Profiles of Champions

Back in August I attended the Multiplay i43 gaming LAN in Telford. One of the main features of the weekend was the series of game tournaments taking place, and I caught up with some of the winners to survey their thoughts and feelings. The following interviews provide some insight into the inner minds of professional eSportspersons.

FIFA 11 – Ty

To what do you attribute your victory?

I always knew it would be between me and AdamW – we’ve practiced a lot together. I was just glad that I won it.

Which FIFA game would you reccomend to a new player if they wanted to get into the series?

You always have to get the latest FIFA game, that’d be FIFA 11 – FIFA 12 will be out soon – just so you can play with the up-to-date squads and play the newest game out.

What features would you like to see added the game?

More skills, and I’d like to see crossing taken out of the game.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

I don’t like soup.

What other games are you playing this weekend?

I won’t be playing anything else this weekend. I’m having a break!

Call of Duty 4 – Blackmane

To what do you attribute your victory?

Raw talent.

Which of the Call of Duty games is your favourite?

Well I first started playing with Call of Duty 2 but I think Call of Duty 4 is a lot more fast-paced and a lot more viewer-friendly than Call of Duty 2 ever was. It’s a close call, but I think Call of Duty 4 just about edges it out.

What features would you like to see added to the game?

CoD TV? But that’s never going to happen…

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Chicken with some crusty bread.

What other games are you playing this weekend?

Heroes of Newerth, League of Legends, CounterStrike 1.6… I play whatever my group of friends play, basically.

Team Fortress 2 – F2

To what do you attribute your victory?

Well we have some great players, especially our Scout pair. They’re renowned for being really good on the internet, and there were some discussions about whether they would be as good on a LAN, but they were excellent. At the same time, the other players are great as well – the Scouts can’t do anything unless the other players also help them. We just have some high quality players, and overall we’re better than the other teams. At the same time, I just want to say that the other teams are great – it’s very close, you saw that they beat us in the second map. But overall I’d say we’re better on average.

Across all the maps in the game, attacking or defending, which capture point is your favourite?

It’s got to be Badlands middle. I think it’s so funny – speaking as a Medic, there are so many ways you can approach it. It’s so open, every time you have no idea what to expect, and you can surprise the opponent. Other maps, like Granary, are a lot more closed down – you can’t really do as many different things.

What features would you like to see added to the Medic class?

I actually would not like new features added to the Medic class. I like the game as it is now. I’ve played it for four years… I liked the game then, and I didn’t really feel the need to have more things added to it. I’d actually like things to stay the way they are now.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

I don’t have a favourite kind of soup.

What else are you playing this weekend?

I’m playing Quake Live. I like Quake Live – public, and also clan arena. That’s the main game I play outside of Team Fortress 2. I especially like watching the duels!

Left 4 Dead 2 – Meow Meow

To what do you attribute your victory today?

Probably the captain’s calling, and all our strategies. He’s our leader, we just do what he says!

Which chapter stage is your favourite?

Dark Carnival 1, I think. Just because, when you’re playing it competitively, it’s so easy to clear everything and get a nice high health bonus on that map.

What features would you like to see added to the game?

Hitboxes that work! None of the Source games are great for that, but Left 4 Dead 2 seems particularly bad.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Vegetable soup.

What else are you playing this weekend?

We were in a Counter-Strike: Source tournament, and we’ve been playing League of Legends as a team of five.

League of Legends – Tabzz

To what do you attribute your victory tonight?

I think our team composition was really good. We had a really good mix of ultimates in team fights, and it caused us to dominate them.

Which champion would you like to be more viable in competitive play?

I really like playing AP Karma, but that isn’t very good. If Riot buffed that, it’d be great!

What features would you like to see added to the game?

Observer mode, and a proper replay system! I think they’re both in the works, but they’re taking quite a long time over it.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Tomato soup.

What else are you playing this weekend?

This is the only game I’m playing this weekend. It’s the only thing I’m playing competitively. I play some casual games sometimes, but they’re not really worth mentioning.

StarCraft II – Merz

To what do you attribute your victory tonight?

I feel like I’ve been working really hard this summer. I’ve been practicing for three months straight – I’ve done nothing else – and I think in the end what won me the game was my experience, because I’ve played so many LAN tournaments. I’ve never been in the final, but I’ve played a lot of tournaments.

What’s your favourite structure in the game?

Probably the Orbital Command actually, because it drops MULES and you can scan with it.

What features would you like to added to the game?

I would wish that the units had more soft counters. Right now, units counter each other so hard – it’s like “He’s got THIS so I need THAT to counter it”. It gets very boring, you can’t play anything else.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Sparrissoppa [Translator’s note: A Swedish asparagus soup]

What else are you playing this weekend?

I only play StarCraft!

Counter-Strike Source – NBK

To what do you attribute your victory?

We played a lot, we had a boot camp during one week, we trained really hard, and we had special maps we worked on. Everything went good, we’re all on a good level, and we have great skill and great teamplay.

Attacking or defending, what is your favourite bomb site in the game?

My favourite is Dust, site B. I really like to defend it because I’m generally alone, and it’s pretty easy to pick up kills. With great placement, it’s pretty easy to defend.

What features would you like to see added to the game?

I would like the Counter-Strike 1.6 players to come across, because they’re really good and train really hard. I guess I hope that new updates will come, but I’d like to see more competition, more teams playing.

What is your favourite kind of soup?

Tomato soup

What else are you playing this weekend?

I’m playing a little bit of Tekken 6, and StarCraft II.

Heroes of Newerth – Buch

To what do you attribute your victory?

I think the reason why we won today is because we’ve played for that much longer than the other teams. We have a great relationship as a team, we have fun playing, and we play a lot!

Which hero would you like to be made more viable in competitive play?

I think Balphagore fits the metagame right now, but he never gets picked up. And maybe Demented Shaman in the solo lane.

What features would you like to see added to the game?

I think the game is already pretty great! New maps maybe? New game modes? Something new.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Chilli soup. I like it hot.

What else are you playing this weekend?

Since we have the entire Infused team here, we have a lot of different teams here and we all play each other’s games. I’ve been playing a lot of TrackMania and StarCraft II.

Minecraft – Pingu

To what do you attribute your victory?

I think it’s just teamwork. We all had our own jobs, we all knew what we were doing, and we all knuckled down and got on with it.

What’s your favourite kind of block?

We’ve used a lot of wool. I’m going to go with light green wool.

What features would you like to see added to the game?

Oooh, I don’t know! There’s a lot coming out in the Adventure update, which I’m excitined about. I’m going to wait and see what happens then.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Chicken and mushroom.

What else are you playing this weekend?

We’ve been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2. We had a melee only night last night, which was good fun for everyone.

Halo Reach – Rami

To what do you attribute your victory?

I think we’re great players. I’m usually the kind of player that runs flags, but I think I played a pretty poor final personally – I don’t think I hit many of my shots – but my team were there when it mattered.

What kind of kill do you find the most satifying?

Probably sniping. It’s really satisfying when you get a good headshot.

What features would you like to see added in Halo 4?

I’ve looked at some of the gameplay, it looks pretty good. I think there needs to be a bit more picking and choosing with the armour variants. Reach made a good start, and if the next game could take it to the next level, that would be good.

What’s your favourite kind of soup?

Chicken soup.

What else are you playing this weekend?

I’ve been watching a lot of Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2, and they look brilliant – I want to have a go on that. But aside from Halo, I haven’t had much time to play any other games.