you did not return to Woongjin Stars after you came back from India.
After I resolved to go to India, I also decided that I would quit gaming. I decided to start everything over again. But while I was traveling I couldn’t put it all behind me without feeling good about myself. It was weird that I kept thinking about playing games and then I finally realized, after looking at myself, that I really loved being a progamer.
I met you briefly at the GSL preliminaries.
I participated in the Open Season 3. When I returned, the staff at Woongjin encouraged me to come back to the team but even then I wasn’t really sure about anything. And because Woongjin was doing well because of Really hyung and Flying, I felt like there wasn’t any room for me. I didn’t have the confidence to declare my return and I felt that I wasn’t being really honest with myself so I started Starcraft II.
You first joined MYM with fellow player PuMa.
While I was at home playing Starcraft II for fun, ex-Hite player PuMa contacted me and asked me if I wanted to get more serious with Starcraft II. I practiced for a month. PuMa was in contact with MYM so I decided to go to them too.
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But your record in the preliminaries weren’t that good.
At the time I only considered myself to be a participant. I had only officially started playing Starcraft II a week before so I didn’t think I could pass the prelims so I just played without any pressure.
And then you ended up switching to team Startale.
I thought things would go well with MYM but they didn’t and I couldn’t get a contract with them. But I still wanted to start fresh with Starcraft II so even then I didn’t think about returning to Woongjin. I felt sorry about it and it was difficult to go back and ask if I could return to the team. While this was happening, I got into contact with Max hyung who was a part of Startale and I ended up joining their team.
I heard you got better after joining Startale.
I started practicing there with a very firm resolve. But I couldn’t get used to the practice atmosphere at Startale. I guess I was really used to practice during my time at Woongjin. I don’t mean that Startale’s style of practicing is bad. I just prefer a more defined, even strict, practice system but at Startale, it was pretty much on your own and everyone did what they wanted to do. And I wasn’t that close to anyone at Startale, which was a factor too.
If you got any help from the Startale players.
I learned a lot of JulyZerg hyung. He had pretty deep thoughts about a lot of things. I guess it was because he won three Starleagues, but JulyZerg thought really differently from others. After talking with him a lot I realized that “winners really are different” from the rest of us.
Putting Starcraft II behind and making a bold entrance into Woongjin Stars!
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You switched back to Woongjin Stars at about the time you started getting used to Starcraft II.
There are a lot of differences between the progamers and amateurs who switch from Starcraft I to Starcraft II. Some players switch to Starcraft II because of the chances to win prize money and bigger opportunities to play in televised matches. But my case was different. I left Woongjin so it wouldn’t be easier to go back to Starcraft I formally. So that’s why went with Starcraft II. As a progamer, I simply wanted to continue to play games; there weren’t any other reasons why I switched.
But I always had conflicting thoughts about it all. I talked a lot with MVP as well as Zero. And I also conversed a lot with retired progamer Special. Then Coach Lee Jae-gyun learned about my worrying and he called me to his office at the Woongjin house (laughs). At the time I felt too sorry to start talking about my thoughts (like I did with my peers) and I didn’t know what to do. But thankfully he started talking about coming back to Woongjin and I ended up returning to Brood War.
I know with this return I am getting a lot of criticism from the Starcraft II community and I know Coach Lee is getting criticized too. I believe that this is all my fault and so I’m very sorry and I’m reflecting on myself about it. But now that I know exactly what I want to do, I’m going to put in my best effort so I hope people don’t criticize others around me.
This is the first instance that someone switched from Starcraft II to Starcraft I. After experiencing both, what do you think are the biggest differences between the two? (T/N: Please no BW vs. SC2 flamefest, I don’t want to get this translation locked, thanks)
It gets hard to discuss once you start becoming subjective about it. But strictly from an objective point of view, I think that Starcraft I is really easy to understand. Micro and macromanagement has to happen at the same time and you need to manage your game well in order to win. Of course you need to understand Starcraft II in order to win but Starcraft II is made so that it is much easier to micro than Starcraft I. So there are a lot of good players in the relative sense, and it’s a game that everyone can enjoy without stressing over the game mechanics. I think if you’ve played Starcraft I a good amount, switching to Starcraft II won’t be so difficult.
There are a lot of players (progamers and amateurs) right now who are torn between Brood War and Starcraft II.
If you’ve just started playing, I would imagine you’d be struggling to decide. But deciding shouldn’t be that hard because you should choose the one that you enjoy the most. Of course you could decide based on your goals. If you want to enter a new industry, pick Starcraft II or if you are familiar with Starcraft I and like it than stick with that.
There’s tension between the Brood War community and the Starcraft II community.
It certainly is a sensitive issue. Progamers have to continue to play games so it’s hard for them to bother with both sides at the same time. Currently, it seems like Starcraft I players are paying less attention to Starcraft II than Starcraft II players are to Starcraft I. The professional gaming scene for Brood War has a stable industry and has well established practice settings and team life. Apart from a few teams, Starcraft II is in its infancy in terms of establishment.
I want to hear your opinion on the topic.
Personally I feel that both games have come from the same stem. I hope that both games can be successful. That way e-sports can get bigger. If there are feelings of resentment, then it’s just hard for the players. I hope there can be a win-win situation for both sides. I know that fans from both sides are fighting each other but I wish that everyone would see the two games with a positive eye. They have their differences but both games each have their individual merit.
A “new start” after returning to Woongjin.
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You are probably practicing hard for Proleague. Any new resolutions?
I returned to Woongjin after much thought. Woongjin doesn’t have a good score right now and when older members leave, the team atmosphere falls. Since I’m back, I’m trying to motivate the younger players right now. Woongjin Star’s score will get better and since I’m starting over again, I want to practice harder and get good results in matches.
You’ve been added to the roster this month and I’ve heard your skill is getting better right now.
It was really hard at first. I noticed during one of my practice games I instinctively pressed a hotkey for Starcraft II (laughs). I still need a little more time but I think I’ll be able to play on televised matches pretty soon. Also, players like hOn_Sin and Center’s ability have risen greatly. I’ve gotten a lot of help from them.
My hyungs tease me by calling me “practice partner” but even though they are only teasing, it’s affecting my pride and I end up practicing harder. Right now I’m practicing hard to get my skill level up and I think about games until I sleep. If I practice a little harder than even now, I think I can get sent out even this month. Start anticipating the “Omesleague” again (laughs). (T/N: Can anyone tell me what “오메스리그” means? Is that his nickname? Thanks)
You must have new goals now.
My ultimate goal is to win a starleague. But first I want to help my team to victory. I want to stand on the stage of the finals and see what it feels like. When I get older and a lot of time passes, I feel like I’m going to grieve if was unable to ever reach the finals. A lot of my teammates are helping me and I’m doing my best so I will be playing again soon.
Any last words.
Now that I’ve come back to Woongjin, I feel like I’ve made a lot of mistakes. So I’m in deep reflection of myself now. After all these ups and downs I feel like only my match record will make up for my mistakes.
While I was playing Starcraft II, one important thing I learned from JulyZerg is that in order to win, everyone on the team must make victory their goal and reach for it together. The younger players will see this interview for sure so I want to tell them to become one with each other and work really hard to become a really strong team. I also want to say that I am really thankful to all those in Startale and Woongjin who have helped me.
credit goes to: mani4949@fomos.co.kr
(T/N: I wish Geumchi the best as a progamer. Lets hope he is very successful!)
thanks!
