[x5.Crescendo]

After the GG is an interview series where I celebrate a SEA player's moment of triumph, whether the event is local or on the international stage, and try to share their thoughts with you all.

This week I have a chat with Naohiro '[DynSL] PSiArc' Nishimura who recently won Season 3 of the Japanese Competitive Gaming championships. And he didn't drop a single map.

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PSiArc, you stomped the grand finals with an incredible 6-0 against two zerg players with very different styles. How do you feel after winning JCG?

Well, I felt happy and confident at first, but after checking the replays I noticed some bad mistakes I shouldn't have made, so...I feel happy but have the urge to improve further


I think a lot of Zerg will be worried that you still have room for improvement =p Regarding your opponents, TMjpg and Vaisravana, you've faced these players many times in Daycrafts and other events. Did you make any special preparations for Season 3 of the JCG to be ready for them? Any shoutouts to practice partners?

Hm, I didn't make special preparations like customs for this particular event, but every SEAcraft has been a great TvZ practice for me because of the high number of good zerg players in SEA.
So I just thank the overall SEA community^^


Before I get into discussing the games you played, I'd like to ask a bit about the JCG if I may: how is it organised, and how difficult were the qualifiers? Were there any opponents who came close to preventing your entry into the finals brackets?

JCG is an e-sports tournament website run by Milestone International Japan Co.,Ltd.
I was invited to the final bracket because of my winning season 2,which was close series between me and vaisravana(3-2), anyway so other players couldn't possibly prevent my entry.
And unfortunately Albion, Japanese protoss who almost always takes a game off me at least both in tournaments or practice, couldn't make it in time for the qualifier on the day.
Otherwise he could've forced me to drop maps.


How many spots are seeded from the previous JCG, and how many are obtained from qualifiers?

2 from the previous JCG (CrimsoN from S1, me from S2) and 2 from the qualifier on the day(vaisravana, TMjpg)


Turning our attention to the games now, your first opponent was TMjpg, a Zerg you told me was well known for his crazy builds and proxy hatches. In game one on Expedition Lost he lived up to that reputation, starting with a cheeky proxy hatch into a roach push through the breakable rocks. You held with tanks and hellions, repelling two baneling busts, before you crushed his transition into muta/ling/bane.

I think the caster put it best as he screamed "Subarashi Splittu-da!!!!" - but please tell me your thoughts on the first game of the tournament, and how it affected your mindset going into the rest of the event.


Well, I opened gasless FE, so I had more firepower than if I opened reaperFE and dealing with proxy hat was much easier.
I felt things were going well for me when I saw the proxy hat.

It was lucky too that he didn't go for super early roaches and I got away with a greedy build.
Winning the first game positively affected my mindset because I can play under less pressure.


That feeling when you are bunker rushing your own natural to start a tournament:



You certainly seemed more prepared for his second attempt at a proxy hatch in game two on Overgrowth. Your hellion counter roasted 13 drones and your banshees killed queens and a spawning pool. It was painful for me to watch as a zerg

The third game on Vaani Research Station however turned into a back and forth bio v ling/bane/muta after a very persistent gas geyser steal from TMjpg. Over all, what were your thoughts about the three matches with him? What, if anything, would you have done differently?

On game two, I should've pulled scvs at some point so that I can kill the proxied hat before his queen pops out to put down a tumour.

This is what I concluded after analysing reaperFE vs proxy hat before, but I hadn't played vs proxy hat for a long time so it slipped my mind.
That mistake cost me a scan and landing delay at natural


Having defeated TMjpg convincingly, you then faced [DtN] Vaisravana, a zerg player known to be able to take maps off you. Compared to TMjpg he opened a lot more conservatively in his first game against you on Overgrowth. At first it seemed like his Roach Hydra composition was going to be effective, as he shut down your attempts to harass with drops.

However, in an exchange you managed to snipe his vipers and the game turned into an exciting match with constant engagements. In the end you traded more efficiently and turned the game to your victory. Can you tell me a bit about how it felt to win the first game against him in that way?

Well, almost every time I attempted to drop he was prepared, and after I noticed at some point that I mistakenly thought I had pressed upgrade buttons but actually missed them,
I felt things weren't really going well. I realized there's no way I could win a head-on fight, I tried to wait patiently for a moment where I could catch him offguard and snipe off a new expansion.
after winning the first game I was almost dropping, I felt really well because that kinda loss should be tough for him and he has to manage any tilt, I got ahead mind-game wise, on top of the score.


Your stim bio/hellbat push in game two on Vaani Research Station certainly reflected that sense of confidence. Between your splits, and marine positioning in the mineral fields, I have not seen that many zerglings butchered in a long while. Was the strategy chosen based on the map, or because of the opponent you faced?

I chose the strategy which fits the map, to take advantage of the droppable pocket expansion. Vaisravana is a bit unpredictable after all


I have felt that pain on ladder in the past ;_; The next map you played, Expedition Lost, is perhaps the best Roach map of the current season thanks to the breakable rocks at the main. Accordingly, Vaisravana made a lot of roaches. Although banshees and a brutal drop finished the series - and the championship - in your favour, do you have any thoughts on that map in the ZvT matchup?

I played greedy because I hadn't faced many aggressions on the map at the time of JCG,
But as I start to face more precise aggressions on the map I grow to think Terran should play very safely on the map, the 3rd base location candidates and stuff are awkward for zerg midgame after all, surviving the early game would be a good plan.


When PSiArc flies out, he drops stim like it's hot:


Of the games you played in the JCG, which was the most difficult; and which was the most enjoyable?

Overgrowth vs vais was both the most difficult and enjoyable I guess. It was difficult because Roach Hydra was the unexpected and I made mistakes while he's doing good job leaving a task force to deal with drops, and it was enjoyable because it was pretty action packed.


It was definitely a very exciting match to watch from a spectator's point of view Knowing that you will be seeded into the next JCG, are there any players that you will be keeping an eye on? I've seen some different names rising high in the recent Daycraft brackets.

Well, I don't think I will be seeded into the next JCG, this JCG was meant to wrap up 2014 JCGs, that's why it's titled as JCG grandchampionship.


Ah, my mistake! Do you know when the next JCG season starts?

I don't know when it will, but I heard they are considering a change to its format or something so it might take a while.
Players I will keep an eye on are Vaisravana and Albion skill-wise, but any top players in Japan could get busy in real life so I can't really tell who's going to be most formidable

I look forward to its return, either way As a bonus question, because the theme of the JCG grand championship was 'winning without dropping a map', you repeated that achievement just the other day with the Seacraft Melee #8

You fought ProzeR, Alpha, Wally and Azure in the course of winning the event without dropping a map, and I'd like to ask: who gave you the most difficult game of that event?

Wally did. The 2nd game on expedition vs him was very hard


Consider me as #Jolly4Wally as I am #PSyched4PSiArc

Finally, with the JCG behind you, and a solid run of successes in the OCS - where you are currently #3 in points & only 12.5 behind Iaguz by the way - what are your next goals in SC2? Have you got your eyes set on the next WCS qualifiers coming up soon?

Well, OSC ranking doesn't mean too much skill-wise, it's not like I'm anywhere close to iaguz.
all I'd like to do is start to win more games off great players.

Of course I'm thinking about the WCS qualifier, but I'll play ESCL RO8 vs Emotion shortly so my mind now is full of how to play vs him, what I should do and shouldn't...etc


I look forward to those matches, and hope you make your way through to the semi finals!

Thank you, PSiArc, for taking the time to share your thoughts with us about the JCG Grand Championships!

Thank you Crescendo

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It was, once again, a pleasure to speak with PSiArc. I have no doubt we will continue to see his bio on a Stim And Win rampage in the OSC.

Watching the games in the JCG reinforces my hope that in the future we can encourage more Japanese players to enter OSC events. I'd love to start seeing some more of PSiArc's competition, (such as TMjpg, Albion, CriMsoN and Vaisravana) causing havoc here in the many SEAcrafts, Friday Fun Nights, and Masters Cups.

Now that you probably want to watch the matches described, the JCG VOD for the Grand Championship is here: http://www.twitch.tv/japanesports/b/624590482
8m - PSiArc v TMjpg
1hr24m - PSiArc v Vaisravana

Enjoy, and GLHF!

[syfSoundwave]

Very thorough and in depth! Nice work Crescendo.

[FLuX]

Love these interviews! Great quality stuff