English interview - For Is Here #13 - Kas

An RTS leads to another

[M] TinkeR : I saw you've started your progaming career with WarCraft III, was it the first game you've played competitively ? How did you end up in StarCraft II ?

[cSc]Kas : I used to be an amateur player, a young kid, fan of strategy games, and who just played WarCraft III for fun. After some time, many of my friends noted that I played much better than them, so I tried to play on a professional level.

I had some success, so I kept on playing, but much more than usual. I loved what I was doing, and when WarCraft III became less popular, many of my friends decided to try StarCraft II which was a new game, so I joined them and now I am a StarCraft II progamer :)

What was the very first league placement you've been ranked to when you first started to play StarCraft II ? How long did it take you to reach Master and Grandmaster when the leagues opened ?

If I remember correctly, the best league at the start was Diamond, which is where I was. When StarCraft II was only a beta, there weren’t many leagues.

Everyone was new in the game, so I had some advantage because I used to be a progamer in another game before. Since the beginning, I’ve reached the best league in StarCraft II, and I kept doing it every seasons.

When Grandmaster league opened, I accessed to it in one or two games, due to my MMR which was good due to the previous season.

Did you directly started playing Terran or did you try other races ? What made you choose Terran instead of the others ?

I started to play with Protoss, and I had around 500 or 600 games in first seasons (why didn’t I keep on playing with this OP race, I would probably be a GSL champion already).

Then I started to get a bit bored, the race was too easy to execute and I enjoyed much more playing with Terran. I was a fan of SimCity building placements, and the number of strategies Terran could play with. So I decided to try Terran, and from there I played only Terran :)

2015 : a year that started well

You've been on team Empire for nearly four years before joining Cascade. How have you been contacted by them to recruit you ?

I knew Cascade team very well, I used to know two of the directors, I met them many times during the WCS Ukraine, and WCG Qualifications. We talked many times, and I respect the work they’re doing.

After I left Empire, I had some proposals, but I always wanted to be in an Ukrainian team, it was my dream (my dream team would have been : Strelok, DIMAGA, WhiteRa and myself). Once Cascade proposed me to join, we come to an agreement and luckily I joined this great team cSc !

Unfortunately, you didn't manage to qualify for WCS Premier League, being defeated by TargA 3 to 1. What were your expectations for WCS before this match ?

I really don’t like this format. While someone has to play ForGG, another one will have FireCake, meaning that someone will play in Premier League, and the other will have to wait a whole season because he had lost to ForGG.

I remember some time ago it was a group format with four players each. First place would advance to Premier League, and second place would play a decider match. Now everyone plays in some kind of a lottery decider match, so one match decides whether or not you’re going to wait another two months, or if you’re in.

Regarding my match, TargA has always been a good player, currently he is one of the most hard working person, he is a scary opponent who has a good macro, and like to do some all-in as well. I didn’t play my best, but still, TargA was just stronger that day. I hope I’ll get my revenge someday.

StarCraft II, and his expectations

You’re known for playing an incredible amount of games during your career (ladder, online tournaments, etc.), and mainly without having to retire at least for few months. How do you keep staying motivated with the game ?

I don’t know how many time I had to answer this question :D. But to be short : I love strategy games, I want to improve all the time, and I love fighting.

What's the best memory you have about your career so far ?

There’s a lot of good memories. I had to visit a lot of countries, see many wonderful places, and had some crazy stories. I can’t decide what the best is and what is not, but I loved each one of LAN tournaments travel.

The best tournament memories are maybe from the HomeStory Cups, the atmosphere was crazy, and you could play the tournament pretty relaxed :)

What are your expectations for 2015 ?

I hope to see Legacy of the Void ! And I hope (but I don’t believe) Blizzard will not stop carrying the game after the first patch, and first week after the release of the game.

About Legacy of the Void, did you try the Balance Test Map with changes for the Raven, as well as playing against the "new" Swarmhost ? More generally, what are your thoughts about the changes on Legacy of the Void ?

I really hope they will do something more than this. These should be balance patches. I don’t understand why they can’t make small nerfs/buffs every month depending on how the game is going. 

I’m looking forward to some major changes, so people will be interested in something new. It’s pretty boring to see the same units, same abilities, with small changes again and again.

So for you, the changes that have been announced during the BlizzCon aren't enough ?

I would love to see more minor patches, then one big per year… It’s stupid that we need to play a whole year with an OP strategy like Blink all-in, and that they have to change it only after a so long period of time.

I love what they do, I respect it, and I know every small change demands huge efforts, but when some obvious changes need to be fixed, they’re taking so much time :(

Where would you rank yourself among the best foreign Terrans ? Who would you consider the best Terran player in the world right now ?

Right now it’s really hard to say who’s the best and who’s not, and when I mean the best, I mean the most stable. If you do a ranking based on LAN tournaments, it’s not fair, because many teams can’t send their best players.

So it’s really hard to pick one. I hope this year I will show you a high level, and I will try to be in the top 3 foreigners at least.

How is the StarCraft II scene is going at the moment in Ukraine globally ?

Right now, it’s dead. And I don’t see how it can be back alive.

I guess the recent events in this region doesn’t help ?...

Something will help, right now there’s nothing :D

The Daily Kas

What does your "normal" day look like ?

I had a great start this year : I easily passed the WCS qualifications, as well as the IEM’s. I feel in great shape, but now I’ll have two or three weeks without any tournaments.

I’ve decided to practice less and focus more on clanwars, and keep my mind/body in a good shape so I can be ready to start practicing hard before the beginning of the new WCS season and the future tournaments.

I don’t have such things as « normal » days :D every day is different. Due to the nature of my work, my schedule is never fixed, and tournaments or clanwars can have different starting times. All I need to do is to be ready to play well anytime, any day.

What do your family and your friends think about your job ?

It’s my decision. They respect me, so they respect my choice .That’s all.

OK! Do you have time to have any other hobby besides StarCraft II?

I like sport, and I love going to the gym, meeting with my friends, etc. I don’t have hobby besides StarCraft II, but I love experimenting things, so I’m always open for novelties.

Before starting the last bunch of questions (bonus ones), I'd like to know where does your nickname come from, and I'm 100% sure some people already asked you that :D

A long, long time ago, around 15 years ago, I was in a group, and my friend said « Hey Misha, you don’t have any nickname, let’s give you one ». I don’t remember how, I don’t remember why, but they called me Kasmatuy.

Bonus questions

Let's finish with the bonus questions: I'll ask you questions with two choices, you'll have to answer without having to explain why, ok?

OK.

Custom or default shortcuts ?

Default.

Meca or bio ?

Bio.

TvZ or TvP ?

TvZ.

Maru or TaeJa ?

TaeJa.

When you play : with or without music ?

Without music.

Ok! Well that concludes the interview :) I'd like to thank you for your time ! If you have anything to add, any shoutouts to make, feel free to do so

You’re welcome :) I hope you will handle my terrible English, bye !

Bye !