SC2SEA.com - Starcraft 2 SEA eSports Community Site

Had this sitting on my pc for a while now, never got around to it getting published. Thought some people might enjoy it. Note most of the stuff in this is pretty out of date by now!


Player Spotlight: Daniel ‘SQL.delete’ Li


Daniel ‘delete’ Li is a Sydney based seventeen year old Protoss player currently representing Sequential Gaming. After a breakout performance in the open bracket at ACL Sydney, Daniel’s stellar run had heads turning.

Currently balancing Starcraft with his HSC, the future for Daniel is an uncertain one. “After my HSC, I want to continue my studies at university”, he explained. When asked about a career path, he couldn’t say for sure where he wanted to end up, only where he didn’t want to be. “I don’t want to do law, medicine, history or arts, and hopefully play more with the free time I get”.

“Even when I got into Grandmaster League, Starcraft was still a thing that I only played for fun”

Not only one of Australia’s up and coming Protoss players, Daniel is also a talented musician – able to play both the guitar and piano. He is also a competent chess player, representing his school in tournaments.

“I’m not sure if playing instruments help with finger dexterity or not”, tells Daniel, “I’ve played piano for a lot longer than SCII, so I can’t really compare what it’s like playing without these skills. I don’t think chess is too helpful either. While it’s also a strategy game, it’s turn based, and doesn’t require the same reactions and control as Starcraft”.

“When I started playing, I originally picked Terran. My brother played Protoss though, so I switched so that he could teach me. He taught me a build involving four Warpgates and a proxy Pylon…”

Daniel began playing Starcraft II when his brother bought the game for him in Christmas 2010. Unlike many high level players, he had no prior experience with the first iteration of Starcraft. “I never got to play Brood War, though I played Dota and Warcraft III on BoredAussie. There were not a lot of people playing melee games at the time though, so I never got to play Warcraft at a high level”, lamented Daniel. “I think that’s what drew me in to Starcraft. I could look for a game and wait for only a minute or so to find a new opponent. That, and the level of competition present within the community”.

“I think I began taking the game a bit more seriously when I had to represent crux (Daniel’s previous clan, recently disbanded) in clan wars. At that point, those games actually meant something. Before that, I was joining tournaments just to have fun, never to win”, remembers Daniel. “A lot has changed since then. After joining aLt (an established South East Asian gaming clan with a long history, delete’s current clan) and SQL I have felt the need to constantly improve to keep up with the caliber of players in these groups. Although I’m not quite at their level yet, it’s fantastic to have players who know the game inside and out to discuss strategy and practice with. These days, I mostly practice with Hut, NXZ or Stallion or on ladder if I’m strapped for time.”

When asked about the current Australian scene, delete was excited to see the growth over the last year or so, but acknowledged that there was still a ways to go. “The competition that has sprung up over the last year has been fantastic, and I hope to see it continue, as there are still only a handful of top Australian players who can truly compete at an international level”.

One of these top players that Daniel looks up to is Xeria Gaming’s Ray “xGKingLight” Zi. “Light is somewhat of a hero, as he is Australia’s strongest Protoss player. A beacon of hope amongst the sea of Zerg players I guess (Australia is notorious for its high amount of top Zerg competitors)”

Another player is Jared ‘TtPiG’ Krensal. “PiG is such an awesome and helpful guy. He does very well in all local events, and I always make sure to cheer him on when he competes internationally” tells Daniel.

“I think that a lot of people started to realize that I had the potential to be good after that”

Reflecting on ACL Sydney, Daniel remembers dealing with the nerve issues relating to his second ever live event. “At the beginning I found myself really nervous, though after a while my brain switched to Starcraft mode, and I was able to focus on the game itself. It was weird playing on a set up so different from mine at home, and I had mouse issues, but these were eventually overcome”.

His run through the open bracket saw Daniel facing against some of Australia’s (and even a player from New Zealand) strong up and coming gamers. Ultimately falling 1-2 to Carnage’s Jimdiddy in the Open Bracket ro8, delete was overall pretty happy with his performance. “Everyone at the event and online afterwards was so supportive of my play. I think that a lot of people started to realize that I had the potential to be good after that”.

Looking towards the future, Daniel sees things being relatively quiet until he finishes his HSC in six months’ time. “I’m going to be playing in the ASUS ROG & Kingston’s Star Invite League on the 10th of June, but to be honest I haven’t really been training for it lately, and I’m not sure that I will be able to due to school”, explains Daniel, “So I don’t think I’ll do particularly well there. Unfortunately I can’t see myself really playing in any other big events until school is done”.

Daniel would like to send shoutouts to Sequential and all it’s sponsors – Razer, Gunnar, Kontrolfreek, Bench Studios, USA Foods and Netvirtue, as well as to clan’s aLt and crux. He’d also like to thank all his real life friends for supporting him in his gaming ways. And techtron. (It’s a long story apparently)

Follow delete on twitter @deleet12



Hope you enjoyed ^^