Hey Sascha, how are things going? How are the competitions coming along?
Everything is fine, in the last 2 weeks I had some good results in some online cups and next month I have an offline event, Games Com at Cologne which is really exciting as well.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Sasha, I’m better known as GoOdy. I am from Germany, 25 years old and I play Terran for the team ESC ICYBOX.
Before your Starcraft 2 days you played Starcraft: Brood War. Tell us a little bit about your time in the Brood War scene.
I played Brood war for almost 10 years. I started out as Terran which I played for 6 years then I switched to Protoss. I also guess my biggest success in Brood War was the qualification for the Grand Finals in Seattle where I reached the quarter finals.
You mentioned that you started off with Protoss then switched to Terran, why did you go about doing this?
My APM is very low and this was the same case in Brood War. And in Brood War it was really a big problem in TvZ in the mid to late game, which was very hard for me resulting in me losing some events due to it. Then I switched.
During the beta you played Protoss and after winning the Zotac Cup #6 and Competo Cup #1 you switched to Terran.
I did not know which race to really play; I wanted to choose between Protoss and Terran. After I got my first beta key I played Protoss but after about 3 weeks during the second wave I made a second account with Terran. So I really started playing both really early and after a while I just decided Terran was more fun so I stayed with Terran.
You did mention that you spent 10 years in Brood War, what are some of the aspects that you have learnt from your Brood War background now that you are in Starcraft 2?
It is hard to say but I would say just the general RTS experience is useful. But strategies and that you can mot take from Brood War though during the start of the beta I played Brood War builds just to try out as I had no clue what to do, but it was a different game with different builds and mechanics. So you can not compare the 2 really and Brood war is also 12 years older and over time many things have changed.
Participating in the ESL Pro Series you fell to Socke and DeMusliM. Firstly, how was the experience for you playing in the ESL pro season?
It was the first offline tournament and was really fun, it was also held in Cologne in December last year. It was a little bit sad; the games vs DeMusliM were very close and I had hoped for better results but you can not change it now. Just hope that the next EPS season will be better for me.
Secondly, if you had to play DeMusliM or Socke in a rematch, do you think you would come out on top?
With Socke it is always very hard. At Home Story Cup 3 which was held a few weeks ago he beat me 2-1, the first 2 games there were again very close so I don’t really know. And I have not played DeMusliM in a while so I do not know how good he is at the moment since he did have a long break after his accident and I have no idea about how strong his TvT is right now.
During DreamHack Winter you participated in the BYOC qualifier. How was the qualifying experience?
The tables were very small and full and the area was loud which is not the best way to play, but I managed to qualify for the group stage. For the DreamHack Summer I got invited and could play in the gaming area which was a little bit better.
The most important lesson you have learnt from the BYOC qualifier?
We had to borrow some laptops because we came in by plane. And my laptop crashed about 4 times during the tournament so I guess it would be to really Bring Your Own Computer.
How do you feel about the live-LAN tournaments and online tournaments?
Always really fun and nice to meet the guys you only know from online cups or events. For me it is like once the game starts I focus then it is no real difference, so I can play online and offline at the same level. I know some guys get really nervous then they screw up and then have bad offline results. Luckily it is not the same for me.
You gained a lot more fame when you qualified for the TSL3, when you found out you had qualified what were your thoughts? And when you found out Nestea was your opponent what were your thoughts?
I was of course really happy to qualify. I tried to qualify for the TSL in Starcraft 1 but I failed there. So I was a little proud. After I saw the bracket I was not really that happy, I won vs Nestea which was a great victory but in a tournament like this with such a big prize pool, it is nice to have an easy bracket especially if you get an easy win in the first round makes better for the next round.
What was your general planning and game plan on beating Nestea?
My plan was to go with a greedy macro game and then surprise him with my mech play and also hoped he underestimated me and did not prepare enough, was hoping to catch him off guard then maybe I had a chance. I lost the first game after some stupid mistakes, delays in Vikings against Broodlords. The second game I tried to make an early attack to switch it up a bit and it worked out. The third game was intense, I attacked him and he countered me and so on.
You recently competed in a South African tournament (PolarfluKe: July Zerg) which you won, what are your thoughts on how the tournament was run?
The tournament was run pretty well, the admin support was good and tournament system from the first day was really nice and different. The Swiss system was nice, I have not played the system ever it is something different and good and then after that it was single elimination tournament but was very nice.
What are your thoughts on the level of competition? Even though the bracket was split with one being local and one international?
I only played in the grand final vs a South African player. I won 3-0, in some games I was a bit lucky, but overall he did not play bad.
People refer to you as The Panzer General due to the fact you play mech almost exclusively, why do you play so much? What are some of the benefits and downfalls of it?
After I started I just tried all the old Brood War builds, and in Brood War mech was the standard at least in TvT and in TvP. I just practiced it and it worked out pretty well for me although a lot of people told me “You can’t do that”, “It’s so bad”. But I can play it well and now it is like a trademark and I am really bad with bio. I can maybe do some one base bio all-in but in the late game I am just not used to it so I can not change it. It is like learning a new race.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the game?
I guess it is pretty balanced now, everyone is complaining about every race so I think that is a good sign and I am pretty excited about the new ladder maps in the next season. I am also hoping some of the older ladder maps will go out of the pool.
How do you think the eSports scene is changing and evolving?
I would say it is still growing. I think the new add-on for Starcraft 2 in one years time will let the game get hyped again which is good for eSports as well. And compared to the old Brood War days it is at a new level, in Brood War days there was WCG once a year and maybe 2-3 events during the year but in Starcraft 2 there is like a cup every day and an event every month which is really great.
MLG is just around the corner, do you ever think you will go to play at MLG?
Maybe I will go to an MLG, I do not know yet, but I hope I can but it is really expensive to fly to the USA so I will still talk with my team.
Do you think you would go to play in the Korean GSL?
I do not really want to stay in Korea. I would maybe play like one season and stay for a month or two but no longer than that. In Europe there are a lot more big events so it is better for me to play here.
How did you join up with your team ICYBOX?
I joined them with the release of Starcraft 2, so I am in the team for about one year now and it is a really nice team. A shout-out to our sponsors ICYBOX, Sennheiser and EIZO. We get really great support from them and I guess I will stay there.
What are some of your most memorable Starcraft 2 moments so far?
The win vs Nestea was was one of them and after that I would have to say in the last DreamHack I failed to go out of the group by 1 map. If I had one map more I would have advanced.
What are some of your plans and goals for the rest of the year?
Just to stay on top and maybe do well in the next EPS and offline events. There are so many events you have plan for one after the other.
Which are some of your favourite players to watch and why?
I always like to watch GSL in the morning; it is really nice to watch when I wake up. In the GSL I like to watch the old Brood War players because I know them very well like NaDa or BoxeR, event though he is not doing very well recently. In the foreign scene I do not watch too many streams because if I have time and there is a tournament I play in the tournament. So I do not really watch the streams and can not see so many of the games.
You are known for your relatively low APM for a pro-gamer which you did mention earlier on, tell us a little bit about this.
I do not spam APM and I guess it is almost enough to have. I have about 100 average, a little more would be better but you do not really need 200 APM. You do not have to focus on APM but rather on things you have to do and everything you have to do then it is fine if you can do it with 100 APM.
You play a pretty passive style by going into the late macro game, why do you use less aggression and play so passive?
It depends, sometimes I really just try to split the map then to really macro up and get good upgrades and then go out with a really strong mech army. But I do not always do that, sometimes I have some nice timing pushes or early attacks so I try to mix it up a little bit.
Could you tell us a little bit about how you got your nickname?
I have had the nickname now for about 11/12 years now. In Brood War in the start I had a lot of different nick names and I changed it a lot as I switched teams. Then I met a guy whose nick was toobadforyou and we play 2v2 together, so I then named myself toogoodforyou. And after we stopped playing 2v2 together I thought that toogoodforyou sounds a little bit arrogant so I switched it up to GoOdy.
What got you into RTS gaming?
I played Starcraft the first time with a friend, he bought it and showed me the game; I was about 14/15. I remember the first time I did not like it that much but then I tried the single player campaign at home and it seemed like fun so I just practiced and after I got an internet connection I played online.
How did you start competing?
In Brood War in the first year or so I just played ladder games or some custom games and was not really competitive. After some time I joined a team and we played some team leagues. I then heard about WCG, it is always fun to play tours and cups which I really liked.
How does a normal day go for you?
That is different. In the morning I like to watch the GSL, practice a little bit and then if there as ay good tournament in the evening I try to participate there. I also always look out for big events or leagues like IPL which was a really big event.
When not playing Starcraft 2, what do you enjoy doing?
I like to meet with friends and go to music festivals and concerts. I really like metal music and just doing stuff with friends and things like that.
Any advice you would like to give players out there aspiring to get better?
Just stay focused and play a lot of ladder games. I have met many players who are afraid to play ladder games because they are afraid of losing but that is just a part of the game. No matter how good you are, you will always lose some of the games so just practice and learn from your mistakes. Also do not blame your losses on imbalanced maps or on your opponents. Think about what you could have done better and you will improve.
Any last minute shout outs?
I would like to thank all my fans, thanks for the great support. The nice pictures in the TeamLiquid thread. And I will have a stream pretty soon, I am working on that at the moment so once the stream is up you can come try it out and watch some games.
And there you have it; he went into the TSL3 bracket as the underdog vs Nestea and he surprised people by winning 2-1. The Panzer General also tells us why he does not need 200 APM to still win games, and why he enjoys his mech orientated style of play. For those looking to try it out; hunt out some of his replays, study them and give it a shot. You just might like it. [/quote]
Via: http://polarfluke.co.za/index.php?...rview-with-goody&catid=6:interviews&Itemid=26
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jetzt ist er ein heavy tank 
