By Jeremy Dezani

Welcome to “Player Focus”!

“Player Focus” is a short interview with one of the greatest MTG players in the world. The goal is to present the player and his MTG profile to Japanese and international communities. “Player Focus” will feature a different player each time.

This Time we have Yam Wing Chun(@walkingbye), Hong Kong player who recently Top 4ed Pro Tour: Hour of Devastation.

He is one of the biggest traveler in the world for MTG Tournaments, never hesitate to go in USA from Asia for a Grand Prix.

Interview

First Name: Yam
Last Name: Wing Chun
Age: 25
Nationality: Hong Kong
Sponsor: MTG Mint Card
Current / lifetime ProPoints: 131
Pro Level 2017/2018: Gold

Occupation / Hobbies outside MTG:

I worked as an Accounting Clerk when I lived in USA. I play a lot of darts recently and it helped me to have a better mentality at MTG tournaments.

When did you start MTG? Which set? How did you discover the game?

I started playing during Dissension in 2007. I was playing another card game “Duel Masters” and I saw people playing Magic in the card shop. They invited me to play the Pre-release next weekend and I started doing FNM afterwards.

What famous player influenced you the most to become a professional player?

Image Copyright: Wizards of the Coast

Lee Shi Tian. I met him in 2008, and seeing him transitioned from a local player to a Magic superstar today has inspired me a lot. He is a great mentor who taught me a lot in Magic, and we are very close friends that always travel together for tournaments.

Previous Achievements:

PT TOP 8: 1

GP TOP 8: 2

Others: 1st in HK Open 2017

If you have one, who is your favorite Japanese Player and why:

Riku Kumagai. He is having solid finishes at the Pro Tour level and he seems to get better every time I watch him play. I hope to play against him in the finals of a tournament one day!

Favorite MTG Format and why:

Momir Basic. The high variance makes it very entertaining to play, while you can develop your basic skills with correct attacking/blocking decisions.

Favorite limited archetype in the current draft format and why:

Blue Aggro. 《Slither Blade》 and 《Unsummon》 are great cards!

Favorite MTG Deck:

Standard: Mono Red
Modern: Boros Burn
Legacy: BUG Delver (with 《Hymn to Tourach》)

Do you prefer to play aggressive, control, midrange or combo deck? Why?

Aggressive I like being proactive and present a lot of threats. However, playing aggressive decks doesn’t mean you brainlessly attack all the time. Playing defense with an aggressive deck when necessary is the part I liked most and is a beautiful skill in Magic.

What is your favorite deck to play at the moment? Any format;

Mono Red: I played it at the Pro Tour: Hour of Devastation in Kyoto.

It is a very powerful aggro deck that has a lot of late game reach (《Ramunap Ruins》 & 《Sunscorched Desert》 package, 《Earthshaker Khenra》, 《Hazoret the Fervent》).

《Shock》, 《Incendiary Flow》 and 《Collective Defiance》 are great burn spells that also target your opponent’s life total, which gives you a lot of outs and exciting topdeck moments in the late game.

It also plays like Boros Burn in Modern, which I have been playing for a few years and had success with it.

I finished 9-1 in the Constructed portion of the Pro Tour, losing only one mirror match (I went 4-1 in Mono-Red mirror match). Our plan for mirror match is to stay aggressive and it has been successful for me and my teammates. I believe the deck will continue to perform in this Standard format.

What is your First Pick, First Pack in this booster and why?

《Spellweaver Eternal》. I really liked playing blue aggressive decks. 《Spellweaver Eternal》 makes blocking very difficult for opponent because any combat trick is a huge blowout plus the Afflict ability basically means Trample.

You played a lot of events this season but you recently just did your best lifetime finish with Pro Tour Semi-Final.
What can you say about the grind to be a pro player?

Grinding to be a pro player is definitely hard, both mentally and financially. You need to commit a lot of time and money to play in lots of events until you are on the Pro Tour train. This is my worst season in terms of GP finish (I played 16 GPs and my best finish is an embarassing 11-4), and after a fruitless GP weekend I often questioned myself, “Why am I doing this?”.

Image Copyright: Wizards of the Coast

I would say the key is to enjoy the game. Losing and frustration always happen, and if you don’t have passion for the game you will give up easily. Enjoying the game also makes long hours of playtesting before a tournament more like having fun than a painful experience.