Meet Fnatic part 2<br>Moon: 'I feel pity for WarCraft's demise'

The eSports icon Jae Ho "Moon" Jang begins his career in 2002, right after the launch of WarCraft 3: Reign of Chaos with his first major breakthrough coming in 2003 as he wins his first gold at the MBCGame Prime League. By the year 2005, his unique way of playing Night Elf would bring him at the very top of the scene as Moon wins two more MBCGame golds (Prime League V and WarCraft League I), three World E-Sports Games first places, another gold at the International E-Sports Festival and second at the OGN TFT Invitational.

After a short slump in late '05, Moon would return stronger than ever in 2006 and 2007, winning all six MBCGame World Wars including the Grand Prix, the ESWC, two Lenovo IEST tournaments, DreamHack Summer and finishing top three at the World Cyber Games in Seattle. By the time his WarCraft 3 career was over--an event onset by him joining team Fnatic--Moon would continue to work on his legendary status, becoming one of the symbols of the game along with Grubby, Lyn, SKY and ToD, the latter becoming his captain in Fnatic.



Moon began playing StarCraft 2 during the beta but his first televised appearance as a SC2 pro was at the GSL Open Season 3. Despite being eliminated in the Ro32, Moon's appearance would draw much attention to his persona--partially reasoned by his legendary WarCraft 3 past--but unfortunately, Jae Ho Jang could not live up to fans' expectations for a long time. Not until his two silver medals at IEM WC Hanover (March 2011) and DreamHack Summer (June 2011) would his poor GSL record be washed away. Moon would score two more great finishes during the summer of 2011, placing top eight at MLG Columbus (June 6-8) and NASL 1 in July.

Two months after his DH silver, Moon was left teamless after his former team WeMade FOX disbanded. Moon would then push StarCraft 2 away from his main focus of attention to practice WarCraft 3 for the WCG '11 but his double-game profile would not last for long as on January 17th he would be revealed as the newest Fnatic member and now full-time StarCraft 2 pro-gamer.

We catch up with Moon to look back to the past as well as towards the future, learning among other things if he still thinks that "Koreans own white dudes".

GosuGamers: You temporarily laid off active StarCraft 2 to practice WC3 for WCG ‘11. Did u keep up with SC2 during that time and how much was the game changed for you upon your return?

Yes, I had kept my eyes on various patches or changes that had been made on the game. After coming back to SC2, there were multiple variations regarding build orders and strategies.

For you, switching from WarCraft 3 to StarCraft 2 was accompanied by not a small amplitude in results. In WC3 you were a living legend, someone the fans called “The Fifth Race”, while the StarCraft 2 life for you has been a series of highs and lows. How does that affect your mentality going into tournaments?

Unlike when I was a WarCraft 3 gamer, I have less confidence right now because my skill level is far from being considered as a top tier player.

There are still compatriots of yours, as well as a lot of Chinese players, still hanging to the WarCraft 3 scene. Would you like to see them on the new playing field at any point of time?

I want to encounter them in the near future in both WarCraft 3 and StarCraft 2.

When we talked to Grubby in Hanover, he said he misses WarCraft 3, but mourns no more knowing the scene is already dead. Can you say that yourself?

I do reminisce about the game and I miss it as well. I feel pity for the field's demise. It came a lot faster than I expected but it was an inevitable destiny, so I thought that I should accept it.

Many fans were eager to see you play at IPL 4 but, unfortunately, you could not make it. Which is the next tournament scheduled for you?

I will be attending NGC Tournament in the end of April, which will be hosted in Sanghai, China.

You probably know ToD very well from the old days. What’s it like being captained by him? Is it easier to share a common pro-gaming past?

Because ToD has an extensive career as a pro-gamer, I think he has been influencing the team and the teammates in a good fashion based on his enormous amount of experience. And yes, it is easier to share previous experiences as a pro-gamer as well.

I’d like to talk a bit about the future. How do you see StarCraft 2 post Heart of the Swarm? Do you approve of how Blizzard are approaching the multiplayer aspect of the game?

I have neither contemplated nor thought about Heart of the Swarm. I am positive on the approaches that Blizzard has taken, but I am also a corroborator towards the existence of LAN Mode in BW and WC3.

What’s the thing that the zerg lacks the most, currently? Would you say that there is a severe weakness in the race that you would like to see fixed?

There aren't much that I can think of in regards to the weaknesses and non-existent features of the race. I think the best player is who has an utter understanding of his/her race and play out methodically based on the acquired understanding.

And what about the eSports side of things? We saw that Korean hegemony took over the scene more quickly than many people expected. What will it be like after another year has passed?

Despite many foreign players have shown SC2 games of high quality, I still think that Korean players will rule the field of StarCraft 2 in the following year as well.

Speaking from the pedestal of a highly-achieved pro-gamer and one with a very rich experience in eSports, what is the most important lesson that you learned during all those years? Do you apply it to your StarCraft 2 career now, and how?

It is not to lose the very first motivation and determination that one acquired. This depends on how you set your mind and the possessing a strong heart. It is absolutely crucial for one not to forget the lessons learned and recall them.

Is there something you regret doing? If you could go 10 years back, would you have still chosen the life of a progamer?

There isn't anything that I regret. However, since I have already taken the path of pro-gamer, if I were to go back 10 years ago, then I would have chosen a different career.

I believe this is all. You have my dearest gratitude for taking the time to talk to us. The final words are yours!

I will try my best to perform well in future events and I really thank all the fans who cheer for me. I wish all of you stay healthy and only pleasant incidents to occur. Lastly, thanks to our sponsors Raidcall, MSI, SteelSeries, EIZO, and Gunnar Optiks.