Clarity Gaming Player of the Month March: Ret!

An interview with Ret:

Jos, congratulations on being Clarity Gaming’s third Player of the Month! How does it feel to receive this award?

It feels nice! The last few months have been reasonably successful so of course I hope it keeps up!

You recently made a “comeback” of sorts to the top of Professional SC2 standings with your top 8 finish at IEM Hanover. How did it feel to place so highly, especially considering you and MaNa were the only two foreigners in the top eight?

I think we both did well, It was a good result for both of us. Of course when you are there you want more but in the end I’m very satisfied with top 8. I don’t really differentiate too much between foreigners and koreans so I’m not concerned with being the last foreigner or anything like that.

You have spoken somewhat recently in previous interviews and on twitter about overcoming some personal obstacles. Would you mind talking a bit about those and how your SC2 career and the community may have helped in that regard?

There were a lot of changes in my life at the end of last year. Being in a comfortable place where you can practice consistently while maintaining some kind of schedule is important. With the amount of travel progamers do I feel like having a home is important. Everything in your life needs to be in the right place and when it is then that helps a lot with how you perform I think. I figured those things out and now everything is running like a train (with a few stops in between).

A bit more recently we were able to see you perform at MLG Dallas where you did not disappoint as you were once again one of only three foreigners to make the Ro. 16. Was this accomplishment more or less meaningful to you than IEM?

It was a lot less meaningful because all I did to achieve that was beat Feast online and beat Suppy in a bo5. At IEM I had won series vs MC, First, Sting, and Kas whom I all consider better than the opposition I faced at MLG. When I faced Flash, I kind of got stomped and wasn’t good enough to give him a good run for his money. Of course he is one of the greatest players, but I still wanted to do better.

Getting back to IEM, you went 4-1 in your group play to finish second behind YoDa over First, MC, Kas, and XlorD, and even beat Sting in a convincing 3-1 series in the Ro. 12. What changed for you in the months prior to IEM, and how did you prepare for such important matches against such tough opponents?

I just started really regularly practicing again in the month leading up to HoTS so when the beta started I was playing a lot and feeling comfortable. I also started going to the gym again and just felt good in general. It was nice to play with so many Korean players on the beta server and it was a very tough competition and I think it made me stronger. During the tournament I just played like I did at home and everything worked out

HotS has now been out for a few weeks with quite a few premier events behind us. We are still seeing Koreans take the top 4, 8, even close to 16 places at such events. Do you think this will continue to be the case down the road with HotS? Or do you believe the foreigner scene will start catching up?

I think Koreans have always been ahead and probably always will be. However there will also always be foreigners with good chances to take them out. Just how often foreigners will win tournament depends on the determination and hard work of a few talented foreigners who have the ability to be good enough to win tournaments. In the grand scheme of things will always be shifted in Korea’s favor though, just because of the experience, infrastructure and knowhow is available in that scene from 10 years of having a professional BroodWar scene.

With the previous question in mind and the recent Blizzard WCS announcement, what are your thoughts on the upcoming changes to the ‘landscape’ of the premier events? The biggest issue being talked about seems to be the region locking, do you think it is good or bad?

I am mostly just excited about having a league run in Europe that seems to be very professional, and will give good chances to people competing locally and will reduce the need to travel constantly. Other than that, I hope a unified league like this one can cause enough worldwide publicity for the game for there to actually start to develop a professional gaming scene in continents like Europe and America. I don’t really have an opinion about who competes where, I just want to do as good as I can and overall love seeing any progress that I think will improve our scene as a whole.

What are your plans coming into the newly made WCS and what region do you plan to play for the first year?

I will be playing in Europe. The studio in cologne is only about a 2 hour drive away from me, so it’s perfect. I plan to focus entirely on the European region, and the more things I can do in the Netherlands or close to it - the better.

Between IEM and MLG you really have had a promising/amazing start to 2013. What do you see as your biggest hurdles going forward? How will you overcome them?

As long as I can maintain a steady practice schedule, I don’t foresee any problems. I’ll try to approach each day individually and give it my best all the time in practice and other things in life - that way the only way is forward

Outside of those hurdles, do you have any major goals for the rest of 2013?

I’d love to once again play a major part in many international competitions, and possibly even win one of them. I know it’s an extremely competitive scene, but I will give it my best to be successful

Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview. Is there anyone you would like to thank or shout out to before we wrap this up?

Thanks to all the people who support me which is a lot of you. Anywhere I go, if I ever have a problem there is always someone around with a passion for starcraft and friendly enough to help you. I love our community and scene, and It’s always a pleasure to go to tournaments and meet many people who also love the game. So a shoutout to all of them. And of course my team for their support of me and our sponsors : Twitch, Razer, Barracuda & ShinyThings.