The new season of GosuCup SEA is underway and the first champion was crowned this weekend. Meet Pewpewurface, a Singaporean up-and-comer with a winning-is-all mentality who defeated one of the most decorated SEA players Aaronkoh this saturday to take away $300.
Curious what it feels like to be featured on our pages? Well, why don't you sign up for the GosuCup SEA tournaments every Saturday and take a shot at the $500 prize pool and 52 World Championship points? Registrations for Cup #2 are already open.
So, the new season of GosuCup starts with you in the highlights! Feeling proud?
Yup, considering I'm quite new to this game, as in the competitive scene.
I've seen you in a couple of the old GosuCups if I'm not mistaken? How and when did you get into competitive Hearthstone in the first place?
Well it started a few months ago, in the 3rd quarter of 2014 when my friend asked me to join a local HS tournament in Singapore. It was organised by Clickstorm and I got 5th using control warrrior. ever since I'm hooked to the competitive scene.
I also used to be an ex-Dota 1 professional player and I guess the old "winning is everything" mentality came alive again.
Looking back to 2014 and comparing it to today, how has the Hearthstone scene grown in SEA and Singapore in particularly? I remember that a lot of previous GosuCup winners said that it was small and struggling for sponsors or tournaments...
I think it’s a great start for Hearthstone in 2015. We have players from SEA going far in the Pinnacle 4 qualifers, although WaningMoon got knocked out in the 3-way tie for a final slot into the finals. And kudos to GosuGamers for hosting more competition for SEA players so that we can cultivate a competitive scene in SEA.
In Singapore we also have Clickstorm and Hearthstonealley trying to host more events. Indded the prizes/sponsors are little and few but I believe with the continuous effort from everyone, be it the players or the organisers, we can have a strong foothold in the HS competitive scene in SEA. I also do see a minor increase in the prize pool compared to 2014.
"It's a great start for Hearthstone in 2015."
It was a massive GosuCup this Saturday, almost 300 players showed up among which most of the GosuCup SEA 2014 finalists, who are the best of the best in the region. As a relative newcomer to competitive HS, were you taken aback by the enormity of the cup? What mindset do you have when you enter similar big tournaments?
I think due to my age (27) and previous multiple experience in big event as an esports player, it’s nothing too daunting to me. The most important thing to do in a big tournament is to stay calm, play your best and try not to give up even when the odds are not at your side. Because miracle were always made in the last minute. That is how my mentality is for every tournament, be it big or small.
I was tracking your run through the bracket and I expected that your grand final match against Aaron to be a tough one. Aaron, of course, is a former GosuCup champion himself and a bronze medalist of the last grand finals, but you swept him 3-0... Being both Singaporeans, I presume you faced each other, but how much did you know of him before you played him?
Actually no, I think I haven’t faced him before, I do not have any info regarding his deck/play style prior to the match. But I kind if expected him to be good since he beat WaningMoon.
I talked to WaningMoon, actually, he said that Aaron out-picked him. They had met in a tournament the former week and WaningMoon expected that Aaron will stick to his deck choices but he threw him a curve ball and there he was in the grand finals. Are you glad that happened, facing him and now WaningMoon?
Actually, I was hoping to meet WaningMoon and beating him in the GosuCup as I always loose to him in private scrims. But well, the games with Aaron were also of good quality so…
I watched the games and I remember that handlock mirror, that really was some great stuff! You both went down to fatigue but despite you having MalGanis and Jaraxxus, I remember you playing very conservatively despite having apparent advantage. Why so?
If I remember correctly, my HP was pretty low, like 8 or something in Jaraxxus form and he had been hoarding cards for many turns. Since he didn't play Jaraxxus, it could’ve also been a [card]Faceless Manipulator[/card] + [card]Arcane Golem[/card] + 2x [card]Power Overwhelming[/card] in the hand. From the cards he played before it seemed like it could be. Also since I had the advantage in board, there was no reason to overcommit, I could easily win over the next turns with Jaraxxus hero power.
"I was hoping to meet WaningMoon and beat him in GosuCup, since I always lose to him in private scrims."
Slow and steady wins the race, indeed. What will you be doing with the prize money? Spending it on Hearthstone or real life goodies?
I think it will go to the golden cards. [card]Emperor Thaurissan[/card] is too good not to craft golden. Plus I don't mind supporting fun games.
What else do you do besides playing Hearthstone? Being a Dota 1 former player, do you ever take a look at how Dota 2's developing?
Well other than work, friends, gym, nothing much. I do once in a while take a look at Dota 2 progress. Most elements of the game got better, the competitive scene overall has matured, in terms of tournament organisation, prizes venues, etc. It definitely has gone better over the years. Sadly SEA Dota has dropped out of the top tier group. I believe with the continuous support from everyone Hearthstone can reach the same "mature" phase.
In what way does it need to develop, besides growth?
Well sometimes for a game to grow competitively, the game itself must support it. For example, we can have the replay function to review our previous plays for each turn. The option to view tournaments in game and also the option to upload VODs immediately to social media/sites. Sometime interesting plays happen and you didn't happen to have a broadcasting software installed.
Content wise I would love to see alternate card art to keep those who have already collected all cards happy. It will also be good if you get a % chance to get a card pack/alternate card back for playing on ladder.
"I would love to see alternate card art."
In-client tournament system as well maybe?
Yes I missed that. Surely Blizzard will love to keep most the gamers in-game as much as possible. Compared to crawling over multiple site to track tournaments, it would be easier to track all in one place. It’s like an app - if its useful everyone will use it. If everything is found in game, there will be more game hours.
I want to go back to the SEA scene for a while. Last season, Philippines and Vietnam came first by points, then Malaysia won the grand finals, so that kind of left Singapore on the outside looking in, despite the country being rich on strong players. Why do you think that was the case? Are the other three countries really that ahead of yours in terms of quality players?
Well that's a hard question. I believe all players who managed to reach the grand finals proved that they are of a certain calibre since they need to maintain a streak of several rounds to get a seat. Hence I do not believe the result clearly display any big difference in skill level between the players as the stats suggest. Sometimes luck plays a factor, e.g predicting correctly your opponent’s first pick of the game. Reading too much may also be what your opponent is leading you into. Like you mentioned of WaningMoon losing to Aaron.
So, you guys have no intention of letting Philippines or Malaysia win this year then, right?
Not sure about the rest but I personally won’t becausing losing is not an option.
Do you think now with more open tournaments in SEA the region has a realistic chance of making it to the world finals?
Yup, more chance to scrim would definitely help a lot. There’s always a chance.
OK, final words to wrap the interview then? Are you already prepping to defend your title next week?
Haha.. Actually I didn't prepare for the previous one... And I'm climbing ladder now. So cross fingers.
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