[16thSq] Kuro Profile Blog Joined April 2014 1196 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-13 18:52:16 #72



Episode 31 Summary



Disclaimer: This is a summary based off English parts, not a transcript or direct translation. For full answers, check the timestamps next to the questions.



0:48 Intro





5:00 How confident were you going into the GSL final?



Stats prepared very hard but his winrate during the practice games wasn't good, so he was actually concerned going into the booth.





6:32 Who was your practice partner?



There were several players who helped him out: teammate , former kt teammates and , and who was very keen in his championship and agreed to practice even on the day of the final. Stats does feel bad though that probably because of spending a lot of time practicing ZvP with him, didn't get to practice ZvZ and lost his





10:37 Where did the Stasis Ward idea come from?



That actually wasn't a thing among Protoss players up until the



Stats prepared very hard but his winrate during the practice games wasn't good, so he was actually concerned going into the booth.There were several players who helped him out: teammate Solar , former kt teammates Leenock and Losira , and ByuL who was very keen in his championship and agreed to practice even on the day of the final. Stats does feel bad though that probably because of spending a lot of time practicing ZvP with him, ByuL didn't get to practice ZvZ and lost his VSL match That actually wasn't a thing among Protoss players up until the GSL final . The day before the match, Stats realized that the Zergs are getting so good at defending their Drones that no matter how much Oracle harass he did with the Beam, it wasn't getting enough kills to make a difference. So in the last practice session he decided to give it a shot. He would use 2 Oracles from different directions and put Stasis Wards in mineral lines and all of the sudden the results were incredible. His practice partners were messaging him saying "this is ridiculous, this is OP". So on the night before the final he realized that he can make that work. Discord Questions

16:33 Which expansion is your favorite? What is your favorite unit?



Stats enjoyed all 3 expansions but if he had to pick a favorite, it would be, of course, LotV because of winning the championships. As for favorite unit, it was the Colossus but when LotV started, it lost a lot of its usefulness. So then he found the Oracle and the Adept. Also, as a Protoss player, he like Probes.





22:33 If you could make one balance change, what would it be?



Stats would bring the Colossus back to its HotS days.





25:00 What is your favorite televised match that you've played, besides GSL?



was a very pleasant memory for him because he himself couldn't believe how much confidence he had during the tournament. Of course, that was up until the finals when it turned into rather disappointing memory.





27:30 How did you like Poland?



It was his first time visiting Poland and he had to be there early, from the first stage of the bracket, so he spent there quite a while. One funny memory he would like to share is when one day he was really hungry and decided to just go and get some food on his own. He walked up to the hotel lobby staff with a map and asked them to point him to the nearest McDonald's. They did help him out, so he went there but it turned out that the employee at the cash register didn't speak a word of English. He doesn't speak much English himself but she didn't at all. Stats thought that is pretty bad situation but he saw that there were pictures of burgers behind, so he just pointed at them and that's how he ordered food.





31:40 kt/SKT shirt talk

Kind of a running joke of DankShrine, Toast wears kt hoodie for interviews with former kt members and Seeker has SKT shirt for those with former SKT members.





34:14 Who was the best drinker in the kt house? Any drinking stories?



kt teamhouse members generally aren't good drinkers but there were two who stood out and those two were the youngest members: and Leenock.



(Note: the second question changed into general favorite teamhouse story)

There was one really cold night in winter and they were practicing late. At that time the coaches weren't there, so together the players decided to jump into some League of Legends since they are not being supervised. But despite having a heater on, it was still freezing cold, so they bought another heater just for hands. But there was already a lot of electricity used in the practice room, so the moment they plugged in the heater, everything died. The next morning they explained everything to the coaches and apologized, but even though the supervisor is normally a calm person, he got furious and both him and coaches yelled at the players. Back then it was a sad story for Stats but now it's just funny.





42:07 How can people improve their mentality to play longer each day without raging? Any tips on practicing?



Stats practice tips:

1) Definitely look up progamer VoDs, see what they do and try to copy the efficiency of it.

2) Take plenty of breaks. If you practice for an hour, take a 10 min break. If you practice for a longer time, add a longer break after that. It's important to find a balance between practice time and breaks, don't overdo it.

3) Study how other players play, not just progamers, see what they do, try to follow it through.



Two important tips about mentality:

1) If you're losing, getting frustrated with yourself, take a break. If you keep on grinding with that temper, you will just end up feeding it. Let yourself relax, let your body reset.

2) Remind yourself that it's just a game, it's just ladder, don't beat up yourself too much. It's just practice, have fun with it.





51:14 How has it been being on Splyce? Do they contact you often or are they more hands off?



Stats is very grateful to





54:14 What do you miss the most about the teamhouse environment?



Now that he's living on his own, he has to feed himself and that's really hard. He also really misses the family-like environment - now there's no teammates to eat with, practice with, talk to and have fun together.





58:40 How did you feel when you saw the fans cheering for you with your Twitch emote in the crowd?



The fans actually had one extra sign which they gave to Stats to let him show it on stream, so he does present it on stream sometimes.



+ Show Spoiler [the signs in question] +









1:02:25 If you could fuse with another player, who would it be?



For Zerg, Stats would fuse with and they would become the ultimate player, even though they are currently rivals. For Terran, he would fuse with . For Protoss, it would be either or because Stats is good at mid/late game but he could use someone for early game. would be a good choice as well because he's very meticulous, like a robot (people in Korea call him Ju-phaGo, from AlphaGo) and Stats feels like he's similar, so probability of them making a mistake would be very low.



Suggested after-fusion names: Darts, Stark, StaVation (starvation??), Static



Stats enjoyed all 3 expansions but if he had to pick a favorite, it would be, of course, LotV because of winning the championships. As for favorite unit, it was the Colossus but when LotV started, it lost a lot of its usefulness. So then he found the Oracle and the Adept. Also, as a Protoss player, he like Probes.Stats would bring the Colossus back to its HotS days. IEM Katowice was a very pleasant memory for him because he himself couldn't believe how much confidence he had during the tournament. Of course, that was up until the finals when it turned into rather disappointing memory.It was his first time visiting Poland and he had to be there early, from the first stage of the bracket, so he spent there quite a while. One funny memory he would like to share is when one day he was really hungry and decided to just go and get some food on his own. He walked up to the hotel lobby staff with a map and asked them to point him to the nearest McDonald's. They did help him out, so he went there but it turned out that the employee at the cash register didn't speak a word of English. He doesn't speak much English himself but she didn't at all. Stats thought that is pretty bad situation but he saw that there were pictures of burgers behind, so he just pointed at them and that's how he ordered food.kt teamhouse members generally aren't good drinkers but there were two who stood out and those two were the youngest members: Trust andThere was one really cold night in winter and they were practicing late. At that time the coaches weren't there, so together the players decided to jump into some League of Legends since they are not being supervised. But despite having a heater on, it was still freezing cold, so they bought another heater just for hands. But there was already a lot of electricity used in the practice room, so the moment they plugged in the heater, everything died. The next morning they explained everything to the coaches and apologized, but even though the supervisor is normally a calm person, he got furious and both him and coaches yelled at the players. Back then it was a sad story for Stats but now it's just funny.Stats practice tips:1) Definitely look up progamer VoDs, see what they do and try to copy the efficiency of it.2) Take plenty of breaks. If you practice for an hour, take a 10 min break. If you practice for a longer time, add a longer break after that. It's important to find a balance between practice time and breaks, don't overdo it.3) Study how other players play, not just progamers, see what they do, try to follow it through.Two important tips about mentality:1) If you're losing, getting frustrated with yourself, take a break. If you keep on grinding with that temper, you will just end up feeding it. Let yourself relax, let your body reset.2) Remind yourself that it's just a game, it's just ladder, don't beat up yourself too much. It's just practice, have fun with it.Stats is very grateful to Splyce for taking him in after KeSPA teams disbanded. They are treating him well so far. He talks to the manager Michael "Swizz" Butterworth on Skype almost daily, in Stats' opinion he's a great person.Now that he's living on his own, he has to feed himself and that's really hard. He also really misses the family-like environment - now there's no teammates to eat with, practice with, talk to and have fun together.The fans actually had one extra sign which they gave to Stats to let him show it on stream, so he does present it on stream sometimes.For Zerg, Stats would fuse with Dark and they would become the ultimate player, even though they are currently rivals. For Terran, he would fuse with INnoVation . For Protoss, it would be either herO or Classic because Stats is good at mid/late game but he could use someone for early game. Zest would be a good choice as well because he's very meticulous, like a robot (people in Korea call him Ju-phaGo, from AlphaGo) and Stats feels like he's similar, so probability of them making a mistake would be very low.Suggested after-fusion names: Darts, Stark, StaVation (starvation??), Static Reddit Questions

1:12:07 What do you do to pass the time when you travel?



During flight he sleeps or watches movies. Outside of flights, he usually spends the time talking to other players who are traveling with him.





1:15:46 Are you taking English classes?



Stats has been taking private tutoring lessons to practice his English. Though recently it's been difficult due to playing in many tournaments. (SSL, GSL, VSL...)





1:17:23 Are you planning to get a trophy case now? For all the future trophies coming in.



Stats thinks that it's a little too early for that. If he wins few more trophies, he will think about it. If he does get a trophy case, he will probably move to a bigger place because his current flat is quite small.





1:21:53 Will Splyce sign any new players?



+ Show Spoiler [Twitch Clip] +





1:23:42 Do you think you're the best Protoss player in the world?



Looking at the results, Stats understands why people would call him the best Protoss right now. But personally he feels that there's no such thing as constantly best player, it doesn't last forever, so that title isn't something he focuses on. He became a progamer to win championships and have fun. If he did focus on a particular title, keeping it could become too much pressure.





1:28:32 Why did you make your ID "Stats"?



In original StarCraft typing /stats would show your statistics. Stats thought that it's cool and people generally don't use it as an ID, so he picked it as his name.





1:30:20 If you could change your ID what would it be?



Stats thinks that his ID feels a bit bland but for example "Dark" has a power behind it, a sense of fear. So he would like to change it to something powerful. But it's too late to do so in this lifetime, maybe in the next one.



Toast suggested that it should be "POWER!". Stats found that name a bit aggressive at first but after second thought he actually liked it.





1:35:56 What was your dream job as a kid?



Stats' parents wanted him to be a teacher but he always wanted to be a progamer.





1:37:50 Which players would you pick for your VSL team?



Stats' dream team would have a representation for each race and would consist of "invincible" players: Solar, ByuN, herO.





1:40:45 Can you tell us about the time when you were known as the "Troublemaker of kt"?



Back in the Brood War days, Stats joined the kt teamhouse as the youngest member. He was trying to get used to the new environment and everyone was older than him, so he behaved like he normally does with his family, older brothers. He usually joked a lot with his relatives and messed around with them but when he did that with people at the teamhouse, they considered it wrong and would reprimand him. Looking at it now Stats can laugh about it but it was a very sad part of his life. Back then he would lock himself in the bathroom and cry.





1:44:54 If you were stranded on an island, which 3 progamers would you have with you and why?



Stats thought about it for a while and said that he wants to pick someone from kt because he has lived with them but all kt people would be so useless because they're lazy. Eventually, he picked:

1) because he's the youngest, so Stats can boss him around. Stats doesn't even have to tell him what to do, just knows.

2) for the manpower.

3) Headcoach H.O.T-Forever because he's very wise, so he can get them out of tough spots. They call him King Salomon.



During flight he sleeps or watches movies. Outside of flights, he usually spends the time talking to other players who are traveling with him.Stats has been taking private tutoring lessons to practice his English. Though recently it's been difficult due to playing in many tournaments. (SSL, GSL, VSL...)Stats thinks that it's a little too early for that. If he wins few more trophies, he will think about it. If he does get a trophy case, he will probably move to a bigger place because his current flat is quite small.Looking at the results, Stats understands why people would call him the best Protoss right now. But personally he feels that there's no such thing as constantly best player, it doesn't last forever, so that title isn't something he focuses on. He became a progamer to win championships and have fun. If he did focus on a particular title, keeping it could become too much pressure.In original StarCraft typing /stats would show your statistics. Stats thought that it's cool and people generally don't use it as an ID, so he picked it as his name.Stats thinks that his ID feels a bit bland but for example "Dark" has a power behind it, a sense of fear. So he would like to change it to something powerful. But it's too late to do so in this lifetime, maybe in the next one.Toast suggested that it should be "POWER!". Stats found that name a bit aggressive at first but after second thought he actually liked it.Stats' parents wanted him to be a teacher but he always wanted to be a progamer.Stats' dream team would have a representation for each race and would consist of "invincible" players:Back in the Brood War days, Stats joined the kt teamhouse as the youngest member. He was trying to get used to the new environment and everyone was older than him, so he behaved like he normally does with his family, older brothers. He usually joked a lot with his relatives and messed around with them but when he did that with people at the teamhouse, they considered it wrong and would reprimand him. Looking at it now Stats can laugh about it but it was a very sad part of his life. Back then he would lock himself in the bathroom and cry.Stats thought about it for a while and said that he wants to pick someone from kt because he has lived with them but all kt people would be so useless because they're lazy. Eventually, he picked:1) Leenock because he's the youngest, so Stats can boss him around. Stats doesn't even have to tell him what to do, Leenock just knows.2) Zest for the manpower.3) Headcoachbecause he's very wise, so he can get them out of tough spots. They call him King Salomon. Chat Questions

1:51:59 Can you turn this picture into an emote? + Show Spoiler +



Stats understands that people would love it as an emote but from his point of view he has to think about it because it's quite embarrassing photo.

Stats also confirmed that he really was knocked out drunk on that photo and not just sleeping.



Stats understands that people would love it as an emote but from his point of view he has to think about it because it's quite embarrassing photo.Stats also confirmed that he really was knocked out drunk on that photo and not just sleeping. English Questions

1:55:50 What's your favorite animal?



+ Show Spoiler [Twitch Clips] +







1:57:15 What's your favorite Korean and American food?



For Korean food, it's 삼겹살 (sliced pork belly). For American, In-N-Out hamburgers.



For Korean food, it's 삼겹살 (sliced pork belly). For American, In-N-Out hamburgers. Chat Questions - Continuation

2:00:30 Will you be setting up a Discord server for your foreign fans?



He thinks it's a cool idea but he doesn't really know how to do so, so he will need help.

(Note: don't worry, guys, we will take care of that )





2:03:22 How do you feel about the potential rematch against TY in the upcoming Super Tournament?



Stats already forgot about the





2:05:34 Why did the police get called during the BaseTradeTV teamhouse 24h stream?



They were having fun but they were pretty loud and it was late at night, so the downstairs neighbors were unhappy and complained to the front office. The front door man called them, Major picked up and when he realized that something's going on, asked one of the Koreans to come over and talk to them. They let everyone know that they have to be quiet but it didn't work. So since it was still loud, eventually the neighbors called the police. People were freaked out when the police walked in. They explained that they're progamers and are doing a 24h stream and are catching up with each other. The police said that streaming is fine but they still shouldn't be this loud late at night and foreigners should abide by Korean laws as well when they are in Korea. So the progamers apologized, the police left and thankfully, it ended at that.





2:13:45 Do you think KeSPA had validity in restricting player streams? Would you have streamed back then if you could?



Back then the progamers had was contracted with Razer and he was the first kt player to stream. When Stats saw him stream, he thought that it's really cool and he wanted to do that too. He also doesn't think streaming makes your skills deteriorate because it's fun and when you're having fun, you perform better. In Stats' opinion streaming back then could actually have a positive effect because they could have approached the game with more enjoying mindset.





2:18:30 How do you feel about the upcoming map pool?



Stats understands that there are new maps coming but he was too busy to check them out. He thinks though that it's actually fine because he's used to adapting, so even if he doesn't look at the maps before the season starts, he will be able to figure it out.



Taking a quick look at the maps, Stats thinks it should be a good map pool, he likes that there is a lot of variety. He recognizes some of the maps (Odyssey/Windwaker, Ascension to Aiur) because he had a chance to try them in the





2:26:44 Do you think you could be a pro in another game?



In Stats' opinion, he would be able to translate his SC2 skills to another game because he has the mindset and the experience, he knows what it's like to practice hard to get good at a game. If he did play another game professionally, it would be League of Legends, but on a second thought, he could try DotA 2 as well. He heard that DotA 2 prize money is insane and it made him realize that maybe he became a pro in the wrong game.





2:37:24 If you could trade places with David Kim, what would you change?



If David Kim played Protoss, Stats would nerf Adepts and increase the Shade cooldown by 20s. He would also nerf Guardian Shield on Sentries and make Oracles slow.



If David Kim played Terran, the range of Widow Mines would shrink a lot and Liberator zone would be right under the unit (no range). The Medivacs would have no boost but the button would stay there just so David can click on it but nothing would happen.



If David Kim played Zerg, Stats would get rid of the creep benefits like health regeneration, nerf Banelings and Ultralisks, and make Brood Lords even slower, so they can't get away.



(Note: AVEX actually created the "StatsCraft", so you can try it out yourself.) + Show Spoiler +





2:45:53 Obligatory "David Kim Pls"



This time with A+ acting.





2:48:16 Are you going to play StarCraft: Remastered? If so, are you going to try and compete?



Stats has no plans on switching to StarCraft: Remastered. He loves StarCraft 2 and will keep playing it until there is literally no tournaments left.





2:49:16 Stats' comments



Stats expressed his gratitude that a show like this exists which makes it easier for Korean progamers to connect with foreign fans.





2:51:25 Can you work on ceremonies?



Stats understands the importance of progamers doing ceremonies but it's hard because as a player, you're so focused on the match in front of you that after winning you just feel relief that the pressure is over, you don't really think about what ceremony to do. But he will try to think of one for the fans.





2:54:00 Final words





He thinks it's a cool idea but he doesn't really know how to do so, so he will need help.Stats already forgot about the IEM and he is very busy with other tournaments so he didn't really have the time to think about it. But he doesn't want to go into the tournament with a mindset focused on revenge.They were having fun but they were pretty loud and it was late at night, so the downstairs neighbors were unhappy and complained to the front office. The front door man called them, Major picked up and when he realized that something's going on, asked one of the Koreans to come over and talk to them. They let everyone know that they have to be quiet but it didn't work. So since it was still loud, eventually the neighbors called the police. People were freaked out when the police walked in. They explained that they're progamers and are doing a 24h stream and are catching up with each other. The police said that streaming is fine but they still shouldn't be this loud late at night and foreigners should abide by Korean laws as well when they are in Korea. So the progamers apologized, the police left and thankfully, it ended at that.Back then the progamers had Proleague to prepare for, so their daily schedule was really busy, they didn't have the time to think about streaming. But Flash was contracted with Razer and he was the first kt player to stream. When Stats saw him stream, he thought that it's really cool and he wanted to do that too. He also doesn't think streaming makes your skills deteriorate because it's fun and when you're having fun, you perform better. In Stats' opinion streaming back then could actually have a positive effect because they could have approached the game with more enjoying mindset.Stats understands that there are new maps coming but he was too busy to check them out. He thinks though that it's actually fine because he's used to adapting, so even if he doesn't look at the maps before the season starts, he will be able to figure it out.Taking a quick look at the maps, Stats thinks it should be a good map pool, he likes that there is a lot of variety. He recognizes some of the maps (Odyssey/Windwaker, Ascension to Aiur) because he had a chance to try them in the BaseTradeTV Map Test Tournament that he won. He never played on the other 3 new maps (Sequencer, Defender's Landing, Blood Boil) but he thinks that they look interesting, so we should just wait and see what happens.In Stats' opinion, he would be able to translate his SC2 skills to another game because he has the mindset and the experience, he knows what it's like to practice hard to get good at a game. If he did play another game professionally, it would be League of Legends, but on a second thought, he could try DotA 2 as well. He heard that DotA 2 prize money is insane and it made him realize that maybe he became a pro in the wrong game.If David Kim played Protoss, Stats would nerf Adepts and increase the Shade cooldown by 20s. He would also nerf Guardian Shield on Sentries and make Oracles slow.If David Kim played Terran, the range of Widow Mines would shrink a lot and Liberator zone would be right under the unit (no range). The Medivacs would have no boost but the button would stay there just so David can click on it but nothing would happen.If David Kim played Zerg, Stats would get rid of the creep benefits like health regeneration, nerf Banelings and Ultralisks, and make Brood Lords even slower, so they can't get away.This time with A+ acting. + Show Spoiler [Twitch Clip] + Stats has no plans on switching to StarCraft: Remastered. He loves StarCraft 2 and will keep playing it until there is literally no tournaments left.Stats expressed his gratitude that a show like this exists which makes it easier for Korean progamers to connect with foreign fans.Stats understands the importance of progamers doing ceremonies but it's hard because as a player, you're so focused on the match in front of you that after winning you just feel relief that the pressure is over, you don't really think about what ceremony to do. But he will try to think of one for the fans. If you enjoyed the interview, please check out other episodes and look forward to the next ones!

P.S. For whatever reason the Twitch clips don't want to embed :/ AKA 16thSquadSanseki || @16thSquadS on Twitter || Leader of @CranKyDucklings || Follow @StarCraftEsport for tournament updates~ || @SC2birthdays for reminders