[Interview] GSTL Finals 2012 Season 2

Source: This Is Game

On July 28th at Busan Haeundae, on a special stage for the 2012 Hot6iX GSTL Season 2 finals, FXO defeated SlayerS with a score of 5:0 and won the GSTL championship for the first time ever.

FXO's starter, GuMiho, defeated MMA, Min, CoCa, Ryung, and Puzzle to set an all kill record for FXO and grabbed the championship for FXO.

Slayers sent out all their ace players but it was not enough to bring down FXO's starter GuMiho and disappointingly had to settle for second place.

FXO GuMiho who was the sole reason for FXO's victory stated that "I'm so glad that my first ever GSTL all kill was done on the finals stage."

You were sent out as the starter but grabbed an all kill. How do you feel?

I'm still in a daze. I'm so glad that our team, who would always get all killed, grabbed the championship and that I was able to grab the first ever all kill for our team on a finals stage.

How many victories did you think you were going to achieve?

When I was chosen as the starter I was full of confidence. However, the minute I saw that SlayerS was starting off with MMA I became frustrated. Our team had worked so hard for this moment so I told myself that I had to at the very least achieve 1 kill. But form some reason, I was able to achieve an all kill.

In the final game you were pushed to the limit. Could you recap for us?

I was in a lot of disadvantageous situations. However, I think Puzzle got intimidated by the current score and hesitated to attack. As soon as I realized what was going on in Puzzle's mind, I realized that I could win this so I began to get nervous. That's why I think I got shaken up a bit. Thankfully I regained my composure and was able to grab the victory like this.

You won five games by yourself. At what point did you think you were going to get the all kill?

Even after grabbing three kills I didn't let down my guard. The minute I realized I was going to get an all kill was only after I had grabbed an advantage against Puzzle with my marine micro.

Which game was the hardest?

Definitely the game against CoCa. But after I beat him the games became really fun for me. Thanks to that victory I was able to enjoy the rest of my games.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank my parents who allowed me to become a professional gamer, our coach who helped us so much just to get us to this point, and the fans who cheered us on relentlessly. I want to apologize to my teammates who never got sent out even though they prepared so extensively for this, and I want to say that since our team now raised our win ratio to 50%, we will enter next season as not an underdog team but a top dog team.

Source: This Is Game

On July 28th at Busan Haeundae, on a special stage for the 2012 Hot6iX GSTL Season 2 finals, FXO defeated SlayerS with a score of 5:0 and won the GSTL championship for the first time ever.

FXO's coach, Choya, sent out GuMiho as the starter and set an all kill record. With FXO Choya's great player deciding skills, FXO grabbed their first ever GSTL finals and set an "all kill finals" record.

Coach Choya stated that "with today's victory our GSTL win ratio is now at 50%. Next season we're going to really hard and become known as one of the top teams."

This is your first ever GSTL championship ever since becoming a coach. How do you feel?

I'm really dazed at the fact that we grabbed an all kill with our starter. I don't know if it's because we won it in such an easy fasion or what but I haven't felt the victory yet. With today's GSTL victory we are now at a 50% win ratio with a score of 10 W and 10 L. We need to make sure we don't slack off and work hard to keep our current form for the next season.

How many kills did you expect to get by sending out GuMiho as the starter?

I thought for sure that he would grab us multiple kills. I had five other players lined up behind him so I was feeling confident. Because those other players prepared so well I think GuMiho was able to play his games without any burdens. After winning four games in a row I could see that GuMiho was running out of stamina, but he believed in his builds and prepared extensively so I want to say thank you to GuMiho.



A lot of people were expecting SlayerS to grab the championship. How did you feel about that?

Of course people were going to think that. Our team's win ratio was only at 50% and SlayerS was a team who made it to the finals without showing any signs of weaknesses. Although I do have to say that I was disappointed that everyone considered us the underdogs even though we had made it to the Ro4 of the GSTL two season in a row. But now that I think about it, I think it was that sort of consensus that allowed our players to practice even harder than before.

You arrived a day early and began preparing. Did this help you with your victory?

A lot of people around me were advising me and saying that it would be more beneficial for the team to arrive a day early so that they could rest up first. So we headed down a day early and I think that really helped us.

Within the GSTL FXO is known for being an underdog team. It seems you got rid of that notion with this championship.

Even when we were considered underdogs we never stopped believing that we could win it all. The only thing holding us back was that we had a lot of players who just started their gaming careers so they couldn't produce significant enough results with the little experience they had. Thanks to the championship I feel like this is the beginning for FXO rather than the end. Currently we only have two players for the GSL and the OSL. However with today's victory as a motivational push, we're going to work real hard and show ourselves in great form.



Current Code S champion Seed assured FXO's victory.

Seed told me that if we lose, we shouldn't come back to Seoul but live in Busan instead. Seed is a dongsaeng of mine that I've known since the BW days so I want to say congratulations for winning the GSL and thank him for cheering for our team. I hope that instead of being considered as some sort of 2nd Protoss president, he remains at the top of the throne.

At what point were you planning on using Leenock?'

If GuMiho had fallen to a Terran player, then I was planning on sending out Lucky. If he lost to a Protoss I was going to send out asd. If GuMiho had lost to a Zerg, I was planning on using TheBest. Tear was stationed as the fourth player, and Leenock was going to be the ace.

Aside from your ace players, tell us who else on your team you are excited for.

FXO Tear is currently showing ridiculous gaming senses. If he can make it to Code S, I anticipate that he'll grab a championship in just two season. I'm also excited for TheBest and asd since they seem to be coming back into form lately. For our Zergs, I'm expecting big things from Lucky and Whale. Both players' skills are reall great and I will be waiting for them to show some excellent games.

If you had to compliment a certain feature of FXO's?

The team's atmosphere is a really good factor. Practice, practice, practice is the key and our players work really hard. If the players need a break I plan on sending them home and players remaining in the team house will keep on practicing. If we keep this current form I believe that we'll even start winning in individual leagues.



How long do you plan on continuing your pro gamer career?

This something I am contemplating heavily. Our team's other coaches, coach Choi and coach Kwon help out the team so well that I think I'll be able to keep playing as a pro gamer for a while. During the GSL qualifiers, if I feel like I don't have what it takes to make it, then I'm going to quit being a pro gamer. Since our players did so well to grab the victory today, I feel like it's my turn to show them something.

At what point did you feel like the championship was yours?

After taking down CoCa and Ryung, I was sure the championship was ours. Since I believed in Leenock I knew that as soon as GuMiho achieved the 4 kill, the championship was ours.

Anything else you would like to say?

I want to thank my parents, our teammates, and our teammates' parents. I also want to thank all the other teams' coaches for helping us out. I want to thank our sponsors FXO and Razer. I want to congratulate the "queen of the blades" caster Lee Hyun Joo for sticking with us through it all and for returning. Lastly, I wish to say that as a player myself, I will work hard to provide great performances.