Walking with champions: mTw.zonic

Danish Counter-Strike team mTw recently defeated mousesports at the World eSports Masters in China, picking up $30 000 USD in the process. I sat down with Danny "zonic" Sørensen, the team captain of mTw, and discussed some of his tournament experiences this year as well as his feelings about his team. So put away that novel, and get ready for some meaningful yet humorous discussion!



Hi Danny, congratulations on your recent WEM championship! It feels good to beat mousesports, huh?

Hello! Yes it does. We couldn't let them win two tournaments in a row! :)

For those who don't tell know you well, introduce a bit about yourself.

Well, I'm Danny Sørensen, I am 22 years old. Currently, I'm in China, Hangzhou to be more specific! Other than that, 4 members of the team just quit school to play pro CS! However, we have decided that next year, school comes first.

What is it like being a pro gamer in a school setting with just the average Joe? Do all your friends envy your skills?

Not really, we decided to take a year off to play CS because we felt 2008 was our year so to speak. We felt that 2008 was the year where we had to win a major tournament, and so we did, and we wanted to keep it that way, so school had to go but we are going back next year, unless CS is twice as big as it is now; in that case, we will have to have another meeting.





Do you think that CS will be bigger next year, or is it going to start to die out because of Source?

All that talk about source taking over CS is garbage. :D CS took some serious damage but we survived even though some of the big tournaments decided to switch to source.

Well, let's talk a bit about the big tournaments in 1.6. You guys had a great run at ESWC Masters 2008 and landed the gold medal. Tell me a bit about how that tournament went for mTw and what it feels like to have won an event of that scale.

It felt great finally to win an ESWC event in Paris; I mean, I've got two silver medals at home (2005, 2007). So it was a great relief, but it's still sad that we couldn't defend the title in San Jose. Nevertheless, we found out that there is something special besides romance in Paris.






What about Los Angeles? I know I'm probably bringing up some bad memories, but can you describe what went wrong there, and what you and your team have done to move past that and to improve?

All of us watched the demo against Paragon of Virtue in the hotel in LA, and we had some issues with each other ingame-wise which we had to talk about, and we went through the replay round by round to see what went wrong. It was a mixture of us arriving the day before playing, jetlag and just our opponents doing the right thing at the right time. It's really important for us as a team to make sure that all the small details are taken care of, such as a good night's sleep, good facilities, and a long nice talk about CS the night before the games.

It looks like mTw ironed out all these small issues at WEM. Mouz was on a roll walking into that Grand Final and a lot of people felt the Germans could win that gold over you guys, but mTw was never out of contention. What went on through your mind in that final, and are you ever going to ask Tixo "HOW MAD ARE YOU THAT WE WON"? :)

No, Manu is a superb guy and he is not mad that we won against them! It's true, they were on a roll, but we love playing as the underdogs. I think some of the explanations for mouz's success is gob-b's tactical skills and cyx's improved AWP skills, and one more thing is that mouz was kind of behind all the teams, hiding so to speak. What I mean is that people don't really consider mouz; the community has a lot of respect for them, but it was just not a team you would expect going all the way. However, they really seemed prepared for Dubai. Still, since we know how they play and, I mean, we have lost like 1 out of 5 times to them over the past two years, we knew what they were capable of. We just sat in our hotel the night before the match, and changed a lot of our regular tactics.

You mentioned that mouz's success lies in their individual players' skills contributing to the team. What about mTw? What does each of your teammates contribute to the team as a whole?

I think that our strength is that if we get a good start, we can win almost all our games. I feel that all my teammates can shoot at least 3 in a round, so when we get a good start we ride on a wave.

Tell me a little bit about each member of the team.

Sunde is a great AWP'er. When he hits his shot, I think he has an accuracy of 95% or so. Ave is the tactical mind; he makes some awesome calls sometimes, especially against SK at WEM. whiMp is the guy who takes out 3 guys when the round seems lost. Let's say on CT side on inferno, sunde and ave get picked, me and mJe are ready to save the round, but then 3 quick frags from whimp pop up, and we are back in the round. mJe is the guy that makes my life easier ingame. For example, if I'm alternating between the bombsites I can just sit back and relax when mJe is having a good day because he will do all the work. As for me, I suggest you talk to my teammates. :D

Well, time to get to know about you and your career. How did you start playing Counter-Strike, and why CS? I mean, StarCraft looks like a perfectly attractive game!

I actually played Starcraft for a while, but nothing professionally. I don't know how I got into CS really. It was just a game that got me hooked up, and I started playing at a netcafe so I just went there more often and often until I got my own computer. Sadly, CS has changed, it is not nearly as fun as it was when you started playing in the beginning; now, you can really feel that CS is more like a job than fun.


[center]zonic is deadly with the awp![/center]


Do you have any regrets about becoming a professional Counter-Strike player though? I mean, you must have been in some teams where you had lots of fun, and mTw is probably a team you've had many memories with, right?

I have no regrets at all about all these friends and memories I have experienced with gaming. Just imagine living in Korea for six weeks, or travelling around the world with 4 of your really dear friends. I can't imagine myself getting into a regular job after gaming, or even paying for a trip. Come on, I thought plane flights were free! :)

Which team have you enjoyed being in most apart from mTw?

Asylum - I lived with hpx and mJe in Korea for six weeks, and that was one of the greatest experiences in my life. I will never forget that trip

And now, you and your team are getting ready for WCG Grand Finals in Cologne. What are your expectations for that tournament, and how do you expect mTw will fare against the international competition?

Our goal is top 3 for every tournament. It is impossible to expect win after win in CS; the game is just too random. Nevertheless, we aim for top 3 for every tournament we attend, otherwise we aren't satisfied.


Okay, time for some quick questions:

SK or MYM?

mYm (interviewer's note: please be aware that this IS the correct answer :D)

Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi

ESWC or WCG?

ESCG

AK or m4 carbine? (please don't answer AK carbine)

M4 carbine

Inferno or nuke?

Nuke after WEM!!

Blonde or brunette?

Brunette

Thank you for the interview, and best of luck at WCG! Are there any shoutouts you wish to make?

I would like to thank all our sponsors and fans out there who support us in good and bad times!! AMD <3 www.mymTw.com


Pictures are courtesy of HLTV.org

Interviewed by: Nemesis for www.MeetYourMakers.com
Source: http://www.mymym.com/en/news/14955.html