Gamer Life: Daan "Rfki" Mertens

As originally posted by Cash at GGL:

Name: Daan Mertens
Nickname: Rfki. When I started playing online it was Rafiki. Over the years, the nickevolution did his job and decided to make it Rfki.
Age: 23
Nationality: Belgian and live in a very small town somewhere in Flanders, the flemish part of Belgium
Clan History: I started my online gaming experience in the Belgian clan W@CO. I played RTCW on public and saw some nice dudes with WACO tag on a public server. I asked them if I could become a Waco member. I was new to the whole scene but i immediately had the feeling the clan would give me more fun while gaming.

W@CO became an ET clan. From that moment, I had the feeling I became better and better every day. Waco had it's core members and their were some line up discussions. I asked if I could make my own team in Waco and I gave birth to waco]FS (Fun Squad). After a year, some members and I were looking for some new adventures. We made a new clan called "Eternal Life".

Despite the great clan name, it ends after some inactivity problems. By the time, I became more and more known in the Benelux community and team massacre knocked on my door. TM-black asked me to join as manager first but after all, I became their new rifle. Massacre became Zerobarrier and we added some new players. Zerobarrier died and we moved to Mycruz with some ex-zerobarrier members.

After that, I was in VIB for a very short time but I did not enjoy the game anymore. I spoke with some W@CO dudes and they welcomed me warmly. Maybe you can call it a vicious Circle, but it's home sweet home for sure!

Biography: Well, first I want to say I am not obsessed but just interested in e-sports. I can live without PC any day, anytime but as long as I enjoy it, it will be my favourite leisure. In real-life, I am just a boring data manager for a big company here in Flanders. Soccer was my first and only passion until somebody decided to give me a goddamn knee injury.

They did a knee operation twice but I got some complications. Doctors thought it would be better to give up the game I loved! I tried to make a comeback but I failed several times. Now, surprisingly, I play indoor foot every week and I must say I love the game (although I know it is bad for my knee). Besides indoor foot, I play music on a regular base.

Another hobby of me is/was chiro. Chiro is a youth movement like scouting but only not that primitive. I was member for 11 years and quit chiro in September after being another 4 years leader. 15 years of great fun that was! Since I am not a student, any more weekends have become holy. Hanging out with friends, drink some beers and make a lot of fun are my favourite weekend terms. As you can see, I am a busy man when I am not sitting behind this keyboard.

When did you pick up gaming? When did you start playing it seriously/competitively?

I always had a big interest for games. As a kid, I did not want to see the big attractions of the Funfair, no I wanted to visit the Luna parks where I encountered the world of games! When I decided to quit soccer in 2001, I came in touch with Unreal99 and later on RTCW... that game was magic and I got an overdose of it in a very short time. Like so many, I decided to play its ugly brother ET (my words). That's were I began to play seriously.



Has gaming become some kind of remedy when you suffered from your knee injury?

It surely was. After 80 visits and almost a year later, my physiotherapist decided to stop the revalidation. That year, my pc was one of the only things I could enjoy. I lost 22 pounds just because of the pain of the first months. I met some nice guys (W@CO) and they helped me to forget all the shit and misery. Another proof that eSports is not just sitting behind your screen a being unsocial.

W@CO is a well-established name in the RtCW and ET community. However, what makes it unique to all the other clans out there? Or..what is W@CO?

I think Waco is one of the few Benelux clans that exist for half a decade. We know each other in real life and we are almost all +20 years old; as you can see...a good mix of experience, maturity and personality. We got the most mature guys but we are also proud to have the biggest whiner of the scene in our clan!

Since October we hired our own dedicated server and in December we're going to have a nice weekend with almost all Waco members and some good online friends to celebrate our 5th anniversary. I think we can say it is more a big group of close friends and many should be jealous in my place!

What will you guys do for that weekend to celebrate the 5th year anniversary?

We still have to make up the program, but do not worry, no pc involved! We are going to some weekend resort in the wilderness; good for a swim (indoor), golf and some other sports.

We have TV, DVD and we will take an Xbox and a PS2 for the moments we get bored. I hope Xtra will come to cook for us because I heard he is some pro chef in the kitchen.

What is gaming to you? Is it an extension of your social life or do you also see it as something that can "lock you up"?

Gaming cannot lock me up. I am a social guy and need to maintain my social skills. Like I said before, weekends are reserved for my real life friends and during the week I can watch TV but I prefer playing games and talk with some guys on TS/Ventrilo. I am always in for a little chitchat and if I am in the mood, I talk hours & hours.

I know gaming is just another few years and then it will end for me. I see it as the perfect relaxation when i come home from work. I am not playing that frequent anymore but I am still interested in ET...it still is -overcrowded by kiddies- community.

You reckon that you will be able to stay of games when you are a few years older? Do you really think you will be able to stop your favourite hobby?

Yes, I will. It will be difficult but once I quit, I will not come back like 101 other youngsters. There are too many real life issues coming up to deal with and they are too important for my future. Gaming is a great thing but every fairytale ends. I am 23 now and I will become 24 in January so I think the time has come to force my mind to look into another direction. I am sure I will find another hobby in order to replace my PC. As I said, I am not addicted, just passionate.



So, you don't see playing video games as any other hobby like soccer, which many "oldies" still play besides having to do their important stuff?

It is a hobby, but gaming and sitting behind your PC is just like watching TV. The only difference is you cannot say watching TV is a hobby. Can you? Gaming is a mix of socializing & competitive entertaining. Many say gaming is for teenagers and pre-adults.

I think there is no age for gaming but the combination with wife, kids & work will make it hard at a later stage in your life. Football is an accepted sport by the majority (all ages, women and men) but when I am telling guys I’m gaming like 4/5 days/week, they have a quick laugh. So in my personal opinion, you just can't compare Football and gaming.
I'm telling guys: Don't even mention the girls, that you are gaming!

Your favorite moment while gaming...

I got a few. My first RTCW war (6o6) versus Roistot was quite remarkable. I think I only made like 5 kills on 3 maps. I was a noob and thought i would stay noob forever. I think my time in Waco fun squad was one of a kind. Me and Ledragon made a team of team players. We had even tax on pictures for every map we played. We won open cup 3rd division after some really nice wars (watch our semi-final versus some Hungarian lagg0rs: (Link: http://www.waco-gaming.co)http://www.waco-gaming.co

When we talk about my best period skill wise, I choose Zerobarrier. We played the first qualifier for Qcon vs. some American top team and we bashed them pretty hard while playing on a +120 ping server @ 3 o'clock. Other good old memories are the funny conversations and -wannabe Belgian Idol- moments on Teamspeak and Ventrilo. To conclude: I cannot complain and never felt any regrets for the time I played online games.

What is more important to you? To have fun or to win?

On this one I can be short: Mix them please!

Who is Daan? The real life part...

Mmmmmm, a though one. Well, I am just a normal guy that's leading a normal life somewhere in little village. I think there is no big difference between the Rfki some of you guys know and my real life appearance. I am not a troublemaker or bully. As long as you respect me, there is respect from both sides.

I'm a responsible man and never had the feeling I did something what would lead to inconvenience or doubt. I enjoy life everyday and I am an optimist until I will die (at least I hope). My friends know they can trust on me, just like my online buddies.

When I see problems, I am not trying to avoid them, but I will try to solve them in a manner where I feel comfy.

If you could three wishes...what would they be?

1. I wish I could wish everything I want to wish!
2. /
3. /
now serious....uhm
I am not going to be selfish for this one. First, I would wish a better world and future for those who never had the chance to make it for themselves! The second one is somewhat cliché but very important for me, namely peace! If some god or other creature can carry through the first two, I will not need a third I think.

Who in the gaming world, would you like to meet?

Besides you, I do not have any idols in the gaming world I desperately want to meet. I saw some big names on the previous CPC LAN in Rotterdam. It was a bit weird because you always try to make an image of a well known gamer. For me, the most remarkable conclusion there was: All nice, friendly and normal guys which is great of course!

What is the next game you will give a shot?

I'm not looking forward to any new game. Maybe I’m going to try ET:QW. If, and I say IF there would come a sequel for RTCW, i might consider it for sure! At Waco we tried some new games on a regular basis but except for Pangya (online Korean/Japanese golf game) and some other race games, they bored me pretty fast!

If you would start a new clan, how would you name it?

I will never make a new clan again. I am happy in Waco and refused some interesting offers the past few months. I cannot reach the skill of the clans I once played for but at this moment, fun gives me a lot more satisfaction.

Your motto?

Mmmm, maybe "treat someone the way you want them to treat you" or "Give and take"

Of what do you feel most proud?

My parents said they never had any troubles with me and that is making me blush. I never was a - hard to handle - kid and puberty was not in my dictionary (if I compare it with some guys in the ET scene nowadays, I feel happy about it) I finished my studies without problems and I have a good job at the moment. I have many friends and I am living a nice alternating lifestyle! The combination in general is something to be proud of I think.

A pessimistic questions perhaps. What would the last thing you would want to do in life?

Visiting Brazil, Australia or New Zealand.

Your favorite song?

My musical interests go from the chemical brothers over the arctic monkeys to Soulfly and even harder shit. I can enjoy quite a lot of different music styles but my all-time favourite song is Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah".
Maybe as addendum answer to your previous question, I hope I can hear that song on my funeral ;)

Shoutouts?

A shout out to: (ex)Waco member, my ex-clanmaties from eL, the old tm-black, zerobarrier and mycruz. My lovely Telenet-crew and all the guys I forgot to mention but deserves to be mentioned! Big thanks to all the people who keep this community and game alive! Love you all <3