Assem is not known for many accomplishments throughout his past. Assem is also not known for much bragging, he seems to keep to himself to himself more than anything. Now being the only non-Korean professional gamer, Assem is has been found to be a mystery to most of the StarCraft community.
ChrisJH a staff member at the popular TL.net website recently got a hold of the Virgin Terran himself. ChrisJH asked Assem about his life in Korea, and a lot of things that relate to him being in Korea.
- What differences are there between what you thought progaming was like before going to Korea, and how it really is now?
It’s actually not so different from my expectations. I was really surprised by the popularity at first; the fans and TV stations and shows all broadcasting Starcraft. From being here in Korea and in the progaming scene I’ve also seen some of the inner workings of the teams and the progaming companies so I have a little better view of the ‘reality?Eof things. It’s more of a business for gamers now, with the growth of progaming and the big time sponsors coming in. Starcraft has become less of a game and more of a job.
- About Peter?Eyesterday was his last day in Korea. He’s retired from progaming and is moving on with his life. It must be very strange, being the only white man left in Korea? How does that make you feel? Do you feel any added pressure to perform well?
Yeah, it’s sad to see Peter leave progaming, but he’s had a pretty good run. After Giyom and Elky retired, we became the last two foreign progamers in Korea, but there wasn’t so much pressure, for me at least. I’m sure Peter probably felt more pressure than I did because he was a much bigger name than me. But now that I’m the only one remaining, I do feel pressure to do well, to show that foreign gamers are able to compete with the Korean progamers. I try not to think about that so much though, because it just creates stress. I just need to do what I can to make myself a good gamer and let things fall in place.
- As I’m sure we all know, you are a pure Terran player (at least when you’re competing). Why not Zerg, or Protoss? Why did you originally choose Terran as your race of choice?
I started in the very beginning playing random. It was the best choice I think, for learning the ins and outs of the game. After I moved up and started playing more competitively, I focused on particular match-ups and maps. During that time I played a lot more Zerg and Protoss than Terran, but Terran was always the most fun for me.
It only took a couple months of that before I decided to stick with Terran and be an “only-Terran?Euser. I had always thought that even though Terran was fun to play, it was also very hard to win with. I’m a pretty competitive guy who likes a good challenge, and that’s how I viewed changing to an only-Terran player: a good challenge. There were a few other really good Terran players I had looked up to that showed it was possible to win consistently. Since then I’ve been 100% Terran for competitive play with no regrets (other than the occasional imbalance whines).
To see more of the interview you will have to check it out on TL.net. Best of luck to Assem in Korea from the GosuGamers.net crew.
Links
TL.net - Interview with Assem
