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In the Korean scene, there are more high level players than the ones you see in GSL. However, we don't often hear about these players due to language barriers. GSL is the premier StarCraft 2 tournament, yet at the end of the day it is only but one tournament in StarCraft 2,
Korean players have been invited to participate in various tournaments with the prize pool ranging from hundreds to thousands. Yet these Koreans are the ones who have set a mark upon GSL and GSTL. We rarely see less prominent players getting featured in the foreigner scene. I aim to change that.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/disciple/MFK/dong_copy.jpg)
DongRaeGu is a grandmaster Zerg that is currently in Team MVP, one of the newer Korean teams. Known for his multitasking, he is one of the up and coming Zergs in Korea and can be considered one of the team's aces. His most notable achievements was when he was the first player to reach 4000 ladder points.![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/disciple/MFK/interview_copy.jpg)
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself and your gaming history in Starcraft 2 so far.
I'm
DongRaeGu (SooHo, Park) and currently I'm in MVP team. I'm 21 years old and from Busan, Korea. My most notable achievement so far has been when I was the first to score 4000 points in ladder.Q. How did you get into team MVP?
I got into MVP team by getting scouted by the manager (Yoon Sang, Choi). I first met with him during the March GSL qualifiers and while chatting with the manager, he asked me if I wanted to join and gave me some time to decide. After a week I decided to join MVP along with
Genius since the manager promised me good "treatment" and since the team was newly created, I thought I could be the team's ace. Q. What do you think about life in team MVP?
I feel as if life in the team is a school trip since there are a lot of players around my age, like
Genius. I don't go out much everyday, mostly for snacks. Even during weekends I don't go out much since the team house is in Incheon and my home is back in Busan at the bottom of the peninsula. Plus, it takes a couple hours drive to go back to my home. I pretty much spend most of my time practicing.Q. What's the practice schedule like for you in team MVP?
During the GSL season, the team is focused only on the GSL participants, whereas those who aren't participating work their ass off in ladder. When the GSL season is over, we play 2-4 games against each of my teammates.
Q. It seems like you and
Genius are great friends. What is your history with him and do you have a rivalry together?Back in Brood war, a hyung (older "brother") introduced me to
Genius since we were both the same age and played the same race (Terran). We shared tons of builds, strategies, and replays together. I didn't have a rivalry with him in Brood War since we were both players far from becoming pros in BW. In SC2 beta, I played Protoss. However I found out that
Genius was a famous Protoss user and I developed a "rivalry sense". I found it "dirty" to play as a Protoss because genius was also a Protoss so I switched to Zerg.Q. You mentioned you were far from becoming pros in BW. What do you think is the biggest difference between being a SC1 and SC2 progamer.
It's too difficult and challenging to become a pro in BW because all the teams are run by big companies so it's more closed. In SC2, because the ladder system shows rankings it promotes people to challenge themselves more and makes it a bit easier to become well known.
Q. Since you used to be a Protoss, why did you decide to switch to Zerg?
Because of BW, my APM was pretty fast so I was able to multitask a lot. I felt that Terran didn't need much multitasking but Zerg needed a lot of multitasking like larva injection, creep spreading, and constant expansions. Therefore I felt my playstyle was more suited to playing Zerg
Q. You weren't able to qualify in GSL Code A. What happened?
Zerg is too weak when it comes to defending timing attacks and all-ins especially proxy 2gates. In the GSL qualifiers vs
IMSeed, I won the first game after defending a cannon rush and a 4gate. In the second game I lost to a 15 nexus 7gate all-in build, and in the 3rd game I went for a push but lost.Q. Many Zergs complain about the forcefields and Colossus in ZvP. Why do you think Zerg doesn't use Ultralisks to break Force Fields more?
I don't really complain about Force Fields and Colossus as I find ways to try and get out of those situations but I still hate it when I make the wrong decision and it costs me the game.
It's not easy to get ultras since I have to fight off Stalkers and Colossus.Ultralisks are really high up in the tech tree and before then, Protoss can still use Force Fields many times. However, I think Broodlords are better than Ultras as it's much easier to win the game with 10 Broodlords than 10 Ultras. Even getting 2-3 Ultras is really hard.
Q. Many Zergs have been experimenting with Infestors. How important do you think they are in ZvT?
After the patch, in a mid-long game its compulsory to get Infestors. The longer the game goes, Infestors become much more important than Banelings especially in a management game. Late game Terran would have a lot of mech units which makes its hard for the Zerg to attack the marines so Zergs needs Infestor for another AOE option besides Banelings. Infestors is also getting important in lategame ZvP as well.
Q. Hydralisks are starting to see lesser use in ZvsP, in ZvZ zergs have tried to use Hydralisks, do you think that a Roach + Infestor army is still better?
Hydralisks are useless and eat up money. It's only useful if the opponent goes Mutas, Voids, or Phoenix. Before the Infestor patch, I used to use a lot of Hydras but after the buff, it's better to use Roach + Infestors for DPS. Even before the patch, I used very little Hydras in ZvsP since Roach and Hydras are shit together.
Q. This year GSL has been making more maps, what do you think about the GSL and ladder maps?
GSL maps are quite fun especially since maps don't have close spawn positions. However thinking about ladder maps makes me go "shit" and "fuck". They're the reason why Terran are taking over ladder. The map I hate most is Crossfire since the rush distance is too close. Protoss and Terran get too much advantage when they have map control. I also don't like Delta Quadrant. There's nothing to say about that map, it just sucks.
Q. How much do you know about Teamliquid.net and the foreigner scene?
I know that Xeph mirror'ed my stream from Daum Pot and it was posted on TL.net. I tried to find posts in Teamliquid about my stream but I couldn't find any.
I think it's good that there are lots of leagues and events to participate in the foreign scene, however if I wasn't in Korea I think that I would be able to post a lot of good results in these tournaments. Nevertheless foreigners are still good unlike Brood War. I've played players like
Jinro, HuK, and DIMAGA on ladder and I think that HuK is the best foreigner in starcraft 2.Q. What do you think about SC2's growth in Korea?
StarCraft 2 has grown a lot faster than I thought and is still growing fast in Korea. I believe that there will be more leagues coming up in the future.
Q. Anything you like to say to TL.net?
Please support me a lot when I get to play in GSL or GSTL !
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/disciple/MFK/replay.jpg)
What better way to get recognized than an exclusive replay from the man himself?
Credit goes to NEXenTech (Mike Kang - ZeNEX staff member) for helping to translate for DongRaeGu.
