Shawn "Sheth" Simon has been playing Starcraft since the Brood War days, though back then he was known under the name ChOsEn. He has competed in several MLG competitons, IPL, NASL and even has traveled to Korea to compete in the Global Starcraft 2 League. His most recent achievement is being runner up in the North American Battle.net Invitational earning him a spot in the Global Battle.net Championship. This weekend, he's here competing in MLG Orlando and I had the opportunity to speak with this extremely kind gentleman. So, without further ado…
Dustin: Sheth, thanks for taking a moment to speak with me. First off, how is it working with Team Liquid?
Shawn: It's great – they're my favorite team and have been for years.
D: You're known as sort of the "nice guy" of eSports. How do you feel about that title?
S: It's great that people feel that way about me – it's not always easy to be nice to people, but I try and forgive me if I'm mean, I guess.
D: What are your thoughts on the exponential pace of growth that eSports has taken, and how do you feel it will continue to grow?
S: Plans for this year are green and next year as well – actually, I was quite worried for a bit, thinking to myself "There's no way this will last, it won't keep up, it won't keep up", but fortunately I was proven wrong and its only getting more intense. Definitely some big things on the horizon, so I'm looking forward to that. I don't think it's close to dying or even losing steam.
D: You've competed in Korea before – how different is it competing overseas, especially in Korea? Is the mentality different going into competition there?
S: Obviously, its always different competing in a foreign country, especially in Korea. When I was there, GSL is the only tournament they have, so you can tell that's the only tournament that matters to them, and to be honest, its the only tournament that matters to everyone else, as well.And because of that playing in the GSL is very stressful, what with all the lights, it's very nerve wracking but also very exciting. So if you want the most exciting tournaments ot play in, the ones where you get really nervous, GSL is definitely a good one.
D: Last Question and I'll let you go – What have you done to prepare for MLG Orlando in particular?
S: I went to a Red Bull Lan, which is a Practice Lan that I went to to prepare for MLG Orlando and I just got back from IPL3 last weekend, which helped immensely. Aside from that, I've been just playing alot and preparing for the tournament.
D: Thank you very much for your time Sheth, and good luck in this weekend's tournament.
Look for Sheth in this weekend's Starcraft II tournament at MLG Orlando, and stay tuned to GameZone for more MLG Orlando coverage as the weekend progresses! Dustin Steiner is GameZone's eSports Correspondent! Follow him on Twitter @SteinerDustin
