[Int] GSTL Week 1 MVPs

DongRaeGu
‘Our goal is to secure 3 victories.’

- You won a great match today. Thoughts?
Our start was not so good so I didn’t think we would get a good result. I am glad my games went as well as they did.

- There are players who become really nervous when the team depends on them, and there are others who thrive under those situations. Which one do you think you are?
There is a part of me that always wants to become the hero. But to be honest, I didn’t have much chance to practice so I didn’t want that to happen today. My teammates told me that it would be ok if I lost so I played without any pressure.

- Why do you think your teammates lost today?
I think, as a team, we are not playing our best in broadcasted matches. As for me, I lose a lot during team practice, but weirdly during broadcasted matches, my true skill seems to come out. I guess I was born to play on the stage.

- You also won the LG special league recently.
After that event I learned that I had many fans. I was able to hear all the congratulatory messages from my fans, and I was able to play even harder. To be honest, I was losing some interest because the game had become a bit less interesting, but after that day, I was able to regain my passion.

- You fell in the code A preliminaries.
After losing in the code A preliminaries I felt like I was in a bit of a slump and I wasn’t able to practice a lot. I thought that I would definitely advance but I felt a bit pathetic when I felt in the final round. I think I was able to get out of this slump by winning today.

- Your first opponent was BoxeR.
It was an honor to play against such an esteemed player. I thought to myself ‘I guess I can have days like this one too.’ I was happy that I came out victorious.

- You won a hard fought match against GanZi. The secret to your comeback?
My opponent kept on using hellions. Had he switched more to siege tank play I don’t think I could have won. My opponent’s mistakes and things that I did eventually piled up enough for me to take the victory.

- It looked pretty hard when you lost the 6-o-clock expansion.
I think he came out specially to get me. And there were moments that I was ready to type GG several times, but I just felt like playing it out until my main was destroyed. Somehow, I had a gut feeling that I could win if I just held my own.

- This was your second time facing MMA.
I do not think I lost last time because of skill. I believe that given the chance I can beat him any time.

- Did the players come up with your lineup today?
We all prepared for different situations and whoever felt like they were most comfortable on a certain map prepared for that map.

- Were you feeling uncomfortable after losing the 1st and 2nd sets?
I felt like ‘it will be difficult to win today’, but when GuineaPig was able to win the atmosphere changed.

- Where do you think your team will place in the group?
I heard that if you secure 3 wins you are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. After winning 3, I hope that we can showcase some players who have not been on broadcasted matches. Our goal is to secure those three wins.

- Your personal goals in the GSTL?
I hope that I do not have to win many more matches. I want my teammates to show their own great skills so that I will not have to win more matches.

- Many other zergs are complaining about how hard it is right now.
It is a more difficult race than the others. After playing like a 30 minute match you are definitely tired out. It is a race that can quickly lose with even small mistakes, so you have to play a lot of games and fix all your weaknesses before it can become even a playable race.

- If you were to give a tip to casual users?
You have to learn to counter attack so that you can make them produce units while you create timings for you to drone up. The basic thing is countering.

- It seems like you don’t depend much on higher tier units.
I don’t think you need them too much. I lost a lot when I used to use ultralisks so I believe it is better to just stick with zerglings and mutalisks and focusing on their upgrades. The muta/ling/bane combination has great mobility and are quickly produced.

- Your next opponent will be with oGs.
We will be prepared to come with a player ready to snipe MC.

- They say you are weak against protoss.
I don’t think I have found my answer against them yet. In ZvP I would say out of 100 my score is only about 30.

- Your mirror matchup also looks weak.
Actually, after beating GanZi, I was worried and thought ‘ah a zerg is going to come out.’ But overall, since the majority of players happen to be terran I think my team can use me.

- Any last comments?
My friends, parents, and extended family have been paying a lot of attention to me recently. I hope that they can keep cheering me on in the future. I hope my teammates don’t fret over their results today and can show their true skills in their next broadcasted matches.
+ Show Spoiler +

Squirtle
‘I am always ready for an all-kill when given the chance.’

- Tell us how you feel after capturing the first win for your team this season.
I am happy since it feels so long since I won my last broadcasted match. I felt like ‘ah so this is the taste of victory.’

- Your opponent was FXO, a foreign team. How did you prepare?
It was difficult to find out everything about the players. So we focused on the basics.

- This was the first occasion that a foreign team has come over to compete, what do you think?
I think it is good no matter what. FXO has a lot of support from overseas and by playing against them we can also gain some notoriety in foreign communities.

- What do you think about your recent attitude and condition?
I think it is the same as before. Every time I play a GSL game I get really nervous. So I end up making mistakes that I usually don’t and lose confidence. Is it my fear rather than skill? I hope that my wins today can restore some confidence.

- Tell us your story, how did you fall in the recent GSL July preliminary?
Maybe I should just say I am used to losing now… It was a shock to me for the first couple of days but I think it was definitely my fault. Now I have decided to just focus on my next tournament, NASL.

- Is your goal in the GSTL different than the others?
I was only able to get 1 win last time. Since this isn’t a tournament that ends just in 4 days, I should be able to do much better this time around.

- How many wins do you think you can get?
I always think I can get 2 or more wins every match.

- You had the first ever all-kill in GSTL history, do you have any desire to repeat that performance?
It will be difficult if I do not get sent out first. I think the reason I can play this well is because my team overall is composed of such great players. But if given the chance, I will definitely seek out that all-kill and take each game very seriously.

- What do you think about the Venus group?
Just by previous scores, you could say this is the easier group, but fOu, ZeNEX, and IM are all very skilled teams which will be difficult to beat. Of course, out of all of them, the match against IM will be the most difficult.

- Where do you think your team will be at the end of the pennant race (**Where do you think your team will place)?
I believe we can beat IM and take 1st in this group.

- What is the recent team atmosphere like?
I don’t know about other teams, most team’s respond to their recent performance. But in our team no matter what the recent results say, our atmosphere is live and vibrant.

- What do you think about your next opponent, ZeNEX?
I want to face CoCa, I lost to him in the last code A tournament. I didn’t play so well back then so I want to face him once more.

- Any last comments?
I want to thank my team for practicing really hard. I especially want to thank our coach for trying hard even when our recent results have not panned out.

+ Show Spoiler +

Happy and Yoda
‘We are confident in code A.’

- Your thoughts on winning?
(Happy) – I was really nervous because it was my first match. My hand was even shaking before the game started, but after it got to the mid game I was able to play like I do at the practice house and do what I prepared.
(Yoda) – I did not know I would be sent out last but my coach told me to go out there. To be honest I thought that I would lose. I was definitely under pressure, but since Nestea told me that it would be ok to lose, I was playing with the thought that I would lose. I thought that I had lost when my first attack failed, but when my banshee got there, he didn’t have much. And since my opponent also tried for a banshee instead of getting units, I was able to win. I don’t even know what I did. I am still a bit in shock.

- You both are in code A.
(Happy) – I have had confidence even before I broke through the preliminaries. I think my confidence was higher than the other opponents.
(Yoda) – I had confidence before, but now I think I have definitely exploded with some more. I think I will be able to play even better in the future.

- What did the coach tell you before the match?
(Yoda) – He told me to play relaxed because it was ok to lose.

- You were sent out first, how did you prepare?
(Happy) – Dreamertt (aka Gaebyul) helped me practice like it was him playing the first match. I just practiced on one map many times in a row. I am really thankful to him.

- You were able to get 2 kills.
(Happy) – I thought that even during the match against GuMiho I was ahead. But I saw that I had less workers and I let him have too much time. It was definitely a game that I could have won but I guess I can be content with 2 kills.

- You faced sC.
(Yoda) – I didn’t really worry too much about my opponent, but rather the fact that I was the last player. I was not afraid of sC.

- IM has been showing some great new faces in the GSTL. What do you think is the secret behind this success?
(Happy) – Our coach does a great job utilizing the players in a gutsy way. He always tells us that we may be sent out at any time so be prepared. It helps motivate us, and it makes all the players practice hard since we don’t know when we will be sent out.
(Yoda) – I think your team practice atmosphere is good. Every tournament, we all practice together so that we can get good results.

- You will both have code A matches soon.
(Happy) – I think I will face Yoda in the finals. I believe I can definitely win my round of 32 match. I think I can get to the up and down pretty easily.
(Yoda) – I want to try to get as far as possible by breaking down my opponents. If I get to the round of 16 or the round of 8 I will have to face my teammate Ready. I don’t have a clear goal but I want to face him. My first opponent is Min but I am confident against him.

- Any last comments?
(Happy) – I want to say thanks again to Dreamertt (aka Gaebyul) and all of my teammates who helped me practice. I also want to thank “Jung” clan members who came to cheer me on.
(Yoda) – I originally practiced to snipe a zerg so I want to thank True and Horror for helping me practice. I also want to thank my coach and parents for taking care of me.
+ Show Spoiler +