[interview] wcs asia finalists say darndest things

You've qualified for the WCS Global Finals.

I'm in a good mood because I managed to achieve my initial goal. To tell the truth, because I didn't face any Koreans on my way to qualifying, I don't feel too excited.

How was your match against TooDMing as your third opponent in the winners' bracket?

The first set was far too easy. He lost his expansion easily to my Void Ray attack. I was slightly nervous when I started playing, but after that occurred, I relaxed completely. The second set was also trivial, though his Zerglings were a bit of a hassle. But because I was able to take advantage of his weaknesses in the early game, I won more comfortably than I thought I would.

From now on, you will begin facing Korean players in earnest.

I've had experience playing against over half of them. As I both won and lost games against the other Korean players, I've learned a great deal about them, so I feel very confident. As long as I win my match against herO[jOin], I feel that the other games will be easy. I think this because I've already faced HerO and PartinG before.

Certain other players have said on record that you like pretending to be terrible.

PartinG also fakes being bad. Before his match against RorO, he kept whining that he had no chance of winning. To be honest, I'm not pretending to be weak. I was just worried because I wasn't aware of just how skilled foreigners were. [T/N: He's saying that foreigners are bad in the nicest way possible]

Is there anyone whom you would like to face in the global finals?

I don't really know of any players in particular. However, I've heard talk about Stephano and Scarlett being top-notch players, so I don't want to play against them. It's very difficult to win against a strong Zerg player, so I just want to play against PartinG again (laughs).

Which player do you think you will face in the OSL finals?

I think at the moment that DongRaeGu will make it to the finals due to momentum, but that's just my gut feeling. Nowadays, Zerg isn't bad at all against Protoss. As long as they can block the Immortal all-in, they can gain a huge advantage. I think DongRaeGu will be very good at doing that.

Please tell us about your determination to win your remaining matches.

Because I've already accomplished my goal, I don't actually care very much about winning WCS Asia. Yesterday, I felt a lot of anxiety due to hearing other players talk about how easy their brackets were. Now that I'm facing Korean players, I won't feel too bad even if I lose.

You've earned a spot in the WCS Global Finals.

When I saw the brackets before I arrived in China, I believed that I would have a hard time. During the second round of the winners' bracket, I thought that I would lose to Curious-hyung. But after beating him, I gained the confidence to defeat RorO in the third round. I thought to myself that all would go well as long as I beat Curious-hyung.

What are your thoughts on traveling to China for the first time?

I used to think of China as a dangerous place, with people eating foods such as insects and skewered snakes. I wanted to see people doing such things, but people don't do stuff like that in Shanghai. Shanghai was very safe, and the city's atmosphere was like that of Seoul.

What were your games against Curious like?

During the first set, I used mind games to win with an all-in. For the second set, I played a macro game and ended up in an advantageous position, but lost because I had trouble staying focused. I didn't even know myself what I was doing, and losing that game almost made my mental state collapse. However, I performed my trademark Immortal all-in during the third set to secure my victory.

You have a match against Liquid`HerO ahead of you in the fourth round of the winners' bracket.

I've talked about a lot of things with HerO-hyung. We told each other that we would advance together, and we shared builds and had discussions about them. Initially, I only wanted to qualify for the global finals, but now, I want to take WCS Asia.

What do you think of the possibility of playing against Rain?

It would be an opportunity to get revenge for my loss during the OSL quarterfinals, so I definitely want to face him. Looking at his recent matches, I witnessed just how skilled he is, but he pretends to be really bad. I don't want to see him do that, and I want to meet him and beat him. He's a good player, so I would like if he didn't pretend to suck (laughs).

Have you prepared any ceremonies?

I have a ceremony ready. I will show you a victory, and I would like to see people cheering for my success.

If you were able to pick a player to face in the global finals, whom would you choose?

I want to face Stephano, Scarlett, and VortiX because they are all Zergs. My fans tell me that my PvZ isn't very strong, but I earnestly have a lot of confidence in playing that matchup. I want to show myself taking down foreign Zergs to other people. Also, Stephano has BMed me in public, calling me an "easy" player on record. I did lose to him before, but I want to get vengeance upon him during the global finals.

Do you have anything more to say?

I would like my fellow team members staying at the hotel to cheer for me to the end. Also, Life has insulted me in an interview, so I hope he looks forward to me playing against him in the future. Finally, I want to thank my sponsors, Red Bull, Zowie Gear, Joy Gear, and BenQ.

We're curious to hear your thoughts about securing a place in the WCS Global Finals.

Even though this was my first foreign tournament, I felt a strong desire to win and wanted to do my best. Yesterday, I felt a lot of anxiety and pressure once I dropped out from the third round of the winners' bracket, but I'm ecstatic that I was able to show such good results today.

You must feel some regret about losing to PartinG in the third round of the winners' bracket.

I was less angry and upset about losing to him so much as I was about my poor performance. Yesterday, we had long delays, and because our match was the last of the day, there were many people staring behind our shoulders. It's a shame that I wasn't able to maintain my self-control under that situation.

You defeated Seed in the fifth round of the losers' bracket today.

I've had previous experience beating Seed in the elimination rounds of WCS Korea. Because I was able to prepare for him and grasp his style at that time, I had little trouble today. I tailored my play very well to his style.

Didn't you feel panicked when you were hit by a Sentry drop during the first set?

It was a strategy that I had never thought of, so I did panic slightly. However, it did little damage, so it wasn't too difficult to take the win afterwards.

All of the KeSPA players are advancing to the global finals.

I made it all the way here because of my regrets about losing yesterday. If the two other KeSPA players qualify for the global finals and I'm the only one knocked down into the losers' bracket, how am I supposed to feel? I felt very anxious today, but I'm glad that I was able to qualify along with the other KeSPA players.

During the global finals, whom would you like to play against?

I don't have any particular preference. I just want to avoid Korean players.

You appear to be aiming to win WCS Asia.

Most of the remaining Korean players are all Protosses. If I end up being the last Zerg in the tournament as I was in WCS Korea, I want to take down as many Protoss players as possible.

What is it like to play in your first foreign tournament?

I was able to go sightseeing in Shanghai while eating good food and resting soundly, so I've become very comfortable here. Shanghai felt so cozy that I think it had a negative effect on my play (laughs). The food was difficult to eat at first, but over time, I've begun to find it to be fairly tasty. I was also able to eat some Korean food that got brought over here.

We're also curious to hear about your thoughts on your matches against the non-Koreans.

All of the foreign players that I faced were Zergs. We stayed mostly even during the early game, but the gaps between our skill levels became more apparent as the sets approached the late game. I definitely have great confidence in my late game play.

Do you have anything more you would like to say?

I'm thinking of getting revenge on PartinG for defeating me yesterday. I want him to feel some pressure. Also, I've begun getting along really well with Seed during this tournament, so I don't feel good about defeating him in order to advance.

How do you feel now that you've made it to the WCS Global Finals?

I've played some arduous matches in order to earn my spot in the global finals, and I'm all the more happy because of it. Now, I can feel comfortable while I challenge myself to win WCS Asia.

You made it through a harsh bracket to advance to the global finals.

It's not healthy to pity yourself for being unlucky, and I kept my mental composure up by driving away such thoughts from my head.

During the second round of the winners' bracket, you lost to PartinG and were sent into the losers' bracket.

To tell the truth, that loss hurt me all the way down to my bones. I was struck down by an all-in during the first set, and I won in a macro game in the second. During the third set, I failed to hold even after I saw PartinG's build coming and prepared a counter-build. Because I lost despite knowing PartinG's build, I felt very upset.

Which player whom you faced in the losers' bracket would you say was the most threatening to you?

I would call my most difficult opponent Fly, the Taiwanese player. I was really fatigued while playing against him, and I lost my focus and made numerous mistakes. I believed that I would lose to him and be knocked out of the tournament, but I was able to win because I persevered to the end.

Your games against Creator during the fifth round of the losers' bracket didn't go very smoothly.

Truthfully, playing games like those can be frustrating. However, I told myself that there was nothing that could be done and endured until the end.

During your third set against Creator, you were faced with mass Carriers.

Creator is a player who is particularly adept at aggressive play. I thought he would go for aggression in the third game, too, but he went for a macro game instead, perhaps because of what happened during the first set. I had prepared to sacrifice my third expansion in order to block his attack, but as the game went on, I was placed in a troublesome situation. On Cloud Kingdom, if the map is split in half, Protoss players have an advantage over Zergs. However, I calculated that I had an economic advantage, and I've had plenty of practice against Carrier play, so I didn't panic too much.

There's a possibility that you'll be facing PartinG once again.

I want to play against him one more time. When I most likely face PartinG again, I think we'll end up even. Since I already lost to him twice in this tournament, I wonder if he's more happy about this than I am.

Is there anyone whom you would like to meet in the global finals?

I want to meet a lot of Terran players, but there are only four of them in the entire global finals. This WCS is very unusual; Terran players appear to be very strong in other tournaments, but there strangely aren't many of them this time around. Because ZvT is my strongest matchup, this isn't a favorable situation for me. Out of the Zergs, I want to play against Stephano because I was eliminated by him in the fourth season of the IPL.

Is there anything more that you would like to say?

I want to thank BenQ, Zowie Gear, Joy Gear, and Red Bull, my team's sponsors. If I achieve some better results, I'll buy some delicious food for my teammates once we return to Korea.