This interview was held on October 18th, prior to the open scrimmage.

The very moment that Overwatch fans have been waiting for has finally come-the Overwatch World Cup 2017 playoffs will begin in November. Before the first open scrimmage began, we went to meet Team South Korea on October 18th, and we had time to hear their aspirations and about the gratitude they feel towards their fans.

Here is the video interview with Saebyeolbe, Fl0w3R, zunba, Mano, ryujehong, and tobi.

Mano, tobi, Fl0w3R

Hello! Please introduce yourselves.

Mano: Hello, I am Donggyu ‘Mano’ Kim.

tobi: Hello, I am Jinmo ‘tobi’ Yang.

Fl0w3R: Hello, I am Yeonoh ‘Fl0w3R’ Hwang.

How do you plan to prepare for the Overwatch World Cup playoffs, which isn’t far away from now?

Mano: First, I’ll be practicing tank in competitive games a lot. We have about four open scrimmages left, so I think we just need to practice playing with good teamwork.

tobi: We’ve been taking a long rest from playing before we got the chance to play as Team South Korea. We will try our best to get our old individual skills back and work on our teamwork so that we can get good results at the World Cup.

Fl0w3R: As for me, my Hero pool is rather wide, and I practiced mostly playing the Heroes that I think I lack skill with first. And then I plan to play these Heroes as much as I can at the World Cup.

You will be playing against Team United States in the quarterfinals; how do you feel about that?

tobi: I do not feel anxious, but rather I am going to try hard because playing in the tournament abroad is actually fun and leaves me with good memories. And because I don’t think we are less skillful than Team United States.

Many fans must be looking forward to the matchup; can you share your aspirations with us?

Mano: We will show everyone how much we changed with this year’s World Cup.

Lastly, say hello to your fans.

Mano: Our results will be just a great as the support we get from our fans.

tobi: I’d like to thank everyone for rooting for Team South Korea, and I will do my best so that I can get good results for sure since you all have been nice enough to trust and support us.

Fl0w3R: This time, I’ll play all Heroes perfectly so that people can see who the true Flex player is.

Saebyeolbe, ryujehong, zunba

Hello! Please introduce yourselves.

Saebyeolbe: Hello, I am Jongyeol ‘Saebyeolbe’ Park.

ryujehong: Hello, I am Jehong Ryu, well, ‘ryujehong’.

zunba: Hello, I am Joonhyuk ‘zunba’ Kim.

How do you plan to prepare for the Overwatch World Cup playoffs?

zunba: This is the first time we are having an open scrimmage since our last tournament ended; the meta has changed this time so I will play as if I am playing from the start.

ryujehong: I am excited to play with other members after such a long time. Tomorrow will be the first time we are scrimmaging at all since the meta changed. I’m looking forward to it as it seems it will fun.

Saebyeolbe: Everyone else mentioned the meta, and for me, I think I’ll get ready so that everyone can play together in a good team atmosphere or gaming environment. You know, having fun and laughing. Yay (Laughs).

Then could you give some compliments about each other? (Laughs)

Saebyeolbe: First, Lunatic-Hai has really cool fashion. Like, they all wear gold rings together (Laughs). They are like trendsetters. It’s really cool. ryujehong looks amazing!

ryujehong: As for LW Blue, they have this Saebyeolbe character. I think the whole team feels fun because of Saebeyolbe.

zunba: I also like how Saebyeole is bubbly (Laughs) and makes the team atmosphere so good; I really like that about him.

Before we started our interview, I overheard you all talking, and you called tobi the ‘money manager’?

zunba: Yes, tobi is our money manager (Laughs).

tobi: *Sighs*

Now back to the World Cup; you will be playing against Team United States in the quarterfinals. How do you feel about that?

Saebyeolbe: Team United States taunted us, and well, I think our match will be fun to play. Since we will be playing in the United States, I know the crowd will be hyped whenever Team U.S. gets a kill; I think we will be able to win as long as they don’t shout boos whenever we get kills.

Could you please share your aspirations for the Overwatch World Cup with us?

ryujehong: I will show that South Korea is a powerful eSports nation for sure at this year’s Overwatch World Cup.

Please share with us something that you’d like to say to the fans supporting you.

zunba: We’d like to thank every fan that is rooting for us, Team South Korea, and we will try hard so that we can repay your support with good results.

ryujehong: I am grateful for our fans’ supports. It seems it has become more fun and refreshing since two teams got together to become one. Please support us. Thank you.

Saebyeolbe: It’s been a long time since we played on a main stage, and many fans have been waiting for us (not sure if we have many, but I would like to think that we do). We are grateful for their support and we have to let our fans know that we are back- “I’m back!”