Interview with Gage “Sasquatch” DuBose, the most recent addition to CompLexity’s StarCraft II Squad

Gage "Sasquatch" DuBose is a StarCraft II player that's seen quite a lot of success lately, and his team CompLexity has taken notice, promoting him from their training team coLAcademy. He was the receipient of the BicFlex4 Breakout Player award for MLG Raleigh, and has been invited to participate in the MLG vs ProLeague Invitational alongside some of the best players in the world. I had a chance to catch up with him between matches in the MvP, and as he prepares for MLG Dallas. Check out what he had to say!

Dustin Steiner, eSports Correspondent for GameZone: Gage, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. You recently were promoted from the coL Academy to the compLexity main team – what does that mean for you personally, and what has changed for you since then?

Gage "Sasquatch" DuBose: No problem! Well, I think the biggest thing is the security that I won't even have trouble getting to events. Other than that, permanent access to the team house and just the credibility of being a player on a major team are very nice.

DS: You originally started off as a random player when StarCraft II launched – what about Zerg drew you to the race as the one you wanted to perfect?

Sasquatch: I wanted to play the race that I thought was the most difficult, Zerg was the weakest at the time so I assumed that it was just because it was the hardest race. Not to mention FruitDealer played Zerg and the video that Hot_Bid made  inspired me to make the switch.

DS: You’ve very recently started to breakout as a star player with your performances in the MLG Summer Arena and Summer Championship, beating notable players in Greg “IdrA” Fields and Sahsa “GoOdy” Lupp. What sort of mental preparation do you go through before facing off against such notable names?

Sasquatch: My mental preparation before important matches is still a work in progress. The more people I know are watching, the more nervous I typically get which I'd say is pretty common, but I've also noticed that I do play at a slightly higher level than normal when I'm playing at LAN events compared to online tournaments. Usually I try to count my breaths and I always listen to some of my favorite music when I'm playing, but I definitely need to find some other tricks because nerves impact my performance significantly.

DS: You were invited to the MLG vs Proleague Invitational alongside eSports legends from around the world – what does it feel like to be part of such an elite lineup mere months after you broke onto the scene?

Sasquatch: It's really nice to be invited to such a high-tier tournament, it's really my first invite to any tournament so I'm really happy about it in general. There’s a ton I still need to work in-game and out of game as a competitor though so I'm not fully sure I'm ready for this kind of tournament yet. I've also never played cross server so that is another challenge for me!

DS: How did you feel when you were named the Bic Flex 4 Breakout Player of the MLG Summer Championships?

Sasquatch: It was nice to get my first trophy from StarCraft II! I just hope I live up to the award and don't become irrelevant to the foreign scene.

DS: What sort of prerequisites did compLexity have for you to be promoted to the main team from the coL Academy?

Sasquatch: I think it really was just a matter of getting a result that exceeded the expectations they had of me. For goswser it was beating Polt at MLG Orlando, and for me getting 13-16th at Raleigh!

DS: Who would you say is your biggest inspiration as a pro gamer, and why?

Sasquatch: I really liked Grubby back in Warcraft 3 and a DotA player named Fear. Other than that I'd say DRG and Seal are my favorite/most inspirational players.

DS: Before StarCraft II, you played a number of DOTA type games – what made you want to switch over to SCII full time when it came out?

Sasquatch: I actually was planning to buy StarCraft II for the custom games, but during the beta, I watched a lot of YouTube casts, specifically HD & Husky, and fell in love with the normal game.

DS: Are there any skills that you feel playing a DOTA type game taught you for StarCraft II?

Sasquatch: I don't really think any of the skills from DotA carry over to StarCraft II, the only thing it showed me was that I could play a video game at a high level.

DS: Explain how you came up with the name Sasquatch. Do you have a particular affinity for the mythical apeman?

Sasquatch: When I was in middle school, my friend Ben gave me the nickname due to my tall stature and long hair!

DS: The final words are yours – how can people follow you, and do you have any shoutouts?

Sasquatch: Thanks for the interview! I'd like to thank compLexity and our sponsors Sound Blaster, Gamma Gamers, QPAD, PNY, Creative, Origin, G8, and Twitch! My Twitter is Twitter.com/coLSasquatch, and my stream is located at Twitch.tv/PartSasquatch. I'd like to thank everyone who I practice/talk to on SC2 as well 😀

Thanks for the interview Gage! Good luck in the MvP Invitational from all of us at GameZone, and we'll see you in Dallas while we're there covering the event!

Dustin Steiner is GameZone's eSports Correspondent! Follow him on Twitter @VGHC_Deitis and check out Video Gaming Hard Corps, where he is a local tournament organizer for the S. FL. Fighting Game Community.