English interview - For Is Here #27 - iAsonu

« When China Awakes » ?

[M]TinkeR : You’ve said you actually started playing StarCraft II in 2012, what video games were you mainly playing before?

iG.iAsonu : I have played many games once in a while like WarCraft III and Brood War, but I never thought about going further. I was just a standard and normal Chinese student before I became a progamer in StarCraft II.

We know that StarCraft II was made available nearly a year after the world release in China (2011), how do you think that affected the overall level in China?

StarCraft II didn't start well in China. Many players went to other servers to play. Because of the network lag and a lack of friends playing it was pretty frustrated for Chinese players. Even though Chinese server has been released later, at first you had to pay a monthly subscription, which made many people to lose their passion. So I think it had a very bad influence to the overall level in China.

Do you think that with Heart of the Swarm being released at the same time for both China and the rest of the world it helped Chinese players to catch up to the international scene level?

For all the players in China, yes it helped a lot. But for progamers, we were already practicing in other servers before the release, even now Chinese top players still choose to practice in Korean server to be more competitive.

At the second part of the WarCraft III era, China was one of the (if not THE) best country out there, even ahead of Korea. Do you think this can happen with StarCraft II as well? Did you play it (WarCraft III) yourself?

Honestly I think it can’t happen. Back then, we had more WarCraft III players, we had a very passionate audience, and most importantly the players from all over the world started at the same point in WarCraft III. But in StarCraft II, as a successor to StarCraft, Korean players are more professional and more competitive. It’s hard to catch up to them.

iAsonu and Mystery, two of the most recent Chinese players around

How is the scene going in China at the moment? Today isn’t the best part of StarCraft II’s life in terms of viewership and all, but does that follow the same trend in China?

I started to be interested with these things only in 2014, I have to say it's a tough time. Because of the delayed released and other reasons we don’t have many players in StarCraft II. The amount of players is so important for a game. I’m not even sure if China caught the best time in StarCraft II. But somehow it’s slowly getting better in China. No matter what, StarCraft II is a good game. Many people still love it including me.

There’s always been some issues trying to have a VISA to go to China or for Chinese players to play abroad (we’ve seen it recently with Jaedong and Stardust not being able to attend IEM Shenzhen).

How frustrating is that (if it is) not being able to compete as often as you would want against the top world players? Is the Chinese StarCraft II scene « self-sufficient » enough in order for progamers to live of their passion, and have a quite stable scene?

I’m afraid that Chinese players are not as full of motivation and passion as before. You may have seen it from the recent performance of Chinese players. I think the Chinese StarCraft II scene doesn't fit well for the progamers. Sometimes we even played StarCraft II tournaments without a single audience. Nevertheless, with GPL and soon a team league set up everything goes to the right direction. We are trying to establish a stable scene.

iAsonews

You’ve managed three times in a row to qualify for WCS Premier League in 2015. Is that a direct consequence of you playing full-time or was it something else? How did your practice changed?

I took nearly one year break from my university last year. I’m surprised I made it when I went back to school. On the one hand, it’s the consequence of the full-time practice last year, I worked very hard then. On the other hand, I felt much less pressure when I was no longer a full-time progamer. Now I just practice as much as I could, using most of my spare time out of school.

Did that make you start to think that maybe you could try to stay full-time a bit more before going back to study? (which I understood you already did)

I quited playing full-time one year ago. It’s already done. I’m pretty satisfied with the situation now. I take StarCraft II as a hobby, not a job. But I’m still trying to get better. StarCraft II is the passion of my life.

What were your expectations for the previous WCS season? What are the ones for this Season 3?

I hardly competed against the foreign progamers before. So I just wanted to test myself and had a look around. I didn’t perform very well in foreign scene. So I want to show my best to the world in Season 3.

What do you think of the current WCS format?

It’s great and healthy. It gives every progamers all over the world a chance to go out and do what they can.

Is there any chance we can see you in the near future at tournaments like DreamHack, IEM, RedBull Battle Grounds?

I’m afraid not. It costs too much to attend foreign tournaments. If I was good enough to be the champion someday, I would get the chance : )

I’m curious: does the Chinese community actually watch these tournaments, or only Chinese events like GPL, G-League, etc.?

The fact is that it's quite the opposite. Foreign tournaments are their favourite ones, especially Korean tournaments.

StarCraft II inside

How do you usually practice? Ladder only or custom games with your teammates maybe?

I usually practice in ladder, and play custom games before the tournament.

What are your thoughts on the current balance in the game? Do you find any issue with Zerg match-ups?

I think the nerf of Swarmhost is too much. It leaves few choices for Zerg to play against Protoss and mech.

Did you try Legacy of the Void and what are your thoughts on it so far? Is the game getting « hyped » in China? (with beta release, advertisements, tournaments, etc.)

I barely played it. It seems pretty interesting so far. The pre-purchase period just started. I didn’t see anything else coming, maybe soon.

Do you happen to watch Korean tournaments like GSL or Proleague?

Yes, I almost watch every game. I learn a lot from Korean players.

Is there any Zerg player you’re looking up to? Who would you consider as the best Zerg players in the world today?

When I just began to play StarCraft II I used to like DongRaeGu and SoulKey the most. I think soO is currently the best Zerg player.

Is going to Korea something you’d want to do? As far as I know, Loner is the only Chinese player who reached GSL Code A, would being the first to reach Code S be one of your goals?

GSL or other Korean tournament is such a cruel battlefield for any foreign player. It’s a great achievement to reach Code S, but I think I’m not good enough to get there. I barely make goals for myself, I just do my best and get as far as I can.

Extra time

Do you have any other hobby besides StarCraft II?

Just some normal stuff, like movies, novels and music.

If tomorrow you’d be asked to play another race, which one would you pick and why ?

Of course Protoss~~ I think Protoss is a race where you can’t lose if you don’t make any mistake.

If you had to make a bootcamp with 3 professional players, one for each race, who would you choose and why? (can be Chinese, Koreans, whatever…)

Snute - talented and hard-working, he is a good example.
PartinG - It must be so much fun.
Maru - best Terran to practice.

Find one word that would define your teammates:

Jim : all-in
MacSed : turtle
XiGua : juicy
XY : honest

Thank you ! Do you have any last word for readers, and any shoutout to make? And where can we find you in social networks or other websites (Twitter, Twitch, Facebook?)

Thanks to all the StarCraft II enthusiasts. Unfortunately, Twitter and Facebook are not available in China, sorry to be disconnected.

Thanks again, bye !