Ilyes 'Stephano' Satouri, do you know that name? You should. It seems every portion of Stephano's career has been a headline for the Starcraft community. A name that people knew nothing about came out of nowhere and slowly but surely started dominating the scene. He beat Koreans such as MMA and insisted that he isn't bothered about where or what team his opponent is from, he would just take them as it comes.

It was October last year where Stephano really created a revolution. Winning IPL3 and ESWC seemed easy for him. Aswell as winning near enough everything, controversy would chase Stephano. Regardless of contract issues and tournament forfeits, I think Stephano's story boils down to one thing, his skill.



(Picture courtesy of Foxy)

You won your first tournament of 2012 last month when you beat Thorzain 4-0 in the final of the SHOUTcraft invitational 4. This tournament was very well received and a lot of people were extremely impressed by its “Tip Jar” system. How was the tournament for you?

Stephano: The tournament went really well for me, I think I didn't lose a single map in the bracket. Totalbiscuit always takes his job seriously and makes awesome tournament, he's almost never late on schedule etc, and this tip jar idea worked quite well, I think the fans gave like 1500 $ on tips overall, which is really impressive and motivating.

October was an extremely important month for you, winning both IPL 3 and winning the ESWC. What do you think you would have to do to top these accomplishments?

Stephano: I think the main reason I could get these wins is that I wasn't really considered as a TOP player back in that time, so players didn't expect me to do that well so I could surprise them. Right now it's way more difficult for me as everybody knows my playstyle and most of my strategies.

I dont think i have ever heard you complain about races or balance, how much do you believe it is down to the individual?

Stephano: I'm actually trying to convince myself it's "down to the individual " as you say. Otherwise, I could start some games telling myself : " my opponent race is stronger than mine, I can't beat him etc " and that's not really a good idea : D so at least I'm not reached by that.

With all good players comes controversy at some point, when it comes to you, do you find it easy to zone out of it or does it affect you?

Stephano: Well it does affect me a bit when I know that the people are right, like about my ONOG forfeit, I still keep thinking I should have acted differently and I do sometime think about it during a game so it can disturb me.

You seem to have made some pretty good friends in the Starcraft scene, did you expect to bond with people as much as you have?

Stephano: When I was younger and kind of a " fanboy " ( not really playing the game just watching to it ) I didn't expect pro player to be friends with each other. So when I started sc2 I didn't expect that to happen at all, but it did!

Your plans to quit Starcraft to go to university have been clear. Have re-evaluated these at all? Tell us where you currently stand.

Stephano: It's a pretty difficult choice for me , on the one hand I know I can't delay more my studies otherwise i'll never be done with that, and on the other hand, I feel like I should take advantage of my situation especially with the prizemoney of most of the tournament raising ( MLG / IPL etc ). But right now I'm still planning to quit, but it's not final.

Did Korea live up to your expectations?

Stephano: In the begining yes, I was really happy to be there and everybody was saying to me it would be the best thing if I want to improve. But after 10 totally identical days, it's started to be repetitive and I didn't feel I was really improving anymore.

What was the biggest pro and biggest con about living in Korea?

Stephano: The biggest pro is for sure the general level of the players on the ladder there, it's really easy to practice and to improve. The biggest con in my opinion would be that lack of entertainment.

Why don’t you want to participate in GSL?

Stephano: GSL is the best tournament in term of level but not in term of cash. There's way more money to make in Europe / USA than in Korea. That's why I've declined to spot offer to code A.

And finally, how much would you have to be paid to cut off your hair?

Stephano: That's a good question, I'll think about it, but I'm pretty sure most of the people won't be able to afford it!

I'd like to thank you and dignitas for the interview, my team Millenium and our sponsors for their support: cdiscount / MSI / Winamax and of course my familly for supporting me so much!

You can find me and Stephano on Twitter at @stevefarrant﻿ and @MillStephano.

All pictures are courtesy of Foxy.