He’s the highest ranked Starcraft 2 player outside of Korea right now and displayed some impressive plays during IEM Toronto. But even though a Blizzcon seat is within his grasp, Jens ”Snute” Aasgaard tries to put it out of his mind as he enters Dreamhack Open in Moscow tomorrow.
– It’s not something I think about a lot really. I just take it as it comes.

Ever since Johan ”Naniwa” Lucchesi retired from the pro Starcraft 2 scene, the fans have been longing for a new foreign hope to take his place. Sasha ”Scarlett” Hostyn has from time to time filled those shoes, but right now it’s another Scandinavian who’s giving the ever dominating South Koreans a run for their money. Norwegian born Snute has had the best year of his career, with victories in a row of major tournaments. Only a few weeks ago, he had Lee ”Flash” Young Ho against the ropes in a quarterfinals 2-0 at IEM Toronto. But his opponent turned the tables and went on to win the whole tournament. Looking back, Snute is still pretty content about his performance in Canada.
– It went alright. I would’ve liked to beat Flash and Lee ”Life” Seung Hyun as well but I made too many mistakes.

Did you learn something at IEM that you’ll take with you into Dreamhack Moscow this weekend?

– That I still have a lot of things to work on when it comes to my early game and I still make some bad choices whenever I get nervous or stressed out. But every experience helps.

”I just go there to compete”

Leading up to Dreamhack Moscow, the discussion within the community has sometimes been about the situation in the country. John ”Totalbiscuit” Bain refused to send his Axiom Esports to compete because he didn’t feel like their safety could be guaranteed. Also, he called the country’s view of homosexuality ”morally repugnant”. But according to Snute, there has been no similar discussion within Team Liquid and his reply is a short:
– I just go there because I like to compete.

You’re often talked about as the best foreigner out there at the moment. What are your thoughts on that and do you feel like you’re the best?

– It’s good to hear, but I wish I was even better. To win games here and there is fun and all but I would like to be more consistent and place higher in tournaments more often.

The lineup in Moscow is looking to be one of the weakest in a long time, what are your thoughts on the opponents?

– Yeah, it’s one of the weakest ones this year, but the opponents are better than at the 2012 Dreamhacks thankfully.

And your own performance, what do you think you can accomplish this weekend?

– I think I’ll manage to get to the top 16. After that, it comes down to the draws and how good I can play.

”Don’t think the WCS changes will make a difference”

Blizzard recently announced rule changes in WCS which demands that players have to live in the region where they compete. Do you think that will benefit you foreigners?

– No, I don’t think it will make that big of a difference in Europe. But it would be great if more Koreans moved here and started playing the ladder and WCS. It helps us to become better without having to move to Korea.

Right now, Snute is at #14 in the WCS rankings, 275 points above Kim ”Violet” Dong Hwan just below the cutoff. But a spot at Blizzcon isn’t something going through Snutes mind as he goes in to the tournament this weekend.
– It’s not something I think about a lot really. I’ll just take it as it comes.