Grubby: 'Protoss needs to grow a bit more diverse'

Photo by: Jeroen Weimar

Dutch WarCraft 3 legend and competitive SC2 protoss user Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen sat down with Itsgosu.com for a lengthy interview. Grubby discusses pivotal moments in his life such as the beginning of his career, his switch to SC2 and the proposal to his wife Cassandra.

Grubby gives start to the interview by sharing how he dived into the eSports whirlpool - from his professionally successful year after graduating from highschool, through his time in teams like 4Kings, MYM and EG and to what he considers to be the most important win of his career - the 2008 WCG gold medal. Grubby then proceeds to talk about his late switch to SC2 and why that was the case.

- "It’s hard for me to begin on something new. Especially when I love what I am involved with. Even though WC3 was over its peak, I was loathe to let go. I enjoyed every single day of practice and competition. Moreover, I was still committed to tournaments, in the sense that I had already qualified for or accepted invitations for various tournaments in late 2010. All these factors led me to switch to SC2 a year (or if you only count retail, half a year) later than most other people. Sometimes I regret that I didn’t switch earlier, but I also owed it to my WC3 career and fans to stay until I could no longer do it. My time with WC3 added a lot of value to my life!"

So what does the living legend think about the current state of his race of choice? What are the problems of the protoss race that need to be fixed and what is he expecting from Heart of the Swarm?

- "Actually I think Protoss as a race needs to grow a bit more diverse. The expansion pack might add a lot. In my opinion TFT added a lot for WC3 and Broodwar added a lot to SC vanilla. It would be nice to have more harassment methods besides Phoenixes, DT’s or Warp Prism drops. I think I still don’t use Warp Prism enough."

- "I’m most looking forward to Mass Recall on every Nexus. That’s going to be amazing for some of my infamous play styles from WarCraft 3."

Of course, such an extensive interview cannot bypass one of the highlights in Manuel's personal life - the marriage proposal to his wife Cassandra Ng at the BlizzCon 2009 finals. When going back all these years, Grubby spares no detail reliving the moments that followed his match against Lyn.

- "When I made it to the grand finals, I knew I was going to go through with it. I hid the rings on my person. After the award ceremony, I was shaking uncontrollably. As planned, Bunny announced that I had an announcement to make. I started walking down the stage to propose to the girl of my dreams. As I walked towards Cassandra, time seemed to slow down and I felt so foolish and shy. I was trying to maintain the surprise till the end. As I went down on one knee, a hubbub arose from the crowd and Cassandra spontaneously started crying. I mumbled through the words that I had rehearsed. I fumbled with the ring and the box and hoped she would make my day. When she said yes, the sun shone down on me."

The full interview further covers topics such as Grubby's time in the oGs/TL house, is going to Korea the only way to reach SC2 supremacy and what his eSports future holds for him.