[Spoilers] Avalon MSL Ro16 Day 1 Winners' Interviews

'Hawkeye' Effort decorates first game of Ro16 with a win and made a satisfying start.

Following is Q&A from Effort.


- You embellished the first game of Ro16 with a win.

▲ I expected series of proxy buildings but my opponent did something out of the ordinary. I never faced such strategy so I just improvised my play to match him.

- You've set record 12 consecutive wins v Terran.

▲ Luck was on my side. I practiced a lot and it paid off along with luck thus the good result.

- Curious to know if you're good during practice also.

▲ Our team's Terrans are very good so I win and lose. During practice you would never think our Terran (line up) falls behind compared to other teams.

- You have an OSL game tomorrow.

▲ I am well prepared for tomorrow's game. So I am confident of beating Flash on the momentum I have. Loss means dropping out (of the group) but I won't let any burden get to me and put a lot of effort into it to win.

- Are you not tired because of your busy schedule?

▲ I haven't been able to rest because on my days off I have individual leagues but just recently I had a day off. So I feel fully recharged to be confident of winning all my coming games.

- Resolution for your next game.

▲ I shall prepare dilligently to cleanly progress 2:0. I'm not afraid of my opponent's strategies so if I prepare my build well then I expect a good game.

Canata beat Organ using strategic play to record the first win in Ro16.

Following is Q&A from Canata.


- You beat Organ by using strategic management.

▲ Organ won twice using this strategy. And I thought it would work if I used it against him.

- In your last 10, it's 8 wins and 2 losses.

▲ I have been falling down before so I thought it's time to get back up. My last 10 winning rate is 80% but I don't want to be satisfied with what I have and go further.

- Your recent games have been very speedy and entertaining.

▲ Many people said my games are entertaining so I feel good. I didn't want to pay too much attention but it was difficult not to take notice. So when I'm preparing for my strategies I have that in mind. My style hasn't changed too much, I think I am able to show my confidence in broadcasted games. 'Vertigo' (?) / 'turtle' (?) is from the reasons of perfection so I played cautiously. Now I have more confidence so my play is decisive.

- Secret for the new found confidence?

▲ My practice volume is backing me up. I practiced more than others and I've been occupied with gaming more than most. I gained a lot by watching Fantasy. All those things fused well.

- You took the inititive so you are one step closer to Ro8.

▲ In GOMTV MSL Season 3 Ro16, I was facing Xellos and leading 1:0 but lost the subsequent games. I will use that experience as a lesson so I don't get careless again.

- Tomorrow's OSL game is the all important Ro8 progression decider.

▲ My confidence is tops. I divided my practice sufficiently for MSL and OSL so I am confident for tomorrow as well. I am confident of getting to Ro8 in OSL.

- The team's qualification to Grand Final should have made your preparation for individual leagues easier.

▲ After confirmation of the qualification the team has helped immensely for individual leagues. Therefore I am preparing for them with ease. I feel at ease and there is a good atmosphere among teammates.

- Resolution for your next game.

▲ I have never reached Ro8 and in this season I shall reach Ro8 in both/either (?) leagues.

‘승부사’ Gangyu displayed his typical aggressive style to defeat Flash and made a promising start.

Following is Q&A from Gangyu.


- Thoughts on your Ro16 first game win?

▲ In the previous season, I lost to Stork overall after taking the first game. That memory is refreshed so I can't be happy with this situation (laugh).

- Your opening play was same as Effort.

▲ We didn't talk about it particularly but it ended up like so for some reason.

- You've won again using an early agressive rush.

▲ I didn't think about that but my eagerness to win made me go for the early rush.

- Any reasons for choosing lurkers.

▲ I wanted choose either mutalisks or lurkers after looking at my opponents build. I gained an advantage with my zerglings so I chose to use lurkers. If I produced lurkers I thought it would work and things went as expected. I knew I won when I saw turrets being built.

- After OSL, you couldn't have had too much time to prepare. How do you practice?

▲ Playing games of late I gained a 'know-how' of preparing for games. Any strategies or management plays are already prepared so I focus on my weaknesses.

- Resolution for your next game.

▲ There is no answer. I want to be the player who laughs last so I must be the winner. I wish I am the player who progress to Ro8.

'Son of Queen' Zero showed momentous game to achieve first victory in Ro16

Following is Q&A from Zero.


- You've won the first game on Ro16.

▲ I haven't passed through Ro16 yet but I made a good start so it feels good.

- After disappointingly dropping out in the semi-final last season, you must be hungry to go further.

▲ Last season I wanted to do well in Proleague, but after losing out on post-season playoffs in Round 3 Winner's League I felt down and played in the semi-final so my results weren't so good. This season, the situation is the same but I have a different mindset so the results would be different this time 'round.

- You produced queen again but didn't feature in the game heavily.

▲ After yesterday's game Pure must have anticipated queens so I only made 1 queen. Then the opponent would have to counter using dark archon(s) or attack before queen's mana is filled. I wanted to make my opponent hasty and use up the resources so I made a queen to fake.

- Your v Protoss is very good.

▲ My v Protoss has been good originally and of late my teammates have been helping me so results have been good. Pretty and Sea.GuemChi couldn't help because of their games, Inyeon, Mingu and 최문석 have been a big help.

- Your target for this season.

▲ My target has been becoming the champion since the beginning and it hasn't changed. My Proleague results haven't been so good so it was embarrassing to say that but now my individual league performances are good so I can say my targets are the championship.

- Isn't it demanding to be in both leagues?

▲ At first, I found it very difficult. However after previous MSL semi-final I had time to rest, then I realised having games is a very fortunate thing. My body feels fatigued but I will do my best not to lose this moment('s chance).

- Last words you want to say.

▲ I want to show good performance in the next game. Yesterday after the OSL game I shook my wrists and my fans were worried I was in pain. The truth is I shook it because I was nervous so they don't need to worry.

'The Revolutionist' Bisu defeated Fantasy to take the inititive.

Following is Q&A from Bisu.


- You managed the first win in the series with Fantasy.
▲ There is a long way to go. I lost to him 0:3 before and lost to him a lot in practice so I came here with a mindset, to play without regrets even if I lose. I just wanted to win one game and managed to win so I reached that target.

- You seemed very nervous.
▲ I rate Fantasy very highly. His form is greatest among Terrans.

- You last OSL loss must be disappointing.
▲ I was at an advantageous position but I played too agressive. If I played defensively, even with the loss of high templars my unit composition wouldn't have been broken.

- Were you ever confronted with queen's broodlings strategy?
▲ If I played defensively or found out quicker I could have won but it wasn't the case. Queen is a handful but a good unit if used right. Zero used it well yesterday.

- Your Ro16 is against a teammate, wasn't it difficult to practice?
▲ Practicing together with Proleague had its awkward sides. We placed ourselves furthest away from each other and put a board between us to cover for peace of mind.

- Coach iloveoov said it's an entry to the final if you get past Fantasy.
▲ If I beat Fantasy I may have to face Canata. If I don't face my teammate then I could aim for the final.

- Resolution for the next game.
▲ I don't know how to prepare for the next game. I was anguishing on builds before the game today. Fantasy does many things well so I had a lot thoughts on my mind. So rather than using a specific build I tried to adjust to the given situation in the game. Maybe I should prepare like this for the next game.

- Any last words.
▲ I want to thank Mong and Terran teammates for helping me with practice. I was undecided on which build to use and coach iloveoov told me troublesome play for Terrans which helped a lot.