[Interview] Rossi - WCS America: Oceania/SEA

Great to have you for an interview. Happy New Year! One of the few active Terran players in the Australian circuit can you say a little bit more about yourself? What's the latest in the world of Rossi?
Honestly, not too much Starcraft. Been enjoying the Australian summer as well as playing some casual games like FF7 and to fulfill my competitive urges a bit of DOTA.

Prior to Christmas I was hitting the sc2 pretty hard, but really felt like I'd lost my mojo as my play was pretty dismal, so I've taken a bit of a break and am just enjoying the Uni holidays.


A break is always welcome. Don't want to get burned out! What does 2014 look like for Rossi and StarCraft II? Are you still looking to compete throughout the year or is it more of a 'take it as it comes' approach?
Definitely a take it as it comes approach, I greatly enjoy the LAN and online scene of sc2 but feel that I'm going to participate less and less. We'll have to see!


Well we know for sure you will be competing in the WCS qualifiers. I must say your performance at the 2013 Australian Cyber League Brisbane open bracket was a joy to watch. Are you confident with your chances in stage 1 of these qualifiers with such a good track record in endurance tournaments?
Not overly confident no, but once I start my first game and I'm in the tournament mindset I think I can always bring the goods.


In our interview with Fenner he mentioned you as somebody he would like to face because I quote "For whatever reason whenever I play Rossi in a tournament we always end up having some really ridiculous games, probably because he NEVER gives up even if he goes down to like 1 SCV."
Personally I'm a big fan of your TvZ as there rarely is a dull series. Do you enjoy TvZ or is there another matchup which is your favourite?
What a nice chap, cheers to you and Fenner! I'd say the majority of Terrans have a love/hate relationship with TvZ. For me personally, it's the most enjoyable matchup to play and watch, and always has been. It's also especially difficult and interesting in the SEA scene as there are so many Zergs and each Zerg has different play styles and builds. There's the benefit of only practicing 1 matchup, but each series is going to end up completely differently, at least in my experience as each Zerg will react differently, use different play styles etc etc.


For sure. Fenner called you out. Do you have anybody yourself you would like to face? Any grudges or a rivalry?
I'm going to be boring and say no. I'm mutual with all the players and do not care who I play.


That's not boring I'll just take it as everybody is your rival! If we look back at 2013 you had a lot of close calls when it came to representing Australia on the international circuit. I can't count the amount of times you were one set away from a spot.
You were able to represent Australia in the Hong King tournament. What would it mean to you to be able to represent Australia at WCS America?
Going to Hong Kong was freaking awesome, and something I'm very grateful for, especially because of all the opportunities I've missed in the past. I enjoy travelling alone and some of the experiences I enjoyed on that trip will remain with me a long time. Not to mention the joy from competing against international pro's as I was very happy with my games defeating LoWeLy and narrowly losing to Sen. Earning the opportunity to travel to America for WCS would be amazing, I'd love to experience that international environment again. I'm very appreciative to Blizzard ANZ for securing that privilege for SEA residents and am looking forward to seeing how our representative does.


With these qualifiers being opened to the remainder of SEA you may face the likes of Blysk, EnDerr and RedArchon. Are you confident with your TvP and TvT matchups?
I feel I have a favorable history vs all these players and have a fair idea of their play styles which is always a plus. I always enjoy playing them and now that think about it I definitely feel more competitive when vsing SEA reps not from Australia. No comment regarding my TvT and TvP though, we'll have to see how the games play out.


You mention being more competitive when vsing SEA reps not from Australia. With WCS opening the gates to the entirety of the region do you think there's merit in ACL doing the same? Would you rather see ACL expand or keep to its ANZ roots in 2014?
I think it has been discussed in the past when SEA players participated in our online qualifiers. I feel they should be welcome to come play in ACL as long as they can guarantee that they will attend the event. However, I don't think many will. It may be worth a trial. I do feel ACL is great at the moment though and am happy for it to maintain its focus on ANZ, so don't mind either way.


Should you decide you do not want to compete anymore do you want to continue to be involved within eSports such as a commentator or ambassador or is that something you will assess when the time comes?
Not competing would be as a result of a lack of interest/passion for the Starcraft 2, transitioning to commentating won't work for me as a result. I don't know how I could remain useful. I have a lot of respect for the people that continue to contribute to the scene but as you said, I'll have to assess it when the time comes.


Thanks for your time Rossi! A pleasure as always to speak with you and all the best for your 2014 endevours be they eSports related or not. Do you have any final comments or shoutouts?
Thanks to you for an enjoyable interview, Big thanks to Dox for all his efforts and lastly to Blizzard ANZ for securing us qualifying spots. Final shoutouts to my team members and our sponsors Fraglabs, Plantronics, Horize.