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One of everyone’s most favorite non-Korean players takes a big step as he heads to Korea to try out for the eSTRO pro team.

Artosis conducted an interview with Ret, and asked him some serious questions on why he is making this big life changing choice.

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Artosis - When did you start thinking about going to Korea for Starcraft, and
what finally made you decide to take the leap?

Ret - I’ve always wanted to be a pro gamer for Starcraft, and go to Korea.
When I was younger, perhaps the more appropriate age, there were less
foreigners in Korea and contacting pro teams managers was a lot harder
than now. I had never expected that I would still get the chance to go
to Korea, but when the opportunity arose I realized that it was still
my dream and that I wanted to give it my best shot.

Artosis - What are your goals in going to Korea? How long do you intend to stay?

Ret - The immediate goal for Starcraft would be to win the courage
tournament and then perhaps play a Pro League match. But we’ll have to
see what happens when SC2 comes out and how that changes things. I
really don’t know how long I’ll stay, but I intend to stay in
pro gaming for SC2, so it could be a long time.

Artosis - Winning the courage tournament is something that only 1 foreigner
has ever done before (Assem), even though NonY came very close, losing
the finals 1-2 on his first try. Supposedly they have even made it a
much harder tournament now. What time frame do you think you can win
this event in?

Ret - I think my ZvZ will be the only problem with winning Courage. So if
I can get that matchup up to par quickly, I should be a pretty strong
contender. If that happens reasonably quick, I think I could possibly
win it on my first try. But of course to win any tournament with a
strong field of players, you’ll also need some luck.

Artosis - Dropping out of school to move to Korea and become a professional
video game player is a big change in your life. How has your family
and friends reacted?

Ret - Surprisingly enough, they have been very supportive. I am about 2
years from finishing my degree and could always return to it. But my
parents and friends think it’s going to be a great experience for me, and
they also know that my real passion lies with pro gaming and not with
business, so I can make a career out of it they are very excited for
me. Everyone’s supportive and many have said they will come visit me
at some point. So it’s great.

Artosis - What challenges do you think you will face upon moving to Korea and
playing Starcraft all day?

Ret - Playing Starcraft all day shouldn’t be a problem, I love the game.
It might be hard to give up a lot of privacy and freedom I had here in
The Netherlands, sharing rooms with multiple people much younger than
myself might prove difficult after time. It’s the only thing that
really worries me, I need my alone time sometimes. Also I worry if I
will have people I can really talk to, but I have already spoken to
eSTRO manager ( Hwanni ) and his English is very good so that’s nice.
And of course I’ll be able to hang out with the people already in
Korea, it’s a definitely a plus there’s already a big foreign group in
Korea right now so I won’t feel completely alone.

Artosis - What most excites you about this new change in your life?

Ret - Well like I said being a pro gamer has been a dream for a long time.
I look forward to competing in Starcraft and trying to be the best I
can be. I also look forward to experiencing Korean culture and Seoul
as much as possible. And of course hanging out with the other
foreigners in Korea should be a lot of fun. Also, I can’t wait to beat
IdrA in every foreign tournament he ever participates in once I will
be able to practice as much as he has (WINK).


Artosis - Well, you’re off to Korea on the 16th of October, and I’m sure I
speak for everyone when I say GL HF~~
Any shout outs?

Ret - Shout out to all my friends, family for being supportive, all the
American gamers I hang out with on vent every day, my teammates in ESC
and my teammates in ToT for making SC a fun place to be, and Artosis
for being a friend and helping me a lot with this ’career move.’
Cheers!

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