Anytime: "I think Tossgirl plays really well."
"I am happy that I defeated Private First Class Reach."
"I am happy that I defeated Private First Class Reach."
- You succeeded in claiming your first win of the tournament.
▲ I was in danger of being eliminated so I played with a heavy heart. I had no choice but to play my best because depending on how I perform, different people from my team will advance. That is why I focused really hard for this match. Private First Class Reach lost to Tossgirl yesterday, so it became impossible for both of us to advance (laugh). I finally defeated Reach, whom I could not defeat before, so I feel very happy.
- It seems you did not have enough practice.
▲ Reach sits beside me and we know each other well, so I did not practice much. It was obvious to each other what we would do, so we predicted that the game will turn out similar to what actually happened today. I did not practice specially hard.
- This is the first time you have defeated Reach.
▲ Strangely, when I look back to all our previous encounters, I would lose games even when I had a 7:3 advantage. It happens both in live games and in practice. I am weak to just one player during practice, and that is Private First Class Reach. I was at an advantage too today, but I thought I would lose.
- Why do you think you were always on the losing end of a comeback in the matches between you two?
▲ I have an impatient personality so I tend to want to end games fast. But Private First Class Reach always tries his best to make a comeback and find loopholes. I think I have to learn that from him. We have been living together for around 8 months, and I am slowly learning that point from him.
- Being in the same team as Reach, there must be some sort of rivalry between you two.
▲ I initially thought that would happen but it turned out not to be the case. I hope Private First Class Reach can perform better than me. It is to reduce the tension between us, bit-by-bit. I hope he does well.
- You will be playing against Tossgirl next.
▲ I played once a long time ago in some event against Tossgirl. It was a one-sided win for me back then, but Tossgirl played really well yesterday. I intend to start practicing immediately once I return today. I wanted to practice PvT yesterday but I did not have any Terran practice partners to practice with. After Private First Class Reach lost yesterday, he went back to read the community's reactions and he was just in a daze after reading it. After seeing that, I felt that I must not lose. Private First Class YellOw said that if you lose to Tossgirl, the impact lasts for 7 years. He says he is still shaken by it.
- You have been picked by many to take this tournament, but your results aren't that good.
▲ I too thought that way. I thought that I would take this win tournament and said with confidence during the group stages. But losing to Boxer hyung right from the start was really big. I worked hard to play today without being nervous. But it still didn't turn out that well (laughs).
- Any final words?
▲ Private First Class Reach asked for clarification after watching YellOw and GoRush and their appearance on Star 7224. He requested to clarify that he never adheres to the military code of conduct. There was once when YellOw talked casually to a senior officer (laughs). (TN: In Korea and Japan, there are two ways of talking - casually (to someone of same age or younger) and 'respectfully' (to older people)) I think that that story was quite exaggerated.
Boxer: "Look forward to the 'Lim-Jin-Rok', finally happening after approx. 1500 days."
"After watching Reach lose to Tossgirl, I spent the whole night practicing."
"After watching Reach lose to Tossgirl, I spent the whole night practicing."
- You defeated Tossgirl, who defeated Reach yesterday.
▲ After watching Reach lose to Tossgirl yesterday, I spent the whole night practicing. I was practicing slowly, but seeing the match yesterday, I did not have a good feeling. I spent the whole not practicing, and did not even eat today. It was quite pressurising. That goes to show how much Tossgirl has improved. I recognised her as a real threat and prepared accordingly.
- Did you watch the match yesterday?
▲ It did not felt like watching another person's game. I felt that I could be in that position as well. Tossgirl won her first broadcasted game, and I think that in the world of progamers, keeping the momentum is very important. I felt that I should not be swayed by her momentum, so I went into hardcore-practice mode.
- How did you practice?
▲ I know an online practice partner called 'Jung Yung Sae', and he helped me greatly with practice. He helped me practice against various strategies, such as 8 rax, 12 CC and many other builds. I have never faced such a style before, and even before the game I was feeling nervous.
- You built a hidden proxy starport at 1 o'clock.
▲ I did not intend to build it there. I wanted to go for 1 fac 1 port, but Tossgirl scouted early, so I built it at 1 o'clock with my scouting SCV so that it wouldn't be scouted, because if I were to build it in my base, it would have been scouted. I also thought a lot about possible proxy buildings.
- Were you taken aback by Tossgirl's 2 port?
▲ I anticipated her to go 12 CC. But I have never faced 2 port in practice. When I saw the two wraiths, I knew she had went 2 port, so I immediately started building an engineering bay. Her going 2 port was okay, but she even did moving attack while using scans. It was then when I felt cold feet, and realised that she had prepared hard for today. If I had a starport in my main, I would have been in deep trouble.
- In this group-versus-group league, you only have YellOw left to face.
▲ The Zerg player who will practice with me has to understand the map 'Nostalgia' well. It is a very old map so recent players won't understand the map fully. I think I'll have to help them understand the map before practicing.
- Who do you want to face in the Round of 4?
▲ I have not yet thought about it. I have played a lot against Nada, so I want to play against sAviOr. It is because sAviOr is also a favourite to take this tournament.
- Any final words?
▲ I want to say thanks to Jung Yung Sae who helped me with practice even during his break. I feel that I am playing on a special stage for the first time in such a long period this Friday. I hope that many fans come down to watch and enjoy the 'Lim-Jin-Rok' match. It has been such a long time since my last game on a special stage, so I will definitely win. The 'Lim-Jin-Rok' is finally happening after 1500 days since it last happened, so I will prepare hard and defeat YellOw, who's been playing well lately.
sAviOr:"I want to play against Boxer hyung in the finals."
"Playing against Nal_rA hyung was very deep, meaningful and amazing."
"Playing against Nal_rA hyung was very deep, meaningful and amazing."
- Your thoughts on your successful entry into the Round of 4?
▲ It is a tournament that is held within a short period of time, so the Round of 4 is happening real fast. I have to do better from now on.
- You played against Nal_rA after such a long time.
▲ Nal_rA was playing after being a commentator for a long time, so the game flow felt different from last time. But it's been a long time since I last played against him, so it was very deep, meaningful and amazing.
- Did you practice a lot?
▲ I watched all of Nal_rA's games in the heritage league. And after that, I felt that I should not let my guard down and practiced heavily. I think that I prepared well.
- How did it feel to play against Nal_rA?
▲ I think that he was rather unlucky. He had the wrong simcity (because of wrong cannon placement). I capitalised on this so I was able to win. Other than that, I felt that I had to put in my best effort to win. I think that my early advantage was too great.
- Your match against oov was cancelled. You must have felt very disappointed.
▲ My fans were greatly looking forward to it, and I think many others were looking forward to it as well. I am very sad that the match had to be cancelled because of his injury. I hope he recovers quickly.
- You did not make it into the playoff entry. Is your team helping you to focus on the heritage league?
▲ Well... I'm not sure about that. I think that it was because now is an important period for us. Our team has to advance from the playoffs, and I too hope that I can make it into the heritage league finals.
- Boxer said that he wanted to play against you in the Round of 4.
▲ Kingdom first said in his interview that he wanted to face Boxer in the finals. I think that facing Boxer in the finals would be better than facing him in the Round of 4. Both of us are first in our groups, and if both of us win in the Round of 4, we'll be able to face each other in the finals.
- You will now be playing in SETEC instead of Yongsan.
▲ It has been a long time since I last played outdoors. I am looking forward to it, and I think it will be fun. I will definitely win 4-0 in my group so as to advance as first place in my group.
Sources:
Interview with Anytime
Interview with Boxer
Interview with sAviOr