2014 GSL Season 2 Interviews:
Code A Qualifiers
Code A Winners
Code S Ro32 Winners
Code S Ro16 Winners
Code S Ro8 Winners
Code S Ro4 Winners
2014 GSL Season 2 Grand Finals Winner
SK Telecom T1 Classic
Source: inven eSports
How do you feel about securing your first ever championship after six years?
I’m filled with a crossing of emotions. It was even more meaningful because it took so long. I think winning the championship became even more meaningful after the quarter-finals. I started feeling weird when I thought back to how hard I worked as a pro gamer all these years. But even though it was a weird feeling, for certain it was a good kind of weird feeling.
How did you feel when soO became your finals opponent?
I was glad that my teammate made it through, but I realized that it was going to become a tricky situation since soO is someone I practice with. Since I also had to prepare for Proleague, I tried to do image training for the finals whenever I got a break. I’m relieved because the end result went better than I expected.
Any particular game that was the most important during today’s finals?
Game one was the most important. I also think game three was important as well. Since Frost is a map where both Protoss and Zerg don’t have any advantages, I thought to myself that the person who won on that map would end up taking the overall victory.
It must not have been easy to prepare for the finals.
The thing is, even though this was a very important match individual league wise since it was a team kill, Proleague is also at a critical stage right now. I’m sure that I would have had to spend a lot more energy practicing if some other player from a different team had made it through. Anyways, we were both given the same amount of time to practice, so we just did the best we could without caring too much about how much time we were given.
How come you didn’t attempt any cannon rushes this time?
I had done it a lot of times during practice already, and I felt like soO was anticipating cannon rushes so he probably would have gone for pool before hatch. Also, I got this feeling that I would be better off playing economically with a full stomach rather than go for cannon rushes. I trusted my instincts.
You are now a champion. What kind of pro gamer do you want to become from here on out?
I will never allow myself to be satisfied with just one championship. I’m a champion as of right now, but I’m sure that the fans don’t see me as some kind of unstoppable force that can’t ever lose. I have a lot of matches ahead of me from here on out so I won’t miss my chance with this momentum. I will work harder so that I can show everyone that I am the kind of player with a force that won’t miss the chance to grab even more championships for rounds two and three.
During your career, you had to switch teams a couple of times, and you even switched races. What was your most difficult moment?
For some reasons, every time I established good results for a season, the team I would be on, like eSTRO and STX, would disband afterwards. Whenever I transfer to a new team I need time to adapt and I face a lot of difficult moments. It was difficult for me to keep switching teams.
It looked like you teared up a little during your championship interview. Anyone particular you were thinking of the most?
My parents. I don’t know if my parents would ever watch every match but they do keep track of my matches. The minute I won, I started thinking about my parents and all the hard work that I had put in over the years so I got emotional. I now understand why champions cry.
During the awards ceremony, it was very moving to see you embrace soO like that. What kind of relationship do you think you two will have from here on out?
Even from my perspective, I am sure that a second place finish is very disappointing. Even though soO says he’s okay, I’m sure that he’s struggling. I used to share a room with soO and we’re really close, so I’m going to buy food for him a lot and treat him well.
You went for stargate related strategies for every game today, and then you did an all-in for game six. How come?
Once the map order was set, I saw that things were going to get more and more difficult for Protoss as the match progressed. So I felt that an all-in would work about once or twice for the difficult maps. I was flustered for a bit since soO had a lot more hydras than I had anticipated, but I think things ended up working out just the way I had planned.
It looks like Protoss overwhelmingly defeats Zerg in WCS finals. What do you think about this?
I don’t think Protoss is a bad race. Zerg is a completely playable race so I can’t help but think that the player who prepares the best ends up winning.
How do you plan to use your $70,000 prize winnings?
I haven’t had the opportunity to properly treat my teammates to something delicious since there have been so many team kills and Proleague preparations lately. I want to use this opportunity to buy food for them a lot. After that, I guess I’ll think about what do next little by little.
Anything else you would like to say?
After a long career, I finally won my first individual league. I want to thank my fans for believing in me and cheering me on all this time, and I also want to thank my family. I will make sure that I don’t get conceited from here on out, and I will work hard so that I can keep this spot so I hope the fans will continue to cheer me on with no difference.
Methods to locating SC2 interviews!
- Go to the TL.net search bar and type in [Interview] and then search. You will find the most recent interviews at the top
- Go to the SC2 Interviews/Translation Archive
- Go to the liquipedia page for that player and look at the section titled "Interviews" http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/PartinG#Interviews
- Go to the liquipedia page for that specific tournament and find this icon: If you click on that icon, it will take you to the interview for that group's match winners