Intel Interviews
The article Myers wrote a few days ago gave me inspiration to catch up with a few of the members of clans attending the Intel Masters LAN and ask them a few questions about the event and life itself.
Uninspired
We will start with Uninspired. I chose to interview Raider purely because he was the only one who seemed awake at the time. Here is what he had to say when we met up:
Dev: for the silly people out there who don't you know raider, who are you?
Raider: I'm David Bailey, been around in the scene for agesssss, took a bit of a break recently (hence not being in cpl) but mainly I've spent my time in Uninspired for the past year.
Dev: like you say, you have been around a fair bit. What do you think of the current UK scene? Do you think it has improved a lot or not?
Raider: I think it's coming on definitely. For a long time, it's been i-es i-es i-es, at least now we're getting some competition in, with 3-4 clans which can challenge for that top spot. As far as Europe is concerned, I still think we have quite a way to go.
Dev: moving on to the Intel LAN now, Ui are in a tough group but if you don't mind me saying have put out a storming performance recently at the Northampton CPL. I must say I was impressed. Very good performance against GG and DC, quite unlucky in the end. Do you think you can progress from the group?
Raider: I'm quite confident we can, at the recent cpl we showed great form and we still look on that level also with science being involved anything can happen.
Dev: have ui practised science? Do you like the map?
Raider: we have a few praccies scheduled for this week. Personally I would rather the final on a standard map, but the map itself isn't too bad. I don't like the mr7 possibility at all, it really puts pressure on the pistol rounds, and losing the pistol round leaves little chance of achieving a high score.
Dev: what is your take on the organisation of the event?
Raider: Intel are giving the UK a big event, for me that is good. The fact that they've made a few errors is a little disappointment, but they've listened to the public and changed what they can, so I say well done.
Dev: What will ui be up to over the next year?
Raider: Partying and getting drunk :). On the CS side of things...mmm.... just practising lots and preparing for any LAN that comes up.
Give us an event and we will be there :)
Dev: sum up ui's history past to present in 5 words.
Raider: start win fold start win.
In a bit more detail, we came 2nd in primary strike 2002, won i12, were disappointing at i14, then played great at cpl quals.
Dev: Who do you think will win the Nations Cup?
Raider: erm, I’ll go with Sweden.
Note that since the interview Sweden lost their first game of this seasons Nations Cup. I predict a high finish for ui at Intel if they manage to get out of the 'group of death'.
omg!
Next we move onto Sarge from #omg!:
Dev: For those people who don't have a clue about UK cs, who are you sarge?
Sarge: I'm Clinton Presley, he he ok, Clinton Mccutcheon, 18 from Rochester UK. Started playing CS three years ago this month and have played in UK teams such as [dOh], LR and now omg!
Dev: how long have you been in omg!?
Sarge: I was in the "original" omg! which was formed about a week or so after LR died, dsx really wanted a fun clan to play in and for a while it was a lot of fun, then things changed and it folded, so I had a brief stint with a team that I created but it didn’t go anywhere. Then Alex (m0rph) reformed omg! And asked me to join, they seemed to be pretty organised at the time so I joined.
Dev: how do you think the clan have performed at recent LAN events and where do you see it going for them?
Sarge: At recent LANs, GDOC and WCG we came 3rd both times, but still left feeling that we hadn’t played a scratch of what I and the rest think we can, can't seem to find that team play that carries infinity and ONE, but were working on it. I'm inclined so say things can only get better, but who knows.
Dev: you personally have been around for a long time. Do you think UK CS has improved at all?
Sarge: Yes, a lot. But other countries that were better than the UK back in the day also evolved more and as you can see by results of CPL events where there are more than 10 good teams present, UK still doesn’t come close.
Dev: I see recently you have been picked for england.cs by DK. Do you think that your game has improved a lot since your Lr days?
Sarge: obviously I was disappointed by not making the UK nations team, but being picked for the England team was a good feeling still, Personally I don't think I have improved a huge amount since LR, I think my reading of the game has improved somewhat but aim wise ive been the same since playing in LR I think.
Dev: Moving on to the ever-nearing Intel Masters LAN now, where do you see omg! finishing?
Sarge: Being realistic I honestly think we will come third. Several factors such as custom map versus infinity who in my opinion are still the best in the UK even without ren will be a tough one to win even if it is on a custom map. The game vs. ui will be hard as I know/have been told their best map is nuke but we took them with no practice last time fairly comfortably so I guess well be hoping to do the same again. Prodigy versus erm: cs will be a tough one too, very hard map and they’re not as bad as people make out.
Dev: Are you happy with the overall organisation of the tournament - the distribution of everglide pads, where it is situated etc.?
Sarge: When I heard they were going to use their custom map only, must say I was shocked. But they've changed their minds now but I'm still not sure about the whole MR7 thing that'’s been going around. As for everglide pads, we're sponsored by them so I use one anyway so I'll bring my own. The actual place seems an ideal place to hold a games tournament, nice looking arena etc., should be good as long as it's not cold, which judging by the current weather here...
Dev: speaking of the custom map, are you happy with it? Does it play well, and more importantly have omg! practised it?
Sarge: I can't say I'm best pleased with it, for 5 vs. 5 it's just too big with no real choke points, I don't think any team is going to "enjoy" playing it, but you just have to get on with it, and we haven't practiced it yet but we will do some.
Dev: what will sarge/omg be up to after Intel has finished?
Sarge: Intel is going to be my last CS tournament, I will stay in omg! as a team but will be quitting CS after the LAN. omg! will be carrying on though, although I'm not sure if or who they are going to get to replace me. As for a reason why I am quitting, I'm in a band that's got a 99% chance of being signed sometime next year, so there's no contest between that and CS, but I really hope omg! can go on to great things and keep up with the progressing UK scene.
Dev: Anything you want to tell the people listening/reading?
Sarge: I'd like to say thanks to all the people that I've played in clans with over the last 3 years for making it an enjoyable experience. Special thanks to DK for starting LR and making it what it was and of course to omg! who are beyond doubt the funniest guys I've ever known. By the way if you see omg! > Craig at a LAN be sure to ping his red lace bra strap (he has a bit of a fetish). Oh and gl to the teams at Intel.
So this could be Sarge's last CS LAN event for a while, good luck! I can see OMG! Going far if they get out of the group, in my opinion the ui game will be the decider.
ONE
Now onto clan ONE:
Dev: Righty for those who don’t know who are you, explain.
Khaos: I am tom Hughes aka KhAoS, I’m 20 and I’ve been playing CS since beta 5. I have been in ONE 3 months now I think, was just before WCG I joined.
Dev: where do you think ONE will place at Intel Masters?
Khaos: I'd like to be optimistic, but I don't think we've put the training in to win it. I guess I'd be happy with 3rd considering the point we're at right now.
Dev: would you like to wager who will be the two teams finishing above you?
Khaos: ui I-eS I would imagine, I think ui will win; maps are in their favour too.
Dev: Are you happy with the overall organisation of the tournament - the distribution of everglide pads, where it is situated etc.?
Khaos: I won't use the everglide anyway; I have a super leet £1 mouse pad that I got from pc world which is irreplaceable. I think organisation has been a bit sloppy. The custom map is just too big really, it's a nice idea, but the thing that makes maps like aztec/dust2/nuke so good is the structural layout. I had problems finding my way to the bombsite on science museum.
We've played it once vs. iLLu. The fact that the bombsites are so far apart, it will simply be about 5 man rushes wins. It seems complicated.
Dev: What will KhAos/ONE be up to after Intel?
Khaos: we'll be training eoL style soon hopefully when we sort a few things out and hopefully going to CPL Paris and giving a good show there.
Dev: Do you think the groups for Intel are evenly matched?
Khaos: Reputation-wise not really. Seems group A have 4 REALLY strong teams. But I think a lot of people underestimate N@s; they're good on LAN and can do well. iLLu have good players like tmc0r and dark0r.
Dev: Who do you think are the top 5 cs players in the world?
Khaos: I don’t know exactly, not been following much on the international scale. Heaton, potti, naikon Knoxville Kid-Lightning/Righteous?
Dev: Sum up the UK teams nations cup season so far in 3 words.
Khaos: Lack of practice! We never played together once in a pcw.
You really have to wonder whether this will be the time for clan ONE. Who knows? They will escape their group with ease and it's anybody's game in the later rounds.
N@S
Underdogs N@S will be at Intel also; I caught up with their trusted leader Scara.
Dev: No doubt there will be some people reading who are clueless as to whom you are. So shed some light on the situation.
Scara: I'm Simon Pearson and from Doncaster YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE :)
Just turned 28 which was a top birthday spent in Dominican republic. I've been playing CS for two and half years, started with RA (after been rudely dropped by AoE in trial) then after about a year with them having top laughs and good games wanted to be more competitive really and asked holy about bme then joined them till they folded as o3. Played for numbers and a clan called xf that me and thelemster started in which we beat 4k on dust he he. Then started north and south with kronny. I've been around the block a bit.
Dev: A lot of people don’t know about n@s, they have been around for a long time like you say. They seem to attend most of the high profile LANs consistently! What do you think is the reason to the clan staying together for so long?
Scara: We're all friends and have a laugh. None of us cfg which in my opinion is why we're better at LAN than online, which is probably why people don't know of us and think were crap but people that matter i.e. not idiots ;) know we're half decent.
Dev: what do u think of the custom map (science)?
Scara: Errrrr not looked at it, only just got off holiday. The team that's gonna be playing at Intel though will be practicing solid this week on it though.
Dev: are you happy with your group at Intel? A lot of people say group A is a LOT harder.
Scara: not bothered who we play tbh, made me chuckle that we’ve got illu again after gdoc though. I'm a bit gutted at having to play science twice.
Dev: Any thoughts on the possible mr7 scoring system?
Scara: Well err it's crap innit, lose pistol round and nigh on certain going to be 3-0 down then on back foot all half.
Dev: What will you and N@S be up to over the Christmas period?
Scara: Mostly falling about like an idiot. Don’t know CS-wise in the New Year, this is probably going to be kronnys last event/cs games so have to see.
Dev: If you had to pick five people in the CS world to be in a dream team, who would it be?
Scara: I'd pick abs. Maybe I'm a bit biased but I think he's the best player I've ever played with and really on fire lately. Heaton the obvious choice, and because of that trick with smoke grenade he pulled in CPL final. Two-man team ok?
Unfortunately even though N@S are an experienced team at LAN events I can't see a way out for them in this group. 3rd place in Group B is my prediction.
erm:cs
Next I managed to have a chinwag with Bom from erm:cs.
Dev: Bom, care to introduce yourself?
Bom: I am the Bombay Roll! From M2S, d0h, D2C/LCA, LR then ermmm erm.
I played Air attack with king killer b4 CS and was in the equivalent team as NiP to that game. Undefeated.
Dev: Keeping with the theme of erm, you have been in the clan for a fairly substantial time now. Other people have come and gone (i.e. rav0rs) what made you stay?
Bom: They're all a decent bunch of kiddies. Best thing is how much we get on really. Plus the fact that I get free bouncers of fast vision. The other reason I haven't left is that i-es or SK hasn’t asked me to join yet.
Dev: I was under the impression I-eS had asked you when Greg left?
Bom: A lot of people jumped to conclusions that I was going to join them from just mercing for them for 1 game. They never asked me (the bastards)
Dev: Where do you see erm:cs finishing at Intel?
Bom: Looking at the group's, dead last unless we pull our lazy fookin arses to-do something. So dead last.
Dev: Are you happy with the build up to the tournament i.e. rumours about scoring, the maps they have picked, where it is and so on?
Bom: You come to expect it will be run in the place we know called London, I was happy with the tournament just for the fact that they are hosting one for us. I was completely happy with just using the Science map but this was due to the fact erm would have stood a better chance. Looking at the groups it might a been better making every team in the group play on 3 diff maps rather than some playing 2 maps (less to praccy) but Im picking at straws we'd get beat regardless I think. And no I'm not a pessimist I'm a realist. mr 7 is shit; MR 15 would be far better for tourneys I think.
Dev: If you could pick any other 4 CS players from the UK to have in a dream team who would they be?
Bom: I'd go for danfrag, messiah, kwak, Gideon.
Dev: Sum up the UK cs scene in 3 words.
Bom: crap toss repeat.
Naaa.
Not too bad.
Unfortunately like Bom I am a realist and erm's only chance at winning a game is vs. OMG! on prodigy. In my eyes anyway.
iLLu
Now we move onto iLLu. I interviewed tmc who has since left iLLu (the day after I interviewed him) but I will stick it on this article anyway, if people have objections I will take it down.
Tmc, introducte yourself.
Tmc: I'm tmc0r from iLLuminati, I've been in iLLu for about four weeks now, ever since I left tR I've been kind of lost for clans. The factors that made me join is because I always got on well with smiffeh and mig, big up john and James. Despite their recent performance at the CPL a while back, I've decided to stick with them because they are trying hard, we have been practising against other clans who have been going there and haven't been doing bad, we ARE hoping to do better than we did at CPL, even though I wasn't actually playing for ilLLu at CPL, as I failed my driving test.
Dev: Moving on to Intel, how do you rate illu's chances?
Tmc: Who's actually going to Intel and I'll tell you.
At the moment, we're just thinking of it as just another tournament, but hopefully we will do well, at least 2nd place in our group because ONE are in our group, but it would be nice to finish ahead. dNC will be hard to beat.
Dev: Are you happy with the overall organisation of the tournament?
Tmc: Yes I'm happy with the overall organisation of the tournament, there's only one thing I don’t exactly like, is the CS Intel map. ILLu have been practising it with other clans in the tournament. So far it seems good but I don't want to jinx us (touch wood).
Dev: What will tmc/illu be up to after Intel?
Tmc: We are just taking Intel as it is at the moment. I mean nobody would want to be in a clan who are really good online, and really exceptionally bad at LAN, iLLu are trying to prove that we aren’t that bad on LAN.
Unfortunately I see a bleak LAN in store for iLLu, I can't see them winning a game in their group.
DNC
Moving on I then interviewed the Irish contingent for the event. DNC.
Dev: For the people out there, who aren’t aware, explain a little about yourself.
KaM: Im a turd, sigh sigh sigh. You're making me miss the snooker final with ken Doherty.
Ok well I'm ste Walsh, 19, live in Dublin like the rest of the dnc lads, played CS since beta 4, got serious with F2B and then formed omg! With dsx/fly, took a break when that folded, joined back up with ross a few months later, then left them and joined dNC last month.
Dev: Do you agree with some LAN organisations having the rules of not allowing southern Irish players to attend lans? I.e. UK only.
KaM: Of course it's up to the organisers isn't it, but it's kind of shitty for us Irish since there’s no big comps over here. Plus the fact most Irish players play in UK clans, it shouldn’t really be a rule or have done.
Dev: On to Intel now. dNC. Seeded. Lots of pressure. What do you predict as the outcome?
KaM: We had a shitty performance at the CPL so confidence isn’t that high, I know we can live up to our seed with a bit of luck though. All the clans in our group are quality, but I think we can beat n@s and iLLu, clan ONE on dust2 will be the toughest test probably, since its mr7 in the group stages I guess it all comes down to who wins the pistol rounds.
Dev: what do dnc think of the science map?
KaM: From the point of view of a 'pro' gamer, cough, it's a bit of a disappointment, cos it isn’t the most exciting map ever. But you have to see Intel’s point of view and the science museum's, and I guess any innocent non-gamers in there will be more interested to watch CS being played on a map they can recognise.
Dev: Are you happy with the mr7 idea?
KaM: No, it makes the game more random and the best teams mightn’t get out of the group stages if they lose both pistols in a few games, then again if you can't win your pistol rounds you probably don't deserve to get through. But at least they’re using mr12 for semis & final, or so I've heard.
Dev: what will kam/dnc be up to after Intel?
KaM: oof I don’t know, might take a break from CS over the hols, got to get some silly projects done for uni myself, and then I guess we'll be going to some CPL Europe’s hopefully, all depends on how we do at Intel, hopefully a lot better than at the cpl qual a few weeks ago.
Dev: Anything you want to say to the people listening?
DNC will escape the groups but I can't see them getting further than the semi finals.
I-eS
Last but not least is the I-eS interview.
Dev: So mr kwak, tell all the people who don't know you who you are please.
Kwak: I'm I-eS|Kwak, been serving this team for two years I think and still enjoying nearly every day. I'm 19 years old studying Business Studies now, and planning on going to Scotland next year to be Wrights groupie. Also I am the player with the most paid flights for CS.
You personally have been playing CS for a long time, you are from the Netherlands but have been playing with a UK team. Why is this?
Kwak: In the old days, Clanbase ladders were hot and nl was quite bad ladder wise and everybody looked at the big names like UKLA (having 1 Dutch player) CSA (having multiple) and 4K (having 2?) and I got scouted by both csa and 4k, and I chose 4K cause of the cool tag and cool dudes! And the nicks they had in those days!! (MAdmOnk)!
Dev: Moving on to the Intel masters now, where do you think I-eS will finish?
Kwak: Although the maps are weird compared to current standards like WCG and CPL, we'll be going for a week on LAN starting tomorrow in Northampton at the IT-Centre I'm quite confident that we will do well in the tournament with our current line up Wright mangiacapra lucking Harriman kwak and migotti.
Dev: Are you happy with the overall organisation of the tournament? The distribution of everglide pads, where it is situated etc.
Kwak: What can I say. I think it is really good that big names like Intel show interest in UK CS. I would have liked to see more CPL maps of course but besides that it's gonna be really good. I like the invite idea as well, don't ask me why though! And of course the fact that I AM allowed to play finally again in a UK LAN.
Dev: On the topic of maps, what do you think of the 'science' map?
Kwak: Loads of moaning about that map by some clans. Understandable of course since it's not a standard thing to do, but they were very open to suggestions to change to map and make it better, and personally I think RC3 is better than a map like de_prodigy, but that’s my personal view, and keep in mind I just hate prodigy cause it's black.
Dev: What will kwak/i-es be up to after Intel?
Kwak: Rawr, interesting. Well not much really we’ll all be celebrating Christmas and the new year with our loved ones, and marc mangiacapra is gonna pay me a visit in Holland in between.
CS wise, we've got some thing coming up but I’m afraid I cant tell anything about that.
Dev: Do you think that the groups for Intel are fair?
Kwak: Groups are never fair, get used to it. They just can't be fair, never! But if you got what it takes you'll be number 1 eventually! Although mr 7 might be dodgy. I don't mind the groups. They are okay to me, but people will always moan.
Who do you think are the top five CS players in the world?
Kwak: I think that question should be read as which team is the best in the world cause five good individual players doesn't mean anything and since CPL Dallas is in 1 week, come back to me about this then.
Dev: So who do you think is the best CS team in the world at the moment. Going into the CPL.
Kwak: Tricky one. I really do not know, unlucky mouse sports can't go really wanted to see their new team in action with gore and impi at their side, top 4 will be gol sk eol [9]. Personally I would like team nine to win cause of their attitude but on the other hand I wouldn’t mind SK winning it as well just cause of their history.
Dev: Last question kwak. Sum up the future of CS in 5 words.
Kwak: Depends on 1.6 really. By the way, confession: I was a townie once.
We can only wait in aniticipation to see what I-eS offer at Intel.
That's is folks, don't forget to check out Myers' Intel predictions article and good luck to those attending/participating.
Comments
Rush!
14:44 19/12/2002
Anti-saviour of UKT
15:17 19/12/2002
Game2XS.Monkey Magic
15:17 19/12/2002
theb0g
15:33 19/12/2002
Anti-saviour of UKT
15:33 19/12/2002
15:41 19/12/2002
honest!!1
DArk0r is rather dashing isnt he =p [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
theb0g
15:42 19/12/2002
15:44 19/12/2002
Game2XS.Monkey Magic
15:47 19/12/2002
15:47 19/12/2002
16:10 19/12/2002
16:11 19/12/2002
theb0g
16:30 19/12/2002
Rush!
16:32 19/12/2002
theb0g
16:39 19/12/2002
Oh and otis, u clearly are from sheffield talking rubbish like that. [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
Anti-saviour of UKT
16:39 19/12/2002
16:42 19/12/2002
16:57 19/12/2002
Racist git pb :P
Nice interviews. I find it a bit weird dev is a groupie for omg yet he thinks ui will do better :o [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
theb0g
17:07 19/12/2002
Rush!
17:16 19/12/2002
Rush!
17:16 19/12/2002
theb0g
17:22 19/12/2002
READ WHAT I PUT
'proved recently'. Which in my book means that ui have been to a lan recently and have done very well, taking one of the top teams to over time! OMG! havent done that recently so form wise you would have to go with ui. [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
Rush!
17:25 19/12/2002
17:50 19/12/2002
17:51 19/12/2002
Saviour of UKT
UKTerrorist
18:06 19/12/2002
18:55 19/12/2002
Great start. Read that 1 again, 3,2,1....AND ACTION.
"silly people" [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
North & South
19:12 19/12/2002
theb0g
19:49 19/12/2002
North & South
20:10 19/12/2002
Croydon
20:19 19/12/2002
Editor
UKTerrorist
20:34 19/12/2002
theb0g
20:38 19/12/2002
yeah ur still s*** clint ;x [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
20:47 19/12/2002
Game2XS.Monkey Magic
21:30 19/12/2002
theb0g
11:31 20/12/2002
/me cries
Rotherham > Doncatraz [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
13:16 20/12/2002
it was a joke ;x [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
15:50 20/12/2002
Rush!
19:17 20/12/2002
Game2XS.Monkey Magic
20:01 22/12/2002
Saviour of UKT
UKTerrorist
09:37 23/12/2002
theb0g
00:28 24/12/2002
Game2XS.Monkey Magic
15:46 24/12/2002
ToBeHonest [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]