[Fomos Daniel lee]

Q:¡®Tempest¡¯ is not the only gamer that looks up to you, a lot of gamers look up to you as a role model. How do you honestly feel about this? A: It definitely makes me feel good. I think people mainly look up to me because of my ability against zergs, and I tend to win on tv games. Actually when it comes to other matchups I¡¯m not the best player around haha. It just makes me feel good to hear things like that, also very thankful. I hope I can continue to be a role model by staying ahead of everyone. It makes me want to do better when hear things like that. Q: It almost feels like you¡¯ve made your debut just yesterday, you¡¯ve come a long way. Who did you look up to when you got your start? A: When I was a rookie, I just loved watching games. I liked watching ¡®Nada¡¯ the most, ¡®Nalra¡¯s strategic plays were enjoyable to watch too. I probably have seen all of protoss user¡¯s games. I didn¡¯t have a role model per say, I wanted to emulate all of them. Once I became a progamer without me realizing I was playing like ¡®Pusan¡¯, probably because we were on the same team and naturally watch him play often. He didn¡¯t tell me about the game very much, I just learned a lot by watching him play all the time. Q: Is that why your strategies back then were mostly about mass producing units? You say he¡¯s had influence over you. A: Yes, there was a good reason for that. I was a rookie and had many inhibitions about my plays. I didn¡¯t have the nerve to apply technical strategies in my games, I mean my hands would literally shake lol. From what I remember I don¡¯t think I ever produced templars in a terran match up. My hands would only allow me to produce zealots and dragoons. Now days I¡¯m not known for my mass production of units, but rather more known for my tactful strategies. I am able to do this now because I no longer get nervous on TV games. However when I try to control carriers and reavers my hands still shake lol. Reavers are ok but every time I try to control carriers I still get very nervous. I start to sweat when I put up fleet beacons lol.

Q: Are there any junior players you are noticing in particular? Who do you think has the potential to become a rising star? A:I won¡¯t go as far stating that he will become a rising star, but ¡®Snow¡¯ does some marvelous plays. My watching of the VODs mostly revolves around P vs Z matchups. Most P VS T games are very similar to one another, but a zerg matchup makes up for some drastic differences in strategies, so I always analyze and compare them. ¡®Snow¡¯s plays are very unique, also ¡®Movie¡¯ and ¡®Wookie¡¯ are all very good players too. Q:You have many nick names. There is the ¡®Revolutionist¡¯, ¡®TaekShin¡¯(Taek God) these are good nicknames, but you also have a nick name that features your body negatively, like ¡®YongTaek¡¯. A: Negative nicknames don¡¯t interest me. They are just teasing me, there is nothing you can do about it. For me to say the words ¡®TaekShin¡¯(Taek God), is embarrassing LOL. I like that one, but I really do favor the nick name ¡®Revolutionist¡¯. I think that nickname represents my game strategies and more I hear it more I become fond of it. I want to thank the person that came up with that nick name. Q: There is a saying that even when you get trolled that just means people are interested in you. If you put it that way you are an immensely popular. You were the no.1 player when we recently released the data in regards to getting most clicks, views, and comments. Did you know about this? A: I haven¡¯t been doing good on individual leagues, and my fans are all watching the proleagues more, maybe that¡¯s why lol. Also in the 5th round I¡¯ve faced prominent players often, coincidentally there were some drama behind it and maybe that¡¯s why people were more interested in my interviews. I also have played a lot against zergs, and they like that matchup, at any rate it makes me feel good that people like me. Q: I¡¯m sure you are immune to most of the negative comments now, but if there was as comment that was most hurtful, what was it? A: I don¡¯t remember any of them. I don¡¯t like to read negative comments, I usually don¡¯t pay any attention to it. I don¡¯t remember how I dealt with it as a rookie, anyway I just get over it, it¡¯s like that when I lose too, it doesn¡¯t bother me all that much LOL.

Q: There is another nickname ¡®TaekChiMi¡¯, what were your nicknames during your school years? Were your grades good enough refute that nick name? A: I was very quiet. School years were quite boring. I would mostly sleep at schools and sometimes I would even skip school lol. When I was a Freshmen in high school, I considered the possibilities of becoming a progamer so I spent most of my energy on playing starcraft. Since childhood I didn¡¯t like studying. It wasn¡¯t fun, never liked it. It started to get boring when I was in grade school, and when I gradually got addicted to computers it got worse. I started to play starcraft when I was in the 4th grade. From that point on to High school I was always the best player in my class. Q: Did you have any other aspirations as a kid? Before deciding on starcraft A: You may not believe me, but I wanted to become a soccer player lol. When I was a kid I used to live in ChoongNam Chunahan, my father owned a stationery store. My home was right next to my school, I would play soccer until the sun went down. In my own right I was quite good¡¦In choosing teams people would always choose me first lol. I was very passionate too. I played soccer hard in middle school too, it all stopped when I got to know about computers. Naturally my soccer skills slowly faded away. A: 6th round starts very soon, you are maintaining your 1st spot thus far, but there is only a marginal difference in your record with players right behind you. A: It¡¯s gonna be tough, It won¡¯t be easy to stay on the top. Last year I took the 3rd spot, and suffered a lot because of it, I haven¡¯t forgotten that, I am determined to maintain the status quo. I must be at the top spot. I have to regain my championship title LOL. Q: What do you think about the top 3 spots kept by SK, KT, and CJ? A: I think we¡¯ve at the very least confirmed the 3rd spot, however if we end up being 3rd it¡¯d be very disappointing. They are both very good teams, CJ¡¯s been doing tremendous recently. I think CJ is the biggest threat for us. When I practiced with them I felt how strong all of them were. It feels as if their overall skills have increased. I think when Hite, and CJ team consolidated as one, they¡¯ve become much stronger. Q: You¡¯ve stated your strong feelings towards wanting to recapture the ¡®most wins¡¯ title. ¡®Flash¡¯ is ferociously chasing you down, do you think you will be able to keep your top spot? If he wins twice in a day he could very well surpass you. A: I think until the ¡®most wins¡¯ title is confirmed, I should go out to every Ace matchup and attain two wins in a day lol. Well I don¡¯t know for sure if I¡¯d be sent out but anyway. It¡¯s more important for the team to win so, I have never attained that title so I really want it. I want to set some unprecedented records for the proleague as well, my own records. - Q: You still have a half year left, in the year 2011, I can see how much you¡¯d like to regain the protoss of the year title. A: With a record like mine right now, that title would be undeserved, since I¡¯m not doing well in the individual leagues. So my plan is to win a championship title in an individual league and receive that award in style. It¡¯d be a meaningful award. Could you say something to your supportive fans? I don¡¯t know how this message will be construed, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve opened up too much. I think I just comfortably talked about recent events, I am such a boring person, I don¡¯t know how much you will enjoy reading this interview lol. I just want you to think of me as a guy that really loves to play games. I really want to play games that you could be proud of. I am grateful for your undying support, I will work hard to meet your expectations. I will meet you again through my better played games. Could you also say something to your foreign fans? You seem to have many foreign fans. A: Chinese fans sometimes show up at the games. I think that¡¯s because I¡¯ve been to China few times. Umm¡¦how should I say this, Hello? I think mostly Chinese fans would be reading this, I know one word in Chinese ¡®Xie Xie¡¯ lol. Foreigners can¡¯t actually show up at the games, however for them I will always try to perform well. If I do end up making it to the finals it¡¯d be nice if they could actually show up at the games lol. Thank you very much your support. superdaniel@fomos.co.kr twitter:superdanielman