SC2SEA.com - Starcraft 2 SEA eSports Community Site

deL · Mon, 7th-Nov-2011, 5:21 AM

Episode 5: Kenny "aLtShortizz" Ang

Zerg with guns... Be afraid.

Name:	Kenny "aLtShortizz" Ang
Country:	Singapore
Race:	Zerg
Clan:	aLt
Team:	None
Replays:	Download (TBR)

In this article we get to know the underrated, the up-and-coming or the unknown talent in the Southeast Asian and Oceanic SC2 scenes. Get to know the soon-to-be top players in SEA as we let the players talk about themselves and their StarCraft experiences in a short interview. We had previously featured EscapisT, TARossi, and pRoTimber all before they became uber famous so Shortizz you have big shoes to fill!

This edition we meet aLt's Singaporean Zerg ace, aLtShortizz. As a recent pickup for clan aLt, who famously have a strict recruitment process, Shortizz has gone from strength to strength in the local SEA scene. Shortizz is perhaps best known for some very strong performances in sc2sea's own Community Open events where he has taken out two first places. If you are not already familiar with his replay packs from these events you should go and check them out!

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Aside from his dominance of the CO series of tournaments, Shortizz also contributes with articles like his zerg strategy writeup which you can read below, and I strongy encourage you to as it has a lot of great information not only about SC2 but about Shortizz himself!

If you know a player who you consider up and coming (that is, you can see them getting top4 finishes in tournaments in a month or two) then suggest them here and they may get a feature!

READ SHORTIZZ'S ZERG STRATEGY ARTICLE HERE

Can you tell us a bit about your gaming history, did you play any other games competitively? And also a bit about your personal life like where you are from and what you do?
My name is Kenny Ang (aLtShortizz) and I'm a university student from Singapore! I started playing Half Life, Quake 3 and BW back in 1998 with a bunch of friends in LAN shops. It was all the rage at that time and BW was a very, very popular choice back then.

How long have you been playing StarCraft 2? It seems like you've been around for a while but only recently been competing at the top level. Did you start out in Bronze and work your way up or did you just decide to play more competitively?
I started playing SC2 in Feb/March and was placed in Bronze. Being a former BW player, that was a huge embarassment! Eventually that spurred the competitiveness in me and I worked my way up from bronze to GM in about 6 months (I got it in August). I never wanted to play competitively but I do like the challenge of playing in competitions.

Do you ever intend to play starcraft competitively, and what are your future expectations for competitive SC2?
Playing SC2 competitively is out of the question. Although it's a fun career, the small amount of people earning enough money to get by is hardly encouraging. For me, SC2 is pretty much a fun and challenging hobby. Kicking ass while playing is definitely a plus

Tell us about how you ended up joining clan aLt. How were you approached and why, and how did it make you feel? How have you fit in to the clan?
I've known about aLt since the BW days. In fact I lost to Nirvana in a WCG BW quarter finals game, 20 ppl showed up and it wasn't hard to get to the ro8. Having made GM and winning a couple of tournaments, joining a clan was obviously next and aLt was the natural choice since it's the best in Singapore. I am very excited to be invited by Nirvana to the clan and even more so with the amount of practice partners the clan provided.

Fitting in to the clan was easy as everyone was friendly and helpful and, hopefully, I've been as good a practise partner as they have been for me.

How did you decide on playing Zerg?
I played Zerg in BW and I guess that just carried over to SC2. I mean, when I first started playing I didnt even look at the other races. I just clicked on Zerg and the "search for a game". Although I'm sure I would definitely progress faster had I been playing a different race like Protoss. Zerg is definitely a harder race to master but the results of top Zergs seems to show that it is also the best race to showcase a player's skills.

How would you describe your play style? What are your favourite builds and matchups at the moment?
Generally, safe and macro. But I also like to mix in some cheese and all-ins from time to time. It makes things exciting and the satisfaction of doing something creative and surprising is very rewarding! Most games though, I usually play macro and try to inch slowly further ahead while playing safely.

You started blogging or writing articles on sc2sea about Zerg strategy, and they also contain a lot of background information on yourself. Were these posts your idea, and if so what made you decide to do them?
The blogs and posts are pretty much due to the numerous request of my friends on Bnet and Sc2sea. Alot of them wanted to heard about the way I trained to GM from bronze in about 6 months. When I made the blog, I didn't want to just have a ''Progress journey'' log. Thats why I added in some tips and strategy that have either helped or made it fun for me. The response have been very encouraging and I'll definitely put more effort into it after my exams!

What future articles or efforts will we see from you? Anything planned?
For now, I'll keep working on updating my Strategy blog and my exams. Although I have had a few coaching request, I've directed them to clanmates and friends. I do, however, plan to do a lesson for some friends. Basically a QnA on skype/vent while we watch or play a game.

Do you have any favourite players you love to cheer for, watch or learn from? If so who?
BoxeR, he's just the best. Anyone who has played or watched BW knows that. Although I must say, Stephano has been very impressive lately.

Finally, do you have any friends or players you'd like to thank, or any rivals you want to call out? Do you have any suggestions for a future Up and Coming player Feature? Last comments?
I'd like to thank my clan aLt and of Bryan for inviting me to join. The peeps from PRACBUD (Most of us were newbs) are always fun to hang out with. If any one of you bronzies needs help or games, you can always find a good one there. The guys from Clan FaDe deserve a mention too for being so awesome! Also the casters and organisers like Frogmite, Paroxysm, Cute, Eddie, SatuSPR, Maynarde and Benji whom I feel deserve a lot of credit for running tournaments!

No rivals yet, I prefer to keep things light

[Ed: Hidden message there? Light? O_O]

Thanks for you time!

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More Rising StarZ!

Episode 1: EscapisT

Protoss

Singapore

aLt

Organiser

Retired

Episode 2: Rossi

Terran

Australia

Nv