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Team Areola - Eriador[pG] Interview
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Interview
with Eriador[pG] after winning the Norwegian WCG qualifier.
x]BD[x aka Born)Slippy:
Two of the most famous Norwegians are sVEN and Slayer, both of which are mostly gone from the international scene these days. Another name, who for a long while stood partially in the shadow of mentioned players, is Eriador - Eriador[pG], Liquid'Drone, RANDOMINATOR, or Eivind Leknes. Whatever you want to call him, he's still "that Norwegian" with the "those videoes", with his legendary refusal to play in a manner most would call "serious" even in large online tourneys, and recent winner of the Norwegian WCG. I tracked him down, cornered him, and after using a lot of duct tape to keep him still, finally managed to interview him. Enjoy.
teamareola.com:
So, I'm sitting here with the Norwegian winner of the Stockholm WCG, Liquid'Drone, aka Eriador[pG].
Eriador[pG]:Indeed you are, and I'm feeling privileged to have such fine company :P
teamareola.com:
He's a randomer, which makes him a dangerous and versatile opponent, and many are the foes who have felt the deadly egde of his cunning play and intelligent strats. So, Eriador - who is the person behind the ruthless executioner's mask?
Eriador[pG]:Haha, well my name is Eivind Leknes, I'm a 20 year old male(!) from norway who enjoys most fun stuff and shuns most boring stuff. I believe I'm rather nice, definitely not ruthless! :D
teamareola.com:
I see. So, let's start this interview with talking about your tummy. As some of you might know, Eriador's tummy is famous after he released a video of it doing tricks some time back. Eriador, do you have a name for him, or it? Or her?
Eriador[pG]:
Oh, that's one of my favourite subjects. Interesting question, which I have not spent enough time contemplating. It definitely deserves a nickname. I mean, some people name their penises (penii?) and my stomach is far funkier than any penis... but no, I do not have a name at the time being. Suggestions are welcome. By the way, the movie really did not fully manage to capture the beauty of it - ask anyone at WCG Stockholm.
teamareola.com:
You won the Norwegian WCG qualification, and even though I rail at the lameness of the question - how do you feel about it?
Eriador[pG]:
Well, it feels good obviously. And it was kinda weird because, when I first got to hear of there being a Norwegian WCG, I was like "omfg im going to win this", as it was my first opportunity to compete in the WCG. So, I intended on practicing a whole bunch - even practicing specific matchups on different maps, yeah, I even intended on chickening out and not randoming, embarassing as it might be :( But then for some reason I was never in the mood to play 1v1 on wcg maps, so it didn't really go that way.
teamareola.com:
Also, you went to Cuba, of all places, and was there for two weeks just before the event...
Eriador[pG]:
Yeah, that was also part of the reason why I did not get much time to practice, hehe. And then I went to Stockholm with the goal of having a good time, meeting everyone, hopefully doing some cool stuff and not embarassing myself too badly. And during the warmup games, I was constantly misclicking and pressing the wrong buttons. So I was like "bah this is so not working out". But then the tourney started, and I found zen. Or it found me - either way I calmed down a whole lot and started playing very good. And then stuff just fit perfectly, I got the races I hoped for and things just clicked.
teamareola.com:
Seems like you surprised yourself most of all! The skill level you had going on the reps I've seen was tremendous, granted - I've never seen you play seriously before so it was very, very exciting to watch.
Eriador[pG]:
Well thank you :) And yeah, it feels very good, and I'm looking forward to San Fransisco.
teamareola.com:
There was some mild controversy around the semis and finals.
Eriador[pG]:
Well, the tourney had taken several hours longer than what was anticipated. So then we were just done with winners bracket finals at like 6:30 am or something. and then Slayer and Stinger were supposed to play a best of 3 in the losers bracket finals. But they had to leave at about 8 am. so after Stinger marine+scv rushed Slayer, they were suddenly asking whether it was best of 3 or one, cause neither of them seemed to know. Turns out it was best of 3, however we were short on time.. and then slayer just said that stinger could advance to the finals. And due to him being short on time, we made an agreement to only play best of 3 instead of best of 5 in the finals. I mean, this agreement was done before the finals, so there really was no controversy. And neither Stinger nor Slayer made any complaints whatsoever :p
teamareola.com:
Okay, thanks for clearing that up. On a more social level, how was the event?
Eriador[pG]:
Oh, it was great. Although it kinda sucked how the Swedes I wanted to talk to were all positioned at the other side of the internet cafe, so I ended up talking only to Norwegians and some with Mazor and FrozenArbiter, and a little bit with Muhweli as well. But pretty much everyone were cool and I had a very very good time :)
teamareola.com:
Sounds like a ton of fun. Over to the final event in San Fransisco - do you really think you will be able to do well? Of course, you HOPE you will - but in all honesty, what does reason tell you?
Eriador[pG]:
I think I will play better than I did in Stockholm. In stockholm, although *I* didn't expect myself to do particulary well, everyone else kept telling me that I was the favourite (together with Slayer I guess), so I did have a slight bit of pressure. In San Fransisco, there won't be any pressure. and hopefully I will actually practice a fair bit. I'm an extremely calm person and I've pretty much always performed better at LAN's than online, I also have a lot of LAN experience, so I expect to play well. Of course, being a random player (and I intend on randoming in every game), and the wcg maps being as imbalanced as some of them are, I depend on Lady Luck to smile upon my face. But she tends to do so when it matters :)
teamareola.com:
Confidence - I like that. On a more personal note, I would guess the race pickers will do very well this WCG, so I expect Trek at least to perform powerfully.
Eriador[pG]:
Yeah, but race pickers often get beat up by randomers ;) But yes, these maps are very good for race pickers. In particular Korhal.
teamareola.com:
Who would you like to see leave Poland, Canada, Holland, US and Germany?
Eriador[pG]:Hmmm. For Poland I want Tomson cause I kinda know him, and Blackman cause he deserves it due to raw skill but at the same time I don't want him there, as he's really [censored] good. Germany I think Mondi (Editor's note: Mondragon from ToT) deserves it. then I want the last two people to be someone from pG. Fisheye, Breakdown, Infinity or Hexer would all be cool. USA, I don't really know what Rekrul's plans are. but he's the one I want to win the most. As well as Froz. That's both whom I think are the best players in usa and whom my best friends are. As for Canada, Veg and Fayth would be sweet. Moraelin isn't going to compete, but getting to meet him will be memorable for both of us ;) And Testie would kill himself if he failed again, and I don't want that to happen - so yeah, I want Testie too. I want to see Nazgul come from Holland - I think he has a fair chance too. I played a couple of games with him some days ago and he was still very good, much better than I had expected him to be. I think his chance is just as good as Twisted and Ret's chance. This is awkward cause I have to think about people I am hopefully not forgetting. If I did forget you, sorry, I love you anyway. ;)
teamareola.com:
Sorry, didn't mean to place you in a tight spot. So.. pG - does the clan have anything to do economically with WCG qualics and stuff?
Eriador[pG]:
Well I have not *yet* received any refunds for my wcg expenses (about $200) but that was mostly due to me being in a big rush right before the event. I believe I will get somewhere between 50 and 75% covered. Among other things I found out I no longer had a ride about 16 hours before the train I had to take was leaving!
teamareola.com:
Can all pG members expect some monetary help?
Eriador[pG]:
Well, that's sort of the point, I believe. although I generally don't give a [censored] about money thus I haven't bothered getting much information regarding all this.
teamareola.com:
does it - the team - expect anything in return aside you wearing the tags, of course?
Eriador[pG]:
Not as far as I know. Of course we're expected to be practice partners for our fellow pG'ers, and not give replays of other players in [pG] to people outside the team when they're practicing for a tourney or whatever, but apart from that, I don't think so.
teamareola.com:
In a ideal situation, who would win in a ToT vs pG match?
Eriador[pG]:
Haha, honestly, it would be sorta random, and the result could change every time we played. I do believe if all the members of pG are in good shape, we are still hands down the best team outside Korea.
teamareola.com:
Face to Face is an exhibition based in Spain, and is still fairly low-profile, but a lot of players participate in it, big names at that. And Eriador, you played Clawson, the winner of the Finnish WCG, today. Who came out victorious?
Eriador[pG]:
I won 3-2, in a weird series of games, that were not really exciting.
teamareola.com:
So, if I were to ask you what is the point of online exhibitions, you would say something like...
Eriador[pG]:
Hmm. The point is kind of entertaining the masses while yourself getting experience playing serious matches. Although I'm not sure how serious everyone who plays in those exhibitions are. I myself play far better when there's a prize involved. Nation wars are often not cared about that much either by the "top tier" players.
teamareola.com:
Don't you think, though, that getting your name out is kinda important? (leading question, I know ;)
Eriador[pG]:
Well, that's important to many up and coming players, I guess; for someone who is like, lingering right below the top 1-2 players of their country, whom can often be of similar skill, yet far less fame - it would be more important. But as for me, I've been enjoying fame for several years now, honestly more so than my accomplishments have warranted.
teamareola.com:
Why is that, do you think? Personally I think it's your tummy, but that's just an educated guess.
Eriador[pG]:
Heh, I dunno, but my position as a moderator and active forum user at teamliquid.net, me being random and making an effort to play different from everyone else are probably factors.
teamareola.com:
If you got an offer for a short-term contract in Korea, would you take it?
Eriador[pG]:
I doubt it. Sounds far too serious for me, and I would have to stop being a casual gamer. Although if I was paid regardless of how well I placed in tournaments (unheard of for a foreigner), and was not really "risking" anything - then it would be tempting.
teamareola.com:
BW4Ever is now a well known and large weekly tourney, which you have barely participated in - any particular reason as to why not?
Eriador[pG]:
The timing has just been wrong - never got around to it.
teamareola.com:
Yeah, keeping track of time when you have such a tight scheduele, what with training your tummy and all is hard, I understand.
Eriador[pG]:
Keeping track of time is hard cause I have no schedule at all, thus I never have to. Btw, the tummy tumbling is an innate ability. I've always been able to do it.
teamareola.com:
Ok, some short questions. If you woke up one morning and realised that you were Jim Raynor, what would your first thought be?
Eriador[pG]:
I'd go look for Kerrigan. Pre-infested version, of course.
teamareola.com:
If you woke up one morning and realised that a) you were a father and b) the child was strikingly similar to Tassadar, what would you do?
Eriador[pG]:
Oh my. I've been drunk at the "can't remember [censored]" stage several times in the past, but that would make me seriously wonder what the [censored] I did last night, even if I knew I was sober. I mean... having Tassadar as a kid would be cool and all, but it would be really weird. Am I supposed to go look for an overmind so I can sacrifice my child?
teamareola.com:
Ah, the difficulties of fatherhood.
Eriador[pG]:
Indeed. It doesn't sound all that tempting.
teamareola.com:
Poker or BW?
Eriador[pG]:
BW! Although I think poker can be fun, not compared to BW.
teamareola.com:
Nazgul or Testie?
Eriador[pG]:
Nazgul
teamareola.com:
Gummi Bears vs Fireman Sam?
Eriador[pG]:
Gummi Bears.
teamareola.com:
Nazgul vs Gummi Bears?
Eriador[pG]:
Oh my. This one is hard... well, I guess I got to sleep in his sister's bed for 2 weeks. No Gummi Bear ever gave me that pleasure - so once again Nazgul.
teamareola.com:
Most challenging/entertaining zerg player you've played?
Eriador[pG]:
Hm. That's kinda funny, cause I can't think of anyone. I honestly don't have any zerg practice partners. Weird. :p
teamareola.com:
Same question - protoss?
Eriador[pG]:
Nazgul and Rekrul. I've had very many cool games vs both, usually zvp.
teamareola.com:
On a side note, why do you think there's such a huge gap between Rek's pvz and pvt skills?
Eriador[pG]:
Well, that gap is not as big anymore as it used to be. But back then, it was simply due to him playing far more against terran players than against zerg players. USA has always lacked in the zerg department. And honestly, so has Europe. Although we have some very good ones, it has always been far less than terran and toss. I believe almost everyone outside Korea are generally better against terran and toss than against zerg. as for Koreans, in my experience it is normally the other way around. Against top European protoss players I've always performed best zvp, but against korean semiprogamers and good amateurs I usually win more tvp than zvp. My being a random player kind of gives me a different perspective I think.
teamareola.com:
No matter what matchup I play, I get my intestines handed to me... most challenging/entertaining terran opponent?
Eriador[pG]:
Challenging would be Froz. And I used to play Elky every now and then. But honestly, apart from Naz I can't think of anyone whom I've REALLY played many games with. Naz is the only one I've played more than 50 1v1s against, I think.
teamareola.com:
Right. So over to your gaming style. How do you think randomdom affects how you think about BW, and how you enact that thinking in-game?
Eriador[pG]:
It kind of gives me a different perspective, like I just said. Something you can often see with terran players is that they're capable of playing pvt very well with hardly no practice at all. However, pvz zvz zvp they're completely clueless. When I play tvp I also practice pvt and, I know both what terran, protoss and zerg players hate to be up against. In addition it allows me to use other build orders than most people.
teamareola.com:
Pylon prison...
Eriador[pG]:
Pylon prison is normally better in picked pvp cause people are less likely to build core before zealot if they think I might be zerg. Pylon prison is not really part of my randoming, but perhaps part of my random-ness. That is, while I both random before the game, I also try to be somewhat random IN the game. by utilizing units and buildings in ways my opponents are not used to combatting.
teamareola.com:
So what you're saying is that being random allows you to tap into other player's thinking more easily?
Eriador[pG]:
Yeah, I do believe it does. And it gives me a much broader understanding of Starcraft. Now, I don't think most people are calm enough to say, random against terran on gorky island, because that's pretty much a lottery - either you get zerg or terran which means you have an advantage... or you get protoss which means you die. But randoming has not been bad for my skill, and I'm fairly certain I don't play any more with my three races added up than most people around my skill play with one race. There's one problem though, and that is same race matchups. I get far less practice zvz and tvt and pvp than people who only play one race. While I practice tvp playing both pvt and tvp, I only practice tvt while playing tvt. Likewise with all the other matchups. So tvt and zvz in particular I'm not confident with at a high level, but I think the advantage random gives me is a greater benefit than the risk of tvt/zvz is a disadvantage. :)
teamareola.com:
Wow. Okay, I've reached the end of my questions. Shoutouts?
Eriador[pG]:
Everyone mentioned so far in the interview. And then you have my fantastical finn zia. Hi mom. Hi raszi. And hi everyone I met at norwegian WCG.
teamareola.com:
Okay, so I would like to thank Drone for his time, and wish him good luck in San Fransisco and whatever other nefarious activities (drinking) he will resort to in between now and then.
Eriador[pG]:
I'm broke though. Being Norwegian I can't afford much of that. But oh well, it's not good for me anyway! ;) And, it was my pleasure. I will play with a viking helmet at WCG finals, just so you know.
teamareola.com:
I look forward to seeing that.
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