Scandalnavia › Land of the mighty vikings

"Denmark is a prosperous and thriving nation of some 5.3 million people - and as an independent country since the late 10th century, it is also one Europe's oldest states. Denmark's political system is one of constitutional monarchy, allowing it to combine its nearly 1,000 years of history and tradition with all the features of a modern democratic state.

The white cross on the Danish flag represents Christianity. The cross design of the Danish flag was also adopted by the other Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland."*



With just two more interviews to go, I had a talk with ankel, who most view as one of the best Scandinavian Enemy Territory players for a very long time. However, traditionally accompanied with a lot of controversy, he has had his fair share of ups and downs in the game as of late.



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

Hello, I'm a 26 years old male from Denmark. My name is Andreas, I live in Copenhagen and my main occupation at the moment is studying computer science.

I first tried a multiplayer fps sometime in the 90's when I played Doom on LAN with friends. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever. From then on I was hooked on fps-gaming. Years later I started playing Quake and Counter-Strike online and was always envious of the top players in those games, who went to competitive LANs, won money etc.

When the RtCW demo was released the game showed a lot of promise that this was the new CS-killer, and even the CPL stated that they wanted to host tournaments using this game.

I saw this as my chance to become really good at a game and not being behind from the start. Clearly I had no idea what was needed to become a top player, seeing as my practice routines consisted of playing 32 player games of mp_depot trying to get the highest score.
From that point forward I just played a lot and eventually I became pretty good. My team history is something like CastleStein -> #id.no -> GMPO -> Rewind -> Dignitas (ET).

I’ve seen that you’ve started playing Quakelive, is it something you would like to continue with and perhaps win some money with or is it still on a fun basis?

I've always played some 1on1 and 2on2 games in Quake 3 alongside other games, simply because I think it is a lot of fun - especially duelling. I only duel in Quakelive and it's purely for fun. I have no chance of becoming a top player in that game.

Many people know you as a big time gamer back then but what about your personal life, do you got a girlfriend?

No I don't.

How does a perfect night out look like to you, hitting the clubs with friends or rather pick up a movie with a girl and dinner afterwards or perhaps just sitting in front of the Computer chilling with your mates?

Really depends on the day and the mood. All of the options above are good at the right time.

I must admit I really love a good bender from time to time, I just have the worst hangovers of anyone I've ever met, so it comes at a price :)

Return To Castle Wolfenstein and 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?

These days I don't really follow the eSports scene as such, but earlier on I guess the numbers were just never high enough. The games may have a loyal following, but if it's not a large following and doesn't have a lot of spectators, it just doesn't make any sense to arrange LAN tournaments with big cash prizes.

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

I always think about RtCW as a combination of Quake, Counter-Strike and Team-Fortress. Speed and physics/movement is like a toned down Quake, but not as slow CS. I really like that the game is class-based like TF, but still each class is pretty even when it comes to shooting and killing.

In TF I feel like I'm very constrained in each class because they are very polarized in abilities. In RtCW there is still a great need for teamplay and classes supporting eachother, but each class is still very capable on its own.

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

It's really hard to say, there have been so many good players. In RtCW I was always very impressed with basically any iNfensus player. I don't really remember fearing anyone, but a player like Ramzi I felt was very deadly, although not very well mannered :)

In recent times crmbs from 118 is one I "hate" playing in RtCW.
In ET I was always impressed with Finnish gunslingers, and had they kept on playing I don't think Dignitas would have had such an easy run in our tournaments.

What was the most memorable win you enjoyed while playing these two games and what was so special about it that you still remember it to this day?

It's been more than 5 years since I stopped playing and this stuff fades away. I mostly remember winning the EuroCup vs. DSky but I think the only reason I remember that, is because it was in the Dignitas movie with TosspoT screaming on the shoutcast.

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?

The RtCW panzerfaust.


* - http://www.ambmoskva.um.dk/en/menu/InfoDenmark/