Scandalnavia › Pearl of the Baltic

"The history and politics of Finland has been shaped by its location, wedged between Sweden to the west, Norway to the north and Russia to the east. The national character of the Finns has been further coloured by the water-logged landscape - the country is hemmed in by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland and 10% of its landmass lies underwater.

An old poet described Finland's colors as representing "the blue of our lakes and the white snow of our winters." The cross on the Finland flag is common in most Scandinavian flags, and symbolizes Finland's hereditary link to the other Scandinavian countries."*



This Finnish gaming superstar Tiigeri was not too known before 2004, but then his reputation picked up speed when he and the others of Skit-Evil started to perform better and better in Europe with his peak being reached at the Eurocup with Demiurge with their countless surprising performances against the perhaps better known European teams.



Could you introduce yourself and explain how you started and progressed through competitive gaming?

My name is Tony and I'm from Finland, Tampere. I'm currently studying in the University of Tampere, my major being interactive technology and minors psychology and hypermedia.
I just finished my bachelor’s degree and I'm starting to write the master's thesis next autumn.

I started playing ET during my army time back in the year 2004 with a couple of friends. First we just had a fireteam in public servers, and then we proceeded to form a clan called The Bat. We played some Clanbase ladder games and participated in the Clanbase cups (was it opencup or something?) as well a couple of times.
My friends basically quit playing, but I decided to continue with other clans.

After some Finnish clans I ended up with Skit-Evil, which kind of started my more competitive gaming "career". After fragging some parodia guys with skit, I managed to get in the Finnish Nations cup team, which was a doorway for better European clans.

Well then after a couple of euro cups and 2 LAN tournaments I decided to quite playing. I think my ET "career “highlights” are the match against Idle with Demiurge and the final in the second CPC LAN with impact.
The final at the LAN was a disaster though :)


What was your first experience in video gaming?

I really can't remember for sure, but it must have been some old hockey game or Mario type of a game with Amica computer or 8-bit Nintendo :)


Enemy Territory has a long history and has always had a very loyal following. Do you understand why many tournaments don't include the game or offer very low cash prizes for it?

Well I don't know if I understand it or if there is any specific reason for that. But I think the reason is somewhere in the marketing field. I don't see much benefit for marketing or promoting ET from the marketing people's point of view.
ET was always a free game after all.

And I really can't see what products ET could promote, if it was included in bigger tournaments or if it had bigger cash prices.
ET is also quite difficult to follow, from the spectator perspective.


For an FPS-game ET is actually quite complex.

Who is the opponent you feared and respected the most over the years, and what made him so good?

I feared nobody! If I would have, I would have been the sucker! Hehe.

But more seriously…
It's difficult to bring up individual players, since it's more about the team… But I must say that the more creative players were really a pain in the ass, players such as Night.


What are the most important elements in ET that make you like the game more than other shooters?

This is easy: the map objectives.
At first I didn't really like the quake-engine combined with World War 2 theme - I was always more simulator type of a player. But somehow I grew into it and started to enjoy the game as a whole.
It allowed the players to be creative. Oh and the teamplay of course is one of the most important aspects, which is included in the map’s objectives.


Do you sometimes regret stopping playing ET?

Well I don't regret stopping playing ET, since I can play it again. But sometimes I've missed the thrill of the game for sure. Perhaps I could have sticked along a bit longer and attend more LANs. I actually made a short comeback during autumn 2008, but it didn't work out at all.

The plan was to attend to a CPC LAN (can't remember which one :), but I didn't have enough time to get back to shape, and having huge problems with Internet connection during that time didn't help.

You have played with some of the best players to every grace the games of ET. Who was the best player you have ever played with in a team and why?

Xpaz, Raveneye, Mystic, Jauhis, Lotix, Xionn, Mztik, Reload - those names come to my mind first.

Xpaz: all-round player, not the best aimer perhaps but understands the game well. Raveneye: well I did't play much with him, but I have to say he’s got some unique talent. Mystic: Well what can I say, sometimes a one man team. Jauhis: Perhaps the best medic I've ever played with. LotiX: the lucky Swede, hehe, intelligent player, good aim, nice to play with.

Xionn: incredible sense of the game, after only little experience with ET he proved himself to be a top player. Mztik: Intelligent player, wanted to be a perfect, perhaps too perfect sometimes. :) Reload: very creative player, good aimer, a medic I would want to pick up an objective with. :)


I've seen that you're playing a bit of poker, is it something you would like to take to the next level like other Finnish ET players?

Hah, you sneaky bastard! :)
I'm a poker noob, playing micros during my freetime. Let's see what the future brings though…


Have you ever thought about entering the Enemy Territory scene again?

Seems very unlikely.
But never say never!: )


If you were sent into exile on an island full of savages, what kind of weapon from these two games would you take along to defend yourself?

Multiple decks of cards to build a fortress and a rifle to defend it.


* - http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/90/general_information/Europe/Finland.html