Jens 'Snute' Waller Aasgaard is a Norwegian Zerg player, currently on team GamersLeague. With him playing the Pokerstrategy.com League and doing smaller LANs, I got curious as to who this player is. I asked him about his history, present activities and future ventures. Enjoy the read!

How did you get into StarCraft?

Snute: I've been playing a lot of games since I was young: a lot of console games, PC games, MMO’s, and SC:BroodWar. I got into StarCraft through a friend in elementary when I was 11 years old. He started playing it because of his older brother, so we played some SC:BW together at LANs.

Who did you admire when you were playing in the lower leagues and do you still look up to some players?

Snute: I admired the players that would crush me every game, such as Kas, SaSe and Nerchio. As I've closed in on the big names in skill and got to know their personalities, I've both gained and lost my admiration for a lot of them. I still look up to Nerchio's play though. It's just difficult to look up to players as a whole. Some have apparent strengths but also major weaknesses, be it in gameplay or personality. I admire those that put in the effort, practice a lot and stay mannered without blaming others for their weaknesses. I want to be like that myself, although It is very difficult sometimes.

Why did you pick Zerg as your main race?

Snute: It was the race I had the most fun and success with in SC:BW, so I just kept playing Zerg in SC2. I like the fast pace of the race and how it allows you to take control over games. At the same time, Zerg is a very fragile race. It brings some extra excitement to the game.

What is your favorite match-up and what do you think of the other matchups?

Snute: I don't have a favorite match-up. It depends a lot on what I'm comfortable with in the moment. Statistically, my best match up is ZvP although I enjoy playing ZvT more. ZvZ is also very exciting because of the high EU ZvZ level, it's always a challenge.

We have seen you play at a various amount of smaller events, for example SørLANet 2012. Do you prefer these smaller tournaments over international ones like MLG or IEM?

Snute: It is thanks to the Norwegian LANs that I could begin as a pro-gamer. It is expensive to live in Norway if you don't have a proper salary. I was studying at the time, but after winning every single LAN I participated in last fall, I got the money I needed to begin my life as a full-time gamer. I don't necessarily prefer one type of LAN over the other. I like to play in big events too, I just haven't been at that level for a very long time. I was supposed to go to IEM Guangzhou this fall, but since it was cancelled I went to SørLANet instead.

Back to SørLANet 2012, you beat TargA in the grand finals by a score of 4-1. How likely were your chances to beat a fellow countryman after he had such a run at DreamHack Valencia?

Snute: I was a bit concerned since he was in such a good shape, but I had also improved a lot. The final score versus TargA at SørLANet was 7-1. It was a way better result than I expected, but to answer the question I thought my chances to win were very good. I prepared well for the games and had a lot of confidence.

Your team (GamersLeague) is composed of mainly Nordic players. What do you think of the StarCraft scene in Norway?

Snute: It's usually a very quiet scene apart from the autumn LAN season and around Easter (The Gathering). TargA switching to full time is a huge boost for the scene and Noticimus is also doing well. The top Norwegian players are all very close and help each other out a lot when it's needed. As for the community: it's easy to notice that people are short on time and busy with real life. Most Norwegian SC2 followers tend to follow the international scene rather than the Norwegian one. The SC2 scene in Norway needs more events, tournaments and hard-working people in order to grow further.

What do you think makes the difference between Korean and foreign players?

Snute: The Koreans are a lot closer to each other, they practice more and have a higher level of gameplay in general; it's just good synergy.

Do you want to go to Korea to improve in StarCraft? If so, is there a specific team you would like to stay with?

Snute: I was there for a few weeks this summer; it helped a lot with my gameplay and mindset. I didn't stay in a team house but practiced on the Korean server from different internet cafes. Korea is not a magic fix that brings you to top 5 foreigner instantly. Improvement has to do with yourself and your own mindset more than the level of resistance you face in practice. Therefore, Korea is not a magic boost to your skill, but you do get that tiny additional bonus of the higher average level and different styles of the players. It felt like a slightly better kind of practice to me.

In the end however, it's all about eliminating negative/losing trends in your thought patterns and finding new - or refining - the positive/winning patterns. A better resistance can help you identify patterns, but the most important thing is to be aware of how you are thinking during games. Sometimes you can say it's easier said than done, other times you can say it's surprisingly simple. If I were to stay with a team in Korea, I'd like to practice with TSL. They have amazing Zerg players and seem to be very friendly.

What are your short term objectives?

Snute: I'm going to work on my ZvT and do my best in the Pokerstrategy.com league. I'm also going to work on improving my defense skills, my larva spending (especially while droning up), midgame transitions and lategame.

Would you like to thank anyone?

Snute: Thanks to everyone who's been cheering for me the last year. I'd also like to thank my team GamersLeague and my sponsor mamoz.no for their continued support.

Also, thanks to the readers for taking the time to read this interview! And keep cheering for your favorite players; it means a lot to them.