Interview conducted by Cyan

The foreign StarCraft 2 scene has always been thirsty for Terran heroes. So few players outside of Korea seem able to pilot the Terran army to victory. For many players, Team Liquid’s Marc ‘uThermal’ Schlappi has become the desperately needed icon of Terran supremacy. uThermal was the player who broke the dry spell of tournament victories for the foreign Terrans after conquering IEM Shanghai 2016. It was the first victory for a foreign Terran player at a premier StarCraft 2 tournament since Thorzain in 2012. Although uThermal  as yet to reclaim th podium, he has maintained his stature as the best Terran player in Europe. With such massive Terran prestige, his recent flirtation with Protoss during Homestory Cup, and ever the outspoken proponent of balance discussion, uThermal and I had quite the conversation.   ______ TIMESTAMPS 2:50 – How did you get into gaming? 3:49 – How did you get into SC2? 8:36 – The ‘u’ in your name is from an old clan tag. It must be very cool for your old clanmates to see you competing on the world stage! 10:20 – What was it like for you to be an up and coming player during 2013/14 when so much of the conversation in the SC2 community was around how the game was in decline? 14:00 – You were the last foreign Terran who won a premier championship! What was that experience like for you? 18:16 – What is it about the Netherlands that breeds so many great RTS players and personalities? 23:06 – You were on the team AT Gaming for years as an up and comer. Then in 2015 you were picked up by Liquid. What was that transition like for you? 28:50 – You’ve said in the past that you don’t really worry about the patches and you just try to play your best. Is that still your approach to balance patching? 35:59 – You recently spent some time in the team Unity house in Korea to train! What was that experience like for you? How did the trip and training affect your gameplay? 40:41 – There’s a huge divide between Korean and Foreign Terrans right now. As Maru has claimed two GSL championships this year, foreign Terrans seem to be struggling. What do you think creates this divide of success? 44:47 – You recently were a figure of controversy after you lost to Finnish Zerg Serral in WCS Challenger and remarked that you were disappointed in your loss because you’re usually favoured against him. What do you think of this reaction from the community? 54:00 – If it were up to you, what would you do to SC2 to make it a perfectly balanced game? 1:10:40 – You recently played as Protoss in Homestory Cup. What made you choose to change your race to Protoss rather than Zerg? 1:13:14 – Do you think that there will ever be a time when you switch your main race to Protoss? 1:15:49 – What makes you think that it might be time to start considering retirement? 1:24:40 – Who do you think can go far in WCS Valencia? 1:31:45 – FAN QUESTIONS 1:32:00 - Futureofterran asks ‘How do you approach ladder, customs, and tournament matches? Where do you develop most as a player?’ 1:35:57 – Ingebrigtsen93 asks ‘How did you get the idea to canon rush? Did it take much time to find those canon locations?’ 1:39:00 – Badrockz asks ‘What is the best game/series that you’ve played in your career?’ 1:42:22 – Qurah asks ‘How do you feel about being labelled the ‘best of’ when it comes to playing your race?’ 1:44:53 – Daedalus asks ‘What is your plan for life after esports?’ 1:46:40 – Who are some up and coming players (particularly Terrans) that you have your eye on? 1:48:30 – What advice would you give to anyone who is trying to make their name as a pro SC2 player in this day and age? 1:52:16 – Closing thoughts

---

If you enjoyed this interview, follow @CyanEsports on Twitter.