Iron Squid - NesTea and Symbol interviewed by Iron Squid

 

The god of Zerg rarely appears in international event, and his interviews are even rarer, we are really happy he accepted to answer our questions before travelling to Paris.

Iron-Squid: How did you prepare for your match against Jjakji?

Lim “NesTea” Jae Duk: I didn’t have to prepare anything special because back then I was in good shape because I had a lot of tournaments to play. I just played like I did in my practicing games.

Are you happy to go to Paris?

I am happy and very excited to go to Paris.

It will be your first time in Europe what do you expect?

I am very excited but there won’t be much time to go sightseeing so I will just focus on my games.

Are you excited to play in such a venue? Will the crowd generate some kind of stress for you?

I saw the venue on pictures and I am really looking forward to it. I get my power from the crowd so I hope a lot of people are coming up to watch me play.

Will you prepare some specific builds for your games?

I thought about 2-3 builds that I might use but it always depends on my opponent on the game.

Who do you think is the best in your 3 opponents?

I think MMA will be pretty tough to beat

Last year you and Mvp won nearly everything, how do you explain your recent struggle?

There is no special reason I just think that everyone else improved a lot. I will try to give my best for the fans and to show some good games for them!

What did you think about Iron Squid so far?

I am very happy with how this tournament was run.

You got 3rd  at IPL, do you feel that Iron Squid will be your first international?

I think with the Iron Squid tournament I have good chances to win my first foreign title.

You will only have to play two matches, will it allow you to play in perfect condition for both of them?

Well if you compare other foreign tournaments you always had to play a lot of games during one day so it’s very tiring. I am glad that I have to play just two games and that I can fully focus on those games.

Any word to convince the fans to cheer for you in Paris?

It is my first time in Europe for a tournament so I will try to show the best I can. I hope a lot of people are cheering for me. I hope I can come to Europe more often in the near future.

 

 

Symbol is the success story of Iron Squid, the player who beat all the odds to reach the semi-finals. We could not wait any longer to ask him a few questions and he was kind enough to answer

Iron-Squid: How did you prepare for your match against MarineKing?

Kang “Symbol” Dong Hyun: I really wanted to win against MKP so I checked all my replays against him. I wanted to see building orders, style, movements, timings… Just everything I wanted to know. My teammates and I made some counter builds which I used in game one and it worked.

When did you realize you had won?

After I realized that I was very well prepared and that my counter build worked I was confident to win this series.

Are you happy to go to Paris?

In my career as a pro gamer it is the first major tournament and still I can’t believe that this is true. I only played online till now and now I have the chance to go to Paris and to play on an awesome stage.

It will be your first time in Europe what do you expect?

I have a lot of expectations. It is my first time on a big stage and I am happy that it is in Europe. I am very impressed by the foreign fans and European fans seem to be more enthusiastic. I am filled with joy when I just think about the game that I will have in front of so many people.

Your team mate Polt travels a lot to international events did he give you any advice?

He told me that I have to take care of my condition. The long flights and the jetlag might interfere with my gameplay so I have to watch out.

Are you excited to play in such a venue? Will the crowd generate some kind of stress for you?

I was very stunned from the venue as I heard it is the biggest theater in Paris. I think it’s a huge thing to play in such a venue. I am not nervous that I have to play in front of a big crowd but I am very happy that I can show my gameplay to the people who are coming to see it.

Will you prepare some specific builds for your games?

For this tournament I prepared several builds and most of them are not known yet. The players that are playing against me have to watch out.

Who do you think is the best in your 3 opponents?

Nestea is a very impressive player, he is always in top shapes in tournaments. Even when Zerg wasn’t that strong he was able to win a major tournament.

You used builds perfectly adapted to beat MKP, will we see the same thing against NesTea?

Of course I made a lot of researches to beat him. Nestea is very good in doing mind games but it will not work on me. I am sure that I can win the showdown.

What did you think about Iron Squid so far?

It is a very big opportunity and I think it can be a very good start for me. The way to the finals was very difficult so I will take the chance that I got and will show some amazing games.

You are the story of this event, how did you feel from the qualifiers to the finals in Paris?

I never thought that I will make it that far. I always prepared step by step for every game. So I am very happy that I made it.

Any word to convince the fans to cheer for you in Paris?

I think there are a lot of people who do not know me. I will make sure you remember me after this tournament. I will be the symbol for Zerg and the best player in the world.