Jaedong: Muss mich in Korea nicht mehr beweisen

Jaedong: I don’t have to prove myself in Korea anymore

Lee 'Jaedong' Jae Dong is ranked among the best StarCraft players of all time. readmore.de met the Korean before his match against San at DreamHack Winter 2014 to chat about the Korean scene, his life and StarCraft II.

readmore.de: You managed to survive the group stage in a convincing style. Now you will have to face San. What are your expectations? Are you confident?

Lee 'Jaedong' Jae Dong: Actually I am not too confident. Yesterday I played versus Protoss and I made a lot of mistakes. I think my ZvP is not very good at the moment. Of course I will do my best and try to win but I am not 100% sure if I can make it.

In early 2013 you have been the master of ZvZ and it was called JvZ, but the remaining matchups have not been that good. But during the Season 2 Finals all of a sudden your ZvP was good. Back then you utulized alot of Mutalisc play. Why can’t you play that anymore?

I don’t know to be honest. Maybe I will do that again but I need more practice time. Right now I travel too much and don’t have enough time to improve my game.

I don’t feel like I am down. I am not sure but I always had and have confidence versus the strongest players like TaeJa. As I said I think I need more practice and then I will be back as „The Tyrant“.

This year Flash’s star is shining again. What do you think how the former „Brood War gods“ are adapting to StarCraft II?

Well, it is a different but similar game. I think the good Brood War players can become high level StarCraft II players. But I am not sure if they will be the number one.

Is there anybody from StarCraft: Brood War who you expect to be top in StarCraft II? Maybe FanTaSy?

I don’t know. Probably the players who performed well in this year will be on top again next year. But I don’t have a specific name in mind.

Alright. You and Flash have been at HomeStory Cup X. Do you think it would have been good if you two would have met in the course of the tournament?

No…

Why?

I don’t know. Maybe it would have been interesting and fun in the final match but in the group stage it wouldn’t. So actually I don’t care about that.

Do you think that you are ready to face Flash?

Yes!

Back in the day you always said „I kill you“ while playing. You also said that you are always angry when playing. Is that still the case?

Sure. Of course I am.

Let’s take a look at StarCraft in Korea. What do you think about the Proleague Finals?

I did not watch it.

What? Why not?

(laughs) I just watch Zerg players. I don’t care about when other races play. Afterwards I checked the VODs of soO and Soulkey.

And what do you think about the crowd there?

Nothing. It is not important for me since I was not there. I did not play in the Proleague and (laughs) I don’t care.

Would you like to play Proleague in Korea again?

No. The Proleague schedule is so tight. Right now Proleague is not that interesting for me and if I want to play in Proleague again, I have to play so much to prepare a single match. That’s so stressful.

So you do not regret leaving Proleague and Korea?

Well, in Korea StarCraft II is smaller than StarCraft: Broodwar was. In my opinion I did my best over there and don’t need to prove myself again. I do not regret that I left Proleague and Korea. Right now I want to focus on my pro gaming life and I don’t have that much time left, maybe two years. And now I want to do what I want.

Two years? Because of army?

Yes. Maybe two or three years, not 100% sure. But just in case I want to do what I enjoy the most.

It’s the same topic with TaeJa. Can you understand why he actually wants to go the army rather than staying in eSports?

I don’t know. I just care about myself. (laughs)

You said it is important for you to be successful. What exactly makes you happy?

It is a mix of pride, my fans cheering for me when I play very well and this feeling when you win.

Do you still have fun just playing StarCraft II?

Yes I do. If I could play Brood War in the foreign tournaments nowadays my results would be much better and of course I would be happier. But now I don’t play that good but the people still believe in me and they wait for The Tyrant to return. That gives me the motivation to always do my best to win and make my fans happy.

So what is your plan for the next six months to maybe repeat what you did in 2013?

Well, I want to win. I don’t have that much time to think about a detailed plan for next year right now but I will at the end of this year.

Do you think visiting less tournaments and being in a team house would help you?

Yes it would…

… and is it an option for you?

I don’t know to be honest.

Okay. The last message is yours. Do you want to share something with the German community?

I am sorry about this years‘ results. I will change a lot in 2015. Thank you very much for always cheering for me. Dankeschön. (laughs)

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