Hyunjin Kim - Also known as “JDCR” - was crowned as the champion of Tekken tournament in EVO 2017 for the second time in his career. While professional fighting game players are rather a rare breed in Korea, let alone those being sponsored by a stable organization. However, with Echo Fox behind his back, it looks like JDCR is ready to go higher than ever before.

What was more impressive than his career was how humble he was despite being signed with an overseas organization. As someone who plays a 'less popular' esports, we could see how much he feels responsible as someone who represents the game that he loves.

Without further ado, he is our interview with Hyunjin "JDCR" Kim - one of the most professional pro player that we've ever met.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, I am Hyunjin "JDCR" Kim, a professional Tekken player for Echo Fox. I've been playing Tekken for over a decade.

You've signed with Echo Fox earlier this year. Can you tell us more about how you decided to go with Echo Fox?

Early this year, Echo Fox made an offer to me and Jinwoo “Saint” Choi. After some discussion with Echo Fox, the agreement was made and I became a member of Echo Fox.

The fact that several of well-known fighting game players have joined Echo Fox helped me make my mind up about joining the team. I just couldn’t refuse the chance to be in the same team with outstanding fighting game players like SonicFox, Justin Wong and Momochi.

I was just happy and didn’t really ‘feel’ how I was in an overseas gaming team until recently, but now I can really get the feeling of it. I’m really happy than I’m with Echo Fox.

Along with Jinwoo "Saint" Choi, you are one of the only two professional Tekken players in Korea. Do you feel proud of being one of few pro fighting game players in Korea?

I'm glad to have a stable income and subsequently stable lifestyle, but it feels like I have some responsibilities as well. I have to play and behave like a professional athlete. It’s not a job that a lot of people have, and since fighting games are more popular in NA, Korean fans don’t really know much about fighting game pros. I think being a good example for Korean Tekken players and Korean fans in general is a big responsibility for me as well.

Have you had a chance to meet other Echo Fox players?

It was an honor but also strange to be wearing the same uniform as all the famous players in my team. Since most players can speak English, there were no communication problems. Reading the interviews of those players really allowed me to understand the fighting game scene. Unfortunately, since we all live too far apart and only see each other occasionally, we didn't get much chance to be friends.

How did you first start to play fighting games?

I went to a video game arcade for the first time when I was 8 years old. I started out with King of Fighters; then, Tekken Tag Tournament got really popular when I was a middle school freshman. Playing TTT with my friends was a big part of my daily life, and I kept playing because it was so much fun. I didn't think about being a pro player, but I just participated in tournaments while holding other jobs because it's fun to compete.

Is there a story you want to share that happened while you were playing Tekken?

I often went to this huge arcade in Ilsan, and I was able to rack up 70 to 80 wins in a row with a just few credits. I think I once went on a win streak of over a hundred in a span of three days. That me got some unwelcome attention from some unsavory types, so I usually played in a wide open space. (Laughs)

You've won your second EVO title in 2017. Tell us how you felt when you won the championship.

For me, being crowned as the champion in EVO 2017 was even more meaningful than in 2014. Ever since becoming a professional player, I felt like I needed to perform well - and I was glad that I was able to win a championship title in front of thousands of fans.

Not only that, Echo Fox did well in EVO in general, as Saint was also able to reach the grand finals of Tekken tournament and Tokido was crowned as the champion of Street Fighter tournament, making him another champion from Echo Fox. I felt really proud.

Back in 2014, I was young, and didn't know much about the fighting game scene, so I didn't really understand the 'weight' behind EVO. I think I just played Tekken without thinking much back then. This year, I participated as a pro player while having better understanding of the scene and EVO itself, so it felt more meaningful for me.

You've faced Saint, another Korean Tekken player from Echo Fox, in the grand finals of EVO 2017. Did you feel any pressure from facing someone who knows you well?

Saint feels like both a friend and a brother to me because we've been in Tekken scene together for a long time. So we really know well about each other's playstyle. So, we tend to play in a different style to throw each other off. I felt a bit of pressure because Saint won the Tekken tournament of EVO 2016, and he was still as strong as ever. In the grand finals, I chose Heihachi at first, but after losing two rounds in a row, I thought about choosing another character. So I decided to go with Dragunov, and it went very well for me.

The result of Tekken tournament in EVO 2017 showed the dominance of Korean players with first to third place being taken by Koreans. Do you think Korea is the best at Tekken?

I think the results prove that South Korea is currently the best at Tekken. However, Japan is in close pursuit, and so is United States. Although Tekken 7 was released on console and Steam in United Sates barely a month before EVO, they still managed to put a player in Quarterfinals. Since United States have a large fighting game scene, their growth potential is huge. I’ll say that every country has a potential to be the best.

With three consecutive wins in VSL The Fist and winning EVO 2017, it looks like you are in the prime of your career.

I'm grateful for all the supportive comments about my achievements. However, I think a professional player can have both ups and downs in any moment. Although my results are significant, I still have a lot more tournaments to compete, and regardless of whether I won or lose, being an active and consistent player is more important than just winning.

You are well known for playing with a variety of characters. Do you have a character that you prefer over others?

My favorite is Armor King, who used to be my main but isn't in Tekken 7. I spent hundreds of hours to make him my main, and I got better as I played with him in tournaments. I'm disappointed that he isn't in Tekken 7. I'm currently maining Heihachi, but he is a difficult character to play with, and you’ll fall behind if you make even a small mistake.

Also, I've been playing with Dragonuv because I think he is cool and fun to play with. I've been focusing on practicing with Dragonuv to play with him in tournaments. I tried him out in an official match during VSL The Fist Season 1, and it went pretty well. Since then, I became confident playing with Dragonuv. Currently, my favorites are Heihachi and Dragonuv.

You are sometimes called being too defensive and preferring to fight with 'outfight' style. What is your own opinion of your fighting style?

I was looking at my match videos from few years ago the other day, and I thought I had been too defensive. My friends also tell me how I play to defensively. Back then, I thought I was a good player since I’d win playing like that, but now playing too defensively could be a problem regardless of whether I win or lose.

Now, I try to play with a variety of playstyles as much as possible. Playing with new playstyles allow me to learn from trying out new things and ultimately make me a better player. I feel how important it is for me to show how I’m improving over time.

Sure, winning is important, but finding out new tactics and ideas within the game and showing in matches are another thing that a pro player should do. Like every other competitive games, there are strategies and metagame yet to be discovered in Tekken.

In your opinion, what do you think is the main appeal of Tekken?

We are seeing a lot of team-based competitive games, but Tekken is different. As a 1-on-1 game, you are responsible for everything that went well and went wrong. Also, since each round lasts a short time, you need to stay fully focused for the entire time. You don’t have a second to spare, and you need to make quick judgements in an intense situation. There are a lot of strategic decisions involved as well. How you play out the game really tells a lot about you too. Even if a well-known would hide their names and play online, I can tell who that person is solely from their moves and playstyle.

How would you like to see the Tekken tournaments being run in Korea?

There are both good and bad about how the tournaments are run in Korea. The good part is how having tournaments run by broadcasting companies allow Tekken players and fans to easily find out about the tournament. So, I’m really grateful for those companies. However, the bad part is how those tournaments are all there is in the Korean Tekken scene. There are almost no grassroot communities that can organize a tournament.

In other countries, there are tournaments hosted by broadcasting companies, but mostly they are hosted by communities and associations. Even EVO started out as a community tournament, and now over 150,000 people watched the tournament on Twitch, and the grand finals of SF tournament was also broadcasted on air through ESPN.

In Korea, broadcasting companies tend to host tournaments for only the most popular games, and Tekken players are now resigned to that fact and waiting for someone or something to host a Tekken tournament. I don’t think this is how things should be. I hope Korean Tekken fans would come together and host tournaments like how NA scene has formed from grassroot tournaments.

With the release of Tekken 7, I’m glad that there are more Tekken tournaments being hosted in Korea. However, I’m worried how this will also suddenly disappear like it always has just as Tekken Crash suddenly went away. As a player, I want a tournament that’s run more regularly than how it is now. That’s how we’d get more incentives to continue playing Tekken and retain more fans. I hope that there’ll be a tournament that both fans players don’t have to worry about being discontinued.

What is your goal as a professional player?

Since there are only a few professional Tekken players, I need to think of Tekken as more than just a game. Getting prize money for winning is just a short term goal - I think it’s more important to make the scene bigger as a whole, and that’s what I’ve been doing too. I’ve been helping new players and prospective pros and doing a lot of fan services. I want more professional Tekken players in the scene, and I want more tournaments being hosted with many sponsors. So, I’ll do my best in game and to keep in touch with the fans and the fighting game community.

Thank you for the interview. Do you have anything else that you want to share?

I’d like to thank the fans who are cheering for me. I’ll repay you with good and consistent performance. Also, I’d like to thank Echo Fox for allowing me to focus only on playing the game. I’ll continue to do my best. Thank you.