English interview - For Is Here #21 - Snute

A surprising start

[M] TinkeR : Can you describe your first steps in videogames ? What are the ones that have marked you the most and how did you end up in StarCraft II ? I understood you played Brood War.

Liquid_Snute : I grew up as the youngest sibling in the family, my parents had computers quite early. I started playing PC games (DOS), Super Nintendo, and so on. A friend at elementary school who also had an older brother introduced me to a strategy game called Dark Colony and it was really cool. Eventually we started playing Brood War since it was a strategy game too.

It was just by coincidence, but I was lucky to have an older brother who was good with computers and games and a friend who also had an older brother like that. I played a lot of 1v1 in elementary school, for a month almost all the boys and girls in class played it, so when StarCraft II was released I had to try it too. I didn't play Brood War all the time or super competitively like I do with StarCraft II now.

Were you aware of the eSports phenomenon during your BroodWar and even early StarCraft II time ?

I remember cooking some noodles once when I was 11 years or something, telling my dad « In Korea they have schools that teach StarCraft, I wanna go to a school like that » but that obviously wasn't very serious and I didn't go to Korea. I think I just heard this from one of my friends. I never really knew about the professional scene. When I started playing it was all about the other Norwegian players. They were really really good, and I was just an immature kid trying to play games. So I never looked past Norway in that regard. I could hardly win vs Norwegian players, so I played on and off a lot.

I didn't really know much of the pro scene in StarCraft II either. It was my friend RiChY, my 2v2 partner and teammate on GamersLeague, that introduced me to it. We went for a trip to Korea before StarCraft II's release as a holiday to see the moments before Brood War would « stop » so to speak. I was able to enjoy watching players like Jaedong, FanTaSy and Flash compete in Brood War on stage. We also played some iCCup in PC cafes. It's a really good memory.

I never knew about what I had ahead of me at this point. I wasn't particularily interested in pro StarCraft, Proleague or fan sites like TeamLiquid.net at this point. Not as much as RiChY at least. I just wanted to experience Korea, the food, and play some games. But I guess that trip sparked a bit of a passion. When StarCraft II was released towards the end of 2010 it became more of a major hobby to me and eventually my job in 2012.

I saw that in 2004 you became the Norwegian champion on Dance Dance Revolution (that basically blew my mind to be honest :D), and that later you started playing piano. To what extent each of these things helped you on your StarCraft II career ? We often compare the pro-gamers APM to pianists for example.

It's really tough to say. I don't think my Dance Dance Revolution skills have influenced my StarCraft skills significantly. I guess you could say that I was a bit more used to competition. I remember one of my first Dance Dance Revolution weekly tournaments. I was very young, my brother and I played a tournament in a basement in Oslo. I was playing against a lot of players older and better than me. I was eliminated right away and almost started crying. After that first time it got way better, I got used to the competition, got a stronger mindset.

It was a very natural progress, I didn't think much about it. Eventually I reached the stage where I would play just for fun, and I was lucky enough to become one of the best. But I was also very lazy and a lot of players would eventually catch up to me by sheer practice. I eventually quit, the Norwegian scene kind of dropped off. I was feeling very confident at this time thanks to my accomplishments and skills. My parents were really supportive as well. But after the dancing scene in Norway dropped off I lost a lot of my confidence.

As for piano I played that way before Dance Dance Revolution. My parents sent all of us to music education at a young age. I'm really thankful for that and music has been a very important part of my life. But once again, I was very lazy and never reached a top level. I struggled a lot with progressing at the piano in my daily life because I'd rather be with friends, my girlfriend, or playing video games. APM wise I was not very fast and not the best at improvisation. I don't know if my mechanic piano skills themselves have helped me a lot in StarCraft II. If I practiced my piano technique more, I think I would be able to play a lot faster. My main strength was being very good at reading scores and playing sheet music. I also showed up for concerts and things my teacher wanted me to play at. I suppose that helps me to this day, I always show up for things and play a lot. I guess it's called being diligent. My practice technique itself wasn't very disciplined though and I did have some very disappointing performances due to lack of practice.

I had a lot of opportunities to perform on stage and got to deal with a lot of nerves that way. But in a sense it feels like that didn't help me immensely with StarCraft II, although I could be wrong. I've been playing piano and playing Dance Dance Revolution in front of crowds. But I still lost a lot of confidence in the years before and during high school and kinda forgot a lot of the things that I learned. But the greatest lesson I learned from piano and dance dance revolution was the power of deliberate practice. After failing to become a professional piano player, I gained a lot of mental strength and motivation for playing. I'm kind of curious to see what would happen if I would go back to playing the piano now that I have a different mindset.

In the news today

Let's go back to 2015, you just came back from DreamHack Tours that was played this week-end, how did you find the event compared to the other DreamHack's you've been in the past ?

I've struggled a bit with DreamHacks, but the one in Tours was probably my favorite to date. I don't want to sound mean but out of all the premier tournaments, for me as a player, DreamHack up to Ro8 doesn't have the same kind of soul that a HomeStory Cup or even an IEM has. All the players are set on this long assembly line, it's kind of messy, it's not my favorite environment to be honest. I guess I just have some unfortunate memories from DreamHacks ... hehe.

It's not all that bad. I enjoyed being at Tours, the venue was a lot more player friendly than the other DreamHacks. It was very peaceful and clean, relatively quiet, it wasn't too crowded either. It was nice to have the park next to the venue and a great selection of restaurants nearby, too. I really enjoyed it. The fans in France are also friendly and passionate, it was not as crazy as being at NationWars II but still, the fans at Tours made it a very good experience.

Could you tell us about your run on the tournament ? Group stage and eventually your loss against Harstem. What were your expectations before going ?

My group had ForGG and eventually PtitDrogo in it. When I saw that PtitDrogo was drawn into the group, I was really concerned. He is very good, and we have practiced a lot together so he knows me well. After the Swarm Host change I was a bit lost in the matchup. I tried to prepare, but I didn't do it well enough. I wasn't feeling good about my gameplay even if I beat PtitDrogo, I felt like I barely made it through by being a bit lucky. Advancing with a 3-3 against the player you eliminate always feels weird.

After that I was hoping for a better bracket. It sounds really silly, because theoretically it was a really easy bracket compared to the other ones, no Korean players and all. I was happy about drawing Verdi, I have a very good record vs him, but I was a bit concerned about the next round. My ZvP was shaky, and I've lost a lot to TargA recently. So I didn't expect to do very well. But don't get me wrong here, I played as best as I could and really tried. I just didn't prepare well enough in practice before the tournament.

I was not disappointed about losing to Harstem, I took it on Protoss and my own struggles with ZvP. But after leaving Tours I got a surge of motivation. I really wanted to figure something out, and I think I'm on the better track now. My only regret is not realizing how weak I actually was in ZvP before going there. I was a bit too confident in practice before the event and didn't focus enough on ZvP.

In two weeks you're going to play your WCS Ro32 group. It doesn't look like you had the best draw with Hydra, Lilbow and Kelazhur, especially knowing that in an interview few months ago, you said you were kind of afraid of Hydra's ZvZ (maybe it has changed since, though).

How would you evaluate your chances, and what are your expectations for this WCS Season ?

I think the draw is fine. I think it's one of the most stacked groups in the Ro32, but that's life. Lilbow is very skilled, Hydra too. Kelazhur is dangerous, but I'm feeling confident in ZvT. I'm not afraid of Hydra's ZvZ, if anything I think we're pretty even. Everybody were talking about MorroW being the first non-Korean to take a series off of him for the longest time, but I actually went something like 7-0 in maps vs Hydra in online Gfinity cups before that happened. After that, he improved a lot vs me and has had the edge ever since.

But I'm strong in ZvZ, and I don't view Hydra as unbeatable. It's going to be a very interesting group. As for my expectations, I think my current skill level should net me at least a Ro8. If I can play to my peak, I can reach the finals or even win. This Ro32 group however will be really crazy and it will all depend on how the initial matches play out.

In general

Let's switch to StarCraft II more globally, did you try Legacy of the Void and what are your thoughts so far with the beta ? Do you think it will save StarCraft II from its decline?

I tried it some, but the imbalances and poor design of the units and the global lag bothers me too much. I'd rather live in the moment and enjoy Heart of the Swarm while it's still around. I don't have a whole lot of opinions, the developers are trying a lot of weird things and I'm not sure if it will be good.

As for saving StarCraft II from its decline, I don't think StarCraft II has a very big decline ahead of it anyway. StarCraft II isn't going to go big in popularity when the expansion will be released, I just think everything is pretty good as it is and Legacy of the Void isn't going to change a whole lot. These were my thoughts for Heart of the Swarm as well and it turned out pretty correct. SC2 is very constant and has fans that like to stick around and just enjoy, no matter how massive the other esports are in comparison.

You're a member of TeamLiquid since more than two years now, what kind of sacrifices did you make to be where you are today?

I'm not sure if it can be called sacrifices ... I quit university because I wasn't comfortable with the classes. I don't have a girlfriend anymore, it's basically impossible for me while being a progamer, I'm way too hopeless and practice too much haha. Theoretically I'm sacrificing a lot over time just by doing « nothing ». I've asked other StarCraft people « if you could be one of the best progamers, would you drop your relationship? » And they all answered « No ». But they also got there by not being a try hard progamer like I am today. It depends on what type of situation you're already in.

In Norway there's a lot of focus on being successful, not wasting time, being social, building a network, building a strong education, work résumé, leading a happy and strong everyday life and so on. But thinking about missing out on a lot of this as sacrifices or losses is not for me. I don't know if it's wise or not. If you make conscious choices, there's nothing to regret and no sacrifices. I enjoy my practice time, it doesn't feel painful to me. Maybe I'm not pushing myself hard enough, maybe I need to sacrifice even more things to get even better. But if I were to die in five years, I wouldn't obsess over doing things differently and live a more 'standard' life today.

I could live with more passion, I'm not perfect in that way, but most of the things that have happened were choices. I just care about StarCraft and competition a lot, no matter how strong or weak my skill level is on a global scale. The other things « sacrificed » can be saved for later, and hopefully I will encounter people that will understand.

« Game paused »

In that sense, is there anything you regret in the past three years? If you could, what choice would you have changed/not do, if there is?

I don't know ... I've tried and failed at a lot of things. There are times that I could've done a lot of things differently, times where I wasn't strong or intelligent enough. But I want to think that I tried. Some things are just not for me, and some things are. I've hated myself a lot for losing, or doing badly, or occasionally failing at real life. More than most people would think, it has made me stronger at StarCraft but in a bit of a brutal way.

If I could go back I guess I would tell myself that it is possible to achieve things, that anyone can become better, including me. Even if I've always bounced back I have lost hope a little bit too often!

Do you think you'll still be around in eSports in five years from now ? As a player or something else ?

Probably not. I'm probably going to university by then. My life has changed a lot throughout the years, and while my esports « part » of life has been going on for a long while now, I would predict myself to be doing something completely different in five years. But it could be something computer related!

To conclude

OK! Time for bonus questions now, if tomorrow you'd be asked to play another race, which one would you pick and why ?

Protoss. Easier to play than Terran.

Apart from you, there's two players of each race in TeamLiquid. If you had to make a bootcamp for a whole month, which one of each race would you pick and why ? (HerO/MaNa - TLO/Ret - TaeJa/Bunny) ?

Can't answer this one, I would want everyone to come xD

OK let's do it the way around, same conditions but you have to pick someone outside your team (one for each race).

OK I'll stick to Non-Koreans I guess.

You can pick Koreans as well.

Mmkay ... For Protoss I'd want to bootcamp with CJ_herO, he's really skilled and cheerful! Or maybe PartinG. Zerg would be Scarlett or Hydra. I could learn a lot from watching Scarlett's creep spread technique and Hydra's play in general. Scarlett makes some very delicious pancakes too lol. Terran would have to be Bbyong. He has good English, is very helpful and a really strong player..

That concludes the interview, thank you very much for your time, that was really great to have you :) Congrats for your Gfinity qualification by the way ! If you have anything to add for the readers, or any shoutout to make, please do so!

Shoutouts to Team Liquid and our sponsors HTC, HyperX, Team Razer, Alienware, and Namecheap, make sure to check them out and our website at https://teamliquidpro.com ! You can follow me on twitter @LiquidSnute and Facebook.

Thanks for taking the time to read all the long text, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll do my best to play even better in future tournaments! Thanks for cheering me on and for enjoying StarCraft II :)

Thanks again and bye !