Here we have an interview with Jimmy 'ThisIsJimmy' Van Sise who is one of the up and coming American players to have competed in both MLG Raleigh and MLG D.C. He is a Terran player who currently plays for CheckSix Gaming. Jimmy is a competitor who played at a relatively high level in SC: BW and really made a name for himself in the StarCraft II beta.

Despite underachieving at his first two MLG events and not having a huge following in SC2, Jimmy continues to compete online beating top players on a regular basis and is going into MLG Dallas with a 'drastic' change in his play style.

Hey Jimmy, just give all the readers a brief run down of who you are and what you do.

I am Jimmy "ThisIsJimmy" Van Sise. I'm a terran player who used to play under the ID Silent`Assassin in BW. In real life, I'm 24 and I work full time as a software developer.

From what I understand you were also a SC: BW player. What kind of success did you have in BW and what advantages do you think you have over other SC2 players who didn’t play BW competitively?

I had some success in BW. I've been a B-/B player for a long time and I always did ok in WCG but could never qualify for US National Finals. Some advantages I think I have from BW would be macro skills, multiple base play, and a good sense for timing windows.

You are currently CheckSix Gaming’s only SC2 player. How does it feel to play for a professional team and what organizations/teams have you played under in the past?

It great! They support and watch me when I play in MLG and online tournaments and it has been a lot of fun. Prior to CheckSix I was in myRevenge for around a week but I didn't really enjoy playing custom matches or clan wars so I left that team. Brood War was never this big in the US so this is pretty new to me and I am enjoying it a lot.

So far we have seen you compete at the first two MLG SC2 events in Raleigh and D.C. under CheckSix. I’m not sure how many LANs you attended prior to SC2, but how much did you enjoy competing at these tournaments?

I have been to a bunch of LANs for BW over the years, but none of them can compare to the MLG SC2 events. They are so well run and the presentation on everything is just excellent. The venues are huge and extremely nice and both of the trips have been an absolute blast. I advise anyone to go if you are nearby, even if you aren't playing!

You will be attending MLG Dallas coming up very shortly. After disappointing finishes in your past 2 MLG events, what have you changed in your play or preparation to hopefully obtain a better result?

After MLG DC I have changed my play style drastically. I feel like I learned a lot from watching SeleCT play and have been practicing new builds in all of my matchups. I am excited to see how they work out at Dallas!

Do you feel you have the potential to be a top 3 finisher at an MLG event? Or is there some insurmountable obstacle that is holding you back in your play?

I don't think I could be a top 3 finisher but I do think I could make it into the top 8. My APM could definitely be higher, but I don't think that is a huge obstacle for me. There is just a lot of talent that goes to MLG and I don't see myself reaching the top 3 right now.

With the progression you’ve observed from even attending MLG Raleigh and D.C., do you think MLG will get to the point where we will be seeing Korean and other international competitors making trips to America to attend the events?

Already a lot of people are traveling overseas to play at MLG (Sjow, Socke, WhiteRa, Ret, IdrA). I think it will continue to grow and if the GSL was not around I think a lot of Koreans would consider attending as well. The spectator areas for SC2 were overflowing at Raleigh and DC and I think it will only grow more as SC2 progresses and the next year of MLG begins.

We are seeing more and more foreign players deciding to pick up and make the move to Korea to compete in the GSL. If the financial means became available to you, would you consider following in their foot steps?

Nah I don't see myself going to Korea to play in the GSL anytime soon. The competition level there is a lot higher and I don't think I would place well enough to justify the trip. It would also be very difficult for me to get all that time off work.

Who would you classify as the top three SC2 players in North-America right now?

1 Select, 2 Huk and 3 Kiwikaki (not counting Idra)

How about a top 3 worldwide?

1 FruitDealer and 2/3 other koreans. I haven't watched enough GSL to figure out the other 2 but I really enjoy watching Nada and Boxer play :)

You have been a Terran player throughout the beta and now into retail. With the most recent patch ‘leveling the playing field,’ especially for Zerg players, how much more difficult do you find it is to win on a consistent basis?

Well Terran vs Zerg is changed a lot so it is more difficult right now as I have needed to change my builds around. I like the patch though and I am happy that the Zerg players can't blame imbalance when they lose. The void ray nerf helped terrans out a good amount though and I am having an easier time in that matchup now.

To spice up this interview a little: we recently saw IdrA call HuK’s mothership rush at MLG D.C. ‘absolutely idiotic’ and that he feels it ‘cheapens the tournament’ to pull out strategies like that. What is your take on the whole situation? Would you ever use a strategy that likely would not succeed just to get a few laughs out of the fans?

Well, Huk was down in the set and I have seen him pull of the mothership rush successfully before so it is not idiotic at all. I also think he tried it because Select is extremely good. Huk isn't going to do that strat if he knows he can easily win with standard play. I even think he could have made it work if he had played a little cleaner and did a better vortex. He wanted to put on a show and if he had won it would have been amazing. I could see myself doing some weird/fun cheese too if I was playing someone extremely good who I might have trouble beating with a standard build.

Lastly, what are your long term plans in terms of your SC2 career? Do you foresee yourself competing at a high level for years to come?

Right now I don't have too many long term plans I am just having fun playing in many tournaments and traveling. I do think I will be competing at a high level for many years as I have already played Brood War for many years and see no reason to stop now!

The floor is yours. Feel free to make any shout outs you want and thanks for the interview.

Thanks for having me! Shout outs to CheckSix Gaming (www.check6gaming.com), and our great sponsors PureTrak (www.puretrak.com), gigastraps (www.gigastraps.com), GamingModz (www.gamingmodz.com), and EoReality (eoreality.net)!

You can catch Jimmy 'ThisIsJimmy' Van Sise at MLG Dallas November 5 - 7th to see how he stacks up with his new strategies against the 128 player field.