The San Francisco Shock are ready to defend their Stage 2 championship. The first casualty for the Shock was the Seoul Dynasty. After their victory, Hyo-bin "ChoiHyoBin" Choi spoke with Inven Global about any setbacks in Stage 3, preparing for playoff games, and thoughts on the next match.

What's the difference for you between playing in Stage 2 and Stage 3 playoffs?

Obviously, the meta shifted a lot like the D.Va change. Since I'm the D.Va specialist on the team, it was harder for me to adapt. There are heroes like Sombra, Pharah, and Ana who are there to attack me. It took a lot of practice to get used to it.


In Stage 2, the team had a perfect stage. Now in Stage 3, there are some setbacks with a few losses. Did that affect the team in any way?

The team as a whole wasn't too affected by the losses. For me, however, I feel like it affected me - mainly because of the meta shift. However, it is good motivation for me and the team to get better as the stage went on.

Personally, I've seen players who are harsh on themselves with meta shifts. I'm not a mentally strong person compared to others, but I feel like I recover sooner because I'm an idiot. [laughs]

Do you have a different way to prepare for these playoff games compared to the regular season games?

When there's an important game like these ones, we are a little more intense. I don't do any pregame rituals - I treat these like any other game. 


As the stage playoffs go on, you're faced with harder opponents with the finals being the hardest. How do you prepare for those games since you're prepping in a short amount of time?

Honestly, I don't think about preparation in terms of strategy. I believe in our coach's abilities to come up with a viable strategy by then. I only think about my own condition and try to review VODs on our next opponents. 


Let's talk about tomorrow's match. Who do you prefer to play against?

Hangzhou because they are good - playing them will make us a better team. But, it's okay if we play against the Valiant too. We can beat them. 

The only reason why I didn't say Valiant is because I'm afraid of KariV.

Good luck on tomorrow's game. Do you have anything to say to your opponents tomorrow? 

I can't really think of any, to be honest. Let's just have a good game.