Post GSTL Pre-Season Showmatch Writer: Olimoley Translator: Crank
How do you feel after your debut in GSTL?
Crank: I felt a little frustrated because of our loss but I'm okay now. I still think that we should continue to improve as a team and individuals to show you guys our best performance.
Heart: I'm sorry that I can't show good plays to our fans.
MMA: I was so upset and angry my performance wasn’t good, I couldn't contain myself. I am not upset I lost to Ruin. I didn’t like my plays.
Ryung: I really wanted to win and we really prepared to win. Our plans fell through. I expected to play a game that would last more than 15 minutes, but it was over in less than that...I’m disappointed.
Alicia: It’s a frustrating feeling to practice so hard but lose so easily.
Miya: This was our first match in a team league since Axiom was created. We all wanted to show you guys a lot of games, but we couldn’t. I’m so sorry.
What was the mindset going into GSTL vs LG-IM? How did you prepare?
Crank: We are a team without a coach, so we all coach each other. We advise each other on builds and strategies, practice, scrimmage, and analyze replays together. We really thought we would win against any team but instead of confidence we felt pressure. We have a really good team owner, team manager, teammates, and fans...we really wanted to show them good games and good results. But I don’t want to make excuses. LG-IM was better than us.
Heart: I practiced really hard and I felt so confident...but I lost.
MMA: At the beginning we were all Grand Master top 16, so I thought we can win tournament even though our opponent is really strong. But I’ve realized that rank is not important at all. The attitude you bring to the game is most important.
Ryung: You guys know LG-IM is a really good team. We honestly thought we would win the first match. Our practice isn’t lacking. Luck wasn’t on our side.
Alicia: I didn't think playing against LG-IM would be an easy task, but I felt still confident. To prepare, each team member played against each other on every GSTL map.
Miya: We practiced against each other and on ladder. Before going into the match, we determined who would be playing against LG-IM. We still lost. LG-IM has also been practicing hard. They did well.
Explain the thought process you guys went through when choosing players to play against Ragnarok.
Crank: We already decided that the second player would be Heart because he felt confident about playing against Ragnarok. I think many people criticized our decision to send Miya out. Miya’s GSL record is 11 games, 11 losses. Since it is preseason, we wanted him to feel confident about GSTL and playing in the booth. Even if people criticize us, I don’t regret this decision.
How did you feel about your match? What was your strategy? What were your mistakes? What were you thinking when you played?
Heart: I was the worst. I planned to use another strategy, but when I got in there I used a completely different strategy. Reflecting over it... I think that is why I lost. When I was playing I kept thinking ‘I should win’.
MMA: Like I said, I was extremely frustrated. My opponent was good but I was really bad... because I made mistakes I never made when I was practicing, I panicked during my matches.
Ryung: Actually I didn't ever think that I would lose against my opponent, so my defeat was really saddening. My strategy was Battlecruiser + Viking + Raven but my opponent finished the game before I could even start. I was careless.
Miya: I made too many mistakes. I should fix everything.
Did playing on the new patch deter any planned strategies you came up with?
Heart: Actually I would have done a Hellbat push, but I couldn't use it because of the new patch.
MMA: Playing on the new patch wasn’t important. My strategy wouldn’t be affected because I could just change my build order. I’ll show my strategies during the regular season. I already guess that hellbat would be nerfed, so I should have prepared a new strategy just in case. I didn’t, therefore it is our fault.
Ryung: I wasn’t planning on using Hellbat, but I was pretty frustrated that Terrans became weaker.
Miya: The new patch affected our Terran players the most, causing them to play Wings of Liberty style. Their strategies probably involved Hellbat.
A lot of people were expecting Alicia to come off the bench after Miya. Is there any reason why you chose MMA?
Crank: When MMA was a new player, he used to be the 4th or 5th player sent out. He feels comfortable being the last player. Typically, the last player sent out will make his opponent feel nervous. We trust MMA. He lost the 5th match, but we are still really proud of him.
After playing your first match as a team, how do you feel about AxiomAcer for season 1?
Crank: We still feel confident even though it seems like we lost easily against LG-IM. Keep cheering for us.
Heart: I'm really sad and I will have to practice even more. I will show my best to fans during the regular season.
MMA: I'm looking forward to the regular season. I will prepare tenfold more than I prepared before. Axiom and Acer will unite and we will get good result. Thanks.
Ryung: We are tough on ourselves because we lost before the regular season has even begun. I think losing is a good thing though, we feel passionate about bringing better results.
Alicia: To me the preseason is just extra practice. I will practice harder in order to get good results.
Miya: I will show my best during the regular season. Even though we lost our debut match, I will keep practicing so I can win the tournament. I’m going to practice right now!
On February 28 2013 12:31 zumpy wrote: very cool interview, it would be nice if there were more of these.
Seemed to me like this is an example of why losing teams aren't usually interviewed. It was just "We didn't play well, sorry" over and over again ;p
There will be more interviews, but not necessarily more interviews after they've lost. This was an experimental first interview for me to gather more insight into their minds since a lot of people questioned their player choices and strategies. Hopefully this satisfied some curious minds!
On February 28 2013 12:46 MCXD wrote: Cella is the Acer "SC2 coach", right? Couldn't he be the coach of the team? Isn't that kinda the point of having him on the team...?
The partnership between Axiom and Acer only consists of gaining MMA and Scarlett as players. The decision to not have a coach was determined after discussing it with everyone.
On February 28 2013 12:46 MCXD wrote: Cella is the Acer "korean SC2 coach", right? Couldn't he be the coach of the team? Isn't that kinda the point of having him on the team...?
Most likely has something to do with the Slayersdrama. TB also said they were looking for a coach that the players could get along with hinting further that it's not gonne be Cella (unfortunately).
On February 28 2013 12:31 AcerMMA wrote: Check! Check! Check!
Holy first post.
And I'm wondering Cella is strictly Acer coach? Someone (not MMA) in the interview said they don't have a coach, but I thought Cella would be it since he's with Acer.
Aww, so sad they lost. LG-IM really is a good team, despite not having been hot in team leagues originally. Anyways, I look forward to more awesomeness from AxiomAcer!
On February 28 2013 12:31 AcerMMA wrote: Check! Check! Check!
Holy first post.
And I'm wondering Cella is strictly Acer coach? Someone (not MMA) in the interview said they don't have a coach, but I thought Cella would be it since he's with Acer.
I remember someone saying that issues between Crank and Cella would get in the way so Cella wasn't allowed to coach. I hope I'm wrong though, because Cella was a boss coach back in the SlayerS days.
Great interview, even if it's a lot of similar answers. (Pretty normal, though, it seems like almost a standard Korean pro post-lose interview but with that subtle Axiom twist.) Also, MMA and Crank posting?! CRANK as translator?!!???
Good luck you guys. Definitely will be cheering for you during the regular season. I love how loyal you are to each other and the care you have for your fans.
Interview makes me wanna hug everyone especially Heart. Cheer up guys! Round Robin GSTL might be just what they need to feel less pressured to win the first game.
On February 28 2013 17:33 fuzzylogic44 wrote: They are too apologetic for losing to LG-IM in a preseason event for a game in beta
Agreed, I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed at the results (only because my expectations were so high, and will remain high) but they really shouldn’t take it so hard. It’s not like they were the only team who went 4-1 against LG-IM. Even Azubu, the runners up were only able to take 2 games off them. After all, it was just pre-season, real deal starts now.
I hope they can take some positives from the match and don’t beat themselves up/stress themselves out too much.
On February 28 2013 17:33 fuzzylogic44 wrote: They are too apologetic for losing to LG-IM in a preseason event for a game in beta
Agreed, I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed at the results (only because my expectations were so high, and will remain high) but they really shouldn’t take it so hard. It’s not like they were the only team who went 4-1 against LG-IM. Even Azubu, the runners up were only able to take 2 games off them. After all, it was just pre-season, real deal starts now.
I hope they can take some positives from the match and don’t beat themselves up/stress themselves out too much.
Well don't forget this is the first time they play on their new banner so that includes extra pressure.
Interesting kind of interview, with the entire team. I hope we get more of these in the future, it definitely feels like you can get to know the players and the team better when they collectively talk. It sounds like they are really, really passionate, hopefully they use the disappointment to fuel their drive and improve more, both as individuals and as a team.