TL Umti: “Eain sometimes just picks me up. Or he says ‘Come here,’ and he just kidnaps me [like how Mario] kidnaps the Koopa.”
Q: How was your offseason?
UmTi: Didn’t do the boot camp this year, [but] I think APA went to Korea to play solo q, and Impact. CoreJJ came back from vacation and he was playing on the NA server with me. I was entirely staying here, United States of America. Just playing solo q.
There was no chef, because it was off day — some days there was a chef, but I cooked a lot, and made some food, [which] I uploaded on my Instagram.
Q: Were you cooking complex stuff?
UmTi: It was… I don’t know if it’s a high level, because when I made it, it was just following the recipes, so it should be really easy level. I was making some Korean stews or Japanese curries or, like, beef things or some fishes.
I think fish was the hardest. Fish was the hardest, but everything was just okay for me.
Q: Has that been your main hobby? Getting better at cooking?
UmTi: Yes, I think so. And at the morning, doing the meditation. I added meditation for my life and some exercises for four days [in the week].
Q: Did you have any vacation in the offseason? Even while staying in the US?
UmTi: Yes, I did. On December 26, my family came from Korea. And we, you know, just traveled LA a little bit — we go to Santa Monica Beach, go to the Beverly Hills and the Farmer’s Market. […] We’ve been to the Griffith Observatory in Hollywood. Everything was fun, and we had a really good steak here too.
Q: Not Disneyland?
UmTi: I mean, I don’t enjoy it. You know what I mean? [Roller Coasters], I am really scared. Anything with being faster, [I start] feeling that I’m maybe suicidal.
[Editor’s note: I think he means that he feels like he’s gonna die]
The Vikings [ride] especially was tough. I think roller coaster was kinda fine because you close eyes and just breathe, like, two minutes. It will end soon.
[Editor’s note: Eventually figured out he’s referring to the rides where a ship swings back and forth increasingly]
Q: How has it been scrimming with the team again?
UmTi: It’s been just kinda …. On the first day, we were just feeding each other [thoughts] and sharing our new ideas and trying to fit it. We played last in Worlds, so we are not a team right now. We are trying to be a team again.
Q: What makes you think you can beat FLY this year?
UmTi: I mean, like, I don’t know. It’s always the answer, but keeping the roster for two years is always helpful, because now they know their weakness or their strength, so they can fix it actually easily. And coaches know how to treat the players. It’s very easy to control.
Sometimes, it’s very rough, because someone thinks “Oh, I cannot fix this guy,” you know? But I don’t think my team is that case. That’s probably the reason TL is still together as a team. […] I didn’t do scrims with FLY, so I actually have no idea if they are better or not because it’s a new season.
But, I mean, it will be just fun season for me, and for my team too, because it’s a new season and a new meta is coming. So who’s gonna adapt first is pretty important.
Q: How has fearless been?
UmTi: I mean, it’s not actually making changes a lot in my head because it’s Bo3. I can see some of the players can pick signature picks because of [fearless], but […] we can get Lilia for sure. Bel’veth I don’t know about the her right now.
Q: Can you react to this fanart?
UmTi: Oh, this one, I didn’t see. This is actually a cute one. They made me crying, but at that time I remember my crying was kinda ugly. This one is kinda cute. […] *laughs* And APA looks so handsome. I don’t think that’s APA.
Q: Did you ask him to pick you up? Or what happened?
UmTi: He just picked me up — so like, normally, Eain sometimes just picks me up. Or he says “Come here,” and he just kidnaps me like … you know [how Mario] kidnaps the koopa thing? Eain sometimes does that. I think that kind of thing happened on the finals stage too. It was random.
Q: Second fanart react!
UmTi: I saw this one. I think [I’m familiar], I know her ID. She draws a lot of [amazing] pictures for me.
Q: It almost looks like you’re turning 75, but not quite.
UmTi: No, no. Not bad for a 75 [year old] pro player. Maybe unique.
Q: Message to the fans?
UmTi: I’m not sure that I can play one more year because I have military service. This can probably be my last year, so I’ll try my best, my fans, and I will try to enjoy with you guys for always supporting.
