Two days ago, GosuGamers posted news about the famous player Draco joining OGN Sparkyz. We then learned that he turned professional and will be a new foreigner in the Korean Starcraft scene. Here is an interview with Draco himself.
The Polish player 
Krzysztof Draco Nalepka (picture) has been interviewed by the famous community website Netwars.pl a few days ago. According to Musli, who translated this interview and sent it to GosuGamers, the interview was made in IRC, 150 people were sending their questions and the moderators chose the best ones Thanks to Ekii for organizing it. In this long interview, the Protoss player talks about the OGN, life in Korea, his equipment, the World Cyber Games 2006 and much more. Thanks again to Musli for giving GosuGamers this translation.What do you think about the discussed problem of imbalance in ZvP match up, prefering Zerg over Toss. What was the reason of your defeat versus Mondragon?
This problem is not only debated a lot at the moment, actually since the beginning Zerg had advantage over Protoss, that could be noticed in results of proleagues, tournaments etc. Although, the imbalance which could make PvZ impossible to win.
And why did I lose versus Mondragon? Last 2 months I was playing via UDP or Hamachi and I forgot about lag. Probably some of you were wondering why I lost reaver three times in EuroCup semifinal against Yan. Now you have the answer. Besides, my attitude wasn't so professional and ambitious. Which is not good but it happens time to time.
Recent posts by Suncow about you were not flattering. Was it caused by jealousy or has something happened that destroyed your friendship?
We are really different persons, SunCow is very 'explosive'. I dont want to talk more about that.
How do you communicate with Koreans? Have people from OGN accepted you and how do you feel being there?
Since first day I was treated very well. I was positively surprised. Ongamenet its not only a team but also a family. We support each other and the atmosphere is great. So far we are talking in English only but I'm learning Korean.
We have seen photos from paintball. What entertainment and how often are these provided by team managers?
We had team trip for 3 days to rest. It does not take place that often. There's a break between SKY Proleague at the moment, so we could afford it. These three days provided lots of entertainment such as paintball, bungee jumping from 55meter-high building (including myself), some water sports etc.
What do you eat there?
Korean dishes. There are two old ladies working for team who are cooking and cleaning. Food is different from polish, very spicy and contains frutti di mare. And rise of course. Almost every meal looks similar, rise and some extra.
Do you count on the fans' support?
Of course, I've said not only once that fan support can motivate a player to traning to keep fighting. I often read NetWars.pl even if I dont post.
How did it all start? What decided that you and SunCow got to go to Korea and how did it look technically (accommodation, games etc)?
Well.. My journey has nothing to do with SunCow. I always dreamt about progaming and two years ago I started to think about it for real. I planned to visit Korea for 2-3 months in previous holidays but none of proteams wanted a player for such a short period of time.
For the first two weeks I was living in Rekrul's house but almost every other day I was in Spunky's house (former progamer, Korean) who had three free PC's. I could play in comfort. Besides, there was a good atmosphere for training, lots of WC3 players were coming there (for ex. Zacard). What's more, besides Spunky who played Protoss, there was Grrr... living with him. So we could discuss a little too.
How long you are going to stay in Korea? What is your family thinking about it?
I dont have a time limit. If it goes well for me I can stay here as long as there will be progaming in Korea. My family... Well, I had several arguments with them last years but about 4-5 months ago my parents have accepted my dreams. At the moment, they are supporting me with words and money. I'm glad and surprised how much they helped me with the trip and stuff.
What does your typical day in Korea looks like? How much do you train and what statistics versus other progamers do you have?
Getting up at 10:00, to 11:30 time for shower and breakfast. Then traning. 16:30-17:00 dinner. 17:00-21:30 traning. Then free time which I mostly use for traning. Almost every two days we go running or play football. As far as stats with progamers goes, I dont want to talk about them. I play many games with my team, actually I train only with them. There is inside-team ranking tourney every day and I can only tell that my winratio is about 50%.
Have you changed your equipment after going to Korea?
I use only G1 from old equipment. Equipment isn't a problem in our team. There's about 100 free mousepads :P
Are you going back to Poland to play WCG Finals?
As long as I qualify o_O
Are you going to play in the FragBet League?
I don't know.
Are you recognized in Korea? Do the Koreans know about you and do you have any fans there?
I'm probaby very recognized. Almost everyone reads FighterForum, where there were two news about me. I'm a foreign gamer and that favours me in this aspect. About fans, I dont know Korean yet so I can't read what they write about me. o.O
Who do you think will win the World Cyber Games 2006? Will it be one of Koreans or will the tradition will be broken this year?
I think the Koreans will be favourites again, all in all there are three of them. Even if I will be on their level they will still outnumber me. I will do my best to stop them if I win polish WCG :P
Do koreans have stereotypes about Poles? Do they remember Blackman? Do they know anything about Poland?
Almost every Korean knows Dudek. A lot of people asked me why there were no Dudek on World Cup :P As far as Blackman is concerned, he is less known now.
What is your best matchup at the moment?
PvT>PvP>PvZ
As we know, a key to success is understanding the game. How can you read the game and your opponents? Do you have some advice for players?
Training gives you a lot of experience, but besides many hours spent on clicking you have to spend some time on analyzing your game. Watching your own replays is very important, especially from the games you lost. You must check why you lost that game and try to avoid it next time.
What are your plans in the nearest future? What aims do you have now?
Nearest future... I would like to win the Polish WCG and get into the grand finals. There is one or maybe two tourneys in China ahead. Moreover I will try to participate in the pro leagues but it can take some more time.
How do people react on progamers in Korea? Are you given special treatment?
Progamers surely get a lot of attention but I haven't got many occasions to see it for myself. I went with Chalrenge and Side for last Courage tournament. Some youth asked them for autographs. Pro-gaming is really expanded in Korea. It is just another world.
You can't be a progamer your whole life. Were you wondering what will you do after ending career?
Correct, you cant be a progamer your whole life. But I think we all have only one life and after tens of years you will have to judge it. I will be able to say that I was doing something interesting in my life. I think that having a work to be a gamer in South Korea is one of those interesting things. Besides, just like every man I like the competition and possibility to show that you are good at something. All in all I think pro-gaming is the future and after succeeding as a progamer I will still find my place there. But if something goes wrong I can always go back to Poland and continue my education.
What do you think about this years WCG Maps (Gaia, Azalea, Paranoid and lack of Estrella)?
I think Azalea could be modified. In the current situation it's really hard to do anything against Zerg on this map. I think it should be modified Arcadia-like.
How are gamers being chosen for proleague? When we can expect your first VOD?
Every coach has its own system. So far I don't know much about it, since I've joined between the SKY ProLeagues. But we play ranking tournaments every day, results are noted so I believe they may have influence on who is chosen.
About my VOD, you should ask my coach, but he probably won't tell you anyway. There are some complications which may cause that I will be on TV not earlier than in few months.
How old is the youngest and the oldest member of your team?
The youngest is 16, the oldest 26.
Do you know some young high skilled players?
In our team there is three 16-year-old players with such high skill. Of course I have to mention Sea[Shield] too. I remember when he become progamer a year ago. That boy was so determined to make his dreams come true that, let me quote sb, "he was able to even lick his coach's shoes" :P I think its not true but it has something to do with his attitude, which is similar to other young Koreans. I believe that thanks to that determination, Sea[shield] could reach the top so fast.
What did you get your nick from?
About 6 years ago I was looking for new nick. It was hard to find something that would satisfy me. That time I was reading the first Harry Potter book. I opened the book on the last pages for the index of difficult words, names and their meanings. I found Draco, from Draco Malfoy's name and I got to know it means dragon or serpent in latin. I thought it was orginal and cool to have nick in latin :P
What age were you when you started your adventure with StarCraft and when did you have your first success?
I started to play when I was twelve. My first success was winning 1v1 tourney on NetWars after half of year playing. I still remember that after winning it I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for next few hours and I also remember the heading of news on NetWars.pl saying "eR18-Draco the best" o_O.
If somebody wanted to go your path in the future and was trying to become a pro on his own, is it possible without help of other people?
Help is a must in many things. I don't think that anybody could handle living here on his own in first two weeks. Almost no one speak english here, besides Seoul is a really big city. Not to mention that being a foreign gamer nobody knows you.
Thats why words of thank you go to Nal_rrari who made that a news about me was written what helped me a lot because next day two proteams, OGN and MBC agreed to have tryouts with me.
After you arrived you played trials for proteam and you have 3-4 result. Do you think you could do better now?
Yes, I've made huge progress and I think that score could be better.
Were your thoughts about Korea correct? What has surprised you the most ?
I remember when I was on the plane, I was sitting with a Korean, about 35 years old, who didn't speak English. He asked me about two things, if I'm going to Seoul or Pusan and if I'm going to play soccer? He asked because of World Cup. I answered "StarCraft" because he woudn't understand more but I still remember understanding on his face :P
What does the OGN house look like? Could you describe it a little?
Its a new, large house. Everything is modern. We have two bathrooms, modern kitchen, gaming room and a gym. But we're going to change house soon, in a month or two.
Thanks a lot for the interview and good luck in Korea!
Thank you too. I hope I won't disappoint anyone and you will be able to see me in one of pro-leagues soon.
Once again, good luck to
Draco in his progaming career, and let's hope that his countrymate SunCow will make it too! 
Update: The interview was proof read by GosuGamers Crew at 2006-08-16 16:05.
Links
Netwars.pl - netwars.pl website
GosuGamers.net - Previous newspost
