StarTale_Squirtle
Source: This Is Game
This is your third straight season making it to the Ro16.
I'm glad because now I can attend the group nominations. If I get eliminated in the Ro32, it doesn't feel like I participated in Code S and it's also easily forgettable. That's why the group nominations are fun.
You must have seen yourself advancing as first in your group.
I really did. Even the people around me were telling me that I had landed in an easy group. However, I knew that NaNiwa was good at PvP and that Sniper was currently known as one of the top rising Zergs, and Heart hyung has a lot of good results in overseas tournaments so I didn't let my guard down.
After watching today's games, it seems like your early game has gotten stronger.
I still tend to lose focus a little bit. It's not at a stage where I can be satisfied. Honestly, I made mistakes today but they just weren't noticeable. I have a lot of areas to work on.
You blocked Sniper's early game ling/roach rush in game three.
If it was a regular ladder game, I probably would've GG'ed out as soon as I saw those roaches. But it was a tournament so I didn't want to lose. As I microed around, I told myself that I might be able to find a way to block it somehow, and thankfully, that came to be the case.
Did you anticipate cheese rushes against Heart?
I expected him to do those kinds of plays. My build orders were specifically prepared to handle those kinds of rushes. I made some mistakes while microing but I had no trouble blocking his attacks.
If someone tried to do an even more advanced version of Heart's 11/11 that he showed today, would you still be able to block it?
I can block those easily now. But I do get nervous during tournaments so you never know what will happen. I kind of would like it if Terran players tried to do it against me at least once in this tournament.
Your most recent result was the second place finish for WCS Korea.
Before the finals took place, I didn't let my guard down and I put a lot of thought in to my games. The match was the very next day so I prepared extensively. But a lot of people told me that they thought I was going to win it and I myself did not prepare as well as I should have. In the end, my simple thinking ended up becoming my downfall.
As of late, StarTale seems to be getting a lot of second place finishes.
Most recently, our team has made a total of eight second place finishes. In my case, I finished second in three of my tournaments. Since I've made more finals than the other ST players, I will make sure that I am the first one to grab a first place finish.
Will this be possible for this season?
I'm feeling good. My practices are so so, but when I during my tournaments, my games go really well. I think I'm going to feel really good throughout this whole season.
Anything else you would like to say?
I want to thank my teammates for helping me with practice. There were so many Zergs that helped me that I'll just leave it at my teammates. I also want to thank FXO's Sirius. Lastly, I want to thank our sponsors Red Bull, ZOWIE Gear, and BenQ.
compLexity_Heart
Source: This Is Game
In your first ever Code S, you made it to the Ro16. how do you feel?
I feel really good but I hadn't played in a while so I wasn't able to properly establish my mouse settings. I got a lot of stress from that so I couldn't even show half of what I had prepared. I think I made it to the Ro16 because of luck.
Microing must have been difficult for today's games.
I originally had prepared to play a macro game against NaNiwa but the situation just wasn't in my favor. That's why I had no choice but to just go for an all in. That was the case for game three.
But it seems like your all ins is what allowed you to get through your group.
Regarding every match, I had prepared at least one all in. Of course, my all in against Squirtle ended up failing. I just thought that doing at least one all in per match would be good for me.
Do you think you have some sort of deep knowledge when it comes to all ins?
I have a high percentage rate of success regarding my all ins. Which means that my chances of success are high. When I practice, I practice separately just for all ins. Since I pay special attention to all ins, perhaps I do have some deep knowledge regarding all ins.
Against Sniper, another all in came out in game three.
Originally, I had planned on doing a 2 rax into triple CC. But then my opponent ended up taking too much damage from my first attack. So I pretty much saw that I could end it if I gave it one more umph. My first attack was originally only half of an all in.
It seemed like you were lacking a bit in the macro area. Was the settings issue a big reason?
If it was the same scenario as during my practices, I would've been just fine. I was fine a month ago against KeeN since I had a busy schedule but today was a difficult situation for me to overcome.
But it seems like the fans can always anticipate an all in if Heart ever comes out.
In my opinion, the scariest players are the players that can manage both all ins and macro games. If I can just do as well as I do during my practices, I should be able to show the people that I can also be that kind of player.
What are the results you want for yourself in this tournament?
I haven't really thought about any goals per say. In the Ro16, I want to be in a group with three Protosses.
It seems like a lot of people are trying to avoid facing Protosses.
Even from a while ago, when people were saying Protosses were imba, I always found them manageable. Since I'll be showing better performances for the Ro16 I think I can show some great games.
Is there a Protoss you want to specifically face?
Protosses are all the same. I don't really have anyone I specifically want to face. I just want a lot of Protosses for the Ro16.
Anything else you would like to say?
I have WCG tomorrow but I barely had any time to practice for it. I just want to warn PartinG that I am going to do mostly all ins so I hope he's prepared for that.