SjoW: "I'm eager to get that big win again"

Jeffrey 'SjoW' Brusi is a Swedish Terran player who recently, after a brief period of leaving, rejoined Team Dignitas and since then has had some impressive results. I was given an oppurtunity to find out how he feels about the meta game, the NASL and toppling giants such as Dimaga. Enjoy reading! 

You recently rejoined us after a small hiatus. First it's great to have you back! How are things since your return?

SjoW: There's not really alot of changes from last time I was in the team, some minor. When I came back from my 'vacation' from Team Dignitas I adapted very quickly to the new changes and already knew the base from the start. The only thing I'm a little upset about is that the sc2 squad haven't really been doing that well lately.

I think its mostly just variance I know all the players in and out, and I know what they are capable of. Our peek is far from reached. I especially look forward to see when merz and bischu will be doing a big splash into the scene like bling did. When they do we will get back to our former glory as the best foreign team.

 

Do you feel happy to be back with Dignitas?

SjoW: I'm very glad to be back mostly because of the awesome sc2 players and management.

 

Your results before rejoining Dignitas were not as good as they have been, was there any particular reason you were not at your best?

SjoW: It was mostly because I didn't practice at all for a month due to computer problems and lack of motivation.
Also I changed my hotkeys so I was forced to relearn new and old stuff. Also the competition has become pretty tough,
if you dont practice to your fullest its impossible to win anything nowadays.

 

Your results have been impressive lately, do you feel you have been playing at your best?

SjoW: They have been decent much better than during late 2011 and early 2012 tho. Im far from satisfied, Im eager to get that big win again. Until then I will do my best to try and find whats missing in my game. Some games i've been playing my best part of the games, some not. The conditions are the biggest factors to what level im playing on.

My game is very lackluster when I wake up. I need some hours to wake up before I can play my A game. Other things that can determine your level of play of a day is your current mindset. Mindsets changes all the time when youre not confident in a matchup that effects your game alot. You start playing timid and dont take the oppurtunities thats presented to you. Whats most important to become a tournament winner is confidence, mindset and skill.

You would think if you win 80% in practice against the best youre going to win almost all tournaments. But thats far from the truth. Tournament play and practice game is a totally different story. The winner in tournaments is usually the one that can handle the pressure and have the confidence to do the calculated risks.

 

Do you believe you are playing well enough to win an upcoming major tournament?

SjoW: Not quite yet. I feel like im ahead in the mindset aspect of the game and metagame but lack a little of the raw skill that can only be learned by hard practice. When I find a good balance between these two Im a contender for sure.

 

You are currently competing in the NASL along with SeleCT. How is your group?

SjoW: Im currently 1-2 which is very dissapointing. But playing cross server affects my game a lot because of the delay so I cant really perform my 100%. My group is not the best nor the worst.

 

You took a series from Dimaga recently, an impressive result. Do you think you can go far in the NASL this year?

SjoW: I think I have a good chance to get into the qualifying stages to the grand final like former NASL events. I always tend to fail there tho. If only I could play without any crossserver disadvantage I could go far.

 

Your next game is against Her0, who is 3-0 in this tournament, can you be the one to break that streak?

SjoW: He's the toughest player in my group for sure. I think my style is very suitable against his. My chances are probably 40% even though last time we faced eachother I won 2-1

Sweden are doing incredible in the eSport world right now, why do you think that is?

SjoW: The echoing question ^^ I think its because we have such great infrastructure of internet just like korea. 90% ~ of the households have internet and the slowest speed you can get here is 10mbit/1upload and its very cheap compared to other countries. We also have really cold winters so its not really tempting to go outside, instead we sit inside and either watch tv or use the computer.

 

MLG announced that Heart Of The Swarm will be playable in future events, do you think this is a smart idea to begin integrating it into competitive play?

SjoW: I like it alot because it will stir up the pot alot. There will be lots of different champions than the current ones, but only the current progamers of course. When a new game is released it's mostly a case of who can learn the game quickest and how it works. Smart players have the biggest edge during the beginning of the game and later the mechanical players will take over.

 

What are your opinions on the new Heart Of The Swarm units as whole?

SjoW: Looks very interesting and imbalanced ^^ The unit I look most forward to is the battle helion!

 

The balance of the game is different in everyones eyes, how do you feel it currently stands?

SjoW: It's very balanced atm, I cant see anything thats really needs a change.

 

If you had to spend a week living in the same room as any Starcraft pro, who would you pick?

SjoW: It would be a terran of course to be able to share insights and strategies and someone I could learn things from. But also someone I get along with and I can communicate with. My pick would be chobo ryan ( dSelecT ).

 

Finally SjoW, any shoutouts?

SjoW: I would like to thank my loyal fans that cheer for me no matter my results and play. I appreciate it very much and helps me alot when im not feeling confident in my game.Of course I would like to thank Dignitas and sponsors to make this even possible from the first place.

 

As always I would like to thank SjoW for sparing the time for this interview and welcome him back personally. If you would like to keep track of SjoW's victories across the globe you can follow him on twitter @dignitassjow or follow @teamdignitas for regular updates on the whole team and to get involved and ask your pro's and Starcraft icons questions, follow me @dignitasava.