Insomnia: "My parents together were making half of my monthly salary"

fragster: Hi Zradvko. The new year has just begun, what are your goals for 2010?

Zdravko 'Insomnia' Georgiev: You are quite right yeah. We are right at the beginning of the new year and I've set high goals infront of myself. First of all, this is my last year at university and I want to get my bachelor degree. Beside that, the project that I've been working for a little more than a year now is finally nearing completion and should be ready in a couple of months, so I will be focussing on that as well.

As for my personal goals, I want to try to get myself to do more sports. I am currently going to the gym twice a week but want to turn that number to at least three. In addition to that I am looking to start exercising another sport as well, probably swimming, but I'm not sure yet. I'd also love to go snowboarding, but the snow so far has been really scarce this winter.

Are you such a sport freak or have you just been too lazy in the last years?

Insomnia: Hehe. I wouldn't call myself a sport freak. I've always been phisically active however. I went through football, taekwondo, swimming, wing chun and working out. Done all of those for at least a year, regularly. I just feel better when I'm exercising. You are right though that sometimes I get lazy.

Did eSport – when you played Warcraft 3 – bar you from doing all these sports you like to do?

Insomnia: Indeed it did. However I like to look at it as a sport, so it was just the next one for me. And the only one I was able to go pro at, so it's got a special place inside my heart.

Sounds like you still love the eSport. So why did you retire in 2007?

Insomnia: I just felt my time had come. You have to remember that before the five years I actively played Warcraft 3, there were four years of Starcraft in my career. And during those I didn't play with less passion. I can't say that I was a Starcraft progamer for the sheer reason that I wasn't getting a monthly salary to do it. I did attend tournaments all over the world for that game as well. My motivation had gotten quite low in 2007 and retiring just felt as the right thing to do. It was time for me to move on to something else in my life. And yes, you are right again. I still love the eSport. And I follow the scene closely.

So you know who won the WCG 2009?

Insomnia: Of course I do. I am glad for Infi, I always knew he had a great potential and he finally proved it in the tournament that matters the most. It was such a thrill for me watching the finals live via the web stream. I was amazed by the number of people in that hall, there must have been ten thousand or more. eSport keeps growing.

Do you think eSport keeps growing while letting fall Warcraft 3? At least in Europe, the development is not great at all.

Insomnia: That's a calm before the storm, believe me. That's just the natural way of things happening. Wait and see what will happen when Starcraft 2 gets released. (laughing)

So you're already counting the last months of Warcraft 3? Why don't you see a potential in the "new" wc3 sector China?

Insomnia: I am not saying that Warcraft 3 and it's community will disappear with the appearance of Starcraft 2 on the scene. A lot of the people who are currently playing the game will continue to do so, especially in China. However I believe that with Starcraft 2 we are going to see the Bing Bang of eSport in Europe.

Back to your history: What was the greatest moment in your career?

Insomnia: That's easy. The moment I won the first WCG there was for Warcraft. I will never forget it. This was a truly pivotal moment in my life.

Is eSport the only way for young people to get such experiences? Or isn't eSport as unique as we always think it is?

Insomnia: Of course eSport is not the only way to get such experiences. However it's a very accessible one. You don't need much to get started with eSport. Pretty much the only things you need is a computer and an internet connection and you are ready to start practicing. If you are talented and persistent you inevitably are going to go through such experiences. The thing that makes it so unique is the fact that you can do all your practices and preparations from the comfort of your home. You dont have to go to the stadium to meet with other people to practice, whom in addition would be a very limited number. eSport combined with internet offers one global arena for everyone to participate. That's the true magic of it.



Did you miss anything since your retirement?

Insomnia: I miss a lot of things. I miss the constant traveling. I miss the thrill from competition. I miss the communication with so many people from so many countries ... I can only hope, that one day I would be able to do all of those again.

What prevents you to come back to eSport? For example with Starcraft 2.

Insomnia: Starcraft 2 is going to be great, that is for sure. It is quite likely it might draw me back to eSport. Nobody knows. The time will tell. (laughing)

How important was the financial aspect of eSport for you, as a part of SK Gaming?

Insomnia: It was quite important. It was the only way of getting income at the time for me and it was the only thing I was living of. And I have to add: living life of a pretty high standard. Of course I can't say how "high" exactly, but in comparision, my parents together were making less than half of my monthly salary.

These were other times, weren't they? There's almost nobody in Europe who can live of playing WC3 today.

Insomnia: Hehe, then I guess I chose the best moment to retire. I'm just kidding. It is sad to hear that for sure, but as I already said, things will change dramatically in terms of progamers' salaries when Starcraft 2 gets released.



Let's talk about the Trophy of Legends: Did you enjoy playing Warcraft 3 again or has the prizemoney just been too attractive?

Insomnia: I didn't do it for the prizemoney at all. I love challenges and playing again with all those oldschool guys, people with whom I have so much history. It was just a challenge I could not pass on.

You lost 0:3 to Sweet. Why have you been so chanceless against him?

Insomnia: To be honest I didn't prepare for my match against Sweet. It was right after the christmas holidays and the time between it and the last match from the groupstage was nearly two months ago. I don't want to take anything off of Sweet though. Props to him for playing well enough to defeat me.

How did the german player Tak3r, who was in your group, perform in your eyes?

Insomnia: Better than I expected. My first map loss in the tournament was to him. His cheesy strats have always been hard to counter. It was a close match.

Did you already deinstall Warcraft 3 again?

Insomnia: Nope. I like to watch replays every now and then. (laughing)

Zdravko, thank you very much. You have the last words.

Insomnia: Thank you for the interview, it's always a pleasure. I want to shout out to all the people who were involved in my eSport endeavours, regardless of their role. Players, fans, tournament organizers, sponsors, team managers and journalists. Friends or enemies. Thank you all.