Interview with dignitas.DreAm

July 31st, 2012

Author: Anders Ingebrigtsen

Shijie ‘DreAm’ Zhu is a Protoss player, currently playing for Team Dignitas. He was a prominent Warcraft 3 player, but Dream now has set his sights on StarCraft 2, and will surely become a household name in both his home country of China, and the rest of the world. I talked to DreAm about his time in Team Dignitas, WCS China and the future.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, let’s just jump right into it, you have been with Team Dignitas for a little over half a year now, what has that been like?

DreAm: Basically, I like everything here, we talk and play a lot between players, managers etc. It’s like a family for me.  And it’s really an honor for me to join such a good team.  Getting noticed a lot. J

You were a very good player in Warcraft 3, what were your strengths, and did they translate to StarCraft 2?

DreAm: I think my micro is the best part of it. It translated into StarCraft 2 perfectly because I still think StarCraft 2 is a little bit too easy to micro. Or, in another way, it is too hard to micro when you really have a big fight.

Who is your favorite practice partner in Team Dignitas and why is he your favorite?

DreAm: I would say dignitas.killer. Whenever I ask him to practice, he’s always available. But, of course I love all of our members.

You didn’t play in the recent WCS China tournament, that seemed like a good place to get noticed, what kept you away from it?

DreAm: Yeah, it is a big letdown for me as well. The WCS pre qualifier ended before I could come back to China, so I did not really have a chance to play in it.

Looking at the quality of play in WCS China, do you think you could’ve placed highly in it?

DreAm: I can’t guarantee to have won it, but I am 100% sure I could have made it into the Asian WCS final.  Everyone told me it was a pity I missed it.  But you will see me at some Chinese events soon.

Talking about the Chinese scene, how do you rank it, and how do you see it growing and becoming better in the future?

DreAm: Actually, Chinese players are really good. I cannot tell you who, but someone was a Top 3 Grandmaster in the Korean server.  But there are only a few top pros in China. But the semi-pro or amateur players are really bad compared to the EU or NA scene.

You are one of the first Chinese players to play for a foreign team, would you recommend other Chinese players to do the same?

DreAm: Yes. I already did recommend another top Chinese player to Team Dignitas. Let’s keep this our little secret; we may see him join soon. :)

What is in the future for DreAm? Any tournaments coming up?

DreAm: The closest one would be i46 in England and I will train much harder than ever for it.

Well, that’s it, any shou touts you have or anyone you want to thank?

Dignitas_DreAm: I would like to thank the team and our sponsors. Especially to QPAD, since I am also working with QPAD China now and they are really cool guys.