Trademark Gamers

As I am the TmG CS team captain I  have decided to sit down with Richard Kemistry Stockdale and get him to answer some Q&As before the teams first lan event, Wired Out, to see where he thought they stood against the best teams the UK has to offer. Unfortunately their start of official runs has not been the best  and I shall delve deep into why the results haven't been up to scratch and how they have coped with them. Enjoy.

Hi Rich, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview. First off, a little introduction from yourself so the readers know who you are.

Hey, my names Richard Stockdale, im 22 and currently live in the wonderful city of Hull. I play for TMG's 1.6 squad after previously playing for high5 and fluid element.

So far you have been competing in theSGL Season IX, it has been a shakey start to say the least, what
problems did you face when coming up against the likes of TROJAN and H2K?

A lack of preparation on our part mainly. We hadnt really had time to gel as a team and we were still going over things. That said though h2k and TROJAN are within the top5 in the UK so it came as no surprise that both games would be very tough. We went back to the drawing board, ironed out some issues and have come back alot stronger recently so fingers crossed we should come within the top4 playoff spot.

Your first LAN event as a team will be Wiredout at the end of the month, which will see you face the likes of TROJAN and H2K again, and also Dignitas, the current #1 UK CS team. How do you think you will perform at the event after going back to the drawing board?

We are probably one of the more experienced teams attending (excluding Dignitas) so anything less than top 3 would be a pretty big dissapointment. We are not expecting miracles, but I only really see Dignitas and TROJAN beating us, with h2k and Veritas being tough games that could go either way too. I guess it just depends on how well the other teams are gonna be playing on LAN. I heard TROJAN are finding it hard to find a 5th too so that might work in our favour.

Do you think the early official results will help you for the upcoming event?

They have definitely given us an idea of where we are in terms of preparation (or lack of) compared to the rest of the teams. I would say they had woken us up and made us put some proper time in rather than just relying on individual skill and a few dodgy pcws before an official. That said though, you cant practice enough so there is always things we can be working on. There is always a few shock results on LAN too so I wouldnt really go off whos beating who online.

Unfortunately CS 1.6 did not make it as one of the UKESA's Premiership games. Why do you think this is and what do you think about the current competitions running for UK teams at the moment?

I think its just a reflection on the attitudes of 90% of UK players. It only takes a few pages of any UK CS site to realise it generally consists of people who have the mental capacity of a 6 year old or like to act like they have. Excluding say the top 4/5 teams, theres just no stability or any real effort from any of the teams in terms of attitudes and seriousness.

I think the SGL are doing a fantastic job, Enemydown did well with the resurrection cups too. I think to get people really involved there has to be some kind of money incentive otherwise people will just take it as a joke, with clans folding and roster changes every week. I am really looking forward to playing in the UKESA and seeing how its run, and hopefully seeing 1.6 promoted!

How long do you think Counter-Strike 1.6 has left to remain a competitive game?

I think as long as all the main competitions are still playing it itll be around, whether thats next years or 5 from now i couldnt really say. Every year people say itll be the last for 1.6 but were all still here playing it :P

After Wiredout, UKESA and theSGL Season IX, which competitions will you be looking to compete in?

Any that pop up really, as long as theyre ran well and have good teams in them youll probably see us in there too. Were hoping to do this years opencup and a few other things coming up. Hopefully there will be some more LANs aswell.

Wiredout takes place on the 28th February &1st March in Bedford. After the event I will follow up another interview with another member of the CS team to get their thoughts on how they performed and what they thought of the event. Thanks for reading!