Interview with 4k | TheGenius
Please note: Part of this interview was removed at the request of TheGenius.
Ok, so explain a little about how you and Four kings came to be in the form you are today.
TheGenius: We started as clan NR in beta 1, and we were shit, after a couple months our Unreal clan (NR) folded however we, the CS division, stuck together under the new name of B!TCH. We played as B!TCH for about a year until in November 2000 we merged with the Quake clan Four Kings.
What did you gain from merging with Quake 3 clan Four Kings?
TheGenius: Sponsorship, a bigger name, and at the time 4K was a pretty solid #1 in the UK for Q3, and so were we for CS, so we thought it was pretty cool to put those together.
So what sponsors do you presently have and how do four kings benefit?
TheGenius: We have Thrustworld, who pay our travel and expenses to LAN tourneys in Europe, and Kazoo who do all our PR for us.
Recently, as exclusively revealed on ukterrorist, four-kings adopted a more professional outlook removing many players from their clan. What prompted this and how has this affected your gameplay?
TheGenius: Well I don't know how long exactly you've been around (but I believe its been a while), but most people can recall how dominating we used to be in the UK CS scene. We did what we thought was right to progress, but it wasnt the correct way. The fact that other clans have caught up with us pretty fast is something we had to accept, that we DO now have to put in the time and effort other teams do, in order to maintain our position. We found ourselves with a different lineup playing every night, and some players playing important games who hadn't been around for days. This way, with only 6 players, its a lot easier to develop as a team, but conflicts between players and tactics are much harder to iron out permamently, as u cant just pick someone else :)
Is this what caused recent failures to win CPL quals, Lan Arena tournys etc., too many players?
TheGenius: Pretty much, the clan was more a collection of players than a team, it felt nothing like the old B!TCH used to, and our morale showed that.
So I take it you're practicing a lot at the moment, you were late for this interview cos of a prac with noc - what LAN event are you gearing up for?
TheGenius: Well we missed out Berlin as we really weren't/aren't ready, we are thinking about Paris, but the next definite will be i9, which all 6 players will attend. And of course the Eurocup which is just the most important CS competition in Europe, online or not.
Speaking to NiP-Xeqtr- recently he seemed to down play the importance of online competition. Do you feel the same way? Would you rather win say a CPL event rather than the CS eurocup?
TheGenius: Yeah, you can't really view online competition as 'real', especially when you consider what happens at LANs where the teams are all completely different. There are a looooooot of UK clans who lack skills on LAN too. So yes i would rather win a CPL :)
Last time I interviewed you was for csgamer.net, where you seemed to believe four-kings were the top clan in the UK, and sitting at the bottom of the top ten European clans. Do you still feel the same way with the emergence of clans like Nocturne?
TheGenius: I still think we are #1, but not by a long way, and our European ranking is definitely a little lower, it shouldn't be the case considering the players we have, but we need time...
How much time though? The next eurocup begins soon, and CPL paris isn't too far away; will 4k be ready?
TheGenius: i9 is our main focus right now, UK competition first, a step at a time, first we have to show everyone we are still the best of the bunch in the UK, then we can start moving to regain our European status.
Speaking of the Insommnia series, would you say i8 was a bit emotional being the last game of 4k in its old form?
TheGenius:Well it was supposed to be that, but didnt work out as planned, Purple and KD chose not to play for us at i8. So it was in fact 4 of the current team playing plus a merc.
Which merc? :)
TheGenius: Shifter, a friend of Liquid's.
Moving onto team UK, what's your level of involvement with them?
TheGenius: I'm the manager/coach type. I basically picked the other coaches, and had a big say in picking the team, and organise them really.
What would you say to those who believe you picked the wrong players for the team?
TheGenius: Name 3 people who have been around the UK CS scene longer, and have more clan experience than me, BrorJace and Verpine and let them choose (There isn't anyone).
You started rather poorly with a defeat against the Netherlands, what was it like playing fellow 4k players?
TheGenius: Hmm a bit odd really, Darth does the tactics for the NL team and I did them for us, so we kind of knew what to expect, but they were just better prepared I think. Quite cool to see the NL guys playing so well though.
Then you bounched back with a somewhat close victory over belguim, and a GREAT result vs. finland. How exactly did you beat a team which included CB eurocup winners?
TheGenius: Just luck on the day I think, we played good, they didn't. We don't kid ourselves that we are a better team, but was a good result and the UK team deserved it.
Do you feel team uk got a harder group?
TheGenius: Yeah we did by far! I think if we get to the playoffs it'll be a good acheivement, the problem is.. We are entitled to a forfeit win from Sweden which would see us through, NL took one from
Sweden as it happens. If we play Sweden and lose, we probably wont go through. Now I don't want the forfeit to go through, but some do. So we'll see...
Surely there has to be a feeling in the team uk camp... beating finland must rank as highly in the cs community as the 5 - 1 victory over germany in the football community. Do you believe there is now anyone that team-uk can't beat?
TheGenius: Yeah they are all pretty pumped about the win, but have to stay realistic, Sweden look an impossible mountain to climb, but we will give it our best shot and who knows...
What's your reactions do the new CPL rules regarding configs & surnames?
TheGenius: oh man id like to rant but have a pcw :P The config thing is a great idea, netsettings and configs are winning games for clans, both on LAN and on the Internet. They can alter the gameplay so much its as bad as cheating. SO bring that on. Surnames hmm... not a terrible idea I guess, will deffo professionalise it a bit more. No major complaints.
Now the ukterrorist scoop part of the interview. Nip xeqtr exclusively revealed that nip wear women's underwear when they play. Can you top that? :)
TheGenius: Liquid plays at LANs from his blow-up bed on the floor instead of playing from a chair, and I have a pair of lucky fluffy gorilla LAN slippers. MAybe not as amazing, but both of those are true :)
And finally, as traditional for all my interviews, any comments to people reading this? Last time it was "don't use that damn crouchjump bind" anything more interesting to say this time?
TheGenius: Don't use those damn netcode settings in your configs.
Thanks TheGenius, you can catch up with Four Kings in #4kings on quakenet, visit there site here, or their sponsors at http://www.thrustworld.com/.
Comments welcome below, or on the Forums.
Comments
Editor
UKTerrorist
11:56 7/12/2001
01:19 3/5/2002
02:19 7/3/2003
195.20.108.90:27040 ePlanet-Servers.net
#clan^dw | www.darkwarriors.co.uk [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
02:20 7/3/2003
lol [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
02:20 7/3/2003
lol [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]
02:22 7/3/2003
ePs servers i place i wanna sleep
02:23 7/3/2003
02:24 7/3/2003
gud luck btw k4, im putting my england flag up when europe arrives
00:56 7/1/2004
10:33 1/3/2004
see us in clan train plz give me more info about your clan
to dratnet@web.de
cya at your 4k server [ Comment: Report | IP: Logged ]