WCS Europe Season 1
Challenger League

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Interviews by Waxangel

WCS is starting back up, and so is our highly-acclaimed "Get to know your WCS players" series of interviews. Forty-eight Challenger League spots are up for grabs in the online qualifiers, and some of the players who claim those spots may very well end up causing a stir in the Premier League. Let's learn a little bit more about them.

We start off our series with a trio from Fnatic who are looking to make 2014 their year. Here's Miniraser, Harstem, and Zanster!

Fnatic.Miniraser

Waxangel: First, introduce yourself to people who might not know you that well. Then we'll move on to asking dumb questions.
Hello my name is Viktor "miniraser" Malmberg, 19 years old from Sweden playing StarCraft professionally for Fnatic. I'm decent at running and playing StarCraft and amazing at microing.

You've been around for a while, but this is your first time in Challenger. How did you feel when you got through the qualifier?
I was happy I qualified but I was very certain I was going to qualify as well, so it wasn't really a shock. I was more happy about winning vs. Goody & David Kim 1v2 in the Ro32. Hold on, there's nothing in the WCS rules that says you can't make those jokes, right?

I think they have to warn you first. So what was the journey like? You've been active but didn't really have any big results. Did you get better over the winter, or do you think you always had the skill level?
Hmm, I think I was always decent, but in September or so I started getting better faster, I think, because instead of flaming when I lost went running.

Did you always like running, or is that something you picked up because of SC2 rage?
I was always quite good at running but I didn't do it for a while. Then I picked it up again and started running a lot because I got mad.

What could possibly make you mad in SC2?
Losing to idiots like Harstem and Zanster.

Does that mean you're in super good shape now?
You think i lose often to those clowns? The running only started because of rage, now I do it because it's fun.

Speaking of Harstem and Zanster, you're part of the European skype clique with them. There's also an NA clique with players like Scarlett, Suppy, MajOr, etc. I've heard they wanted to showmatch you guys but you guys declined. What's the story?
We would love to have a go at them now. Back then we knew we could beat the patchzergs but they wanted to use MajOr and David hadn't fixed Hellbats yet, so it was impossible to beat Terran.

So let's say we do it best of nine, GSL all-kill style. Who's your 5?
Jack, Shew, Poo, Bouli & Axel V. Just kidding, me, Zanster, Harstem, Babyknight, and Bouli.

But they have #1 foreigner Zerg bonjwa Scarlett.
We got Zanster. The thing is, she might be very good at the game, but if Zanster has absolutely no idea what he is doing, neither can she.

Sounds like you guys are confident, would you put money on the line?
We could put bouli on the line, it's not much but it's something.

The Americans say they'd be willing to put up some money!
If they win we could let them touch Naama's chest. All at the same time, because it's so big.

Aight, get back to me when you've got some money to put on the table.

So, looking over the Atlantic it seems like the Swedish scene has some cute cliques and factions as well. For instance, this nationwars business... Is Swedish SC2 basically like American high school?
Starting to look like it a bit.

What's your side of the story on the nationwars business? I have to ask you in the interest of creating more drama.
I agree with Naniwa for sure, obviously he would rather play with bischu who is his good friend than me. I can see myself doing what Naniwa did if I were in his position, we don't have a great history so I can't blame him at all. However I think the way the manager acted (lying&giving false information) shows he is not very competent.

Ok, thanks in advance for the views. How'd the Swedish scene end up getting divided into these pro-naniwa factions anyway?
I think it's different for everyone. I think me and him just flamed each other a bit on the ladder because neither one of us is a very good loser.

Looking at the players down in Challenger, what do you think of your chances of making it into Premier? Who's the player you want to face the most, and who's the one you least want to face the least?
Most : Naniwa because it would probably be some fun games. I have been doing decent vs him on the ladder but he still won most games.
Least : Happy because mech with good mechanics is very scary.

What about the koreans? San and Mvp seem like scary players!
You sure we're talking about the same Happy?

I'm one of the drivers of the Happy bandwagon, but I didn't think people feared him more than some Koreans.
If you have played Happy when there were ladder points on the line, you will know you should fear him.

All that laughing, Germans are cruel :[
It's ok to laugh at Zanster.

Okay some short questions. Biggest mancrush in SC2?
I don't usually think about guys that way, but I guess nerchio is pretty cool.

LoL or Dota?
I don't play either but I enjoy watching notail's stream sometimes so dota.

Would you rather have bunker build time -5 seconds, or have hellbats returned to their strength at HotS release?
I play pool gas hatch in Zvt so you can -10, I don't care.

If you could only play Antiga Shipyard or Akilon Wastes for the rest of your life, which map would you pick?
Antiga, I really liked doing the Snute gold base baneling bust on that one.

Ok, final one. Would you rather lose to Finland in hockey or to America in StarCraft?
America has starcraft players? X)

We've devised a new game for the purpose of this interview series. Between Naniwa, Nerchio, and elfi, which one would you All-in/Macro/Ragequit?
Macro vs. elfi because i like ladder points.
All-in vs Nerchio because he is too good to beat in macro.
Ragequit vs Naniwa because that's the only one left.

Okay, any final comments or shoutouts?
Shoutout to Fnatic, and our sponsors MSI, Steelseries, EIZO, Winamax, and Fragnet for supporting us. Also thanks to my manager who is the absolutely amazing Elroy Pinto. Thanks to my good friends Harstem, Zanster, Babyknight, Pink, Bouli, Naama and also Sasquatch for being very helpful lately. Oh, also Axel V for sure he is very important.

Fnatic.Harstem

Waxangel: First off, introduce yourself in whatever way you want.
Harstem: Hello everyone my name is Kevin de Koning, better known as Harstem. I am 19 years old, play football, play StarCraft and send angry emails to David Kim.

Do you really send angry emails to David Kim? Does he respond?
I stopped after I heard we could get fined. He never responds, but in my head I hear his voice telling me to "do multi-pronged harass."

Do you ever hear of him responding to anyone?
I think he talks with apollo and ToD every now and again.

So WCS 2013 wasn't that great for you, but you're back in Challenger in season 1 of 2014. Do you think you've improved as a player, or was it just bad luck in 2013?
I think I was very inconsistent in my matchups in 2013. One of my matchups was always really bad compared to the other two, I tried to fix that in the last part of 2013 and I think I did a decent job. To answer your question, it wasn't bad luck.

How about your self promotion game, do you think that's improved?
The last few days I have been trying really hard, instead of watching Proleague I have been watching back MaximusBlack's stream and I checked out some Destiny vods. I think I improved at least a little bit over the past year, but I am not avilo level yet. So all I have to do is keep on working on trying to have as little self-respect as possible.

Any important things you learned from watching those VODs? Any special timings where you should BM, or things you would never think to say?
I think you need to offend a lot of people in a very short time frame. For example instead of saying " I hate Terran," say something like "I hate all Terrans, just like people who eat cheese, those people disgust me." Then you offend two big groups at once.

Don't the Dutch like cheese? I think smoked Gouda is very good, personally.
I like cheese, I was giving an example. I eat cheese with everything.

I remember when I was a young boy I would have a hard day at school. I was about 7 and my teacher was called Joey. I liked him, but he did not like me I would always have to sit in the corner even if I didn't do anything wrong. Then in the breaks I wasn't allowed to play soccer as a punishment and soccer was my life. I would watch it day and night and play it in every minute of free time. I would be devastated not being able to play soccer in the breaks. And then after school Joey would give me more homework, because I was a bad boy. Then you came home, made homework and the only thing that made that day bearable was your sandwich with cheese.

You said you still play football. Where do you play and who do you play with? Is it easy to find groups to play with in the Netherlands?
The football club I'm playing for is called Hermes DVS. I play at the lowest competitive level with a bunch of friends. We practice once a week and play a match every weekend. This season I only was able to play 4 matches out of the 16 we had, so that is a bit sad.

What position do you play? Just so we get a sense of your soccer skills, what SC2 player is your skill comparable to relatively?
Sweeper or wingback. I would compare myself to Slowstupid. That's my brother, who is struggling in mid platinum.

Are you an aggressive wingback who does a lot of overlapping, or do you just stay in the back and trip people.
I prefer overlapping, but with my current shape and the qualities of the members in my team it is better for me to get some yellow cards and try to keep it clean in the back.

Who even refs those kind of games?
Volunteers most of the time. If it is a "risky" game the dutch football association gives us a referee. Last year we had to play with lots of those because we were quite a risky team

Like, in risk of breaking all of the opponent's legs?
Little fights, matches being stopped, lots of cards. Mainly the fault of our opponents and David Kim. And the referee.

Maybe if you intimidated your opponents more, they'd be too scared to snitch to the football association.
Hmm, I will suggest it to the boys. Not a bad idea actually.

Have you ever been angrier at David Kim than you have at a referee?
On a daily basis. David is a nice guy and all, but that doesn't stop me from getting rustled.

How do you think the Dutch international team should solve the formation problem of needing Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben, and Van der Vaart all needing to play?
This is a very hard question. As I haven't been following all international competition too closely I'm not sure who's in shape. I want Robben as right winger, Persie as striker... This is where it gets hard, so I'm gonna leave the rest to Van Gaal.

Isn't Robben really left footed?
Yep, he always does this one trick where he turns towards the middle of the field and shoots from about 25 m.

Oh right, StarCraft. How was Taiwan? Did staying there help your game a lot?
I don't think it helped my game as much as it helped my mindset and my overall development as a person.

Why, what happened there?
Talked to SaSe. Lived in a teamhouse. Went to a gym that was really expensive.

Sase is that wise?
He didn't say too much, but the stuff he said made sense. If that is what you wanna call wise, then yes, he is wise.

What kinda stuff?
Well, I stopped being vegetarian, he told me to fix my shoulders, how to get girls and some starcraft related stuff.

Sounds like Sase is very wise. But not as wise as MaximusBlack
No one is as wise as MaximusBlack.

What player do you most want to play in challenger? Who do you least want to play?
Hmm I wish I could play miniraser so I can put him back where he belongs. But because that is impossible ill have to go with starbuck or livezerg.

What about least want to play?
San/Naniwa. I never took a game off of San. And vs. Naniwa I can't even seem to win a ladder game so let alone a tournament game.

Biggest mancrush in sc2?
Bouli

Nicki Minaj or Rihanna?
Rofl, how dare you compare Nicki with someone like Rihanna. Disgusting. Nicki Minaj of course.

I can do an almost perfect cover of Superbass. And my Starships isn't too shabby either.

Would you rather play pre-warpgate nerf, pre-pylon nerf PvP for the rest of your life, or play WoL PvZ on daybreak for the rest of your life?
Wow, this one is really hard. I guess I am gonna have to go with PvP.

The correct answer is end your life and not play either.
Would have gone with that one if I knew it was an option.

Here's our PG rated lame version of kill-f***-marry. All-in/macro/ragequit the next three players: goody, avilo, elfi
All-in vs avilo. I could actually do anything against avilo and still win. I bet I could win vs avilo while ragequitting
Macro vs goody, because goody has a very exciting playstyle.
Ragequit vs elfi because he most likely just killed you with the most dumb thing in the world.

That's right, elfi just beat you. Okay, any final comments?
I'd like to thank my sponsors MSI, SteelSeries, EIZO, Winamax and fragnet.

Maximus black changed my life in many ways so thank him for that.

Elroy Pinto for being the best manager imaginable and the rest of team Fnatic for being fun and cool.

Also bouli and the kingdom.

Fnatic.Zanster

Waxangel: First, introduce yourself for the SC fans who might not know much about you.
Zanster: Hello, my ID is Zanster and I'm the guy that taught miniraser the few things he knows about Starcraft.

You weren't that well known outside Sweden in 2013, but you're starting to break out now, making it into WCS Challenger and ASUS ROG Winter. What's the journey been like, getting to this point in your career?
It's been alright, but much slower than I expected it to be.

How did you feel when you finally got a big break by making it through those qualifiers?
I expected myself to make it in 2013 so I guess I'm relieved to not have failed again.

You had to beat bouli and Harstem, two of the guys in your skype group to make it to Challenger. Was that awkward? How did everyone feel?
No it wasn't awkward at all. I think it was a bit bittersweet for bouli since he was only one round from double elim, and both me and Harstem knew he would qualify anyway.

How would you describe your style for people who haven't yet seen you play?
I would say I'm a bit impatient and like to make things happen without taking too big risks.

Miniraser said when you're playing, you don't even really know what's going on.
He just can't comprehend the brilliance in some of my moves. And to be fair, sometimes I can't either.

So Liquipedia tells me you're 17, what's it like trying to be a pro at such a young age? Does school get in the way, or do you not have to deal with that because Sweden?
Well I don't know what it's like to trying to be a pro at an older age so it's hard to say. I guess you might have more pressure on you the older you get? And I don't go to school at the moment so that's not a problem.

You have any other interests besides gaming? Miniraser said running and Harstem said football.
No not really.

I was warned that you had Taeja-like interviewing abilities, I see why that might be the case. What got you into SC2 specifically? It seems like there's a lot of fun and lucrative games these days.
I saw a youtube video with someone (I think it was Husky) and it was love at first sight. I find the other esport games very boring so I couldn't imagine playing them competitively.

What do your parents think about your progaming aspirations?
They're pretty supportive.

Looking at the list of potential opponents in challenger, is there anyone you want to face, and anyone you'd want to avoid?
The only people I don't want to face are miniraser, Harstem and uthermal. It would be fun to play Naniwa, but im not super confident against him so maybe it would be better to play him somewhere else.

Ok, here's a bunch of short questions. What food do most people like that you hate?
I don't really hate any food but im not a huge fan of tacos.

If you could pick between winning WCS Europe and going on a date with Scarlett Johansson (shamelessly recycled question from our IEM interviews last year), which would you choose?
WCS Europe for sure.

If Harstem-hyung and miniraser-hyung were falling off a cliff and you could only save one, who would you save?
I would ask them what they could give me in return for saving them, and then save Harstem.

Here's our safe for work boring version of kill-f***-marry. macro/all-in/ragequit: rotterdam, goody, elfi.
macro rotterdam, ragequit goody, and all-in elfi.

Ok, any final comments that will prove you aren't just another 17 year old starcraft playing robot like Life or Taeja?
Thanks to my sponsors MSI, SteelSeries, EIZO, Winamax and fragnet. I will make good result so please cheer for me.

Also shoutout to Sasquatch.

Interviews: Waxangel