Neeb Talks: KESPA Cup Win, Life After SC2, & more… At Dreamhack Atlanta 2022

StarcraftHistorian: You’ve missed some events this year you usually would have attended, like TSL and Cheesadelphia, are you still fulltime with Starcraft?

Neeb: No, I was fulltime for 6 years, so now I’ve been going to school and stuff.

StarcraftHistorian: Oh cool, what are you going to school for?

Neeb: Computer science

StarcraftHistorian: Sow How are you feeling about your form at the moment?

Neeb: For my form, I’m feeling pretty good, I haven’t been playing all that much recently because I’ve been busy with school but I feel like doing school work is a mental exercise that kind of translates over to Starcraft.

StarcraftHistorian: Are you still living in the capital region?

Neeb: No, I don’t live in Albany anymore. I go to Binghamton University, so I moved two hours west for that.

StarcraftHistorian: Considering you mentioned you’re attending university, It sounds like you have plans for life after Starcraft, is that true?

Neeb: Yeah, because I’ve been in school I feel like I have a pretty solid path ahead of me after Starcraft. It’s kind of uncertain what’s going to happen to Starcraft after this year, or next year.

StarcraftHistorian: Have you heard anything about a new contract regarding the continuation of the SC2 scene?

Neeb: If I had heard anything, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to say, but I really haven’t heard anything.

StarcraftHistorian: That makes sense. Who do you not want to face at this event?

Neeb: I don’t want to face Serral or Maru, the best players, kind of cliche but, they’re the hardest guys to face. If you don’t play well even a little, you just lose.

StarcraftHistorian: What do you think about Triggers form? He really seems to be rising.

Neeb: Yeah, Trigger is really good, he’s definitely on the rise. Though sometimes he can be a bit too aggressive, sometimes he’ll try to force something and make uncharacteristic mistakes.

StarcraftHistorian: What do you think about Frost Giant, are you excited for Stormgate?

Neeb: Yeah, I’m excited to see what Frost Giant can do with Stormgate. I don’t like to get over hyped for these things because we still have to see what it’s going to be. We’ve only seen some trailers, we haven’t seen any actual gameplay or anything so, it’s too early to tell. Though I am definitely interested. I’ll likely put some time into that, along with school, after Starcraft.

StarcraftHistorian: Did the poor graphics in the trailer scare you?

Neeb: I don’t think graphics matter all that much, but I will say though I like the Sci-Fi aspect of Starcraft, I like that kind of environment. I’m not as much of a fan of the Demons vs. Humans thing, it’s very different, but it won’t stop me from playing it.

StarcraftHistorian: I’m assuming at this point you won’t be going back to Korea for Starcraft?

Neeb: Well I have a couple months off school between semesters, so I might go to Korea If a GSL Season lines up or something. I also just really liked Korea, so I might go back to just hangout with my team or something, between semesters.

StarcraftHistorian: How’d you get hooked up with a Korean team?

Neeb: The Onsyde Boss has been a Starcraft fan for a while now, and he’s been a fan of mine for a while now, and we’ve interacted within the scene. He reached out to me because he wanted to recruit me.

StarcraftHistorian: Do you still feel like the KESPA Cup is your best tournament win?

Neeb: Yes, definitely. KESPA Cup is still my best win.

StarcraftHistorian: I do remember the weird feeling in the community. We were all sort of in awe; you were the first foreign champion in Korea in 16 years

Neeb: It was crazy to me too, I hadn’t won any tournaments before that, and my first one just happened to be in Korea, and it’s still my best result.

StarcraftHistorian: You ended up going on a tear after that, winning every premier NA title.

Neeb: Yeah that was the next year.

StarcraftHistorian: Do you think that KESPA Cup win put you in the mindset to win all those events after that?

Neeb: I’m not sure about the mindset thing, but it definitely helped me prove to myself that I can win when I’m playing my best.

StarcraftHistorian: Thank you so much for taking the time man, that’s all I’ve got for you.

Neeb: Yeah definitely, no problem.