Today The compLexity Academy is pleased to announce that it has signed a new player. Samuel “Midday” He is a strong Zerg player from Alberta, Canada who has shown that he possesses the skills and determination desired by The Academy. He recently took home a 2nd place finish in the Challonge May 11 SC2 Open tournament, only losing to the Canadian GM Protoss SaroVati.
In an effort to get to know Sam better, I sat down with him and asked him a few questions.
Hey Sam, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. Before we really get into the interview would you mind introducing yourself to some of the fans who may not have heard of you?
Hi everyone, I’m Sam “Midday” He, a Zerg player from Alberta Canada. I’ve been playing StarCraft II since late June 2011, so I have about 2 years of experience under my belt. I started taking StarCraft seriously from the start, and I was fortunate enough to have people who were already competent at the game teach me regularly.
In regards to accomplishments, I haven’t really done much: Top 8 in King of the Prairies 2013, was featured on Gamers Den on Access TV, and won a couple local tournaments. That said, I’d really like to dish out a really strong notable result in the near future to show people I have to be taken very seriously. Maybe something in WCS or an MLG online qualifier, however a lack of live open brackets in MLG is making that difficult.
Outside of StarCraft, I am a music student (just finished my first year), studying clarinet performance at the University of Alberta. I might transfer schools for this upcoming semester, but we’ll see what happens.
Focusing a bit on the game, what are your goals for SC2 as well as the Academy?
My goal for SC2 is to simply become a progamer. In my opinion, the player job is the most exciting out of all eSports jobs, and I want to be a recognized top tier progamer. I am working very hard towards it.
My goal in The Academy is to be promoted to the main compLexity squad through some shape or form of a strong result. I will be actively aiming to meet and surpass Goswser’s and Sasquatch’s success.
You recently took home 2nd place in the Challonge SC2 Open. How was the competition? Who were the notable players involved? Were there are particularly good games you’re proud of?
The competition in that tournament was overall relatively light. The only major hitter that tournament brought was the captain of Clarity Gaming, SaroVati, who ended up winning it. I didn’t find myself being proud of any of the games I played in that tournament.
What are your thoughts on the WCS format? As an up and coming player how do you feel WCS affects your chances/situation?
I think the WCS format isn’t bad. I liked the European one where they gave you more chances. It really just comes down to being an apex predator, so you don’t really have to worry about the format and competition. I wish they would go back to the notion of national champions though. Also, there’s no reason to play in Korea other than practice, and that seems pretty unfair.
How are you liking the Academy so far?
Everybody seems really friendly and funny in The Academy. Overall, I haven’t spoken much with management, although I have only been here for a very short time so I’m sure it’ll be great getting to know them. If only everyone wasn’t so damn busy! haha – The opportunities that The Academy provides are great. There are lots of connections within the team and now that I’m on The Academy, it’s just one step closer to becoming a progamer.
Thanks for the quick interview Sam. Any shoutouts you’d like to give?
I want to say thanks to my friends for always supporting me with this, and that I appreciate it so much. Also thanks to compLexity for giving me this amazing opportunity. I also want to give a special thank-you to my mother who is learning about industry with me, and is supporting me with the tools I need to be successful in it.
Again I’d like to thank Sam for taking the time to speak with me. With his determination and skill Sam will surely be an asset to The Academy.