Fnatic - A profesional gaming team

Name: Sun Yi Feng
Nickname: F91
Age: 25
Race: Zerg

Achievements

• 1st at the 2006 IEST China
  

• 4th at the 2006 WCG China
  

• 1st at the 2005 Enjoy E-sports ShangHai
  

• 3rd at the 2005 CKCG ZhengZhou
  

• 1st at the 2005 CGEL ZheJiang
  

• 1st at the 2005 VS Gamg
  

• 1st at the 2005 CGEL China
  

• 1st at the 2004 ShangHai Enjoy E-sports Game
  

• 3rd at the 2004 Lenovo
  

• 3rd at the 2004 CEG Shanghai
  

• 2nd at the 2003 Goc
  

Why did you decide to join fnaticMSI?
I’ve chosen Fnatic because of Ash as the manager and also it is definitely a nice team.

What’s your impression of Fnatic?
My first thought on Fnatic is definitely their world class CS team and it is my pleasure to be able to join one of the best esport teams.

Why did you choose Zerg and which player do you think your gaming style mirrors?
I’ve chosen Zerg as my main race because I think this race requires a lot of decision making and I belong to the category of people who love to think a lot. I would consider myself as a micro orientated player and I expertise in some small micromanagement like micro’ing a group of zerglings ^^ I think my style is similar to KTF Luxury.

What are your goals while you're in Fnatic?
Fnatic is one of the most successful teams globally so my goal is of course to be the best.

You previously played for MYM and now that you’re in Fnatic, what do you think is the biggest difference between these two world class teams?
I think it still too early to talk about it because I’ve just joined Fnatic not long ago but it definitely looks promising at the moment.

A lot of the foreign scene labels you as sort of an all in player that relies on risky builds in order to win, what do you have to say to that community?
To me, the reason I participate in a tournament is to win it. Strategies and micro are only the procedure for me to win the games so I don’t really care about what they think of me because the only thing I need is VICTORY.

Their impressions of you have changed since you’ve been proving yourself again and again. You have improved recently upon your macro and late game management. What do you think about your current shape?
I am in really good shape lately and I hope that this will continue to last. I will definitely have decent results in any tournaments.

The foreign Starcraft scene has always had a lot of concerns with Chinese teams, because of their inability to participate in the global scene, because of connectivity issues; do you think that's going to continue to be a problem?
I do not agree with that. I agree that China used to have really serious internet connection problems but now things have gotten much better and I don’t think we will have any problems in the foreign leagues.

Because Fnatic is a newly formed team, they're going to have to play against weaker opponents before they can work their way up to the upper division.. What do you think about the prospect of playing players a fair amount below your skill level?
It is our responsibility to represent Fnatic in any way we are required to so it is not my concern about the skills levels of my opponents. At the end of the day, the only thing we need is to bring victory for Fnatic.

You failed to represent China in WCG Grand Final 2007 because of visa issues. How did you feel when you first found out?
It’s been such a long time and I really do not want to talk about it. I hope that the same problem will not happen again in the future.

How confident are you that your true strength will show in the foreign BW scene? How much confidence do you have in your manager?
The confidence I have for my manager is indescribable. The only thing I can say is that I know he will lead us to victory. I am really confident in winning the leagues with my teammates.

Last but not least, any final words for your fans?
Please continue your support for me as usual and keep your attention on me. Fnatic.F91 will be the next big thing.

A replay pack for F91 can be found here.

Name: Ding Wei
Nickname: Jaystar
Age: 27
Race: Protoss

Achievements:

• 1st at the 2006 MasterCup Hubei
  

• 1st at the 2006 IEFBeijing
  

• 3rd at the 2006 WCG China
  

• 1st at the 2005 ChangSha 5.1 Philip Platform Game
  

• 3rd at the 2005 HuNan CEG
  

• 4th at the 2005 ShangHai XuHuiGame
  

• 4th at the 2005 CKCG BeiJing
  

Why did you decide to join FnaticMSI?
About 2 weeks ago , F91 approached me and invited me to join Fnatic. I was really surprised because I’ve always heard about Fnatic succeeding in other esports game but I’ve never really heard of them in BW scene. I’ve not been participating too much in the foreign BW scene due to the problems of my connection but it seems that the China internet connection has gotten much better now. This is has made me think the joining Fnatic would be a really great thing to make myself more known to the others.

What’s your impression of Fnatic?
Actually for foreign BW scene I’ve only heard of ToT and MYM because I don’t really know much about the other gaming scene except for Brood War so I didn’t really pay attention on it. I know that Fnatic is well known in the CS scene and now they are trying to form a new BW squad. I am very proud of myself to be able to join Fnatic. I believe given enough time, Fnatic will be the strongest BW team in the foreign scene.

What made you decide to play Protoss and whose play style do you believe to be the most similar to your own?
I used all the 3 races in the beginning when I first started BW but when you want to be good you will have to specify in 1 race. I was doing pretty well in Protoss compared to the other 2 so I chose Protoss as my main race. I think my style is kinda similar to Best. To me every little thing is done for the main battle and the winner will be decided by the main battle.

What are your goals during your stay in FnaticMSI?
I am really excited now am really passionate to train harder! My goals with Fnatic is to be become one of the strongest player in the team so my name Fnatic.jaystar will be reminded everytime they see the word “Fnatic”.

The foreign Starcraft scene has always had a lot of concerns with Chinese teams, because of their inability to participate in the global scene, because of connectivity issues; do you think that's going to continue to be a problem?
I believe it is understandable for people to think like that due to the past history of Chinese players having serious internet connection issues but I can assure all of you that we’ve already tried and tested out our internet connection before we decided to join Fnatic and the results were really positive. I was able to play with a lot of European players with low latency in Iccup or sometimes maybe we need to play in high latency. I’ve always thought that China have the best StatCraft players after Korea.

Could you briefly describe your current relationship with your teammates and do you foresee any communication problems?
If we were to say this team would be formed with players from different countries of course it would seem that there will surely be a communication problem between the members and it would also affect the relationship between members but at the moment most of the players are from China and also all of the members be it JukeBox Ash or Sen speak Chinese as well so we will definitely not have any communication problems. Outside of BW, F91 LBH and phoenix66 and me are very good friends because we always participate in offline events together. We are opponents on the battle ground but once it gets back to outside BW we are all really good friends. I have never thought that all of us would have the chance to be in the same team! No communication problems for sure!

How confident are you that your true strength will show in the foreign BW scene? How much confidence do you have in your manager?
To be honest, I am really hyped up now and have the passionate after joining Fnatic and being able to participate in the foreign leagues. I want to train as hard as possible so my skills would improve dramatically. Even though I’ve only got to know Ash not long ago but he is definitely one of the best leaders out there everyone would hope for. He has done a lot to form this new team and I am confident that he will lead us to the victory.

Your name is less known compared to players such as f91, Lx, and some of the other Chinese players in the foreign scene. The only impression they have of you is probably from the WCG 2006 Grand Final. How would you like to introduce yourself to the foreign community?
91 Lx and Super are the strongest in China and also the representative of each race. I am obviously not on par with them but I believe except for the other 3, no one in China can really say that he is stronger than me.

Thank you so much for your time. Do you have any last words for your fans?
Thank you very much for all the support I will try my best and show my hard work in the games. I will not disappoint any of you!

A replay pack for Jaystar can be found here.

Name: Gordon Hoi
Nickname: JukeBox
Age: 22
Race: Zerg

Achievements:

• 1st at the 2008 WCG Singapore
  

• 2nd at the 2006 WCG Singapore
  

• 1st at the 2005 WCG Singapore
  

• 1nd at the 2003 WCG Singapore
  

• 2nd at the 2002 WCG Singapore
  

What made you decide to play Zerg?
long story... I was an ex-protoss user who switched to zerg. nothing can withstand the fury of the swarm!

What style of player do you believe yourself to be?
I'm a camper lol... I'll let them do the first move can if possible, catch their mistake and try to evolve from there onwards. Sometimes I do play offensive, but it really depends.

What are your goals during your stay in the Fnatic organization?
I guess that there are many opportunities to grow in fnatic. Training with fellow clanmates can improve my skills, in addition, I can experience what it means to be playing at a "professional" level.

You're one of the lesser known players on FnaticMSI compared to your teammates. The majority of the foreign scene have probably only seen you at the WCG Grand Final. Do you feel your 'inexperience' will hinder your performance in the foreign SC scene?
Well, less known does not mean in any way lesser skilled. It's just fewer interaction with the community. Frankly speaking, I rather see it as a problem.I will overcome this, improve myself and climb higher!

What's your opinion of your teammates at FnaticMSI?
I drool at them ok? lol all sexy players...

Do you think your stay at Fnatic will be a good opportunity for you to showcase your skills to the community?
I rather take this good opportunity to learn! I'm not so much concerned on being the top or rising player...

In your opinion what are the chances of Fnatic being the next top SC:BW team?
I see many strong players in the team. I don't see a reason why it cant be a top or one of the top bw team already.

Any last words for your fans or Fnatic?
skills are no doubt important, but beyond it, there exists a bond between the players that are much more valuable. I believe fnatic will be able to provide this bond between the players, and lifts its sc division to greater heights.

A replay pack for JukeBox can be found here.

Name: Liu Bo Hao
Nickname: lbh
Age: 22
Race: Zerg
Achievements:

• 1st at the 2008 China CET Grand Finals
  

• 1st at the 2007 China CET Shanghai
  

• 6th at the 2006 CEG Beijing
  

• 1st at the 2006 IEST Resurrection tournament
  

• 2nd at the 2006 IEF Tianjin
  

Why did you decide to join FnaticMSI?
I was invited by F91 to join this team. I believe that joining a top team with good players will definitely help a lot in increasing my skills.

What have you heard about FnaticMSI?
I’ve heard of their strong CS and War3 divisions.

What made you decide to play Zerg and which other player's style is similar to your own?
I chose random and had Zerg the first time when I played BW so I have really deep impression in Zerg. I think my style is similar to savior because he made me think that Zerg is imba when he was at his prime.

What are your goals while you're in Fnatic?
I want to be the most feared player everyone would want to face in a tournament . I will try my best and also win more champions in the mean time.

What's your current standing with your fellow teammates?
I’ve been good friends with the other teammates for quite some time. Mainly because there isn’t so many SC players now and there are a lot of topics if a StarCraft player were to meet another one. This will definitely make our friendship better.

What are your thoughts on having to start in the lower division leagues before you can work your way up to the upper division?
There are a lot of tournaments in China like PGL PLU and Neotv that gives a lot of opportunities to not so good players to learn and also this could increase the fans interests in paying the attention for the scene.

I believe the name, LBH, is quite unknown to the foreign BW scene. How would you like to introduce yourself to the foreign community?
Yes. It is because my ZvZ wasn’t really good so I tend to not have good results in the tournaments. I will try my best to improve and make everyone remember Fnatic.LBH.

How confident are you that your true strength will show in the foreign BW scene? How much confidence do you have in your manager?
I believe we have got what it takes to dominate the foreign BW scene and of course we must all have faith in our mighty leader because I’m pretty sure he knows the foreign players most so I am really confident in him.

Last but not least, any final words for your fans?
Thank you for the fans who have supporting me . I will make sure the people who know me will grow in the future and enjoy my games. Thank you!

A replay pack for lbh can be found here.

Name: Zhuang Chuan Hai
Nickname: Phoenix66
Age: 27
Race: Terran

Achievements:

• 2nd at the 2006 WCG China
  

• 2nd at the 2006 IEST China
  

• 1st at the 2006 IEF China
  

• 1st at the 2005 CEG Master Cup
  

• 1st at the 2005 CEG League
  

• 2nd at the 2005 WCG China
  

• 1st at the 2005 CEG
  

• 2nd at the 2005 CGEL
  

• 1st at the 2004 CEG
  

• 1st at the 2004 CEG Shanghai
  

• 1st at the 2004 XinYa Cup
  

• 2nd at the 2003 China League
  

• 2nd at the 2002 Zhejiang College
  

Why did you decide to join FnaticMSI?
The main reason is because of the manager. Ash and I are really good friends. He recruited me . Since I’ve been playing quite a lot in Iccup lately and I think my skills level have got back to its previous level . Other than that, there are a lot of tournaments and league I can participate in so after getting to know more about Fnatic , I believe this will be the perfect choice for me. It seems to me like a win win situation for both Fnatic and me as well!

What’s your impression of Fnatic?
Without a doubt, it is definitely their top CS team in the world. Their War3 divison is also quite known among the community. In conclusion, definitely one of the best esport teams in the world.

What made you decice to play as Terran and whose style do you think is similar to your own?
I first started to play Terran when I was at my first year of University. I started playing Terran because it seems easier to be understood for me and after I’ve tried all 3 races, I knew that Terran is definitely the best race I can play with so I’ve chosen Terran. The main influence is also because of Boxer First person VOD and his amazing strategies . I’ve grown up together with his progression so our styles are still really similar now.

What are your goals during your stay in Fnatic?
In terms of results, I would love to get back the shape when I used to be the top in China. I would like to have better results compared to the time when I used to play this game at a professional level even though it seems like a really hard task for me. Since a player like would need to have a really high expectation, I will try my best to live up to it. In terms of management, I believe there are a lot of things I could learn from Fnatic so I will definitely gain some benefits from it.

A lot of the foreign community believes that it's risky to invest in a Chinese team, because of connectivity issues, what are your thoughts on the matter?
China is definitely the best BW country after Korea in terms of the amount of skilled players we have and this has not been agreed by the community mainly due to the internet connection problems we used to suffer. Of course, the connection has improved a lot lately especially after it is combined together with the softwares like Iccup Launcher. This can be seen from the match list we have in Iccup, I was able to play with players from different countries without any problems. Other than that, China is also the country that has the most offline tournaments regardless if it’s national or international, Chinese players have a lot opportunities to prove themselves so I think Fnatic is smart to make this move.

How close are you to your new teammates in FnaticMSI?
I care a lot for our friendship because we are also really good friends in real life and this team looks like a family to me.

Because Fnatic is a newly formed team, they're going to have to play against weaker opponents before they can work their way up to the upper division. at do you think about the prospect of playing players a fair amount below your skill level?
This would not be a problem for me at all as long as the internet connection is fine. I would love to play anyone as long as they are good mannered.

How confident are you that your true strength will show in the foreign BW scene? How much confidence do you have in your manager?
I am really confident as you see in every year of WCG Grand Final the 3 representatives usually have no problem getting into round of 8. Chinese players have never failed to deliver even when they face the top European players so you see the reason why I’m this confident. Ash is cute and funny but when it comes to something serious he always manage things really well so I have no doubt in him.

You've been fairly inactive in the foreign SC:BW scene lately, where do you feel your current skill level is at?
I’m getting my old form back. Maybe 70% of my top form at the moment?

How confident are you when it comes to playing European players?
European players have really unique styles and but they are quite slow in multi tasking so they don’t have really impressive micromanagement skills . I’ve always used this mistake of them to win my games so I’ve always been confident in playing against the European players.

Who do you think is the Best Terran player in China besides yourself?
It’s either Rushgoon or Chinatt they are really even in terms of skills and achievements.

Who do you feel is the best Protoss at the moment?
LoveTt or Lx

Who do you feel is the best Zerg at the moment?
Definitely F91. This is obvious and its not even debatable. He is the current best Zerg and the best StarCraft player in China. This is also because of his hardwork and talent.

Do you think F91's marriage has anything to do with his amazing achievements?
Of course. His wife and family have really been supportive to him and also he has a large amount of fans in China . Other than that, he also has a really good environment for training so he has always been improving for sure.

Do you think you will have any chance in the future to meet him in a Final?
I believe this might be the dream final everyone has been hoping for.
It’s possible for sure . I believe 91 also hopes to play against me in Final. Haha

What's your record against F91?
It’s pretty even for both of us . He beat me in the CGEL Final 2005 and I kicked his sorry ass in the WCG 2007 China Final. I’ve forgotten about the rest though.

What are your expectations of this newly formed FnaticMSI.SC squad?
I want us to become the strongest non Korean BW team and also maintain a good relationship together with the players and management to fight for glory!

A replay pack for Phoenix66 can be found here.

Name: Yang Chia Cheng
Nickname: SEn
Age: 21
Race: Zerg

Achievements:

• 1st at the 2005 WCG Taiwan
  

• 1st at the 2004 WCG Taiwan
  

Interview and Replay Pack to come.