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Interviewer:
The final semifinalist of this ASL21 season has been decided. Let’s meet that player now: Lee Young-ho. Congratulations.
Lee Young-ho:
Thank you.
Interviewer:
Lee Young-ho has made it into the semifinals after returning to the venue for the first time in quite a while, facing a very tough opponent in Jang Yoon-chul (Snow) in the quarterfinals, and winning 3–2 after a full five-game series.
Every set had these incredibly tense moments, and even now it looks like Lee Young-ho is still completely drained. How do you feel?
Lee Young-ho:
I made it through with such difficulty. As expected, my opponent was really good, and he went against my expectations a lot in the games.
Even in the last game, he defended so well that I thought, “Am I going to lose this again?” But thankfully I won, so I’m relieved.
Interviewer:
Looking at the overall picture of your victories today, there were so many moments where we saw perfectly calculated optimized timings, and Terran armies crashing in like a storm. It really gave the impression several times that Lee Young-ho’s Terran is just different.
I’m curious what your practice process was like overall.
Lee Young-ho:
For Game 1, I had something prepared originally, but I was so behind in build order that I didn’t expect it to go that way, so I just improvised.
I really played while ruling certain things out and taking some risks.
In Game 2 as well, I didn’t expect the fast Nexus/no-gateway Nexus. I think I got really lucky winning that because of the first scout. Honestly, if that had been a second scout or a box scout, I think I would’ve lost that game too.
And the third game was something I had prepared originally.
For Game 4, that was also originally prepared, but it was actually a build I had prepared to use in Game 2. Since I was ahead in the score, I thought there was no way he would use Dark Templar, so I went for it boldly. It should have ended there, but it didn’t.
So the final game was improvised. I just played by feel.
Interviewer:
In the third set, it felt like you were playing with the thought that he probably wouldn’t use Reaver harassment.
But I could understand your decision to attack the mineral line after seeing the Carrier. At that time, though, there was also a moment where you scouted the 6 o’clock position with an SCV.
Lee Young-ho:
That kind of situation had come up a few times in practice. I had clicked the 12 o’clock position, and then I had queued the SCV to go to 6 o’clock afterward.
But I thought the SCV was dead. Fortunately, it actually got the scout off.
Because after I broke his natural expansion, the 11 o’clock expansion was one I could definitely destroy. The difficult ones were 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock. So I checked them, and I think that was the result of a lot of practice. That’s why I was able to win.
Interviewer:
Even so, in Game 4, from your perspective, there were definitely moments where you could have thought, “I’m in the semifinals now.” But Jang Yoon-chul’s Reaver play really felt different, didn’t it?
Lee Young-ho:
All throughout today’s games, I was under so much stress. I didn’t actually curse out loud, but it was to the point where I almost did.
That’s how well Jang Yoon-chul used his Reavers, and it stressed me out a lot.
If I had ended up losing the series too, I think I would’ve been incredibly stressed. Seriously.
Interviewer:
In the final set as well, when you first climbed up the ramp, you thought the game was going to end there, right?
Lee Young-ho:
Yes. In the final set too, honestly, I don’t think I ever thought, “I’m going to lose this.”
It was more like, “Wow, he defended that too? Then try defending one more time.” That was kind of what I was thinking.
Interviewer:
No matter how many Tanks he killed, Lee Young-ho’s Tanks just kept coming back so quickly. Jang Yoon-chul also maintained his focus right until the very end while playing, and thanks to both players, we got so many great games and great moments.
Now, with Lee Young-ho advancing to the semifinals, we have a very exciting TvT matchup against Lee Jae-ho (Light.)
Lee Young-ho:
People were expecting the LeeSsang-rock a lot, but Jae-ho hyung is also “Lee,” isn’t he? So this is also a Lee-match, in a way.
I think I’ll prepare hard for it. I watched Jae-ho hyung’s interview. But he’s a Terran player I’ve always acknowledged and respected, so I don’t think I can just assume I’ll beat him now.
I need to prepare hard too.
One thing I’m worried about is that he’s a machine. Jae-ho hyung really is a machine. So it’s the kind of matchup where the question is whether I can overpower him with speed or not. Of course, I’ll have to prepare and see.
Interviewer:
It sounds like, as soon as the quarterfinal match ended, Lee Young-ho is already simulating some semifinal strategies in his head.
Lee Young-ho:
For me personally, this season has a certain feeling to it. I don’t know whether Shin Sang-moon (Leta) or “Jjapjae” (Soma) will advance, but I had said that the hardest opponents for me would be Jang Yoon-chul (Snow,) Lee Jae-ho (Light), and Jjapjae (Soma.)
So it feels like this season is proving that. I’m taking it seriously and giving it my all.
If I beat Jae-ho hyung, then Sang-moon hyung could come up, or Jjapjae could come up. But I’ll beat them all.
Now there are two people left. From the qualifiers, I thought, “If I beat about ten people, I’ll win the championship.” Now there are only two left, so I’m about 80% of the way there. I’ll beat them all and win the championship.
Interviewer:
That answer from Lee Young-ho makes us look forward to it even more.
Today, across all five games of the quarterfinal, there were huge cheers and reactions from the crowd again and again. That’s how entertaining the games were.
Please say a few words to the fans who enjoyed it with you, and also to the practice partners who helped you.
Lee Young-ho:
First, thank you so much to my close friend who came today.
And thank you so much to Hyun-jae (Mini?), Jae-wook hyung (Best), Soo-cheol (YSC/teolbo), and Byung-goo hyung (Stork,) who helped me practice.
Lastly, thank you as always to Chairman Chulgu.
And the fans are always cheering for me. These live offline matches are really precious to me right now. That’s why I’m working hard.
Please keep watching me. I’ll win the championship and make sure I bring back the good old version of myself, those old memories, for you.
Thank you.
