The Dawn of War world champion turned top North American Terran returns to his home server, where he took, as well as held, the lead at the top of the ladder after only a week of playing—and the help of an epic bonus pool. We had a quick run in with the fan favorite not long after his flight back from London to see how he's been holding up in his return to the states, as well as hear how he thinks his Terran fans should be playing their matchups.
You've returned to the NA servers not long after Master League came out following a bit of a hiatus on that ladder. What have you been up to before you started playing on the NA ladder again?
I have been practicing on Korea, especially the Zerg match ups. Also I went to participate in the Poker Idol tournament in Europe.
We've heard some Europeans say that touring the European events is actually a more rewarding choice than throwing a chance at the GSL. In the tournament scene right now, which direction of events do you see as the most likely to reward you?
Yes it is true. Because it is not worth it to start GSL from CODE B—it takes at least 2 months (if you win all your games) to be promoted from CODE B to CODE S when only the CODE S prize is big. Also there are a lot of big online tournaments and offline tournaments in Europe. Either way works for me but I can't stay outside of USA longer than 6 months for a year because of the green card.
How do you feel about the state of the game's balance post patch 1.2?
I don't quite understand the question, but my opinion about 1.2 patch is great. I think the game balance is pretty much okay at this moment. I think this is the time to make the game balanced with the maps.
Which part of the game do you see lower level players need the most work on?
The best way to improve is to learn from the losing games. Review the replays and see what made you lose.
For our Terran players out there who follow you, what piece of advice would you give them in how you would like to see them playing each matchup?
[Well in] TvZ, you have to be patient to win against Zerg. Do not rush stabbing into the creeps even though you are on tilt by Mutalisks because Baneling movement speed is faster than stimmed Marines on the creep. Try to advance forward slowly killing creeps one by one with scans.
With TvP I believe it is really hard to beat Protoss in late game. Terran is only stronger than Protoss in mid game in my opinion. So take economic advantage in mid game while harassing with Medivacs, and get more units to defend their timing push with colossi.
There are so many ways to play out TvT. However, I think the most important thing in TvT is multitasking because of the situations where you are attacking with a Banshee, and at the same time you have to defend your own base from blue flamed Helions or an enemy Banshee. So try to improve your multitasking in [that aspect].
