Q: First introduce yourself
The.GKonly: Hello, I’m the team leader of team The., my ID is The.GKonly. I’m responsible for the pre-game preparation and strategizing the line-up prior to league matches. I’m very happy to receive this interview.
The.phantasm_wen: Hello everyone, I'm The.'s new team captain wenwen, ID: The.phantasm_wen. I was promoted to The.'s new captain position just a few days ago, as a girl, I thank the trust teammates are placing in me, giving me such an important position, I also won't let everyone down. I'm very happy that The. has this chance to accept an interview, to let more friends know about us, and also hope that BW lovers / friends can join our The. team and fight on the STL platform. Let more people pay attention to Chinese BW, and let our Starcraft's lifeline always continue to be this fervent. This is the happiest thing.
The.WK: Hello everyone, I'm The.WK, a student of The.Jaystar, I once got 9341 points on Iccup, my Iccup ID is Nb.TheWK, and we also attended altitude nation wars representing asian pacific. I lost in the semi-finals ace match against America's Michael. STL24 I have the highest win rate in the team, 11 wins out of 12 matches (11-1)
Q: As the new champion of the STL playoffs, what is the atmosphere in the team?
The.GKonly: Team The. has won many titles before, but has always missed the championship for the top league. This time we’ve captured the playoffs championship as the result of everyone’s commitment and work. We also hope that foreign players could join the team The. family, the biggest habit / tradition in our team is to joke about each other. Now the atmosphere in the team is very warm / close, good players also train a lot between each other in preparation for STL 25.
The.phantasm_wen: Since I joined the team, the team has gone from Group C to Group A, and barely missed the championship many times, we also gained the name for the Kong line. So as we just won the playoffs championship, the atmosphere in the team is really high, teammates are all very ambitious, and will try our best to push for the next team league, we will try our best to get better records.
The.WK: I feel that all of our players are a big family. The whole team has enjoyed good spirits from winning the tournament. As a tradition of The. Teammates are continuing to talk to each other in "cross talk" (a Chinese traditional comedy / life sketch performance format). Everyday there are different cross talk actors doing their acts. We often meet up after a period of time, for example when Jaystar got married.
Q: How is the atmosphere in the team right now?
The.GKonly: Team The. has a lot of powerhouse players, there’s also scheduled practice every day, and a system to grow new talent. Team The has also had many encounters with foreign pro’s in matches. For example we won against Korean team NoA in winnersleague format, pro players in the team like The.Jaystar had played under European team natic, and won against SKT1_Bisu in IEF, and The.Super had also played under European teams, and had (in China vs Korea) won against BW legends Slayers_BoxeR and KTF_Yellow, but lost to Tossgirl ^_^, other good players like LBH, Princeofstar, all had decent rankings on Gosogamer. There’s also a lot of strong lesser known players who are between A- to A level on iccup, like WK, Onlyzerg, aPriL, Chanyf, weifeng009, and PianO. Teammates are relatively quiet / inactive externally, so we are often underestimated by our opponents.
The.phantasm_wen: Team The.'s atmosphere was always our biggest pride, the relationships between teammates is like family, playing matches together, investigating strategies together, having fun together, and shouting together, every year we have scheduled events to congregate us together. The. has many players wit decent potential, The.jaystar and The.Super are former pro's, who can also have win records against top Korean professional players, there's also The.FJ, The.WK, The.April, The.LBH, The.weifeng009, The.onlyzerg, The.onlyattack, The.chanyF, who are all players with good potential domestically. There's also a responsible team management staff, The._lty, The.wealet, The.GKonly, and The.ZZ.
The.WK: The atmosphere from when I joined the team was very friendly, all the teammates care and took care of me. And helped me grow from Iccup D+ to A-, I really love BW, and I love all the teammates. The.Jaystar former pro is my coach, (he's) the most diligent and honest person in the Chinese BW circle, what you learn from him isn't just BW, more so how to be a (Good) person. The.Super former pro, beat boxer and lost to tossgirl. The.FJ former semi-pro, has low APM and a turtly style, and has special race match ups ZvP, PvT, TvZ, (lol race advantage) playing matches with him often last several hours. (not sure if one match or several ^_^). The.aPriL, the #1 Terran in the team right now, has a strong tempo and fundamentals, if you enter his tempo it's difficult to win. The.Onlyzerg, #1 zerg in the team, was once A on iccup, he's also very turtle-y. The.weifeng009, the elder in the team, APM 100 but has really strong potential, good at PvP. The.ChanF, , he's studying overseas right now so his ability dropped of quite a bit. The.OnlyAttack , the #1 TvZ in the team, APM 300+, EAPM 250+. The.WK, #1 hyung in the team, iccup was #1 in China last season, 9341 points, well rounded.
Q: What races have relative advantages right now, why?
The.GKonly: There are a lot of protoss players in China, the ratio is around 3:1:1, so in a lot of competitions protoss players have an overwhelming advantage.
The.phantasm_wen: In China protoss' have an absolute advantage, same with our team. Because protoss compared with terran or zerg, at low tech unit engagements, in micro, all have a relatively high advantage. Chinese BW haven't had as clear and thorough investigations like korean professionals. In China more players who love BW dont have alot of time to practice and investigate these strategies, so to them, the protoss low tech unit advantage will often allow them to get a win, so more people choose protoss. I believe that no one likes to lose all the time. ^_^
The.WK: In China protoss definitely has an advantage. There's alot more protoss' in China than Terran and Zerg combined.
Q: Korea has given up on BW, and in China BW’s popularity / activity has increased somewhat, how do you see this?
The.GKonly: Korean abandoning BW competitions has given Chinese BW scene a chance to revival, because there are a lot of BW players in China, even though they play very little, they really like to watch BW matches. Hosting the China OSL league has also re-kindled the interest in a lot of BW players.
The.phantasm_wen: I feel that the Korean amateur and casual BW scene will keep their spirits / heat up for a while, and only slowly deteriorate as professional BW leagues slowly fade from their hearts. It's the same in China, we also only abandoned professional BW, because we don't have sponsors, after all Businesses want a profit, so as the amount of interests lessens, sponsors will chose categories with higher returns to invest. But in China, because of the general environment, professional leagues aren't as lively as Korea. But there are still many people who love BW like us. So after Korean professional leagues abandon BW this year, and as domestic (china's) broadcast is picking up, (I) believe that BW will continue in China, because it's a part of this generation's dream!
The.WK: Everything has a rise and fall, we can't play BW for a life time but can be friends for a lifetime. Be a protoss for a life time, charge a Tank line for a life time.
Q: What was the most difficult moment in the STL 24?
The.GKonly: At the start of the season we didn’t have a good track record, when we lost the first 3 matches we were placed in an very awkward position in the STL. That's probably the most difficult moment. But luckily we caught up at the end and achieved an acceptable ranking.
The.phantasm_wen: The most difficult time was definitely the start of the season, everyone didn't commit to the tempo fo the league, and the practice amount was low, add in the inconsistency or the roster, we had consecutive matches where the team spirit wasn't high, and this is the most important reason why we couldn't make it to the champion position in the regular season.
The.WK: The most difficult was the first few rounds at the start , losing to Love in the first round and losing to FRDS made us feel really difficult.
Q: In the new season, STL 25, what challenges are there to defend the title?
The.GKonly: The difficulty is in sending out players reliably, (you) have to know that team The. has many very strong players, if we can always guarantee our line-up then team The.'s potential should be within China's top 3. But players can't guarantee their appearance for many different reasons, so we can only hope that we continue playing BW.
The.phantasm_wen: The most important factor is still attendance, after all players have their own work and livelihood, we have an attitude of entertainment towards BW, trying our best to our own abilities and hearts. If the attendance / roster can be consistent, I believe, that we can still defend the title. Even if we can't get the title, as long as we tried, and we commited, then we wouldn't feel regret for ourselves.
The.WK: The key is still attendance, we have alot of strong players, if our attendance / line-up is better I think we can defend the title.
Q: What does your team know / want to comment on about Teamliquid's website?
The.GKonly: I hope that TL and The. can have more co-operations / communications, like exhibition matches and so forth, team The had played an exhibition match with german website before, team The. Also has an overseas Finland student emu who wanted to contact TL and The. For an exhibition match, but because of latency and time shifts the match was cancelled, it was very regretable. And we hope that TL can pay more attention to Chinese BW, and could open a Chinese page/area.
The.phantasm_wen: Exhibition matches can lessen the distances between us, if its possible I want to organize some international and domestic exhibition matches, everyone can communicate and play with each other. Also is it possible to establish a Chinese area on TL's website, to make it more convenient for Chinese players to communicate with international players. Also wish that TL can pay more attention to C-OSL and STL leagues, (I) Believe that under everyone's commitment and efforts, we can definitely let BW shine brighter. Let BW always live in our lives, not just our hearts.
The.WK: I hope that there can be a Chinese section, alot of us don't have very good english.
Q: Last words?
The.GKonly: Hope that the game BW can go further, Starcraft is a good game, please don't change. And also hope that European / American players can understand / know more about Chinese BW.
The.phantasm_wen: I love not only BW, but also our home The. Welcome all players domestic and international to join The.
The.WK: I want to thank Jaystar for teaching me, and team leads Wealet, GKonly, captain wenwen, former captain Cash and Lty. And all the players. I hope that China's BW can grow and get better.
Team NJ Interview
+ Show Spoiler +
Q: First introduce yourself.
NJ_Highdark : Hello everyone, my name is 李根, ID: Highdark, I’m the main supervisor / liaison for NJ right now.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Hello everyone, I’m NJ’s team lead小七. NJ team was formed by lovers of BW from Nanjing, even though the team’s name is still a region, but our teammates aren’t just restricted to the area any more. The team has also changed itself into one that welcomes all talents from across the country, ofcourse if foreign fans / players can join we would also welcome it.
NJ_fallares: Hello, I’m a player representative from team NJ, Fallares, I’m an veteran of BW, been with it for more than 10 years, definitely an old noob.
It’s been so many years, but I still love BW as new, often I want to play a few games, BW has become a part of my life, I want to wait till my son grows older, I will also teach him about a game that his dad loves very much – BW.
Q: As the silver of STL playoffs, how is the atmosphere in the team?
NJ_Highdark: As a regional team getting the record / acclaim today is truly not easy, even though there is an element of luck / chance involved, but in the hearts of a lot of our players it’s an inevitability.
In this (result) is the concentrated efforts of every player’s hearts, so I have to sincerely thank every player’s effort and commitment, especially HAHA168, xiaoxiaoma, vulture, for their support; we also have a range of early 80s or even 70s (birth date) seniors who are holding the team up / keeping it running, and a group – lead by 小七- new players (post 95) who are participating enthusiastically; also player TOSS deserves mention for bringing happiness to the team and being a great congregating force in the team.
Ofcourse, there are also teammates who’ve chose to leave us, perhaps we also have some areas that are disagreeable, we couldn’t give enough space (to the players), to this, I want to apologize to them, brothers please have a safe journey. I also want to say thanks, thank you for bringing us a happy STL 24 season. Because of this (STL 24), it should be said that our team’s growth is nearing maturity, and the atmosphere is very active / heated, perhaps there are other teams that have more discussions, conflicts, and incompatibilities than us. But I think that our team will always be an evergreen on the BW platform, it’s the wish of all of our 300 main group players / members.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Right now the team’s atmosphere from top to bottom is good, especially after winning silver, it’s gotten a lot more heated, this rank is also a confirmation for our efforts for the season. But (we) have to recognize that commonly players are all finding careers, their time with BW won’t be as long as before. We have the same problem as most teams, no new blood.
NJ_fallares: Our team hasn’t formed for that long (late 2008), but the Starcraft atmosphere is pretty good, this STL playoff silver was really difficult to get, a lot of players overcame a lot of difficulties with life and work to persist and play every match well. I want to say to all the teammates “Thank you for your dedication / work!”.
Q: How is the atmosphere inside the team usually, give a brief introduction to the key players on the team.
NJ_Highdark: The problems of the atmosphere mentioned (players leaving the team) are being sorted out / recovering, there’s quite a lot of offline / real-life communication between the players too usually, so it should be said (that the atmosphere) is good.
Key players:
Vulture, ex-pro
xiaoxiaoma, TvZ pro level
168, old veteran
TOSS, Chobo
SWEETY, Takeo
小军, FA, 小七 and others, NJ back up line.
It also should be said that those who have ability beyond their fame and those working behind the scenes should come in the public limelight more often.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): As to the atmosphere I gave mention to it. As to star players there are a lot so it’s difficult to count, the old nanjin #1 highdark and haha168, good TvZer xiaoxiaoma, two former pro’s vulture and rushgoon. There are a lot more, but I won’t mention them all one by one here.
NJ_fallares: The original goal of NJ’s inception was to unite BW fans / friends at the end of the BW era, to continue enjoying the thrills and entertainment BW has given us, so our team will as scheduled join off-line meet-ups, winners-league tournaments, and in team tournaments, everyone’s very active. The team consists of 16-40 year olds, the difference is very high, but in the BW world, age isn’t the difference.
There’s a lot of star players in the team, ex-pro vulture, rushgoon, #1 nanjing 168, well-rounded highdark, team mascot TOSS who also goes with ID 酷酷boy is also a really strong player who can snipe anyone in a critical moment.
And our #1 T xiaoxiaoma who has professional level TvZ, STORM who has a very slow and methodical vZ, and a lot of high level “noob” player (who always lose in league games), 小俊哥, SNL100, 429, 影子鱼, NJ’s fengzi (fake fengzi), 0326, 1987, 霸占, etc. Come to think of it our team has 18 players. Ofcourse we also have a young team lead NJ_IcaruS, when I was busy with work he was single-handedly doing the team lead assignments.
Q: Right now does it feel like any race has a relative advantage, and why?
NJ_Highdark: I don’t feel that there is any real advantage for any race, we can see this from Korea’s leagues, it’s more to do with the player, his/her condition, and maps.
Our team because of various historical reasons, has some understanding for protoss. There’s a lot of reasons, outsiders call us JinLing (an old name for NanJing) 13 , it might be because vulture resides here and often plays with us.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): It’s still according to the balance, each race has its own strong and weak match up and then counters each other, strategies are also a spiral constantly improving. But in China it might be relative advantage, after all players ( ) are in high number and the rate of creating strategies is faster.
NJ_fallares: Personally I feel that, BW has been developing for so many years, now every race is quite balanced, now its advantages based on each specific map. The key is still the player’s strategy and performance in (official) match.
Q: Korea has given up BW, and in China BW’s popularity is raising a bit, how do you feel / see about this?
NJ_Highdark: Korea giving up on BW is basically symbolizing / meaning the collapse of this production chain, so I don’t think a temporary raise (in china) is signalling BW’s revival.
I think that, BW will eventually leave our lives, but it will forever remain in our memories, over more than 10 years, BW has given us too much happiness, she’s witnessed our growth, and all the emotions of life.
14 years of life carried out happiness and documented our youths, even though she’s stepped into the winter of her professional career, but to us she’s always warm / familiar.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Actually Chinese BW players have always had a very high fervor, right now it’s a transfer of a culture, BW’s center is shifting to China, personally I think it’s a good thing for us. Regardless of rather it creates diversity in Chinese leagues or matures current competitions and creates systems, it’s all a push in the right direction.
NJ_fallares: First of all Korea being the heaviest weight in BW, their abandonment of BW competitions is very regretful for all of us, but I believe that players who love BW won’t give up. In China, there is a group of these people who are crazy about BW, but mainly because of the environment in China hasn’t allowed it, so today as China develops, this (older) generation of BW players will have already entered society, and have burdens / responsibilities in society, after so many years their BW dream has never extinguished, we are waiting for more chances for this game BW to shine, it will be us – all Chinese players- ‘s dream.
Q: What was the most difficult moment of STL 24?
NJ_Highdark: There wasn’t a most difficult time, at the beginning there wasn’t enough congruence with-in the team, but everything is getting better, as old players and star players joined, I think we also matured relatively.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Overall I think the season was smooth, at the start highdark and xiaoxiaoma’s return gave everyone a confidence shot. Even though there were some conflicts in the middle managerial level, and some teammates left, but overall it’s a satisfying season.
NJ_fallares: The most difficult moment in the STL 24 was still the beginning of the season, a few players still didn’t plan out their time between competing and living (working), so the roster wasn’t full / prepared, in the initial line-up selection we were placed in a passive position, but later as we worked, this problem was improved a lot.
Q: STL 24 you are the champion of Group B, what’s your goal and view on STL 25?
NJ_Highdark: Decisively (I want to say) Group A Champion 10 times.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): First time making it into Group A, facing all sorts of teams with a lot of history, next season’s goal might be to secure our position, and on that basis steadily improve the team’s ability, if we have ambition I hope next season we can also play in the playoffs – make it into the top 4 of group A (Group A has 8 teams).
NJ_fallares: Even though we qualified first out of Group B, we know definitely our gap with some teams in Group A, we just want to play each STL match well, respect each teammate, and let every player participate and compete with the highest level of competition as much as possible, get a lot of experience and help the team develop better.
Q: What does your team know / want to comment on about Teamliquid website?
NJ_Highdark: (I)’ve known about TL really early, but I always felt that there wasn’t space for Chinese BW players to participate, the recent leagues are pretty interesting though, if possible, let’s have a forum fan tournament?
NJ_IcaruS(小七): It’s a bit embarrassing, honestly I don’t know much, but occasionally I did go on TL to find information, feels that TL’s BW atmosphere and database is great, and also hope that TL can become better, and pay attention to our STL.
NJ_fallares: TL is a website that we have heard a lot from, being interviewed by / on TL is our pleasure, I hope that more teams and players will get interviewed by your website.
Q: Last words?
NJ_Highdark: I wish that TL.net can become better and grow.
I wish that all of NJ’s players can have a wonderful life and career.
I wish fortune for all BW players.
If you want to play with China’s top , please join us and grow with us.
My QQ: 461004949, MSN: cncncnstar@hotmail.com
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Thanks to Caihead for translating, and thanks to TL for giving us a platform to broadcast our Chinese Starcraft league. Lastly if any BW friends have the interest we welcome you to the NJ family.
My QQ: 493510790, Email: 493510790@qq.com / sade493510790@sina.com
NJ_fallares: I hope that TL will grow and be better, we will always continue our support.
NJ_Highdark : Hello everyone, my name is 李根, ID: Highdark, I’m the main supervisor / liaison for NJ right now.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Hello everyone, I’m NJ’s team lead小七. NJ team was formed by lovers of BW from Nanjing, even though the team’s name is still a region, but our teammates aren’t just restricted to the area any more. The team has also changed itself into one that welcomes all talents from across the country, ofcourse if foreign fans / players can join we would also welcome it.
NJ_fallares: Hello, I’m a player representative from team NJ, Fallares, I’m an veteran of BW, been with it for more than 10 years, definitely an old noob.
It’s been so many years, but I still love BW as new, often I want to play a few games, BW has become a part of my life, I want to wait till my son grows older, I will also teach him about a game that his dad loves very much – BW.
Q: As the silver of STL playoffs, how is the atmosphere in the team?
NJ_Highdark: As a regional team getting the record / acclaim today is truly not easy, even though there is an element of luck / chance involved, but in the hearts of a lot of our players it’s an inevitability.
In this (result) is the concentrated efforts of every player’s hearts, so I have to sincerely thank every player’s effort and commitment, especially HAHA168, xiaoxiaoma, vulture, for their support; we also have a range of early 80s or even 70s (birth date) seniors who are holding the team up / keeping it running, and a group – lead by 小七- new players (post 95) who are participating enthusiastically; also player TOSS deserves mention for bringing happiness to the team and being a great congregating force in the team.
Ofcourse, there are also teammates who’ve chose to leave us, perhaps we also have some areas that are disagreeable, we couldn’t give enough space (to the players), to this, I want to apologize to them, brothers please have a safe journey. I also want to say thanks, thank you for bringing us a happy STL 24 season. Because of this (STL 24), it should be said that our team’s growth is nearing maturity, and the atmosphere is very active / heated, perhaps there are other teams that have more discussions, conflicts, and incompatibilities than us. But I think that our team will always be an evergreen on the BW platform, it’s the wish of all of our 300 main group players / members.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Right now the team’s atmosphere from top to bottom is good, especially after winning silver, it’s gotten a lot more heated, this rank is also a confirmation for our efforts for the season. But (we) have to recognize that commonly players are all finding careers, their time with BW won’t be as long as before. We have the same problem as most teams, no new blood.
NJ_fallares: Our team hasn’t formed for that long (late 2008), but the Starcraft atmosphere is pretty good, this STL playoff silver was really difficult to get, a lot of players overcame a lot of difficulties with life and work to persist and play every match well. I want to say to all the teammates “Thank you for your dedication / work!”.
Q: How is the atmosphere inside the team usually, give a brief introduction to the key players on the team.
NJ_Highdark: The problems of the atmosphere mentioned (players leaving the team) are being sorted out / recovering, there’s quite a lot of offline / real-life communication between the players too usually, so it should be said (that the atmosphere) is good.
Key players:
Vulture, ex-pro
xiaoxiaoma, TvZ pro level
168, old veteran
TOSS, Chobo
SWEETY, Takeo
小军, FA, 小七 and others, NJ back up line.
It also should be said that those who have ability beyond their fame and those working behind the scenes should come in the public limelight more often.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): As to the atmosphere I gave mention to it. As to star players there are a lot so it’s difficult to count, the old nanjin #1 highdark and haha168, good TvZer xiaoxiaoma, two former pro’s vulture and rushgoon. There are a lot more, but I won’t mention them all one by one here.
NJ_fallares: The original goal of NJ’s inception was to unite BW fans / friends at the end of the BW era, to continue enjoying the thrills and entertainment BW has given us, so our team will as scheduled join off-line meet-ups, winners-league tournaments, and in team tournaments, everyone’s very active. The team consists of 16-40 year olds, the difference is very high, but in the BW world, age isn’t the difference.
There’s a lot of star players in the team, ex-pro vulture, rushgoon, #1 nanjing 168, well-rounded highdark, team mascot TOSS who also goes with ID 酷酷boy is also a really strong player who can snipe anyone in a critical moment.
And our #1 T xiaoxiaoma who has professional level TvZ, STORM who has a very slow and methodical vZ, and a lot of high level “noob” player (who always lose in league games), 小俊哥, SNL100, 429, 影子鱼, NJ’s fengzi (fake fengzi), 0326, 1987, 霸占, etc. Come to think of it our team has 18 players. Ofcourse we also have a young team lead NJ_IcaruS, when I was busy with work he was single-handedly doing the team lead assignments.
Q: Right now does it feel like any race has a relative advantage, and why?
NJ_Highdark: I don’t feel that there is any real advantage for any race, we can see this from Korea’s leagues, it’s more to do with the player, his/her condition, and maps.
Our team because of various historical reasons, has some understanding for protoss. There’s a lot of reasons, outsiders call us JinLing (an old name for NanJing) 13 , it might be because vulture resides here and often plays with us.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): It’s still according to the balance, each race has its own strong and weak match up and then counters each other, strategies are also a spiral constantly improving. But in China it might be relative advantage, after all players ( ) are in high number and the rate of creating strategies is faster.
NJ_fallares: Personally I feel that, BW has been developing for so many years, now every race is quite balanced, now its advantages based on each specific map. The key is still the player’s strategy and performance in (official) match.
Q: Korea has given up BW, and in China BW’s popularity is raising a bit, how do you feel / see about this?
NJ_Highdark: Korea giving up on BW is basically symbolizing / meaning the collapse of this production chain, so I don’t think a temporary raise (in china) is signalling BW’s revival.
I think that, BW will eventually leave our lives, but it will forever remain in our memories, over more than 10 years, BW has given us too much happiness, she’s witnessed our growth, and all the emotions of life.
14 years of life carried out happiness and documented our youths, even though she’s stepped into the winter of her professional career, but to us she’s always warm / familiar.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Actually Chinese BW players have always had a very high fervor, right now it’s a transfer of a culture, BW’s center is shifting to China, personally I think it’s a good thing for us. Regardless of rather it creates diversity in Chinese leagues or matures current competitions and creates systems, it’s all a push in the right direction.
NJ_fallares: First of all Korea being the heaviest weight in BW, their abandonment of BW competitions is very regretful for all of us, but I believe that players who love BW won’t give up. In China, there is a group of these people who are crazy about BW, but mainly because of the environment in China hasn’t allowed it, so today as China develops, this (older) generation of BW players will have already entered society, and have burdens / responsibilities in society, after so many years their BW dream has never extinguished, we are waiting for more chances for this game BW to shine, it will be us – all Chinese players- ‘s dream.
Q: What was the most difficult moment of STL 24?
NJ_Highdark: There wasn’t a most difficult time, at the beginning there wasn’t enough congruence with-in the team, but everything is getting better, as old players and star players joined, I think we also matured relatively.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Overall I think the season was smooth, at the start highdark and xiaoxiaoma’s return gave everyone a confidence shot. Even though there were some conflicts in the middle managerial level, and some teammates left, but overall it’s a satisfying season.
NJ_fallares: The most difficult moment in the STL 24 was still the beginning of the season, a few players still didn’t plan out their time between competing and living (working), so the roster wasn’t full / prepared, in the initial line-up selection we were placed in a passive position, but later as we worked, this problem was improved a lot.
Q: STL 24 you are the champion of Group B, what’s your goal and view on STL 25?
NJ_Highdark: Decisively (I want to say) Group A Champion 10 times.
NJ_IcaruS(小七): First time making it into Group A, facing all sorts of teams with a lot of history, next season’s goal might be to secure our position, and on that basis steadily improve the team’s ability, if we have ambition I hope next season we can also play in the playoffs – make it into the top 4 of group A (Group A has 8 teams).
NJ_fallares: Even though we qualified first out of Group B, we know definitely our gap with some teams in Group A, we just want to play each STL match well, respect each teammate, and let every player participate and compete with the highest level of competition as much as possible, get a lot of experience and help the team develop better.
Q: What does your team know / want to comment on about Teamliquid website?
NJ_Highdark: (I)’ve known about TL really early, but I always felt that there wasn’t space for Chinese BW players to participate, the recent leagues are pretty interesting though, if possible, let’s have a forum fan tournament?
NJ_IcaruS(小七): It’s a bit embarrassing, honestly I don’t know much, but occasionally I did go on TL to find information, feels that TL’s BW atmosphere and database is great, and also hope that TL can become better, and pay attention to our STL.
NJ_fallares: TL is a website that we have heard a lot from, being interviewed by / on TL is our pleasure, I hope that more teams and players will get interviewed by your website.
Q: Last words?
NJ_Highdark: I wish that TL.net can become better and grow.
I wish that all of NJ’s players can have a wonderful life and career.
I wish fortune for all BW players.
If you want to play with China’s top , please join us and grow with us.
My QQ: 461004949, MSN: cncncnstar@hotmail.com
NJ_IcaruS(小七): Thanks to Caihead for translating, and thanks to TL for giving us a platform to broadcast our Chinese Starcraft league. Lastly if any BW friends have the interest we welcome you to the NJ family.
My QQ: 493510790, Email: 493510790@qq.com / sade493510790@sina.com
NJ_fallares: I hope that TL will grow and be better, we will always continue our support.
Team GP) interview
+ Show Spoiler +
Q: Introduce the team/organization you belong to, and your personal history with it.
GP).aoao (Captain): Team GP, full name GoodPlayerS, was founded on december 11, 2002, it’s its 10th birthday this year, I had been with the team since its inception, and serving as the third generation captain.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): I’m with Team GP) right now, as a team lead and part of the main line-up. According to the captain the team’s been going for 10 years, it’s always been a very strong team but it’s never captured the STL championship, after the last team I was in disbanded, GP).batman invited us to join as a sign of luck/fortune, so I joined GP) along with former teammates, and worked together to capture the STL 24 championship.
GP).HP: Hello everyone, I’m team GP.’s player. I’ve been with the team for a long time, from the earliest days when crazy joined the GP. Family.
Q: Foreign fans are very curious about Chinese BW, are you familiar with foreign (non-korean) (BW)?
GP).aoao (Captain): GP).Jinro, (Liquid`Jinro) was representing / playing for team GP) before swapping to SC2.
Synopsis: http://gpteam.cn/news.asp?id=409
Record: http://www.liansai.net/unit_detail.aspx?unit_id=23497
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): I know very little, one thing that stuck out for me was the German player who captured the WCG world championship third place, he was only 14 at the time.
GP).HP: In terms of knowledge it’s actually okay, but I also watch korean games, and occassionally practice on ICCUP.
Q: With this foreign correspondance and re-broadcasting, what effect do you want to achieve the most?
GP).aoao (Captain): I want to see more top tier pro’s FPVOD.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): I hope that it can breath some life into domestic and foreign (non-korean) BW, and let more audiences pay attention to BW.
GP).HP: Ofcourse I want more people to play BW.
Q: Foreign players and fans are not familiar with how China’s BW is being managed / functioning, can you briefly explain your lifestyle/mode and the importance of BW in your life?
GP).aoao (Captain): BW right now is almost lacking any new back-up / supporting forces, it’s almost all been carried by the old generation of 30+ (years old) players, we all know that we need to stablize our own work/ carriers to have a relatively stable lifestyle to play BW. So work has to be the first priority, else your life would become a disaster.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): Chinese BW doesn’t have real professional players, during my college life, I almost practiced >13 hours a day, I used to call myself a half-pro gamer (compared with progamers, I didn’t get a salary), now that I’m working, every week other than playing the STL I almost don’t have any time to play BW, and I can’t prepare several days before league matches like before.
GP).HP: I’ve always been playing BW, just that it’s less intensive now. It’s always recreational time after coming home from work, mostly on VS or ICCUP.
Q: Right now as a member of China’s BW (scene) what is the biggest difficulty?
GP).aoao (Captain): Media / broadcasting platform.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): There hasn’t been a continual league in China other than the STL, there’s a lacking of sponsorship, a lack of media focus, and lack of a good league organizing body.
GP).HP: Right now finding people to practice is a difficult task, other people are always either at work or having problems with their network connection.
Q: What’s your opinion of Chinese BW’s future?
GP).aoao (Captain): Keep it going until we can’t keep it going.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): BW will still be in a state of subsistence, large leagues are hard to come by any more, but small leagues and matches will prosper.
GP).HP: I don’t have any views.
Q: The 25th STL is starting soon, as a participatint (@ FoR, @ GP ) / manager (@ 8da, @ 8bb) what is your hope for this season?
GP).aoao (Captain): GP has won first place in many leagues, the most important STL championship, playoffs championship, SPL championship, YingChun Cup, KOF championship and so on, so our mentality is relatively calm now, we won’t be trying as devotedly as last season, our goal is to let the team go through another 10 years in a healthy / stable fashion.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): It’s only for entertainment (personally), my ability dropped and new players are getting better, I don’t have a lot of free time any more either, so I can only engage with a recreational mindset.
GP).HP: I hope that the team can capture the championship again.
Q: Recently through games against Scan and correspondance with other ex-Pro Korean players, what’s your view and hope for China’s BW skill level?
GP).aoao (Captain): Scan’s ability is great, 99.9999% of China couldn’t beat him, it’s regretful / sad that China isn’t in its prosperous era any more, we can’t see F91, lx, pj, rushgoon, 66, super and other top players emerge any more.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): The world’s BW are on 3 tiers, Korea, China, and non-Korea/China, with Korea being the strongest and China being the second. I hope that China’s BW players can prove my viewpoint in international exhibition matches.
GP).HP: Chinese players are still very skilled.
Q: Very soon Korean professional BW games will reach an end, when you heard about this how did you feel?
GP).aoao (Captain): Calm, it’s been a steady process watching WCG cancel BW, to SC2 being played alongside BW, BW being replaced due to commercial reasons was unavoidable, if the era has to replace it then you have to accept it calmly, because the era can’t replace / make obsolete the emotion / friendship between me and my teammates, it’s that line again “Can’t play BW for a life time, but (we) can be friends for a life time”, everyone playing BW has this engrained into our hearts and bones.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): It was predicted. It’s a bit dissapointing, but as the Chinese BW and non-korean/chinese BW are showing some signs of recovery it gives me a bit of comfort.
GP).HP: Very lost / depressed.
Q: What do you want China to learn from Korean professional BW the most?
GP).aoao (Captain): I don’t want to learn much, China doesn’t have professional (gamer) any more, and we’ve passed the age of thinking about winning and losing, we just hope that after coming home from work every day, after eating dinner and chores, we can watch vods while carrying our children in our arms, that’s it. If Korean doesn’t have BW leagues any more, then we can just hope for more Scan’s, more motivations and conversations between players from around the world.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): Organizing body and management structure.
GP).HP: A professional system.
Q: At a point where the entire world’s BW scene is lost/confused, talk about your future prospects/goals.
GP).aoao (Captain): If the circumstances permit it I want to achieve some glory. I want to let the team go through another 10 years in healthy fashion without influencing (negatively) the livelihoods of all the players.
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): Focus on work, have children, take care of my wife and educate my kids.
GP).HP: I will just keep playing my BW and let others judge for themselves.
Q: Last words?
GP).aoao (Captain): I welcome the world’s players to come to GP and converse with us, even though we captured the Chinese championship (STL) last season, our ability isn’t the best / greatest, this record wasn’t just the result of work from the main line-up, but also every (person) who loved and cared for the GP players. I hope that I can welcome / invite you to join us to share this privilege.
Good luck, all Scer. (Sc-player)
GP).诸葛亮 (Heroes): I want to ask our captain, what happened to our “night in shanghai” (laugh). (probably a recreational event that didn’t happen)
GP).HP: I want China’s BW to continue developing for the better. I want GP).Batman to be even more lame / awkward. I want the team’s atmosphere / activeness to get better.
GP).aoao (Captain):
As the captain, I'm looking foward to inviting you to join us. All of us would like to greet you in utmost sincerity, and hope to forge a culture of internationalization. Thanks for all of attentions to us, let's enjoy the game
GP).aoao also included some links / contact info's which I will shamelessly plug here:
English synopsis of Gp winning the championship (STL): http://www.gpteam.cn/post/406.html
QQ: 12324481
MSN: terran_master@hotmail.com
Team FoR. interview
+ Show Spoiler +
Q: Introduce the team/organization you belong to, and your personal history with it.
8bb: Hello everyone, I’m FoR..’s team leader 8bb, very glad to be interviewed by/for teamliquid.
FoR..HaNeul:Hello everyone, I’m FoR..HaNeul, teammates call me 小龙 (pronounced XiaoLong, meaning “small dragon”), I’m leaving in Korea right now. Because of my relationship with 奶牛 (prenounced Nainiu, meaning cow) I joined team FoR.. twice, after [S.Top] [RvA] stopped playing, I haven’t left FoR..
FoR.. Mayi + FoR.. 简单: Hello everyone, we are (dream team) FoR..’s management representatives FoR..MaYi and FoR.. 简单(pronounced JianDan, it means “simple”). Team FoR.. was created on December 24, 2001, it was the eve between Christmas that day. And in the 10+ years since the team’s inception, we have had two periods of brilliance and two slumps. During our brilliance, we won all the way into STL’s Group A; and in our slumps, we almost faced a situation where the team was going to be disbanded and (its members) taken away by other teams. But in the end we walked (got) through all that. Even though Starcraft BW is just a game, but we still love him.
FoR.. Mayi: I joined the team in early 2008, my BW skill is really bad, but I liked playing with the players in the team. It’s because of this game that we got together, even though we can’t play a game for a life-time, we can be friends for a life-time.
FoR.. 简单: I saw the publicity/advertising thread on PLU forum posted by team FoR..’s outstanding player FoR..Sack and thus joined the team. Shortly after he started his own stream/broadcast, and started his carrier casting for the team. In the subsequent 2 years, he broadcasted the STL, the STL play-offs, 6 LSU finals, and the forum battles (exhibition matches) among others; and successfully organized and started the 8bb Cup SCL team league (it’s similar to the korean teamleagues) in the first half of 2012; and is responsible for organizing the C-OSL in the second half of 2012. During his broadcasting he became very experienced and grew himself as one of the main-lineup players of the team.
Q: Foreign fans are very curious about Chinese BW, are you familiar with foreign (non-korean) (BW)?
8bb: We Chinese players are more familiar with Foreign BW from some Polish and Ukrainian players, because they once attended the PGL in China.
FoR..HaNeul: I’m not very familiar. After I graduated overseas I always worked in Korea, I’m most familiar with Korean players and my own teammates.
FoR..Mayi: Regarding non-korean foreign BW players, we are all not very familiar, and also very curious, we don’t know how they continued and kept their own love for BW. Do they also have teams? Have their own leagues?
Q: With this foreign correspondance and re-broadcasting, what effect do you want to achieve the most?
8bb: (I) Wish that more foreign BW fans can contact/be familiar with Chinese BW, get to know China’s BW team league, and provide some external assistance to some Chinese BW teams.
FoR..HaNeul: Interaction and communicating with players from around the world to improve my BW skill, even though BW has always been my recreation, but I still hope for the feeling of beating an opponent! At the same time, I hope even more to see from re-broadcasts new Chinese players replacing the old legends, this way Chinese BW can live forever!
FoR..Mayi: I hope that BW (this game) can become a bridge for international friendship, to let people with the same interests across the world congregate into the same circle(community). (I) Hope that Chinese players can always/often communicate with Foreign players about their observations, discuss/investigate strategies, and play against each other.
Q: Foreign players and fans are not familiar with how China’s BW is being managed / functioning, can you briefly explain your lifestyle/mode and the importance of BW in your life?
8bb: Currently, Chinese BW no longer has the term “Professional player”any more. Almost all of the Chinese BW players have the enjoyment mentality (I.e. play for fun). In my life, BW is the most important factor besides family and work. I’ve been with BW for 12 years, 3 or 4 times I had wanted to quit/leave, but I always picked it up again in the end.
FoR..HaNeul: Regarding this question, first of all, I’m not too familiar with Chinese BW’s management structure, because I’m staying in Korea. I play BW when I have the time, when I’m busy there’s been times when I haven’t played the game in over half a year. To me BW is a inseperable recreational interest.
FoR..Mayi: Since 2 years ago (2010) Chinese Starcraft has not had professional players in BW, and even earlier than that China’s BW pro-players have had difficult livelihoods; so Chinese BW no longer has a “management structure”. The only thing that has been kept across Chinese BW’s history is the STL (Chinese Starcraft Team League), it’s this league that has congregated so many BW fans and enthusiasts, and let us always keep this love for BW. The me right now has already treated this game as a part of life, as simple as a person having to eat, and I other than having to eat also have to play BW ^-^. My life, work, and playing BW aren’t conflicted with each other, just like how eating isn’t in conflict with working. -_-
Q: Right now as a member of China’s BW (scene) what is the biggest difficulty?
8bb: The biggest (difficulty) is probably still the group mentality (atmosphere) and the time conflict between BW and work/life.
FoR..HaNeul: Hard to find new players, even harder to grow new players. Mihu, zhanhun, yf_jaedong, etc as new stars are very few.
FoR..Mayi: I don’t have any difficulties, the game BW will forever be stored in my computer’s harddrive. I just hope that STL can be organized forever…
Q: What’s your opinion of Chinese BW’s future?
8bb: Perhaps China’s BW will never reach the height of Korea, but if we can keep the concurrent intensity, maybe it will benefit some platforms (fish, iccupt, etc).
FoR..HaNeul: I think that replacing a generation is difficult. Organizing a match is just to see more of Fengzi, vulture, these old pro live. The space to grow and select new stars is almost zero. (I) Estimate that in 10 years, Chinese BW will still be the era of Fengzi, vulture, etc.
FoR..Mayi: BW’s fall has become a fact, I don’t know what the future of Chinese BW would be, just that in my head there is this scene: on my 60th birthday, us team FoR.. will meet together, and I can control zealots rushing into the teammate’s bash, then even from very far away you can hear my awful laughter~!
Q: The 25th STL is starting soon, as a participatint (@ FoR, @ GP ) / manager (@ 8da, @ 8bb) what is your hope for this season?
8bb: I’m acting as an administrator on 8da, and also a managerial staff on team FoR.., I hope that in STL 25, every team can play out spectacular matches, our team FoR.. is currently in Group B (STL is tiered), this season we will through support try our best to push for Group A. I also hope that 8da (forum) can provide/facilitate advertising/publicizing the team league, and allow everyone to play out the matches with out any issues.
FoR..HaNeul: BW is a competitive category(sport), if (I) participate I would want to win. Our STL 25’s goal: #1 in Group B, then #1 in Group A. My personal hope is that my league win rate can break 90% and get into the top 100 rankings!
FoR..Mayi: As team FoR.., there will be team 1 and 2 attending STL 25’s Group B and C. Our team’s mainline and pros are all in team 1, so team 1’s goal is to make it into Group A (the top 2 of Group B will be able to play in Group A in STL 26); team 2 is a purely recreational team, so there aren’t specific goals, just so that everyone can have fun playing BW.
Q: Recently through games against Scan and correspondance with other ex-Pro Korean players, what’s your view and hope for China’s BW skill level?
8bb: Chinese BW and Korean BW aren’t on the same level in the first place, this is mainly determined by the structured environment and the viewpoints/opinions of the public. In China most parents are against kids playing games/esports, so Chinese BW and Korean BW aren’t really comparable.
FoR..HaNeul: Scan’s level on Fish server is 1600, on fish he’s an average pro. Personally I feel that Chinese BW’s skill level’s biggest difference (to Korea) is in multi-tasking.
FoR..简单: I hope that Chinese BW can successfully receive and carry on (the tradition) of Korean BW, and continue the unsurmountable classic that has been through 12 years.
Q: Very soon Korean professional BW games will reach an end, when you heard about this how did you feel?
8bb: More-so (it’s still) with a regretful/sympathetic attitude. Afterall Korean BW can teach us a lot of strategies and management (macro).
FoR..HaNeul: Korea as BW’s head (dragon), this news is a huge blow to SC, after this OSL, SC’s new strategies and new maps may have to draw half a period (draw a period meaning end). There won’t be another country that would devote so much with such high revelance for BW. I hope that more lovers of SC can in their own ways continue its tradition.
FoR..简单: There is still a regret deep down that is difficult to separate/forget, even though Korean BW isn’t related to China’s leagues, if (I) have time, I can’t change the habit of opening a webpage to watch korean streams or vods.
Q: What do you want China to learn from Korean professional BW the most?
8bb: Definitely their management and perspective (of overall situation in game).
FoR..HaNeul: As a player, I hope that China and Korea can organize more competitions, and be able to communicate and learn about BW; as a team, I hope that China can have a pro-level teamleague; in one sentence: learn from Korea’s experience.
FoR..简单: Experience.
Q: At a point where the entire world’s BW scene is lost/confused, talk about your future prospects/goals.
8bb: I should still continue playing BW, and supporting the domestic Fans (lovers of the game) to organize different sorts of broadcasted exhibition matches, and will also spend more time on managing the 8da forums, to allow 8da to become a good media platform for Chinese BW.
FoR..HaNeul: My next step is a bit selfish, probably not related to BW: That’s getting back to China, I miss home, it’s time to go back!
FoR..简单: Regardless, we will keep surfing HF (a Chinese platform), enjoy BIG22 (a fan meeting / tournament); continue leading team 2 as a strong supporter of team 1, try my best to lead the team to the championship before (my) baby is born.
Q: Last words?
8bb: I’m very greatful for the interest that website teamliquid has shown to Chinese BW, this will push for more correspondance and interaction between Chinese BW and the foreign BW friends, pulling with it BW’s continual development.
FoR..HaNeul: One world, one game!
FoR..简单: Starcraft BW, classic forever; FoR..Team, friendship forever!
8bb: Hello everyone, I’m FoR..’s team leader 8bb, very glad to be interviewed by/for teamliquid.
FoR..HaNeul:Hello everyone, I’m FoR..HaNeul, teammates call me 小龙 (pronounced XiaoLong, meaning “small dragon”), I’m leaving in Korea right now. Because of my relationship with 奶牛 (prenounced Nainiu, meaning cow) I joined team FoR.. twice, after [S.Top] [RvA] stopped playing, I haven’t left FoR..
FoR.. Mayi + FoR.. 简单: Hello everyone, we are (dream team) FoR..’s management representatives FoR..MaYi and FoR.. 简单(pronounced JianDan, it means “simple”). Team FoR.. was created on December 24, 2001, it was the eve between Christmas that day. And in the 10+ years since the team’s inception, we have had two periods of brilliance and two slumps. During our brilliance, we won all the way into STL’s Group A; and in our slumps, we almost faced a situation where the team was going to be disbanded and (its members) taken away by other teams. But in the end we walked (got) through all that. Even though Starcraft BW is just a game, but we still love him.
FoR.. Mayi: I joined the team in early 2008, my BW skill is really bad, but I liked playing with the players in the team. It’s because of this game that we got together, even though we can’t play a game for a life-time, we can be friends for a life-time.
FoR.. 简单: I saw the publicity/advertising thread on PLU forum posted by team FoR..’s outstanding player FoR..Sack and thus joined the team. Shortly after he started his own stream/broadcast, and started his carrier casting for the team. In the subsequent 2 years, he broadcasted the STL, the STL play-offs, 6 LSU finals, and the forum battles (exhibition matches) among others; and successfully organized and started the 8bb Cup SCL team league (it’s similar to the korean teamleagues) in the first half of 2012; and is responsible for organizing the C-OSL in the second half of 2012. During his broadcasting he became very experienced and grew himself as one of the main-lineup players of the team.
Q: Foreign fans are very curious about Chinese BW, are you familiar with foreign (non-korean) (BW)?
8bb: We Chinese players are more familiar with Foreign BW from some Polish and Ukrainian players, because they once attended the PGL in China.
FoR..HaNeul: I’m not very familiar. After I graduated overseas I always worked in Korea, I’m most familiar with Korean players and my own teammates.
FoR..Mayi: Regarding non-korean foreign BW players, we are all not very familiar, and also very curious, we don’t know how they continued and kept their own love for BW. Do they also have teams? Have their own leagues?
Q: With this foreign correspondance and re-broadcasting, what effect do you want to achieve the most?
8bb: (I) Wish that more foreign BW fans can contact/be familiar with Chinese BW, get to know China’s BW team league, and provide some external assistance to some Chinese BW teams.
FoR..HaNeul: Interaction and communicating with players from around the world to improve my BW skill, even though BW has always been my recreation, but I still hope for the feeling of beating an opponent! At the same time, I hope even more to see from re-broadcasts new Chinese players replacing the old legends, this way Chinese BW can live forever!
FoR..Mayi: I hope that BW (this game) can become a bridge for international friendship, to let people with the same interests across the world congregate into the same circle(community). (I) Hope that Chinese players can always/often communicate with Foreign players about their observations, discuss/investigate strategies, and play against each other.
Q: Foreign players and fans are not familiar with how China’s BW is being managed / functioning, can you briefly explain your lifestyle/mode and the importance of BW in your life?
8bb: Currently, Chinese BW no longer has the term “Professional player”any more. Almost all of the Chinese BW players have the enjoyment mentality (I.e. play for fun). In my life, BW is the most important factor besides family and work. I’ve been with BW for 12 years, 3 or 4 times I had wanted to quit/leave, but I always picked it up again in the end.
FoR..HaNeul: Regarding this question, first of all, I’m not too familiar with Chinese BW’s management structure, because I’m staying in Korea. I play BW when I have the time, when I’m busy there’s been times when I haven’t played the game in over half a year. To me BW is a inseperable recreational interest.
FoR..Mayi: Since 2 years ago (2010) Chinese Starcraft has not had professional players in BW, and even earlier than that China’s BW pro-players have had difficult livelihoods; so Chinese BW no longer has a “management structure”. The only thing that has been kept across Chinese BW’s history is the STL (Chinese Starcraft Team League), it’s this league that has congregated so many BW fans and enthusiasts, and let us always keep this love for BW. The me right now has already treated this game as a part of life, as simple as a person having to eat, and I other than having to eat also have to play BW ^-^. My life, work, and playing BW aren’t conflicted with each other, just like how eating isn’t in conflict with working. -_-
Q: Right now as a member of China’s BW (scene) what is the biggest difficulty?
8bb: The biggest (difficulty) is probably still the group mentality (atmosphere) and the time conflict between BW and work/life.
FoR..HaNeul: Hard to find new players, even harder to grow new players. Mihu, zhanhun, yf_jaedong, etc as new stars are very few.
FoR..Mayi: I don’t have any difficulties, the game BW will forever be stored in my computer’s harddrive. I just hope that STL can be organized forever…
Q: What’s your opinion of Chinese BW’s future?
8bb: Perhaps China’s BW will never reach the height of Korea, but if we can keep the concurrent intensity, maybe it will benefit some platforms (fish, iccupt, etc).
FoR..HaNeul: I think that replacing a generation is difficult. Organizing a match is just to see more of Fengzi, vulture, these old pro live. The space to grow and select new stars is almost zero. (I) Estimate that in 10 years, Chinese BW will still be the era of Fengzi, vulture, etc.
FoR..Mayi: BW’s fall has become a fact, I don’t know what the future of Chinese BW would be, just that in my head there is this scene: on my 60th birthday, us team FoR.. will meet together, and I can control zealots rushing into the teammate’s bash, then even from very far away you can hear my awful laughter~!
Q: The 25th STL is starting soon, as a participatint (@ FoR, @ GP ) / manager (@ 8da, @ 8bb) what is your hope for this season?
8bb: I’m acting as an administrator on 8da, and also a managerial staff on team FoR.., I hope that in STL 25, every team can play out spectacular matches, our team FoR.. is currently in Group B (STL is tiered), this season we will through support try our best to push for Group A. I also hope that 8da (forum) can provide/facilitate advertising/publicizing the team league, and allow everyone to play out the matches with out any issues.
FoR..HaNeul: BW is a competitive category(sport), if (I) participate I would want to win. Our STL 25’s goal: #1 in Group B, then #1 in Group A. My personal hope is that my league win rate can break 90% and get into the top 100 rankings!
FoR..Mayi: As team FoR.., there will be team 1 and 2 attending STL 25’s Group B and C. Our team’s mainline and pros are all in team 1, so team 1’s goal is to make it into Group A (the top 2 of Group B will be able to play in Group A in STL 26); team 2 is a purely recreational team, so there aren’t specific goals, just so that everyone can have fun playing BW.
Q: Recently through games against Scan and correspondance with other ex-Pro Korean players, what’s your view and hope for China’s BW skill level?
8bb: Chinese BW and Korean BW aren’t on the same level in the first place, this is mainly determined by the structured environment and the viewpoints/opinions of the public. In China most parents are against kids playing games/esports, so Chinese BW and Korean BW aren’t really comparable.
FoR..HaNeul: Scan’s level on Fish server is 1600, on fish he’s an average pro. Personally I feel that Chinese BW’s skill level’s biggest difference (to Korea) is in multi-tasking.
FoR..简单: I hope that Chinese BW can successfully receive and carry on (the tradition) of Korean BW, and continue the unsurmountable classic that has been through 12 years.
Q: Very soon Korean professional BW games will reach an end, when you heard about this how did you feel?
8bb: More-so (it’s still) with a regretful/sympathetic attitude. Afterall Korean BW can teach us a lot of strategies and management (macro).
FoR..HaNeul: Korea as BW’s head (dragon), this news is a huge blow to SC, after this OSL, SC’s new strategies and new maps may have to draw half a period (draw a period meaning end). There won’t be another country that would devote so much with such high revelance for BW. I hope that more lovers of SC can in their own ways continue its tradition.
FoR..简单: There is still a regret deep down that is difficult to separate/forget, even though Korean BW isn’t related to China’s leagues, if (I) have time, I can’t change the habit of opening a webpage to watch korean streams or vods.
Q: What do you want China to learn from Korean professional BW the most?
8bb: Definitely their management and perspective (of overall situation in game).
FoR..HaNeul: As a player, I hope that China and Korea can organize more competitions, and be able to communicate and learn about BW; as a team, I hope that China can have a pro-level teamleague; in one sentence: learn from Korea’s experience.
FoR..简单: Experience.
Q: At a point where the entire world’s BW scene is lost/confused, talk about your future prospects/goals.
8bb: I should still continue playing BW, and supporting the domestic Fans (lovers of the game) to organize different sorts of broadcasted exhibition matches, and will also spend more time on managing the 8da forums, to allow 8da to become a good media platform for Chinese BW.
FoR..HaNeul: My next step is a bit selfish, probably not related to BW: That’s getting back to China, I miss home, it’s time to go back!
FoR..简单: Regardless, we will keep surfing HF (a Chinese platform), enjoy BIG22 (a fan meeting / tournament); continue leading team 2 as a strong supporter of team 1, try my best to lead the team to the championship before (my) baby is born.
Q: Last words?
8bb: I’m very greatful for the interest that website teamliquid has shown to Chinese BW, this will push for more correspondance and interaction between Chinese BW and the foreign BW friends, pulling with it BW’s continual development.
FoR..HaNeul: One world, one game!
FoR..简单: Starcraft BW, classic forever; FoR..Team, friendship forever!