After he won the Gosu Gamer of the Year award, we had a chat with one of the most well-known Polish players, Krzysztof "Draco" Nalepka. He speaks about his future in Korea, the foreign community and his life there.
How do you feel about winning the award?
- The year 2006 was the hardest and probably one of the most important years in my life. Not only in my StarCraft career but also in my private life. I had to divide my time between preparation for the final exam of high school, trying my best to find a team in Korea and if that wasn’t be enough I had some kind of emotional problem. I'm very happy about this award since I feel a bit like a loser after these past 12 months and I think I could have done much better. I find it a little ironic because I will probably always remember the year 2006 as a really hard passage to make my dreams come true. Anyway I feel very touched that so many people voted for me and I would like to send thanks to them for their support and votes.
How are things going in Korea?
- I'm trying my best to improve as much as possible in practice games . At the moment I don't have any chances to show myself off in any official games and nothing will change during the next 2 months. The next proleague season is starting in March, as well as the OSL and MSL qualifications.
Were you statisfied with your performance at the WCG?
- I was going to Monza for a medal so I would say that no... I'm not satisfied. I still regret losing games against Choi Yeon Sung which I think I could have won if I hadn't make the mistakes I made due to my lack of experience. Anyways, iloveoov played very strongly, expecially in the game on Gaia and even though I knew how strong he is, it surprised me a lot, as well as his all-in build in the last game. I was pretty sure he wouldn't risk such a thing against any foreigner in a WCG game.
Regarding your status, are you now truly a 'progamer', or are you a resident/training partner in the OGN Sparkyz team?
- Everyone who has a prolicence and is a member of a proteam is a progamer.
Do you watch the matches of your teammates live at the spot, or by television?
- If any Protoss is playing then yes, otherwise our coaches do not allow us to watch any games if there is no one of our own race playing. Although there are some exceptions if it is our proleague match or if matches are on Sunday, because this is our day off.
GosuGamers: What do you think about Garimto's return?
- I think it will be very hard for him because he is a bit old and took a huge break from gaming. During his absence, the game style has changed a lot. It's not the same as in Boxer's or other progamers who are currently the in army's case because they are able to practice, while Garimto couldn't. There was also a return of a bit less well-known progamer called Pro.nt_SonJJang, but he didn't do too well. Maybe they need some time, somewhere between half a year to a year to come back to shape. I surely wish good luck to them and any other retired progamer who is willing to come back.
What was the biggest change when you went to Korea?
- Cultural differences. Korea really is very different from European countries in every aspect. I would say that they have their own separate world. For example, there is a huge importance in their treatment of age. If someone is older than you by even one year, you have to show him a lot of respect. It is said that in Korea you can be friends only with someone who is of the same age as you are. My Korean age is 21. When someone is born in Korea he is already 1 year of age, and everyone gains a new year with a new calendar year so it doesn't matter if you are born in january or december. There are a lot of rules in Sparkyz team and I believe it's very simillar to other teams. It brings army rules to mind. There are some members who have more 'power' than others, so they have less duties and more conveniences. Any objections to your elders are not tolerated. I think it could be hard for some foreigners to adjust to Korean culture.
Do you still follow the foreign Starcraft scene?
- Yes. I mean I used to surf on foreign StarCraft sites, because this is the only one place where I can read about both Korean and foreigner scenes. I read about no-korean events mostly because of my fondness to things which were very important for me in the past. I visit GosuGamers, teamliquid and netwars.pl every day, but I don't read everything. I only choose the things that interest me.
Is there any situation imaginable in which you would return to the Polish national team?
- First thing which would have to happen would be my comeback to Poland from Korea, otherwise the time difference makes it impossible. Nowadays I hardly find time to relax or even to talk to my family so I don't think that it's possible in the current situation.
Draco at IEST.
What would your timetable on a typical day look like?
- It has been changed a few times during the last months, mostly because we didn't make it to the proleague finals. Right now, I wake up at 9 am to go to the health-club, come back at 10:30 then eat breakfast, take a shower and surf on the internet if there is any time left. Practice time starts at 11:30 and ends at 1 am with a break for a dinner from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Not so long ago we practiced until 2 am.
Were you ArtistTrack18 in the BW4ever tournament?
Draco: Of course I was not. I have no idea how someone could come to such a conclusion. Even if I would like to take part in BW4ever tournament I simply wouldn't find time and energy for that.
What was your opinion about the current MeetYourMakers-situation?
- MeetYourMakers couldn't provide me enough sponsorship and I couldn't show up on most of the clan wars at such a late hours in Korean time so we had to end our relationship. Moreover, I have seen that many people think that MeetYourMakers helped me to go to Korea and paid for a tickets which couldn't be more wrong. My parents paid for all costs connected with that risky adventure.
What do you think about the development of the professional scene in China?
- I think it's very good for the general development of e-sports all over the world. Will it be ever same as in Korea? That's very hard question which should be sent to some economic expert. But if you ask me, I think it's possible everywhere, but it'll be a long time. Simply because nowadays, much more young people spend their time with PC games than any other form of entertainment.
Have you made a few friends in your new team? Who do you practice with most?
-I've already been in a team for 6 months, so of course I got friendly with the team. Koreans even call it 'new family'. I practice with everyone in the team, it also depends on other members schedule. For example if any of us are going to play a TV game in a week versus Terran, they will only be practising versus Terran."
If you managed to qualify for a tournament like the OSL, would you rather face a weak opponent, a strong opponent, or an opponent you know well?
- I really don't know, I never really thought about that. I think there are no weak players in OSL so in fact who I would choose doesn't matter much. I would probably look at the maps and decide based on the race.
GosuGamers: Did your gameplay develop the way you liked to? What do you see now, that you didn't see before?
- Yes, my game really developed a lot. There are too many things just to name some aspects of the game which I didn't see before and see now. Generally it's not so much about macro and micro but about experience. Knowledge about builds, timings, decisions during a game and on which situations I should spend more time during a game and on which less.
Do you have any tips for other players with ambitions?
- I would suggest everyone who is thinking about serious gaming to watch Korean vods and hm... simply practise as much as possible. This is the only way to succeed in such a competitive sport with such an easy access to training. With talent and practice, I think it's 50:50 and in my opinion, a strong urge to practice and the ability to keep yourself motivated all the time is already a huge talent."
Is there any other player you would currently recommend to go to Korea?
- I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone because after all it could harm someone's life. But I can advise those who think about going to Korea to think about that twice. Unless someone is ready for really hard work he should stay at home and take care about his education. To be honest there are hundreds of easier jobs than progaming.
Spot the non-Korean gamer!
Are you comfortable in your current team?
- I think so but I can't say that the life here is easy. There are many difficulties and today I can surely say that Koreans are very lucky to live in a country where progaming is available for everyone without needing to leave their home country. Not at all. I would say that being a foreigner may only make it much harder.
Koreans are able to get the licence in a courage tournament every month and they usually try it over a dozen times until they have it. Also proteams are afraid about difference of culture and language. And probably the most painful thing is their opinion on foreigner players. From my experience I know that Koreans think that they have some special talent for StarCraft, but in my opinion they mostly owe it to the great progaming structure in Korea.
Rumors say you joined OGN in spite of going 0-5 in the test games. Did you, in your eyes, prove you were a good gamer?
-I don't know why someone comes up with such rumours but I will clarify what really happened. I had two tests to OGN. One of them I had taken online before a trip to Korea when I was still in Poland and I went 4-3. And the second one was offline in the OGN apartments when I went 3-4, even though the results don't say anything. Even if someone wins more games than they lose, it doesn't mean that a team will take you. The most important thing is your potential and skill. So in conclusion I'm pretty sure that result has nothing to do with their decision if you get to join a pro-team and that's what they told me before taking a test.
Have you learned any Korean yet?
- I have learned some basic sentences but it has been very hard for me to learn Korean from other team mates since they really don't speak english very well. Without any basic skills I couldn't improve, but during the last vacations in Poland during christmas time I bought a study book and I'm planning to start learning Korean whenever I have free time. Moreover I'm thinking about taking private lessons in the near future.
Thanks a lot for the interview, 잘 있어요, 몸 건강하게. (it means goodbye, and keep well)
- Welcome. I would like to send thanks one more time to everyone who took part in a vote. I also want to send best wishes to the other 4 players who didn't win this time and wish them good luck for the next time!
