You advance to RO4 after a nail-biting full set series. How do you feel?
Until yesterday, my hand was hurting so badly that I could hardly play. Then, last night, I had a dream where I was playing against Soulkey. I was worried about my hand the whole time but somehow I played without any trouble. It felt so real for a dream. So when I woke up, I tried holding my mouse and it just felt so much better compared to the day before. In the match itself, I became nervous after giving away two sets but that just makes the victory that much sweeter.
How did you feel when you found out that Soulkey was your opponent in RO8?
I saw Soulkey play against MKP in RO16 and at the time, I was desperately hoping for him to lose. It was because he's a Zerg and a great one at that. When I saw him advance, I learned what despair truly felt like.
How did you prepare for the match?
Soulkey seemed to like the no gas queen build. On top, Soulkey revealed in an interview that he knew about my tendency to go for 3 orbital commands so I based my play around those ideas. Also, I was very determined going into the match because I am not sure if I can make it back into RO8 any time soon.
Who do you want to face in RO4?
I think it'll be a tough fight regardless of who advances. If I had to pick one, I think it'll be better to face a Zerg since I had to prepare TvZ for RO8 already.
How likely do you think it is for you to win the whole season?
I think it's around 70% as long as I win RO4. I practised a lot with Symbol and for some reason, I lost most of my games 2 days ago whereas yesterday, it was the opposite. We had a lot of cool and exciting games too. I hope to face Symbol in the finals.
Anything to add?
I want to thank my parents, hyung, aunt and the fans who always cheer for me. I want to thank Symbol hyung from Azubu for helping with practice. Lastly, I want to thank the sponsors Barracuda, thelittleappfactory, TwitchTV and Razer.
Source: ThisisGame
SamsungKhanRoro
Tell us how you feel about advancing to RO4
I'm feeling fantastic. I thought I had it after winning the second set so giving away two sets like that was disappointing.
How did you prepare for the match once you knew your opponent in RO8 was MC?
MC has played a lot of PvZs lately so I watched all of those VODs. I finished polishing my builds today early morning. I think they worked well as planned and got me the win.
You switched to Mutalisks in Set 1 after the failed Roach aggression. Was that improvised?
From the beginning, I was planning to play reactively. The aggression did fail and I decided Mutalisks were the best course of action.
In Set 2, Phoenix pressure stopped scouting on your part but Zerglings got into MC's base
I saw the one Zealot but it looked like the Zerglings could squeeze by. It felt like MC was playing way too safely. That's why I was very comfortable in all of the sets.
You allowed MC to catch up with two match points to spare. Why do you think that happened?
I had a strategy ready for Set 3 but it went awry after being scouted too quickly. In Set 4, I planned to hold MC's push but failed to make the right number of Zerglings. I had made too many before I realised. I believe that is why I lost that set.
Did you have a strategy ready for Set 5 also?
Nothing in particular. I planned to play reactively once again. It felt for some reason that MC was going for an all-in. That feeling was spot on. At that point, I felt invincible.
Your next opponent is Taeja. What kind of games should we expect?
I watched his match prior to my own. In my opinion, he plays the best Terran possible. I like long series so I'm quite confident for the RO4. I played a best of 5 for the first time today but best of 7 should be even better so I am expecting a lot of myself for the upcoming match.
Other than Taeja, all the seminfainalists are Zergs. You must think you have a chance of winning the season
After getting to RO16, I believed there was no one left who could beat me. Others have said the same. Running into a Protoss in RO8 was the hurdle but I overcame it tonight. RO4 is my best match up so I don't think I should lose.
You have been on a quick rise during the past three seasons. The pressure must be building
It's not like I've achieved anything notable yet so it's too early for pressure to be affecting me. My goal is just to play games that I can be proud of.
Anything to add?
I want to thank my team who was very considerate to me because I am in an individual league. I actually stressed out a lot last night suddenly changing up my strategies. I am most grateful to Lee, Jae Hun who gave me a ton of help with practice. However, I lost Set 3 where I used his strategy so he had better start running when he sees this interview (laugh). I want to thank SKT1's Rain, CJ Entus' herO and the Prtosses on my team for practising with me.
Source: ThisisGame