Premier United Kingdom player Liam "Ourk" Streames and American veteran Nick "lastshadow" De Cesare sign with Team GosuGamers to become the fourth and fifth member of the StarCraft 2 squad.
GosuGamers.SC2
Patrick "iNfeRnaL" Möller
Mattias "Naugrim" Ottosson
Tobias "ZpuX" Nilsson
Nick "lastshadow" De Cesare
Liam "Ourk" Streames
We are happy to announce new muscle to Team GosuGamers. Liam "Ourk" Streames can title himself as the premier player in United Kingdom after the victory in the ESL Pro Series UK disciple. The Terran player will bring a fresh wind into our team, aged only 17. Patrick "iNfeRnaL" Möller Mattias "Naugrim" Ottosson Tobias "ZpuX" Nilsson Nick "lastshadow" De Cesare Liam "Ourk" StreamesWe can also reveal the comeback of Nick "lastshadow" De Cesare. While having a dented reputation from his younger days in StarCraft 1, GosuGamers believe in Nick's future in StarCraft 2. Coming back from a six-months break, the dedicated Terran has been playing an immense number of games the past week to get back into shape.
Nick "lastshadow" de Cesare - GosuGamers SC2 team playerHey Nick, you just told me you're stuck with an ice bag on your hand. Tell me about what happened!
- Well, I just got back into StarCraft2 literally about a week ago, so in order to catch up all I've been doing is grinding ladder/practice games, and I played exactly 583 games in the last seven days, so my left hand has taken quite a beating :(
That's like 80 or so games a day! How have you been progressing? Tell us a little about the struggles and what you feel you were needed to catch up on.
- Well, when I just asked a few friends of mine for some games just expecting to get crushed because I've basically been gone for six months with the exception of playing in a LAN in December. To my surprise I won the games against them and so decided that maybe ladder wouldn't be so diffucult on my current mechanics, so I immediately jumped right into that. After a bit of ladder I asked around for a smurf account I could use so that I could practice practice practice with zero interruptions with the exception of practice games or streaming for select people. For my struggles though, it's definitely my hands and mechanics. I often get so angry at my inability to do some things that used to be so easy to me. And my hands get really cramped/tired if I try to push my APM up high in order to multitask a lot, so really it's just been me battling against my hands to do the things I need them to. I guess the other thing is adapting to all the new play styles, and all the new build orders and timings. I'm studying as much as I can on everything and doing so as fast as possible.
So, now that you will be playing for GosuGamers, bearing the GG tag and all, how do you see yourself evolve as a player?
- It's really funny you asked that, because about a month ago without even knowing anything about the GG team, I was talking with iNfeRnaL on Facebook and he mentioned being apart of the team. I then messaged marCoon asking what he knew about it, then to my surprise he told me he was the manager of it etc. I was really happy for him and Pat, then to my surprise he actually offered me a chance to join if I came back to SC2. This instantly resparked my passion because of the honor to play for such a prestigious site and also to be apart of such a family-oriented team. Me/Marko/iNfernal were very very close friends from StarCraft 1, and Zpux and Naugrim were practice partners for me towards the end of my SC1 career so I know them both very well too. It's just such a perfect oppurtunity and it came at the perfect timing in my life. My goals are the same as before, to become the absolute best of my respective race in the foreign scene. And now it seems much more possible than ever the way my life has turned out these last few months giving SC2 a huge window for me.
Tell us a bit about your StarCraft career, both in 1 & 2. What do you see as your biggest achievements?
- Well, my StarCraft 1 career isn't something I'm proud of, but I'm semi-thankful for how it ended. I was infamous for my map-rigging many years back, and it stuck with me for a very long time. I took a lot of flame from a lot of people, but it really only pushed me more to want to become better. However towards the end of my Starcraft 1 career I gained quite a few friendships that just snowballed into amazing connections. My last few months in Starcraft 1 were my happiest, I had the best practice partners in the foreign scene, and for the most part it seemed like a ton of people were starting to forget/forgive the things I had done years back. As far as achievements go, I don't really have any from Starcraft 1, just my ladder rankings and some games that I'm really proud of. As far as Starcraft 2 I literally started at retail, and in less than a month had already won numerous tournaments small or large, most notably GosuCup Qualifier #1 over Hayder, and placing 4th at MLG Raleigh with only 3 weeks of practice under my belt. This compared to the months and months all the beta players had. After that some nice finishings in IEM qualifiers and other minor-prize tournaments. I guess what people might most "remember" me for in Starcraft:II was my Reaper play in August 2010 and/or my TvZ 100% win streak in official ELO games, until IdrA broke it.
What do you think of the current patch updates? Did they affect your play?
- I've been talking about this so much recently with infernal and whatnot, and I think fungal growth is broken. Chain-fungal just kills marines instantly, and their bonus vs armored is just unfair vs protoss. However no it hasn't affected me at all, I only play mech in TvZ, and I play a mixture of Mech or Bio in TvP, but lately I've been leaning towards Bio and well, the removal of the Khaydarin Amulet for Protoss helps that a ton. (smiles) But I think there is absolutely no reason not to play mech in TvZ, it is the absolute most cost-effective style TvZ imo and the only style that can "recover" in the match-up. However of course I think that Bio-Mech is okay too, but never just pure Bio, at least not for me.
What does the near future have in stall for you? Any events we should look for you?
- Once I'm in shape and whatnot, I'll be playing every online tournament possible, and I'll be attending every MLG with the exception of Dallas. I'm really lucky too as far as MLG goes, the Championship is in my home state of Rhode Island lol, the smallest state in the continental USA. I can literally walkt to MLG from my house, even though its in the nieghboring city, going to be so neat. And of course I'll continue particiapating in the New England Star League (NESL) that is being hosted by tournamented director Drogith for the New England states.
As you said earlier you, iNfeRnaL and Marko go way back together, so - could you tell us anything about them that we might not know already?
- Well, I met iNfeRnaL through MorroW. We were in Op ToT) together and MorroW wanted to see me play iNfeRnaL in ZvP, so we did and it was on HeartBreak Ridge and I got crushed. I asked for a TvP, and the game then proceeded into a 1:45 hour long battle coming down to the last base and I just remember the text at the end was "your macro is really good." "Yours too", "gg", "gg" with me tapping out once he statised my entire army and won. After that we proceeded to play upwards of 15++ games a day together all having 40-minute average long TvP's. Marko eventually began to obseerve a lot. After that Marko became my UMS buddy, playing Team-Micro-Arena with me and spending a lot of time on Skype with me when he wasn't watching me play versus iNfeRnaL or whatever. Eventually I actually quit StarCraft and iNfernal refused to talk to me for doing so (laughs). Now that I'm back etc we've been playing a lot and talking just as much as before, same with Marko.
Any last words?
- I hope to come back much stronger than before, and now I can finally commit 100% without interruption. I also hope to become extremely helpful for anyone trying to learn this game, etc. It's an honor to be playing for GosuGamers and still am in sorta shock that I was given the opportunity. I want to give a shoutout to all of GosuGamers staff/team, and my close friends/otherwise: Eric, Jose, Isai, Yosh, ret, Owen/Vince (who helped me a great deal in obtaining the current computer I'm using!) and Courtney.
Liam "Ourk" Streames - GosuGamers SC2 team player
Hey there Ourk, welcome to the GosuGamers team! First of all I'd like to say congratulations on the victory in the ESL Pro Series UK! Did you expect such success?
Well, I was 0-2 down... I was really nervous the first two games but in the last 3 I just went into gaming mode. After the last win I was really happy. But the funny thing was, I had thought thar rAnDy would make it to the finals so I practiced a lot of TvZ. So when PuReBall beat me in the first two matches I decided to go off race because my off race is at a high level anyway. I thought I could win with Protoss, and I did so I was really happy!
You are still pretty young (17), which makes you one of the youngest players in the top of the StarCraft 2 scene. Tell us a bit more about yourself!
When I first started with Brood War I wanted to become a progamer so bad. after watching players like FlaSh it just motivated me even more, but quite frankly I wasn't very good in BW. But I said to myself before SC2 started that I'm going to practice really hard to get good and I did it. I'm not saying I'm the top European player, but I'd say I'm doing well.
Having played Brood War, you must have started at a very early age, didn't you?
Well, I started playing Brood War at the end of the game for about six months, but before that I played Age of Empires a fair bit, and I was 14 at that time. And as the games are not all that different to each other I guess it has helped me a fair bit.
How does it feel to become a part of the GosuGamers professional StarCraft 2 team?
It feels great to play with such BW legends like Naugrim and iNFeRnaL. GosuGamers is an up-and-coming team that will be up there with teams like Mousesports and Evil Geniuses. I really think this team will get big!
What are your thoughts on the latest patch, how has the patch affected you?
To be honest it has not affected me one bit. I was never really a bunker rush player. The stim is a bit longer now but I haven't done anything different in my gameplay. I haven't tried the Battlecruiser that much yet, so I don't know if it's good or not now.
Tell us a little about your playstyle! Also, will you be continuing to stick to play PvT, or was that just a one-time for the EPS?
I always tend to go for the macro game even against players that are better than me because it's the only way to improve in my opinion. I will not be playing PvT, no, I'll stick with TvT against other Terrans, it was just a one time thing. This even though I watch a lot of replays of not only my race but other matchups as well. I think playing a bit off race is really good to get to know the timings from the other sides.
Let's talk a bit about the UK scene. What do you think of the current pace of the scene? What do you think is the reason it's held back in activity and number of top tier players?
Well, there are a lot of talented players in countries like Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Russia and the UK scene. The amount of top players is just really low in the UK, the only top tier player is DeMusliM although lately the UK scene has been booming. You have the Dignitas Gamer Search and even a few other events, so I think the future will look a lot better in the United Kingdom. We just need more top players to come out, haha.
That's where you come in! So, now that you will be playing for GosuGamers, how do you see yourself evolve as a player?
Wearing the GG tag is a huge thing for me. I will try my best in every game and this has just motivated me even more than I was already. I will try my best to never let them down and hopefully bring good results.
What can the GosuGamers fans expect of you in the nearcoming future? Any last words?
Well, I really hope they support me and I'll try my hardest to bring the best results for GosuGamers. I'd like to add that GosuGamers has a very good management of the team and the team is super friendly!
Hey there Ourk, welcome to the GosuGamers team! First of all I'd like to say congratulations on the victory in the ESL Pro Series UK! Did you expect such success?
Well, I was 0-2 down... I was really nervous the first two games but in the last 3 I just went into gaming mode. After the last win I was really happy. But the funny thing was, I had thought thar rAnDy would make it to the finals so I practiced a lot of TvZ. So when PuReBall beat me in the first two matches I decided to go off race because my off race is at a high level anyway. I thought I could win with Protoss, and I did so I was really happy!
You are still pretty young (17), which makes you one of the youngest players in the top of the StarCraft 2 scene. Tell us a bit more about yourself!
When I first started with Brood War I wanted to become a progamer so bad. after watching players like FlaSh it just motivated me even more, but quite frankly I wasn't very good in BW. But I said to myself before SC2 started that I'm going to practice really hard to get good and I did it. I'm not saying I'm the top European player, but I'd say I'm doing well.
Having played Brood War, you must have started at a very early age, didn't you?
Well, I started playing Brood War at the end of the game for about six months, but before that I played Age of Empires a fair bit, and I was 14 at that time. And as the games are not all that different to each other I guess it has helped me a fair bit.
How does it feel to become a part of the GosuGamers professional StarCraft 2 team?
It feels great to play with such BW legends like Naugrim and iNFeRnaL. GosuGamers is an up-and-coming team that will be up there with teams like Mousesports and Evil Geniuses. I really think this team will get big!
What are your thoughts on the latest patch, how has the patch affected you?
To be honest it has not affected me one bit. I was never really a bunker rush player. The stim is a bit longer now but I haven't done anything different in my gameplay. I haven't tried the Battlecruiser that much yet, so I don't know if it's good or not now.
Tell us a little about your playstyle! Also, will you be continuing to stick to play PvT, or was that just a one-time for the EPS?
I always tend to go for the macro game even against players that are better than me because it's the only way to improve in my opinion. I will not be playing PvT, no, I'll stick with TvT against other Terrans, it was just a one time thing. This even though I watch a lot of replays of not only my race but other matchups as well. I think playing a bit off race is really good to get to know the timings from the other sides.
Let's talk a bit about the UK scene. What do you think of the current pace of the scene? What do you think is the reason it's held back in activity and number of top tier players?
Well, there are a lot of talented players in countries like Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Russia and the UK scene. The amount of top players is just really low in the UK, the only top tier player is DeMusliM although lately the UK scene has been booming. You have the Dignitas Gamer Search and even a few other events, so I think the future will look a lot better in the United Kingdom. We just need more top players to come out, haha.
That's where you come in! So, now that you will be playing for GosuGamers, how do you see yourself evolve as a player?
Wearing the GG tag is a huge thing for me. I will try my best in every game and this has just motivated me even more than I was already. I will try my best to never let them down and hopefully bring good results.
What can the GosuGamers fans expect of you in the nearcoming future? Any last words?
Well, I really hope they support me and I'll try my hardest to bring the best results for GosuGamers. I'd like to add that GosuGamers has a very good management of the team and the team is super friendly!