Interview with 2015 IeSF StarCraft II Champion: Joona “Serral” Sotala

Nathan 'StatiC' Anderson congratulating 2015 IESF StarCraft II Champion: Joona “Serral” Sotala

Q1: What do you think of the event so far?

Joona “Serral” Sotala: “It has been a lot of fun meeting new players and it feels really good to win. It is my first international victory at an event like this so I’m happy that I could make my country proud.”

Q2: Which players have stood out for you in the tournament and why?
Joona “Serral” Sotala: “In the group stage I played against “Elroy” from Romania who really impressed me. I think the Chinese player I played in the final was also really good. I think he could maybe have won but he used one build too much which made it easier for me to counter his strategy.”

Q3: How did you get in to StarCraft II?
Joona “Serral” Sotala: “My brother was playing StarCraft I Brood War since Beta so he introduced me to the game. It looked really fun so I decided to play and I played StarCraft II since Beta release.”

Q4: What tournaments will you be participating in in the future?
Joona “Serral” Sotala: “I have played every DreamHack the last few years so the next tournament will probably be DreamHack, maybe with the Copenhagen Wolves.”

Q5: What tips do you have for new players or players who want to get better at StarCraft II?
Joona “Serral” Sotala: “Obviously you have to practice a lot but not too much that you get tired of the game. I also think players should look at their replays especially the ones they lose to see why they lost so they can improve that way.”

MWEB Protea eSports Team Member, Nathan “Static” Anderson got to play against the new world champion “Serral” in an exhibition match and we caught up with him at the award ceremony:

Q: What was it like to play the world champion? 

Nathan 'StatiC' Anderson: “It was really exciting and a great opportunity to put my skills to the test, I was a little nervous to be honest but I think I played well. Key things I learned was that he expanded very quickly across the map and made excellent use of early game zergling harassment. He also played the terrain very good to his advantage making use of good creep spread placement. I noticed that the second game of the final he used a similar build that he used against me which proved to be very effective. I look forward to playing him in the future again and wish him the best of luck for future tournaments.”