Interview with a King

Following the 'oldschool'-interviews with Hollywood and SoD I have this time set down together with ZaF. Playing in teams such as GMPO and 4kings in the prime time of RTCW and most notably placing second on the Quakecon 2003 has made him an essential part of the games competitive history.



Hey, could you first tell us who you are outside the gaming world?

Hi, my name is Tahir. I recently finished my qualifications as a lawyer. Currently making money for now as a personal trainer.

When did you start playing computer games and what brought you into rtcw?

Well I played video games from when I was young. Started off with street fighter 2 and just went from there. My first serious game was quake 3. I played a lot of 1v1 in q3 but was never really at a top level. I was good but nothing great.

I was introduced to rtcw by an old XI team mate of mine shaft. I remember playing village and not having a clue what the hell was going on. Still remember my first game though which is wierd.

In the beginning of your rtcw career you were playing with a Brittish team called Connection Interrupted (XI) that was decent in Brittain but was not really considered to be a TOP european team.
One year later you finished second on quakecon with GMPO. How can you explain such a skillboost in such a short time and how did you get into GMPO?

Well firstly I would say I personally underestimated XI. This was down to mostly my own lack of understanding of high level play. The players at XI were very talented now I look back at it. But we just lacked that knowledge to compete at the top. We did beat some good teams though in our time as well as taking a whole bunch of top teams very close.

Obviously playing with better players improves you and I have always been a quick learner in everything I had done. I still remember the first practise session with the old GMPO (GOL as it was at the time). With Spear doing the tactics. I was just surprised by the level of detail they went to. I learned quick though. I always wanted to be the best and play with the best so I had to learn quickly. I would always ask questions, then think about it myself. I ended up thinking through tactics all the time, the weaknesses the strengths. Writing about what the faults were etc. That was the only side I lacked on, the tactical side.

My aim had always been good. My strongest weapon in quake 3 was the Lightning gun so I made an easy transition to rtcw with aim and it carried me a lot during my early career. The main reason I was ever noticed was due to my aim. I joined a duel league with a lot of good players in it. Alban was top of the ladder. I won I think 20 odd games in the league before I got to play Alban. Alban had won 30 odd games and not lost any. I played him for the number 1 spot (after reaching no.2 myself) and we drew 2-2. It was the first time he had dropped points on the ladder.

As for skill boost in general, just practise and dedication. Always analysing my games, watching demos of practices and matches. Learning where I went wrong. I actually enjoyed the analysing of games as much as I did the playing :p




On the quakecon you were kicked into the loser bracket streight away in the first round by frontline, an american team around starplayer warrior noone really counted with.
Talk us through you thoughts back then and how you managed pull yourselves together to get to the grand final.


This may sound like an excuse, but I have no reason to lie, you can ask the 50 odd people who were sat behind us. It was all a bit random. We got to the tournament area, set up and I don't think anybody's configs were working properly. The sensitivities were all messed up. I was changing my sensitivity mid game trying to get the right feel. It was all a blur, alot of loud American cheering behind us wanting us to lose with the usual American smack talk. People screaming “THE EUROS GOT OWNED THE EUROS GOT OWNED.” And all that haha. But hey we lost.

As for the game, it was a classic example of why you should always vary your practices. We had played versus Infensus, 4kings, Rewind, Ocrana, snaps and god knows how many top teams in the run up. But Europe was so far ahead of the US in terms of tactics that when we went to play the American teams they were running basic strategies from the early days of rtcw. Like simple 4 on top, 2 on hill on ice. And we had not played vs that type of tactics for maybe 5 months and definitely not practiced how to break down such a well drilled defence. Our attacks were off and we just became unstuck. Along with the sensitivity issues it was tough.

After words we were all gutted obviously. But we had a very simple talk. We knew how good we were, we knew why we lost. Now we simply made it our challenge to be the first ever team to win a major tournament from the first round of the losers bracket. We almost did it too. Everybody knew we could do it. It was simply about taking it 1 game at a time, executing what we practiced and playing as a team.

Getting to the final was just good performance after good performance. Some games were surprisingly hard. cK on village was tough. The best match for us (and of the tournament) was our 4kings match. The demo still makes me smile :P I think for shutting the Americans up the lock out of Affliction on base was nice, plus it was a pretty good performance by me in the lower bracket final :D

The most important game you ever played was no doubt the final of the quakecon 2003 against Infensus where you lost 3-1 on assault. What went wrong back then? Were the swedes just too good?

You know its wierd. The game was one of those where you think we would be nervous or something but we were all pretty relaxed. We felt we had nothing to lose. Beating iN once is hard enough. Beating them twice was almost impossible. We could have taken it to 2-2 if it were not for civ unscoped snipering me on the tower (something which he enjoys laughing about!). But hey such is life. We were happy to have got to the final from the lower bracket first round, proud of our performance.

iN were good, they had the perfect balance between aim and teamplay. There was no such thing as an unbeatable team, but they were quite close.

I think teams have to have a balance between teamplay, individual skill and decision making. I would say, at that level, iN had the best balance of all 3. I would say GMPO and 4Kings were opposite sides of the balance. GMPO had more aim based style than 4Kings teamplay based style. Not to say either lack the other, just that those teams were more skilled in those areas.

After the quakecon GMPO disbanded you went on to play with 4kings. What were the reasons for splitting up?

I had always been very good friends with 4K. Travelled with them to boot camps , as well as being in the UK team with their members. Zommy is a top guy and I have a lot of time for someone like that who has put alot of effort into getting gaming recognised in the UK. When we finished quakecon I think we all knew GMPO was over. The team was extremely talented but there was always a lot of tension in the team. The dutch guys (ramzi, blaze, zemme) were immensely talented but sometimes lacked the focus the older guys wanted (me, refuse, veracious). And maybe the older guys took things too seriously sometimes ;) I still wouldn't swap them for anyone in the world in that quakecon trip. All great guys, immensely talented. However the sponsorship was shakey to say the least from GMPO, so we just went our separate ways. I wanted a more focused team so I went to 4kings.

I don't actually remember the actual moment we split up. I think it was just something we knew would happen.

If you think back to your active time in rtcw... what was the most exciting match you have ever played? What was the sickest shot you have ever made?

4kings vs GMPO quakecon
4kings vs Snaps eurocup semi final

Sickest shot i guess was just the end of 4kings gmpo when I had 4 bullets left and headshotted ogdoad at radar 2 for the win and a place in the final :)



Today TosspoT is a quite famous shoutcaster and is widely seen as the person who keeps the Enemy Territory alive. How did you experiance TosspoT during your activity in the gaming community?

I always felt tosspot had it in for four-kings and gmpo. He seemed to take joy in seeing us mess up, but hey I have not listened to his shoutcasting in 5 years so it might have changed. I did read sometime ago a list of great rtcw teams he made, and it was pretty awful. GMPO were not even in it, which considering we came second at quakecon I find quite a surprise. I thik 4K were 8th or something? Was all a bit wierd. I think sometimes peoples like to rewrite history, but you can never take away what people achieved in the game. The results are there for all to see.

What is your opinion on Enemy Territory? Have you ever played it in competition?

I cannot give an honest opinion as I hardly played it. For me it just didn't feel write, the maps were too fragmented and it was not something I wanted to play. I have never played it in competition :P

Are you playing any games right now? Or are you looking forward to any specific ones?

Well since RTCW I became good at a few games. Practising a little bit and competing just for the fun. I played painkiller and placed top 3 in the UK. I played pro evolution soccer and placed 3rd in the UK. I then took up street fighter 4 and became quite good but never competed. I might with the new street fighter that's coming out.

I REALLY enjoy HON, however it is a team game and I don't have time to practice with a team. I would love to play it competitively but I don't think that will happen. I play with a few mates for a laugh but it's not at a high level.

What about your old teammates? Are you still in contact with them and if yes what are they up to?

I am in contact with some 4kings guys now and again. I play Quake live sometimes with zommy and chat to him. On facebook with a few guys, odd contact here and there.

For the next RTCW-Cup you plan to make a comeback with 4kings. How do you expect you will perform? Do you even know todays top-teams like rockit and KiH?

I know KiH from the time they were the understudy to iN, Swedish so always talented. I don't know much about rockit.
Merlinator plays for them and I remember him from a British team he used to play for.

I wouldn't say it's a 4K comeback. We are a shadow of our former selves. We are competing for the social aspect of it and getting old friends on comms for the jokes again. I don't think we will get anywhere, I played my first game in 4 years with a few guys on irc and got an absolute beating so I am not expecting much!

It would be nice to pull the old CXG tactics we had, as some of them were pretty damn good.




4kings or GMPO?

Tough, I had more fun playing with 4Kings but more successful I guess with GMPO. It's a tie, loved both teams.

Most disappointing thing about your RTCW career?

Not winning a Eurocup. Losing in 2 semi-finals, both times to Snaps.

HoN or RTCW?

In its prime, RTCW all day. The buzz around the scene was too good.

Best RTCW clan:

Can only be iNfensus... when I was in the line up naturally haha :P

Best RTCW player:

No such thing really, every player has strengths and weaknesses. From my own experience (i.e. the players I have played with):

Medic: Hardnut
Aim: Blaze / SoD / Alban
All-Round: Spear / Ramzi / Civ / Yilider
Tactics: Spear / Creamy / Veracious
Sniper: Veracious
Other top players: Dolt, Jizz, Zommy.

RTCW clan that never lived up to its full potential:

Hmm, odd question. First name that comes to my mind is rewind. I think it is a shame they never made quakecon.

Your RTCW Dreamteam:

Even though we never really got a chance on LAN, I loved our 4Kings line up that went to CXG. We were playing at an extremely high level in the run up to the tournament. We had a good balance and excellent understanding.

Hardnut
Ogdoad
Creamy
Yilider
Veracious
ZaF

Your Top RTCW teams:

iN
Dr
GMPO
4Kings
Snaps
BoH
Affliction
NARF
Noll8
Rewind

Thank you for taking your time!