[WCS] Global Finals 2013 Day 1 - Page 24

Our next two interviewees share one thing in common - and perhaps only that one thing. duckdeok and Mvp are both WCS EU champions, with Mvp taking Season 1 over Stephano and duckdeok defeating MC in Season Two. However, apart from that, they're possibly as different as can be. While Mvp sports trophy cabinets and hundreds of thousands of dollars to his name, duckdeok is possibly most well known for his reaction to his one championship victory. Despite having very different career paths, both come into Blizzcon as some of the lower seeds, and both are looking to prove themselves again.

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duckdeok has always been one of those good, but unremarkable players that Korea seemed well populated with. From early days as LoveRipWeRRa, to playing under MVP.finale and now flying as duckdeok, he never really had that much opportunity to turn heads. It was to the pleasant surprise of many that he won WCS Europe, and made his raw, emotional mark on the scene. PixelNite is here to inform and entertain with a history of duckdeok.

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Hey, PixelNite. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! First off, give us a small introduction about yourself, and how you became a duckdeok fan.

Hello, I'm a French student who started following Starcraft II since it came out, and quickly found interest in the Korean SC2 scene through GSTL, KSL and other events. finale (his ID back then) was one of those players I found refreshing and new. So I kept an eye for him, and he made this great GSL 2012 Season 4/5 run, winning EWM, beating Jaedong in Code A , 4-0ing an Up & Down group with MC, Happy and falling close in his Code S group against PartinG, Polt and TaeJa! He showed some great control and 3 base timing, especially in WoL PvZ, and I instantly became a fan!

You're the owner of duckdeok's fan club. What was the moment that made you inspired enough to start it?

His games against Jaedong. I was following him for a while and knew he had potential, and seeing him beat Jaedong in one of the first matches of the first GSL Season with Kespa gods in it was great. I had no idea how to do a fanclub, so I hesitated a lot but ended up doing it after his cool code S games

duckdeok's first matchup at Blizzcon might be the most daunting yet - it's against INnoVation. How do you think he will fare? What sneaky things might he try out to take the win?

Well INnoVation doesn't really lose in TvP so duckdeok will have to come up with sharp timings to hold the scv pulls or to kill INnoVation before that stage. His PvT results were poor before S3 finals but his games against Maru were pretty good, especially his stargate all-in, so we might see one. INnoVation is the huge favourite, so I think we will see a few aggressive builds from duckdeok, he often makes them work with good follow ups so I will hope for that!

What do you think has been duckdeok's most memorable game in WCS this year, and why?

The obvious answer is his win against MC in Season 3 - and his reaction- but I was in vacation and only got to "watch" it trough the LR thread. So as far as I am concerned, I would say his PvP against NaNiwa in Season 2 finals. He beat NaNiwa in WCS Europe and had a few troubles with NaNiwa being BM... so the Nexus first in PvP against NaNiwa was really funny, and also confirmed duckdeok's great PvP.


Tell us one thing, or a story, about duckdeok that we might not know!

People might not be aware of this, but duckdeok is really cool with his fans despite his english, most of the people who interacted with him during live events were impressed, and he often replies on Twitter!

He also hates korean idol, kpop music and is more into electro / indie rock. And his favourite football player is Bale

If you could tell duckdeok one thing before his match at Blizzcon, what would it be?

Focus on your strenghts, your micro and enjoy it

Any last words or shoutouts?

Shoutout to duckdeok, a really funny and cool player, I definitely think he deserves even more fans: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=381658.

Follow him on Twitter too @positive2duck.

And thank you to the awesome TeamLiquid community and thank you Opterown for doing this!

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Mvp scarcely needs any introduction to any fan of StarCraft 2. As the most successful player of all-time in terms of titles, Mvp is well known as the King of Wings. Battling against debilitating cervical injuries, Mvp recently more often than not falls short of his lofty expectations. On the occasions that he does fly true, however, Mvp shatters all preconceptions and soars above all competitors. As a huge fan favourite coming into Blizzcon, Mvp is one to keep your eyes - and heart - open for. Dodgin explains why.

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Hey, Dodgin. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! First off, give us a small introduction about yourself, and how you became an Mvp fan.

Hi, I don't think there's much to introduce and most people reading this will already know me. I'm a member of the TL SC2 community and have been a regular in the tournaments section for a couple years now. For how I became a fan of Mvp, It's hard for me to pinpoint an exact moment since it was so long ago. I think the moment I became a big fan would be during MLG Anaheim 2011, where he won the tournament over MMA, DRG, Boxer among other non Korean players. It was then reinforced in the next season of GSL with his heavy Ghost usage in TvZ. Specifically the famous Julyzerg vs Mvp match on Metalopolis.

Mvp's opening match at WCS hasn't been quite determined yet, and he may face Polt or Jaedong. Who would you prefer him to play, and why?

In general I've always had more faith in Mvp's TvT than his TvZ. This is probably because of the many times he's played TvT in a tournament finals and won. Although his TvZ mech can be strong against weaker opponents I don't think it will hold up well against Jaedong. His bio play in TvZ while not bad, is not on the same level as some other players like Taeja, Polt or Innovation. Because Mech is so strong in TvT and Polt likes a bio style I think that would be much better match up for him, although they're both extremely strong opponents.

What do you think of Mvp's chances in the tournament after his opening match?

It really depends on the bracket, as most single elimination tournaments do. If Mvp ends up facing Polt first, I think the second round match will be easier for him if sOs advances, who has weak PvT compared to some other players like Dear. After that there is no easy match, he would likely face either Soulkey or Bomber in the semi finals which would be even tougher. Bomber having better TvT than Polt and Soulkey having better ZvT than Jaedong. It's really impossible to predict who could be in the finals from the bottom side of the bracket. If he ends up facing Jaedong first, he would likely have to play Dear in the second round, we would need some 2012 GSL Season 2 magic to have him pull out the win in that match. Overall I think his chances are decent to make the semi finals if he plays Polt first, and his chances are much worse if he faces Jaedong first, perhaps even going out in the first round.

What do you think has been Mvp' most memorable game in WCS this year?

Despite Mvp's poor performance in WCS season 2 and 3, he left us with a lot of entertaining games. It's hard for me to pick just one, but I suppose it would have to be the 9 vs 33 SCV comeback on Akilon Wastes against Innovation in the WCS Season 1 Finals. The game was Mech vs Bio where Mvp turtled after suffering a huge blow in the early game, somehow catching up and managing to march his mech army across the map just in time to catch Innovation's transition to Sky Terran. Bringing SCV's with him to build turrets at his forward offensive line.

What has been Mvp's most memorable moment in all his career for you? What has been his lowest point, and how did he recover?

There have been lots of good times and bad times for Mvp fans, the most memorable moment is without a doubt the GSL finals against Squirtle in 2012 Season 2. The finals started out being one sided in Mvp's favor, but Squirtle managed to turn it around with some amazing plays, of course including the Archon Toilet on Mvp's Battlecruiser army in game 5 on Metropolis. Concluding with the 2 rax all in on Atlantis Spaceship that nearly failed, only to have a miraculous comeback with a bunker completing in range of Squirtle's Nexus just in time, securing the win. The lowest point would probably be Homestory Cup 5, where he went out early in the tournament against opponent's that would be considered easy compared to what he had just faced to win his 4th GSL. Either that or his elimination from the GSL in 2013 Season 1 by soO. Both are painful memories

Tell us one thing, or a story, about Mvp that we might not know!

Mvp's dog looks great in sunglasses.

If you could tell Mvp one thing before his match at Blizzcon, what would it be?

Don't let Ryu Won look over your shoulder when you play.

Any last words or shoutouts?

Shoutout to Entirety for his work on the Mvp Fan Club as well as all the fans cheering for Mvp to win Blizzcon!

Also Shellgod, because Shellgod.