CPL Winter
Event Competitor Interview
CPL competitor
SirScoots is gearing up for the forthcoming Winter Event. In between his busy
schedule of being a husband and anticipating the new Lord of the Rings movie,
SirScoots trains hard for what could be his journey to glory. Anxious to know
what it’s like to be a professional cyberathlete, GameZone stopped by Mr.
Scoots’ gaming pad to ask him a several important questions, including: “Have
you ever gone without eating in order to play a game longer?”
Question:
Tell me all about yourself. How old are you and where do you live? What kinds
of video games appeal to you the most?
Hello, SirScoots here! I am
36 years old, married, and have been one of the leaders of Unitary Guerilla
Platoon [UGP] for about two years. UGP is one of the oldest CS clans in North
America, we started beta 1 day 1. I reside in Phoenix, Arizona and have been
gaming since I got my first console…Atari. I find myself most attracted to
my wife and FPS games.
Q: How did you get involved
with the CPL?
SirScoots: UGP attending its
first CPL last winter and had an absolute blast. I am a professional event
planner, so to see my hobby cross over into what I do for living is great to
see! We finished in the top 32 and actually won some money, which was great.
We also participate in CAL, the online arm of the CPL organization and I hold
a position on the Competition Committee for CAL as well.
Q: It must be incredible to
know that in just a few weeks you’ll be able to show off your incredible
gaming skills to the entire world. Is the anticipation killing you?
SirScoots: The excitement is
a fever pitch around UGP. Not sure if that’s for CPL or for Two Towers coming
out. 🙂
Q: How have you been
preparing yourself for the championship? Once you knew that you were going to
be in the CPL, did you start playing games more excessively?
SirScoots: We have been
practicing quite a bit…but not excessively. Anything in excess is bad!
Q: What will you do if you
win? Buy a new car? Put a down payment on a house? Go to Disney World?
SirScoots: Well for us that
would be a long shot, but if we win any prize money, that money will go into
our LAN fund to make the next event we attend less costly for our members.
Q: Have you been involved in
any other video game tournaments?
SirScoots: We have competed
at several LANS in Texas as well as California and Arizona.
Q: Are you planning on
participating in any other CPL events?
SirScoots: Yes, we plan to
attend the Summer event as well.
Q: Which game(s) would you
like to see in a future CPL Championship?
SirScoots: Has not been
created yet. 🙂
Q: When did you first start
playing video games?
SirScoots: See #1…long
time ago in the land of Atari.
Q: What would you say helped
you improve your skills the most: playing against complete strangers, or
playing against your friends and/or teammates?
SirScoots: I have learned
and still learn an incredible amount about CS from my
clanmates as well as other
members of the community.
Q: As some of the best
players in the world, what advice would you give to the many gamers out there
who are dying to make it into the CPL?
SirScoots: Look deep inside
yourself and decide why you play the game. If you play to
be around your
friends…then do that. If you play to end up on a top team
winning money, understand
that you might be giving up the friends ideal to
win that money.
Q: What kind of a PC do you
use at home? Compaq or HP? Intel or Athlon?
SirScoots: I have a fancy
Dell…yes DELL! I lease my machines for the tax write-off,
so therefore I go with
pre-built ones with good business customer support.
Could I get it cheaper if I
build it myself…yes, could I write it off
monthly like I can a
lease…no. 🙂
NVIDIA or ATI? Stereo or
surround-sound speakers? How much ram and how much memory does your PC have?
And what ISP do you use?
SirScoots: NVIDIA GeForce4
Ti 4600, SB Live, 512mb or ram, 75g hard drive, Pent4 2.53
Ghz, Cox business cable.
Q: I’m right-handed, but
after playing a game or surfing the Web for too long, my right index finger
tends to get a little sore, so I’ve learned to mouse around with both hands.
What do you do to prevent your hands from being permanently damaged?
SirScoots: I soak my mouse
hand in Palmolive like all the big boys do…and MADGE!
Q: As a "slightly" obsessed
hardcore gamer, I have to ask you: have you ever gone without eating so that
you could play a game longer?
SirScoots: Yes.
Q: Counter-Strike’s default
settings are good, but I usually like to customize my game’s control scheme.
What settings do you use?
SirScoots: ADAD…All
Default, All Day!
Q: What is your favorite
game of all time?
SirScoots: Well based on the
amount of time invested…CS. Remembering some of my funniest moments with
buddies playing Intellivision air/sea battle has to rank up there.
Q: Thanks to NVIDIA’s
incredibly powerful GeForce graphics cards, PC gaming is looking better than
ever. What games are you looking forward to playing the most this fall? Are
there any console games that you interested in playing?
SirScoots: Doom III and
Planetside for the PC. I just finished Splinter Cell for Xbox and loved it,
so more console games like that for me!
Q: Speaking of which, what
do you think of multiplayer gaming on the consoles?
SirScoots: I was a beta
tester for Xbox Live and I love the idea of consoles being online. It does
open up a whole new world to those console folks not like us who live online,
and also gives those of us that do another outlet to game against real people.
Q: Would you like to develop
a game of your own someday?
SirScoots: I lack the skills
to do that, but I would love to be part of a development team for one.
Me too.
Thanks for your time,
SirScoots!
Check out the interview with the CPL competitor
Gary Sanchez
CPL Winter Event Competitor Interview #2
Check out
the interview with the CPL President – Angel Munoz
Cyberathlete Professional League makes superstars out of gamers
with international PC game competitions
