Action: Since I've achieved my first goal, now I want to make it to the semi finals
- You managed to make it to the round of 16 in very quickly. How does it feel?
▲ It's my first time going into the Starleague but rather than being satisfied at the round of 16, I want to climb even higher.
- You profited a lot from early Zerglings in both of the games
▲ I came in thinking that I would play offensively. But when I scouted my opponent continually with my drone, he took a lot of risks [T/N: "He was gutsy"]. So I made even more Zerglings and struck him hard.
- In the first game of the round of 36, you lost your first game without being able to do anything. Were you nervous since it was the first match?
▲ Since this was the first time playing in the Starleague, the environment was different from what I had expected. Because of that I was more nervous than I had expected. So I wasn't able to play like I had thought.
- Are you satisfied with your games after debuting in the Starleague?
▲ While I was a bit shaky against Protoss, I'm satisfied to a certain extent. While I did make a lot of mistakes in my Terran matchup, overall I am satisfied. But I'm still nervous since this is my first Starleague.
- This will be your first time doing the Starleague group selection.
▲ I think it'll be a really awkward stage. Starleague seems to change how they do group selection every time, so I'm curious how they'll run it this season. Since this is my first group selection I want to do well and I hope I get a good group
- What kind of groups would you like to get?
▲ I want to avoid Zergs. I'm still not confident in my Zerg play, so I want to play with Terran and Protoss.
- You may be selected by the winner since this is your first Starleague.
▲ Even if I'm chosen by players or races I dislike, I'm not planning on dodging anything. If I'm put into the group with the previous winner then I'll prepare diligently to do my best to win.
- What's your goal this season?
▲ My initial goal was round of 16. But now I got a little ambitious after playing today. Since I've met my 1st goal, now I want to make it to the semifinals.
- Anything you want to say?
▲ I had to go to Yeosoo yesterday to take my finals. But since my exams and my matches overlapped, my parents and my relatives took special care for me. The car didn't turn out the way we had thought so I came back on an airplane. I'm thankful [to them] for recognizing me and taking care of me.
Source: Fomos
Hiya: I want to show entertaining matches
- How does feel to finally make it to the round of 16?
▲ This time, I've been able to make it to the round of 16 for the first time, but I think how Starleague sets up their matches is really demanding to climb up to the round of 16. But I'm happy I met my first goal of making it to the round of 16.
- You must have felt burdened after dueling with Reach and winning in the first match of round of 36
▲ Even up to the Starleague preliminaries, I wanted Reach hyung to make it to the round of 16. But after the groups were established and I saw that I was playing him, I thought that if I had won, I would be heavily flamed [T/N: original "chafed", but used for criticism] if I had to put it vulgarly. But since I beat Reach hyung and made it to the round of 16, I will also do Reach hyung's share. I clenched my teeth even more playing today because I had won in the previous set.
- Your late game management was good in the first game.
▲ I thought I was at a huge disadvantage my first game, but I was able to win due to my opponent's mistake. I made a lot of mistakes, but Shine made even more mistakes so I got lucky.
- You lost to Zerglings rather helplessly on the second game.
▲ While I had expected it, the timing was a lot faster than I had expected. Shine is really good at that kind of players so I expected something like that but I was flustered since the timing was really fast, and because of that I lost rather helplessly.
- On the other hand you had a sweeping victory on the third set.
▲ While I considered Shine's style, I honestly did not think he would try the same strategy. But he played the same way as the first set, so I thought I would win if I could just survive early on.
- You kept saying in every interview "I want to do well in the individual leagues like Jaedong"
▲ Of course that's the case. But I don't think it has ever been this busy while I was a progamer. I'm in both individual leagues and in some time I have to prepare for WCG. But I want to prepare even more so I can repay the fans with entertaining games.
- You made an impression in the MSL group selection so there must be a lot of fans expecting something from the Starleague group selection.
▲ But I think the Starleague and the MSL group selection feels a little different. The MSL is rowdy with players other than myself doing a lot of ceremonies, but I think the Starleague is a little bit more like an award ceremony and feels a little bit more heavy. And since I've done continually done ceremonies in the MSL so it feels natural, but it's a bit awkward since this is my first Starleague. I'm still thinking about what I should do for the group ceremony. But since a lot of fans will be expecting something, I will not let them down. I will do my best to not disappoint my fans. I think it'll be entertaining if I do a funny ceremony in that strict atmosphere of the Starleague (laugh).
- Getting to the Proleague postseason will be extremely difficult now.
▲ We really tried hard but as we lost, we're at the verge of elimination. But if the other teams lose all their games and we win all our games, things can change. Because it hasn't completely ended yet, I will not let go of the strings of hope and continue diligently. And while we weren't able to show our best selves this season, next season we will be show the strong Hwaseung Oz from before.
- Is there a specific group you're hoping for from the Starleague group selection?
▲ After the round of 16 game ended, I knew after looking at the list of matches. There wasn't a player that had less name value than me. So I plan on playing in the round of 16 with the goal of learning a thing or two from the better players, rather than going for absolute victory.
- What is your second goal for this season?
▲ My goal now is to get a seed by making it into the semifinals. While I did a lot of standard plays recently, I want to play a lot of entertaining matches from the round of 16 and on. My goal is to show entertaining matches to the fans.
- Anything else you want to say?
▲ The fourth anniversary of my debut was our match against Ace. Many people in my fancafe and Hwaseung gallery gave me a lot of presents. I really wanted to win then so I could do an interview. I was disappointed that I had lost. But I want to borrow this opportunity to send them a message of thanks. I will try my best to be a more mature, grown-up HiyA at the 5th, 6th, 7th anniversary.
Source: Fomos