A few hours after the finals were finished in WCG, a press conference was arranged with Xellos. Unfortunately they changed the time for it so not so many ended up actually attending. This was good though, because we got a chance to ask him lots of questions.
We tried to get Xellos to compare the skill level of his opponents at WCG and in Korean progaming. The translator got it all wrong and we got a question back asking if there is a StarLeague in Europe. Our unfortunate answer was no, and shortly after Xellos explained that the WCG Korea preliminary finals were much harder than the actual tournament. Once winning that there was no real problem for them - especially not for the perfect terran. His result in this tournament speaks for itself. Didn't lose a game.
"midas was playing good - what can I say?".
When we asked him which opponent he thought was the best, he started the diplomatic behavior saying everyone was good and that he so wanted to come back to next year's tournament. We thereafter heard the old jibble about how Starcraft is considered a sport in Korea and not a game and that the top players there are incredibly famous.
Like that wasn't why we were there.
Xellos says he did not practice that much for the WCG maps though he explained that he liked them all expect for Martian Cross. - "It's not a Terran map!" However, how many hours he practices in general is top secret. "I always practice with my team mates".
When we invited Xellos to follow us to a party later this evening he said he was too tired. "Starcraft is overwhelming as it is" - this line he used for that and many other questions. For example if he had studied his opponent's replays before WCG started or what he is going to do after he quits playing Starcraft.
Comments about his games versus midas were rare. He - or the translating woman - avoided replying to those questions and just went on babbling that Xellos always loved the game and that there are three dedicated TV-Channels in Korea broadcasting Starcraft. Just in case we didn't know, eh?
After asking it for the third time, however, he said that "midas was playing good - what can I say?".
And when we asked him if there was anyone he feared or had troubles with in WCG as a player, his answer was not only short and definite, it also convinced me that he is the best - and he damn well knows it.
We tried to get Xellos to compare the skill level of his opponents at WCG and in Korean progaming. The translator got it all wrong and we got a question back asking if there is a StarLeague in Europe. Our unfortunate answer was no, and shortly after Xellos explained that the WCG Korea preliminary finals were much harder than the actual tournament. Once winning that there was no real problem for them - especially not for the perfect terran. His result in this tournament speaks for itself. Didn't lose a game.
"midas was playing good - what can I say?".
When we asked him which opponent he thought was the best, he started the diplomatic behavior saying everyone was good and that he so wanted to come back to next year's tournament. We thereafter heard the old jibble about how Starcraft is considered a sport in Korea and not a game and that the top players there are incredibly famous.
Like that wasn't why we were there.
Xellos says he did not practice that much for the WCG maps though he explained that he liked them all expect for Martian Cross. - "It's not a Terran map!" However, how many hours he practices in general is top secret. "I always practice with my team mates".
When we invited Xellos to follow us to a party later this evening he said he was too tired. "Starcraft is overwhelming as it is" - this line he used for that and many other questions. For example if he had studied his opponent's replays before WCG started or what he is going to do after he quits playing Starcraft.
Comments about his games versus midas were rare. He - or the translating woman - avoided replying to those questions and just went on babbling that Xellos always loved the game and that there are three dedicated TV-Channels in Korea broadcasting Starcraft. Just in case we didn't know, eh?
After asking it for the third time, however, he said that "midas was playing good - what can I say?".
And when we asked him if there was anyone he feared or had troubles with in WCG as a player, his answer was not only short and definite, it also convinced me that he is the best - and he damn well knows it.
