[Interviews] TSL Semifinals

Congratulations!
Thank you. I wanna give a special thanks to everyone who made a cheerful for me. I saw them all and they're awesome. Also, I'm sorry I could not give my fans a 3-0. I'll try harder this week.

Which maps did you feel confident on?
I like Blue Storm a lot. I think it's an excellent map and I feel like I have a good understanding of all three Protoss matchups there.

What did you think of ToT)GOsia('s play?
His mutalisk strategy in games two and four surprised me. His macro in game three was good.

GOsia used a mass muta strategy twice during the games. Did you prepare against this strategy?
I had no practice against it. Luckily it's not too hard to figure out how to counter it and it just came down to doing the things I needed to do and hoping he didn't do all the things he needed to do.

How much did you practice for this series? Who did you practice with?
Again I did not do much specific practice. I did not have the burden of deciding builds or strategies this week and so I just did general practice with any player on any map. I do some practice sessions with top American players and I also played random people on iCCup.

You used the same strategy for many of the games.
I think it's a good strategy. I'll keep doing it until someone discovers a weakness that I cannot fix.

Many Protoss players dislike Blue Storm against Zerg, but you decided to thumb down Zodiac instead of Blue Storm.
It wasn't a big decision for me because I really would have been fine playing PvZ on any of those maps twice. I really like Blue Storm and I think the build I've been doing works better on Othello and Wuthering than on Zodiac, so I chose Zodiac.

Are you enjoying the TSL so far?
Yeah TSL is awesome. I've been watching broadcasts of myself and that's very fun (as long as I'm winning). The staff has done an excellent job running the tournament. I'm really really hoping for a second season.

Were you nervous at all during the matches?
I was not nervous except for randomly at the start of the second game and it quickly went away. I think I have slowly gotten better at handling my nerves with each match I've played.

What do you think of the results from the other half of the bracket? Someone from your Ro32 group--RoX.BRAT_OK advanced. Are you looking for revenge if you both make the final?
I'd be happy to play BRAT_OK in the final. I would look at it as a great chance to make a statement with my PvT but I would not think of it as revenge.

Excello.IefNaij also advanced, making an all-Excello final possible. What do you think are his chances against Brat?
That will be an excellent match and I have no idea what will happen. I will be cheering for JF. I'd hope for a bonus from Excello if we give them an all-Excello final

Your next opponent will be Draco. Are you confident? What do you think of him? He is saying he may not have time to practice. Do you think this is a sign of disrespect to you?
Yes I'm confident. I think he is a good player but definitely able to be defeated. I don't think his lack of practice would be disrespectful to me. I think he'll practice the same amount no matter who is opponent is so I take no personal offense.

Any final words for your fans?
I think you are growing in numbers with each of my victories. I'd like to welcome my newest fans! It would be cool if, after defeating a player, I could capture his fans and take them for my own. Draco fans feel free to defect should I defeat your master.

Congratulations! A word to your fans?
I would like to thank all of them for supporting me even now when I'm not as good as in the past.

Which maps did you feel confident on?
I didn't feel confident on any of these maps. Othello and Wuthering are completely new maps for me and my builds were based only on map editor since unfortunately I didn't find the time to practise again.

What did you think of MYM.White-Ra's play?
He played solid and I was expecting him to play similarly in every game. I didn't expect him to play dts on Blue Storm since I have never seen him before in my life playing dts in PvP.

You were down 0-1 and 1-2. Were you nervous or worried at all during the matches?
No, I wasn't. I pulled myself together and decided to play more safe. Anyway I was mentally ready to lose the whole match in every moment. I know that I lack of practice and it would be only my fault.

The series was very close, 3-2. Did you expect it to be this difficult?
I have never done any expectations in the whole tourney and I will stay with this rule. I do what I have to do - I try to win no matter who is my opponent.

What made you decide to do the strategies that you did?
It's very bad to play all the time the same builds in PvP so I tried to play in a many different ways. Anyway DT choice on Othello was bad since it's very hard to defend reaver attack with such a big entrance to natural expo.

You may have to play several PvPs in a row. What is your best matchup?
It looks as follows: PvT > PvZ > PvP . I really don't like to play PvP because it's so unpredictable, a lot depends on builds and micro which I lack nowadays. It's easy to play vs terran because even if you lack practice you can always win with your experience.

Are you enjoying the TSL so far?
It's very enjoyable and I believe that it's a good step to create the first regular professional league for foreigners. Here I would like to wish you good luck with that.

Your next opponent will be Excello.NonY.
I believe I have never played against him before. It's again PvP so I'm not confident at all. I have also never seen him playing so I can't make and statements about him personally.

Will you finally practice hard for these matches?
I don't know... Even if I manage to find the time for that it's so hard to find a worthable practice partner. Believe me or not but I again played only one game before the match against White-Ra.

What did you think of the other results? Who are you cheering for?
I'm sad that Dreiven's mentally was too weak and he didn't motivate himself enough to fight against Brat_OK. It seemed to me that he lost all his faith for the win after the first game. I don't cheer for anyone - let the best man win.

Congratulations! Many people are cheering for you since you are the only non-Protoss left.
Many thanks to all who waited for my victory..

Which maps did you feel confident on?
I was not self-assured on all maps.

What did you think of Dreiven's play?
I think it strongly worried and could not show my best game.

Were you worried during that huge attack during Game 1?
Yes.

How much did you practice for this series? Who did you practice with?
I have played games 20 with RoX.Localhost

Game 2 was a relatively easy game on Blue Storm. Did you expect it to be so easy?
No. I have risked and have won.

Where did you get your dropship strategy for Game 3?
I have thought up it.

You are relatively unknown, but your play was better than A2, Ex, and other more known Russian players. Why are you so good now?
I the lucky.

Are you enjoying the TSL so far? What do you think of the tournament?
Yes. It is the best online tournament.

You are a relatively quiet person, just coming at the match times and playing with very few words. Is this because of your time in the army? Can you tell us how your time there changed you as a person and as a Starcraft player?
After army I have not changed, but there was a strong desire to play.

Were you nervous at all during the matches?
Yes, I very strongly worried.

Your next opponent will be Excello.IefNaij. Are you confident? What do you think of him?
I think with it it will be very heavy. (difficult)

Many threads were started about you on TL.net Many people are cheering for you now. There was even one thread asking you to change your name to BRAT_PRO.
Hahahaha I read this thread on TL.net, but unfortunately I am far not PRO. Thanks for all my fans.

Congratulations!
Thanks to those that were cheering for me, I will continue to play my best!

Which maps did you feel confident on?
I actually felt the most confident on Wuthering Heights, which was the only map I lost on, how ironic :p. I've never played against slow-drop-hydra/lings before, I guess that caught me off guard o_O.

What did you think of MYM.DinOt's play?
I think he played well, but could've played much better. His macro/micro was plummeting at times, which costed him the game. I would say that because it's his first major tournament, he's just feeling nervous and it impacted his performance yesterday.

Were you worried during that Mutalisk attack in Game 1?
Yes. Luckily I stormed when he wasn't paying attention, else I would've lost.

How much did you practice for this series? Who did you practice with?
I practiced a lot vs gosu zergs such as Mondi and Castro. So without the help of them, I would probably been crushed. LOTS of thanks to Mondi and Castro ^^.

Game 2 was a relatively easy game on Blue Storm.
I knew that I had to end the game before it went into the 20-30mins range, zergs are insane at that time. So I did everything to end the game asap, and it worked. The game went as I expected.

Were you worried or nervous after your loss on Wuthering Heights?
Not really, I knew if I can bring the next few games into late game, I can win.

Many fans are predicting you to win this tournament. Which matchup do you feel strongest in?
My strongest matchup is PvP, but the remaining players are all so tough, it will be hard to win the entire thing.

Are you enjoying the TSL so far?
Yes, excellent coverage. I think Artosis and Chill make a perfect couple as commentators of course. Everything's very professional, I don't think I can ever think of anything to complain about.

What do you think of the other results? There may be an all-Excello final.
I am not going to predict results, but I do wish for me and NonY to advance to the finals. Excello finals would be excellont.

Your next opponent will be RoX.BRAT_OK.
His play is quite impressive, however I am feeling anything but confident. I've been practicing PvP and PvZ's all seasons, not even touching PvT. Besides, it's my weakest matchup and I have relatively low numbers of Terran friends. I hoping Dreiven would beat Brat_OK so I wouldn't need to deal with him, but that wasn't the case . Let's pray for a miracle.

Any final words for your fans?
Well what can I say, thanks for cheering and I will do my best to kick Brat_OK's ass. ;]