Illusion: Practice in the StarTale house was probably the best I have ever gotten

Chris ‚Illusion‘ Lee: Mousesports is the first team I have joined where I could feel a part of the team, practice frequently alongside them and also have the proper management that is friendly, professional and productive. The only difficult thing I have to deal with is the time zone difference of 6 hours which only effects clan matches because we practice at an ideal time for everyone.

I’ve heard good things about them for a long time, a lot of good things from Marcus (Thorzain). They were also one of the first to re-contact me after the disbanding of Quantic, the signing was a bit later than planned but it all turned out okay. I also used to play/watch a lot of Counter-Strike and they were one of my favorite teams to watch, so when I saw their name it was nothing new to me.

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With Heart of the Swarm the game became quite faster, with back and forth fights in multiple parts of the map. Does that benefit your playstyle?

Yes, I have recently been streaming and it is noticeable in my play as well as in my clan matches. I like to boast about my high APM and very aggressive style in all of the matchups, with the new units and changes to the interface/UI, the game is more fun for me as well as more challenging for both parties.

Could you please share your thoughts about the new Terran units and abilities with us?

I think the widow mine is a very cool mechanic, can be used defensively and offensive but it is also very scary to the user. One missclick, bad positioning or just simply not paying attention can cost you your entire army. Players have learned to adapt to the mechanic of the widow mine and it is not as strong as it was when it was introduced (example for zerg: sending a zergling ahead of the pack to look for mines or splash terran army.)

The hellbat is nice to use for all matchups but I see myself using it more versus zerg. I always liked to mix in hellbats in the midgame or lategame in WOL especially vs zerg and with the new transformation mode, I see myself using it even more. Sometimes I get really good positioning or the zerg user isn’t looking for a second and they lose all their zerglings, it’s good to have a turn of tables for once. (Illusion vs sheth displaying hellion usage in WOL: youtube.com)

I think I speak for every terran player when I say the medivac speed is the best utility that could be put on a dropship. We can speed up to drop, to escape by picking up the remains and leaving or just simply running away from a protoss army. At first I thought it was too good, right now I think it is okay but I wouldn’t be surprised if blizzard was nerfing terran once again.

The reaper change made the unit more of a utility unit rather than a damage unit. Most people enjoy the change and we definitely see reapers used more than before, which was blizzard’s goal but I still miss the ability to use reapers ridiculously aggressively in TvT. (Illusion vs Ganzi, Reaper Hellion WOL: youtube.com)

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With some changes to the unit I believe it could have been a very viable unit that would be balanced. Of course an extra unit would have been nice but I think the game would be much different if the Warhound was included. I have a neutral stand on the decision, not happy but not sad.

Viewer numbers after HotS release have become quite impressive. Do you think that will last or is this just because people are hyped about the new game?

I think the viewer numbers have stabilized and I hope they will stay this way and grow. Either way, I don’t think stream viewers are everything to keep an esport going, a lot of people watch the tournaments and Starcraft fans seem to be the most dedicated.

In the past weeks rumours came up about Blizzard trying to establish a regionalized league like the League of Legends Championship Series. Despite of the fact that this is still unconfirmed, would you like to see that happen? (was asked before WCS announcement)

Yeah, I believe Blizzard + Company can produce an LCS Style league much better and it will grow starcraft’s popularity. When League of Legends players see Starcraft holding a league that is identical to the LOL LCS, they will definitely tune in to see what starcraft is all about because they can follow the format easily as they are used to it from the LCS.

Have you ever considered to play and practise in Europe or Asia for a while?

I practiced in the StarTale house before WCS last year and it was probably the best practice I have ever gotten. I would definitely practice there again if it was convenient and comfortable, it does get very lonely out there and the spectators looking from the outside in don’t get the whole story.

What are your goals for the upcoming months? When will your fans have the chance to see you competing in a huge tournament again?

My goal as always is to get into any tournament that is convenient for me and mousesports, I’m not sure which tournament will be my next because they haven’t announced a tournament that is going to be recent but you will definitely see me more in 2013!

Thank you very much, Chris! The last words are up to you! Any thoughts you want to share with the community?

I have been very quiet for the past few months after the signing with Mouz but I can assure you I will be back stronger and more motivated. Streaming will be more regular and I will be interacting more with the community. Although the past few months have been quiet, they have been really enjoyable and I owe it all to mouz and all of our great sponsors, Benq, Razer, Geil and Thortech. Follow me on twitter @mouzIllusion, facebook @illusionsc2 and check out my stream @ www.twitch.tv/illusionsc. Thanks for your support!

Photo: Kevin Chang for Team Liquid