Adrian Koy, or Lifecoach, as he is known by the community, is one of the most beloved players within the Hearthstone scene. He's kind, doesn't BM, takes time for his fans but most of all: he's an incredibly strong player. Often taking as much time as is allowed in Hearthstone, he analyzes every play thoroughly, sometimes even on turn 1 or 2. But, as unnecessary as that might seem, it has paid off well for Lifecoach. He is invited to many tournaments and not without reason, being the title holder of six. We spoke to him briefly, whilst at Gamescom Cologne.
Welcome Lifecoach, how are you doing?
I’m fine, thank you very much.
Let's go back in time a bit. Your biggest and latest tournament victory so far was the Viagame House Cup 3, which was held in May. How would you say you’ve developed since then?
Before 2015 I was playing Hearthstone as a hobby, and I actually still am. There was a moment when I had to decide for myself to either abandon and quit playing Hearthstone, or to go fully for it. I decided to focus on Hearthstone at least for 2015 and try to get the best out of my performance. At the moment I am quite satisfied with how I’m improving as a player. This includes being happy with my strong performances, because when I do something, I want to do it the right way. I think I’m developing consistently, which is one of my strengths. I don’t develop with big jumps, but my consistency prevents big drawbacks. And when I have drawbacks, I get back up quickly which is also one of my strengths in my opinion.
"There was a moment when I had to decide to either abandon and quit playing Hearthstone, or to go fully for it."
How did you learn to get back up quickly?
I have been playing poker for more than seven years, and sometimes you lose a lot of money and you’re devastated. In life there are phases that are bad for you and don’t go your way. But that happens. You have to accept that you can not prevent everything from happening. You have to learn that the faster you get back up again, the faster you can develop and learn from it.
Those are some inspiring words, thank you for that. Let's talk a bit about your deck choice. You’ve been practicing with Patron Warrior a lot, on stream and in tournaments. What are your thoughts on the deck?
Patron Warrior is simply overpowered. They can even turn the board around if the opponent has a 2-3 turn advantage on board. Even if the opponent would have 10-20 mana advantage, Patron Warrior could turn it around. Next to that, minions with 2 or less attack are being ridiculed because they can be cleared for free, and even create more [card]Grim Patron[/card]s. It only costs 8 mana, or even less if you get [card]Emperor Thaurissan[/card], and if you think about it, it’s quite cheap to do things like that. Also a card like [card]Death's Bite[/card], which has a free whirlwind effect, makes the deck way too overpowered.
The next Hearthstone expansion, The Grand Tournament, tries to add more Taunt into Warrior. Is Taunt Warrior going to be a viable deck?
I don’t think any type of Warrior will be viable as long as Patron Warrior is around. Even if Taunt Warrior will be equal to other decks in the meta, it still simply can’t beat Patron Warrior and therefore it’s not the viable option, for both ladder or in tournaments.
"I don't think any type of Warrior will be viable as long as Patron is around."
Many people know that you’re a former poker player. A lesser known fact is that you’re actually partially from Japanese heritage. What do carry with you from that culture?
I’m feeling as Japanese as I feel German, to be honest. I was in Japan last year for quite a long time, and it’s awesome there. The culture is great, because they really hype the introvert personality which is nice, being an introvert myself. It’s good to see that it’s not always about partying and such, but that other characteristics are appreciated as well.
How come we don’t see any professional Hearthstone players from Japan?
The Hearthstone scene in Japan is pretty close to non-existent. I really don’t know why though. They are video gamers, so it should fit in there, but for some reason it doesn’t.
Is there something you’d still like to say to conclude? A shout out to anyone maybe?
I actually like doing shout outs on stream or when I just played in a tournament, because then it’s like directly to the audience and fans. So sorry but no shout outs in this interview.
That’s quite alright. Thank you for the interview.
Thank you as well!
