ret about going to Korea, BlizzCon, CaStrO and ZvZ

ret: "The goal of course would be to make a Proleague appearance..."

Jos "ret" de Kroon is on many people's lips right now. Observing his games through the popular Livestream.com service, people noticed he stopped playing Terran versus Zerg to instead go for a mirror match. ret revealed in the GosuGamers forums that his switch was because he had put up a goal: Korea.

- I switched because I am currently trying to get to Korea to try to be a progamer, but I can't really say too much about it since nothing is certain yet, says ret to GosuGamers. He tells us one is only allowed to play one race in the Courage tournaments (tournaments you go through in order to get a progaming license).

- I also think it's better in general if you play only one race, adds ret.


ret playing Zerg at BlizzCon 2009.
It is quite usual to see foreign Zerg players switch to Terran when it comes to playing against other Zergs - what is the reason behind it?

- Well, I think it's because Zerg versus Zerg is very different from the other zerg matchups - and it's very fragile. For me it was just because playing Terran versus Zerg was a lot of fun back then, and I really hated Zerg versus Zerg, says ret.

What are the stuff in Zerg versus Zerg that's so difficult for you to get into? Timing?
- Yeah, it's just timing, making decisions how to spend your larvaes correctly. A wrong decision can change the outcome of the game in seconds. You really need a lot of experience I think. And I guess the mutalisk/scourge control is kind of difficult to master as well, explains ret.

When asking around on who the best foreign Zerg versus Zerg player is, many said Cristóbal "Dinot" Lledó. ret, who might be a freshie in the subject, agreed with the masses.

- He has shown great results in ZvZ lately so I guess it's him, he says.

Changing from a match-up you are used to to something completely different is hard. In ret's case, he says that his TvZ has lost skill since he started practicing with Zerg.

- I have lost some of my TvZ skill because I have been playing ZvZ. The situation isn't really optimal for me right now: I am not yet good enough in ZvZ to compete with the best Zerg players and my TvZ has lost a lot of skill because I'm not playing it all the time anymore, says ret.

- Difficult times for me if I run into Zerg players in foreign tournaments, states ret.

Last Saturday ret played against Jose "CaStrO" Castro in the 22nd ZOTAC Cup. A classic Terran versus Zerg best of five match, where ret only managed to win one game. The top-ranked Dutchman says that his results were partly due to his match-up training switch, but he also applauds CaStrO.

- He played pretty good against me, he says and wants to point out that the "pausing happening" had nothing to do with the results.

- It's really annoying, but oh well, it always happens when playing CaStrO. He paused twice in game two: once for five minutes and the second time for 15 minutes... sighs ret.
- And all that time I had to sit at my computer because he usually unpauses without asking the opponent if he's ready, he adds.

CaStrO's many pausings is supposed to be because of him working at an internet café. He needs to pause the game to take care of customers, understands GosuGamers.

Going to Korea - are your aims to enter a team, or do you intend just to go there and play in Courage? How big of a commitment are we talking about here?
- I would only go to Korea if I was accepted into a team. I have to give up at least a year of college for it so it wasn't an easy descision for me. And well, if I do go, I would fully dedicate myself to try the hardest as possible to get somewhere... And the goal of course would be to make a Proleague appearance. But I don't know if it's realistic. I am far away from having that kind of level right now, explains ret.

- But I would try my hardest and practise as much as possible, assures ret.


ret together with EffOrt and IdrA.
ret got a glimpse of what is to be expected in the progaming world in Korea at BlizzCon. And Jos did what many foreigners could only dream of - take a game off of Lee "NaDa" Yun Yeol.

- I still lost the series against Nada, so I was more dissapointed rather than happy about my one win, reveals ret.

What would you say was the highlight? You taking one game off of NaDa or defeating IdrA?
- Beating IdrA definately gave me a lot more satisfaction than taking the one game off Nada, says ret.

- I was really glad to beat IdrA because he had gotten the best of me in our recent ESL and other tournament encounters and it was about time I beat him in a series, adds ret.

However, the biggest highlight was meeting everyone:

- Artosis, Machine, Incontrol, IdrA, Skew, Tasteless, the SC2GG guys, a lot of people from TeamLiquid.net and random e-sports figures - everyone was super nice and I had a great time at BlizzCon, says ret and adds...
- Even though I got a little too wasted one night, he smiles.

- Watching EffOrt play live was definitely cool as well, that was some impressive stuff, adds ret.