EPT
Source: http://www.dailyesports.com/news/view.daily?idx=12397&page=1
Originally written and edited by Lee Sora
Published June 29th
Today we introduce JulyZerg, winner of three OSLs and the only Zerg player to win the Golden Mouse. He has had a tumultuous career, beginning at MBCGame, followed by a move to SKT1, and finally to STX where he plays now. We asked JulyZerg about what he's been up to lately, and to clear up some misgivings about him.
July: First off, I'm glad I was chosen to be interviewed alongside all these players who are doing well lately. I'm an old player who debuted a long time ago, so it's an honor to be selected alongside all the young guns.
Zerg professionals in general do tend to be older (laugh). It's always touching when you know you haven't been forgotten yet. I've started to feel like Yohwan hyung (Boxer), or Jinho hyung (Yellow).
When Savior was at the height of his reign, management style zerg was considered the best, but now Jaedong's two hatchery style has spearheaded the revival of aggressive zergs. And if we're going to talk about aggressive style zergs, JulyZerg can't be left out. But JulyZerg thought a little bit differently.
July: Back when I was the best Zerg, no one said I was an aggressive style zerg. But somehow, I've been retroactively classified that way. I just liked battles a lot, and in order to fight those battles, I enjoyed playing a rich style. As times change, people just perceive players differently.
Trends, I think it's just changing cycles. At some point, aggressive zerg is going to suddenly go out of fashion and management style zerg will be the best again. Right now people consider Jaedong to be an aggressive zerg, but who knows how people will view him in the future?
Honestly I think dividing things into management and aggressive styles is pointless. I don't think either 'style' does better, it just looks to me like the player who's better is the one that wins.
The most important thing is to become a progamer that can adjust smoothly to the changing trends. If your style is too fixed, then obviously it's gonna be hard to keep up with the times.
What does JulyZerg think of Zerg? All the other zerg players we interviewed always mentioned the race's inherent instability. JulyZerg agreed.
July: There's no race that's as attractive as zerg. Zerg is the race that's capable of the most awesome plays, and is the coolest overall. Most zerg units focus on speed and mobility, so games with Zerg are so fun.
People who play Zerg think it is a really attractive and fun race, but it also gives the impression to viewers that it's dangerous and unstable, and can easily fall apart.
A long time ago, progamers said that if there were a super-computer that could perform perfect micro, Zerg would be the strongest race. I guess it would be hard for that kind of superhuman to really appear though? (laughs)
Zerg will progress as it learns to shore up its instabilities.
Most Zerg players seem incapable of making comebacks after their careers take a fall. While in the case of Terran and Protoss, there are players who have hit rock bottom and come back to win tournaments. However, JulyZerg was one of the players to hit rock bottom, and he came back to win the Ever OSL 2008 as Zerg. Yet he says himself, "It wasn't a complete comeback."
July: It's not really a Zerg problem, it's an individual problem. This is painfully close to home for me right now, but there's no one who went wrong by practicing hard. I think E-sports is a place where people who put in lots of effort will succeed over those who have natural talent.
Those who slump and can't come back have problems with their mentality, and it's also because they're too stubborn. Also, they are often in situations where they're unable to really focus on practicing.
I'm very stubborn myself, which caused me to be unsettled for quite some time. I talked to a lot of people which helped me become more flexible, and I think that let me grow into someone who could win tournaments again.
Recently we've been unable to see JulyZerg at games for about one month now (This article was published on June 29th), causing fans to wonder what happened. It became known that JulyZerg had left the dormitories to go back home briefly for personal reasons. July said "They were really personal matters" and added "I wanted to solve them alone, and the coach and the staff understood this very well and gave me a lot of help, so I was able resolve the issue easily and return to the team."
He also said "Now I can focus on gaming again, so you don't have to worry anymore," to allay his fan's worries. Similar to Savior in our last interview, he seems to be another old gamer with some problems he just can't talk about.
July: You just can't help but start thinking about a lot of things. When I was young, I thought that being good at Starcraft would solve everything. Now I have to think about my future, things like the army, how long should I keep progaming, and so many other things like that make it very hard to focus on playing the game.
On top of that, I had some personal matters come up so I had to return home for about a month. My fans speculated a lot about it, but I'll say none of the rumours were true.
Older gamers, they're not troubled because they aren't playing well. Like Savior said, a lot of things outside gaming appear and start eating away at you. Jaedong will probably have to face these kinds of problems in time as well.
Right now it's an important time for my team, so I know I should get my head in one place. Thanks to the coach and staff, my problems got sorted out fine, and now I'm in a good situation to play. I'll try my best so I can impress my fans again. Count on it!
STX went on an 8 game winning streak as of late (dated nature of the article shows again). Zerg players have been at the center of this uprising. STX has a proud heritage of great zerg players, and people have been saying Hero is following in July's footsteps. What is JulyZerg's influence on this Zerg revival at STX?
July: I do feel that the STX Zerg line is the strongest at present. We have Calm, Hero, Modesty, and me as well, so we have specialists for every race.
I haven't really taught anyone anything. In fact I'm the one who is learning most of the time. I try to teach them some of my know-how, and they teach me things like current trends and strategies and tactics that I hadn't thought of, so we have some good synergy going there.
Hero has been called "July's student," and I do agree that we play using similar styles. I give him a little advice, but he's not my student by any means. It does make me realize how much older I've become though (laughs).
When people start talking about your heir, then you really know you've become one of the "Olds." It feels good, and a little bit sad.
July's recent problem has been his Zerg vs Zerg. His ZvT has improved somewhat, while his ZvP has always been amongst the best. We heard from JulyZerg himself what his diagnosis on his ZvZ is.
July: I wasn't able to follow recent ZvZ trends. Also, it's noticeable that my micro isn't what it used to be.
Early on, I would just squash advice people tried to give me. Now that I've realized my ZvZ is lacking, I'm practicing very hard and listening to a lot of suggestions.
Maybe it’s because I'm an aggressive zerg, but I'm an aggressive personallity myself. Well, to be more precise, I have a temper. Whether it's anger or happiness, I like to express myself in a big way.
It's been both good and bad for me.
For the first time in a long time, JulyZerg fell to the preliminaries for the Starleague. As it was a very tough period for him, JulyZerg said he played his games with barely any practice. He blamed himself, saying if he’d practiced just ten games, he wouldn't have fallen that far. July said "The Stargirls must be unlucky for me. I've been sent to the OSL preliminaries twice in my career. Once after they first introduced the Stargirls, and the second time after they switched the roster," laughing loudly.
While he's fine with making merry of misfortune, JulyZerg is without a doubt, very determined to make it back to the Starleague. He is a real competitor.
Of his many victories, which made him the happiest, and which are the most memorable?
July: All of my tournament wins are very happy memories for me. When I beat Yeonsung hyung (iloveoov) in the iTV final, it was like feeling pure bliss. All the games kept going the way I wanted them.
I remember being really happy when I won the Gillette and Ever Starleagues. It was inevitable that I was going to win the Gillette OSL, I was playing 17~18 hours of games those days. If I couldn't win with that kind of practice, I should have just quit (laughs).
When I think about it now, the EVER 2008 final was the least meaningful for me. I felt like I kind of stumbled into a victory somehow.
There were many happy moments for JulyZerg, but disappointments as well.
July: The emptiest final for me was the IOPS final. I thought that of course, Yoonyeol hyung's (Nada) fans would outnumber mine, but to my surprise there were way more of my fans. I really wanted to win and I tried very hard, but I lost 0-3. At that moment, I felt truly unspeakable pain and sadness envelop my entire body. Maybe Best felt the same way when he lost to me?
And when we lost to SKT at Gwanganri, I felt so bitter. After our team's foundation, we managed to make fourth place and kicked our way up from there. We were considered a weak team then, but we were practicing ourselves to death. I was so disappointed at losing, I remember I drank till I passed out that day. That was the most I've ever drank.
Even when I think about it now, I could almost cry at the disappointment. That bitterness was resolved the next season, when we won. When I have bitterness left from a previous season, I usually perform well the next season. Since that's my situation right now, I'm confident I'll be able to qualify for the Starleague next season.
During tough times, JulyZerg can always turn to his fans for strength. Even now he can't forget the support they gave him when he was sent off on a waiver by MBCGame. What do JulyZerg's fans mean to him?
July: My fans have always been there for me when things aren't going well. I remember Sea once said in an interview "It's such an electrifying feeling to know that people want to see you." I think that's the same thing celebrities feel.
It makes me very happy that there are fans who want to watch my games. I always want to win the games a lot of people come to. Without my fans, I couldn't have made it this far.
I think that it's not JulyZerg fans in particular who like me, but just fans who like Starcraft as a competition in general. It gives me the shudders when I hear a crowd of male voices yell "FIGHTING!" at the finals. I don't think any other player has gotten that kind of cheer (laughs).
Male or female, everyone is very special to me. It's because of my fans that I'll be able to keep playing Starcraft in the future.
I'm always grateful for fans that come to watch me live. Please keep cheering for me!
Oddly enough, there are quite a few unsavory rumors about JulyZerg. In particular, some say he left MBCGame or SKT1 because he did not get along with his teammates, and recent speculation says his recent departure from STX was caused by friction with teammates as well. JulyZerg was shocked to learn of such rumors. We asked him about them.
July: If the players at MBCGame or SKT1 heard these rumors, I'm sure they'd get a good laugh out of it. I got along so well with my teammates, you could say there was no one I wasn't friendly with.
I think in particular, people said I didn't get along with Gorush. When we heard that, we thought it was the most hilarious thing. Of course, we've argued a lot about Starcraft and strategy. But that's something all gamers do. When you think you're right about something, sometimes you have to argue about it. We're both very stubborn about how we play Starcraft.
But even outside the game, I had good relationships with my teammates. We talked a lot about life, and when I was in SKT1 I'd often go to Gorush for advice when I was troubled. I think I was the one that relied on him. Even now Taemin hyung (Gorush) is a really good hyung to me. I think our frequent arguments about strategy were somehow warped into this bogus rumor. Without those kind of arguments and discussions, a player or team can't get better. It's a great way to share opinions and find better strategies.
I hope there won't be any such rumors in the future! (laughs)
When Yellow defeated Bisu a short time ago in Proleague, July said it made him a little sad. What made him respond so negatively to an event that was mostly a cause for much cheering across the internet?
July: When I saw the reactions, it made me strangely angry. Since when was it a miracle that a professional gamer should win ONE game? Jinho hyung (Yellow) was always such a hard worker, and he's still one of the greatest to us. It made me so sad that people considered it such a damn miracle when he won a single game.
To people who've played this game for a long time, Yellow is a legend. But now he's just a laughing stock and an easy target for people on the internet. I really don't know what they're getting out of trying to bring down someone who's a true legend.
I was happy that he won, but his current standing, and his treatment at the hand of the netizens made my heart hurt. I wish people would finally stop making fun of all-time greats like Yellow.
For the love of god, don't underrate and brush aside the incredible amount of effort Yellow put into his career. Please.
Fan questions.
Q: One word. Jo In-Sung (A Korean actor known to be very good looking).
A: Ahahahaha! I've heard that I'd look like Jo In-sung if I lost some weight. But dieting isn't easy!
I know if I got thin, I'd be handsome too (laughs). I'm confident about my face, you know (laughs). But knowing and doing, they're definitely different things. Finding the determination to go on a real diet is tough (laughs).
Q: When there are progamer polls, you always seem to win the bad ones (like "what progamer do you think doesn't bathe often"). Why is that?
A: Oh come on (laughs)! I think maybe it's because I play a lot of tricks on other pros that this kind of thing happens to me.
Well, for instance... I tend to pass gas a lot. So when someone farts, even if it's not me, everyone assumes I'm the culprit anyway. The entire "doesn't bathe often" thing happened because this one time I skipped a shower, and all the other gamers in revenge for all the tricks I've played on them… They all started saying "Go away, you're dirty!" as a joke, and it grew from there.
I like to play pranks, so I think I'm always going to be a victim of this kind of thing. Well, if it makes me look like a more amiable person to the fans, then that's fine with me! (laughs)
Q: When you were still with MBCGame, there was a famous photo of you eating at a huge table with rice and eight side dishes all by yourself. Do you monopolize all the food like that on STX too? (Note: The photo can be seen here: YGosu
A: Alright, I have to set this one straight. Man, I feel so maligned about that one. Before an important game, guys from the TV studios had come to film us. Anyway, we had prepared some food to eat, and I just happened to be the only one eating there at the time. A few minutes later everyone else came out to eat as well, but the only part that went out on the air was me eating alone! So it just looks like me hogging the entire table. So unfair!
At MBCGame, SKT, and STX, we all eat together at the same table and have fun. That was just a manufactured image by the TV channel to make me look bad!
I had to reveal the truth on that one.
Q: Amongst progamers, the ones born in 1986 seem especially close. Do you still meet players like the retired Goodfriend, or Midas, or Casy who's in the army?
A: I don't have many opportunities, and there aren't many active gamers, so it's really hard to see them these days. Casy's in the military, and while I was the closest with Goodfriend, he's retired now, and even Max retired not long ago. It's a real downer, makes me sad.
It was loads of fun in the past. You couldn't be happier to meet them backstage for televised games. And I saw them quite often outside of gaming as well. These days you don't have the opportunities to develop friendships, so that's a bit hard for me.
I think that's probably the right way in a professional environment, but I'm from a period when everyone was like family, so I always look back and miss it a lot.
Messages to other progamers:
To Luxury: After winning the MSL, you aren't doing so well. I'd like to see you recover your past form. You might not believe it, but I'm not the kind of person who takes the initiative in meeting new people. So I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other back at the Race Wars tournament, and maybe we'll have a chance in the future. Maybe I can chat with you and your brother on Battle.net soon? (laughs)
To Savior: These days, I think there are Savior fans, and then there are JulyZerg fans. It's great if you can do well in Proleague, but I'd like it better if you'd do well in singles tournaments. The name Ma Jae Yoon has more significance there. I hope you make a great comeback, and return to your former glory.
To Jaedong: As another zerg player, it's a great pleasure to see you doing so well. But I'm a little worried about you playing so many games. It reminds me of myself back when I was on the POS team. You need to moderate your pace. I couldn't do that, and it lead to a big slump. I want you to be able to avoid that, so don't push yourself too far. I hope you can stay at the top longer than I did.
To Yarnc: You can play ZvZ and ZvT so well, so I think if we could get to know each other better it would be good for both of us. I'll teach you ZvP, and you can teach me your ZvZ secrets. Quickly now!
Excerpt from JulyZerg interview
Those who remember me still, and enjoy
Watching me play, I wish to offer great performances
So we can feel that emotion, when I lifted that trophy high
Park Sung Jun is capable!
STX Park Sung Jun.
