https://goodgame.ru/news/32014/ has recently done an interview with FlaSh. With the permission of GoodGame I have translated it to English. Huge thanks to Kirill “Rus_Brain” Patyrykin for arranging the interview and to Alexey Tishschenko for the translation from Korean to Russian and vice versa.
Q. Do you have a wife / kids or girlfriend?
A: In the past I have talked about my significant other and made it public, but it had a negative effect and we broke up. Now taught by bitter experience, if I meet the one I want to marry, I will talk about it only after I legalize my relationship. But not before. Please understand and accept my decision.
Q:Do you have a university degree or doctorate? What are your future plans?
A: I’m still studying at the university. I’m getting a gaming education (game making or marketing) and I’m not sure if this is going to be my future job. Due to the fact that I have disappointed my viewers and fans with the participation in the recent crypto scandal, I have no thoughts and plans in this regard. At the moment I’m away from the community and I’m focused on finishing my military service.
Do you consider yourself the best in the RTS genre? If not, who could be the best? Who was the best in the period 2010-2012?
A: At least in StarCraft I consider myself the best. However, not all RTS games are created equal. There are players who hold leading positions in their disciplines. Also, if I’m going to play WarCraft or StarCraft 2, I don’t think I’ll be as good as the top players. I won’t dare to name the best player in general, but when it comes to StarCraft 1 – I’m the best here. As for the period 2010-2012 the SC1 and SC2 were combined in season 2012, so I would not take it into account as a full-fledged one. But if you look at the KeSPA ranking you will see that it was me who ranked first.
Q: The most significant and memorable match in your career?
A: I remember every final that I played. I am the record holder for the number of victories in tournaments, but this doesn’t dull my emotions from the next championships. I remember the finals against EffOrt the most. I lost to him on both OSL and ASL. I hope there will be an opportunity to play him in the final again when he will be in his best form. I want revenge
Q: Do you have cats or dogs?
A: I don’t have any pets.
Q:How is your hand? Was the operation expensive?
A: To be honest everything is bad. In addition to injuries to my wrist, I have also been diagnosed with a symptom called radial nerve entrapment syndrome. An operation was performed. The doctor told me that the injuries I received were comparable to those of the baseball players. I don’t know the cost of the operation as it was done under insurance. It wasn’t the cost that worried me more, but the pain that the injury caused me. Most of the StarCraft players in Korea play this game with overwhelming pain.
Q: Are you often recognized on the street?
A: In the past when I was a professional player, many people recognized me. At the moment I don’t leave the house that often, so it’s hard to tell. But after the pro scene was eliminated along with star league, I think my fame has faded a lot.
Q: In the last ASL you played random. What do you think of it? In the foreign community there is a perception that protoss is the easiest race to play. What do you think?
A: The reason why I played random at ASL is simple – just for fun. And it’s true that protoss is relatively easy to play, but that’s only at a low level. This however doesn’t work on strong B ranks and A to S ranks. This also applies to the professional scene – skill is everything, not the race.
Q: League of Legends is very popular in South Korea. Many SC2 players are now managers or coaches of the teams for this game. Have you received any invites from the LoL teams?
A: I wasn’t interested in the position of a coach in the LoL team, I rather wanted to be the owner. I had an opportunity to acquire a professional team. I saw myself as a club owner, not a manager or a coach. A close friend of mine once owned a LoL team. I told him: “Let me know if you decide to sell the team”. But he sold it to someone else without telling me.
What can you say about your level playing random?
A:I have been playing StarCraft 8-10 hours every day for over 10 years. I would say that it’s easier to win against me when I play random. I have a high skill of playing for all races.
Q: What’s your schedule? How much time do you spend on analyzing replays, or is it no longer required? What do you think about the distribution of tasks when working in a team e.g. one is playing, the second is working with timings, the third is watching replays?
A: This question was relevant when Proleague existed. In the days of the professional scene all preparation took place before the start of the game. The players sat on the bench, cheered for the team and waited for their turn. Immediately before the match, 10 minutes were given to set up the devices.
Have you ever regretted dedicating your life to esports?
A: Never. StarCraft is the game that made me who I am today. I have never regretted becoming a StarCraft player.
What do you think about the development of the RTS genre in the future?
A: I think the RTS games that will last for a long time are SC2 and WC3, because they have an influx of new players in both the Korean and foreign scenes. The same cannot be said about SC1. Both the Korean and foreign scenes need support to attract new players and extend their lives.
Have you ever tried “Korean-style carrots”? (Note from v1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morkovcha )
A: No, I’ve never tried it. I assume that this dish is not familiar to Koreans.
Do you remember the game against Jangbi which ended in a draw?
A: Yes, it was a really fun game, one of few games that ended in a draw. Haha. It made no sense for me to attack in that situation, Jangbi was also not sure about the success of his attack. Since we both were dry and were not going to attack each other, it was decided to replay this match.
Any last words for your overseas fans?
A: Thank you for your support and your love, and if anything, please understand and forgive (Note from translator: it seems to be about crypto scandal)
Thanks to v1 for translating the interview from Russian to English and Rus_Brain for granting us permission to post it here on TL.
Questions by: Alexey Tishschenko
Editors: BLinD-RawR
Graphics: v1
Source: https://tl.net/forum/brood-war/583277-interview-flash-by-goodgameru
