I-view: Pack #3 – x6tence

O FRAGlíder™ foi ter uma conversa com a famosa equipa espanhola dos x6tence, para saber mais informações a nível geral, objectivos da equipa de Counter-Strike masculino, assim como a opinião da capitã das x6tence femininas de Counter-Strike.

A entrevista foi realizada ao Sergio “overdr1ve” Fernández (Marketing), ao MusambaN1 e por último a aNouC.

Fraglíder: Hello Sergio Fernández, can you introduce yourself to our community?

x6tence.AMD|overdr1ve: Hi, my name is Sergio “overdr1ve” Fernández. I´m 27 and i live in Madrid, Spain. i am the head of marketing of x6tence.AMD. I work with VaLe in all things relationed with sponsors and comunicacition inside x6tence.AMD.

Fraglíder: In your opinion, as it is to manage a powerhouse like x6tence, and how it was your start in this marketing experience in the world of the games?

x6tence.AMD|overdr1ve: To lead a team like x6tence is so difficult because it´s a great team. x6tence has about 70 persons, players, staff, crew. We have to work a lot all day long, to have a good teamwork, and make us prevail in coordinating all the areas of the team. This work is difficult because the team is growing and we are changing every days something looking for the best way to work in order to be a top team. I think we are working so good because x6tence only is 8 months old and it´s one of the biggest teams in europe and is known around the world but we know that we have a long way to go.
I always was a simple player, captain of little teams. But one day, i thought that i was so old to continue playing and i decide to put in practice my studies and work in a great team. I started my work as manager in iMpures Gaming about 6 months. Then we create x6tence between iMpures Gaming and eu4ia and i start to work with VaLe in this proyect. Both are very happy with results at this moment but we know that we can do more things for the gaming in spain and specially for this team.

Fraglíder: How it is to lead the innumerable divisions that x6tence have?

x6tence.AMD|overdr1ve: To lead all divisions is only possible in one way. We need people attending all type of work. We have guys working in all areas that we need. We try to have the players concerning only about training and playing. Only the captain has to work with Crew, to make a connection between the team and the crew and staff. I think that x6tence is like a company and this is our objective.

Fraglíder: In your opinion, is it important to have all the competitive divisions possible?

x6tence.AMD|overdr1ve: No. Maybe in some countries you need it but is not necessary. You have to try that if you have one or two or fourty.. all them have to be competitive. The team or club has to be equilibrated in all games they play ( number of teams is not important sometimes).

Fraglíder: Most people say (and in Portugal is a fact!) that lack of sponsors is enormous, what is your opinion in this mater and what is the reality in Spain?

x6tence.AMD|overdr1ve: Yes, is enormous but the problem is not the sponsor. One company looks for visibility. So we have to create a national or international scene with visibility. Actually, only the international scene is important for the sponsors. But in each country we have to create the own e-sports market. I think that the first step is on the teams and the tournaments. Something important for this, is create a media scene. Then, we need a good number of teams in each game. Teams need a stability, but this is difficult. We have to know that this world is only a game for some persons, and other are so young to be “professional”. And of course, it´s so important to have a national organization and international organization.
In Spain we are creating all this things now. I think that 2005 is the best year for Spain to create a market. We have more tournaments, media companies, organizations, better teams. This work is so difficult because all people are gamers or want to play. We need people in the other side, profesionals working in all areas, teams and companies, organizations, tournaments.. and these professionals need to know about e-sports teams and e-sports scene.

Fraglíder: Thanks Sergio, and good luck for x6tence.

Fraglíder: What are the plans for the near future of x6tence.CS, world-wide and national level?

x6tence.AMD|MusambaN1: Well, our plans are to continue attending to every international lans, and try to do it as best as possible. Now, in a few time, we will obtain quite good connexions that will permit us to train without any kind of problem. That will be an important step facing the future, reaching the essential level and experience, so we compete for making top5 or top10 in each international lan. At national level, we will try to continue in the same way of ‘invincible’. In two years we haven’t lost any national tournament.

Fraglíder: x6tence have been moved away from the world-wide top, is there a reason for that, or the expectations of the world community were bigger then it should be?

x6tence.AMD|MusambaN1: Yes, we were take out of the world-wide top because in the ECG (Germany) we did not achieve the expectations. We lost the first match against Italy (something completely unexpected for the community), and of course that set people talking. But I am sure that soon we will be up there again. I think that the international community knows who is x6tence.AMD cs.

Fraglíder: As important as it is to have financial support to have success, is it hard to get support from companies in Spain, or do you feel the market is opening up?

x6tence.AMD|MusambaN1: Yes, up to now, have been very difficult to get the sponsors that we have, because unfortunately, in Spain, the companies do not really trust in the world of e-sports. But thanks to the professional people that we have in the crew, which work hard every day for achieving them, we are making the first moving in order to interest the companies in others teams, or at least, a little bit more in e-sports.

Fraglíder: Do you follow the Portuguese esports scene? What you know of our country in terms of gaming?

x6tence.AMD|MusambaN1: Yes, I know a lot the Portuguese scene. In fact, Fox was in our team (although only two days). We think that he is a great player, and he could contribute a lot in the gaming scene. In relation to teams in general, I know most of top clans. But I think that there is a big problem in Portugal. The stability in a team is very important, and I don’t know what really happens, but each month there is a new team or a team broken. In any case, Portugal’s teams have a great potential at individual level of players.

Fraglíder: Thanks, MusambaN1, and lot’s of success in the future.

x6tence.AMD|MusambaN1: Thanks to you, thanks to our sponsors, AMD, ATI, Sennheiser, 4frags, Steelpad&Icemat, Noxipel, servidores.com. Best regards to everybody!!

Fraglíder: Hello aNouC, could you please introduce yourself to our portuguese community?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: Hey! My name is Ana and my nickname means the same. Im from a close city to Barcelona, but Im living in the north of Germany nowadays. Ive been player shooters for quite a long time, first Quake and since one year and a half, Counter-Strike. I like to do things for the female scene, to get bigger and stronger and Im glad to meet you!

Fraglíder: Before being formed a feminine division of Counter-Strike in x6tence, did you play in other team? When do you started playing Counter-Strike?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: I started at the end of the version 1.5, so for me Steam is the beginning. As you can see Im not oldschool in CS, but thats why I was it in Quake instead. Before x6tence I did have a couple of CS teams. I started my CS interest when I created the Female Nations Cup in Europe, which gave me a good knowledge of the scene and of the game. After that I created my first CS team in the clan where Ive been playing Quake3 and working as main orga, that was Schroet Kommando nowadays known as SK-Gaming. With the first team we managed to win a couple of events, after that I moved out of SK to create my new CS team, since SK was not really interested in more female teams, since the scene is not as developed as the male one. So i created m!sSundaZt00d which been invited to the ESWC 2004 and there we renamed to fnatic.team. We had lots of problems to have a team since we changed the last two members a lot. Since then i rested without team for a while. Of course I used the time to think about a new team. And in these few month received some offers to start with it. The one i liked the most, was what x6tence.AMD proposed, specially because they are working as a very serious gaming club.

Fraglíder: Talk a little bit about the female team that you lead, and about the two new entrances that the team announced recently.

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: x6tence.AMD wanted as much as me, to have a serious female team, to be able to fight in different events. To start such project I couldnt miss my two old mates Lena and iReNuKa which are some of the most skilled girls I know playing CS. We three managed to come along together pretty well, and started to look for our last two members to complete a team. We found two not very known girls for us, but we got very surprised with their skills, they were miini and lajm. As you know from the news, miini went inactive pretty soon and we started to look for replaces to fit in our team. Somehow thanks to the end of 4king ladies, we could meet PurpleTiger and get to know more about this young and talented player from Liverpool. She’s been always playing in english teams and this is her first time with a european-mixed team and also the first time she will fly to events such as CPL. I can just say that sometimes she just amazes me with her shots and the way she resolves some 1on4 situations. Thats why Im glad we could close our roster with her. Later on, we noticed we could maybe not be enough for other events where we would like to go this year and because of that we continued testing players. We played a couple of times with Bady, a spanish player, but at the beginning we were not that interested in her, specially because she was in the “rival” spanish team. Later on she started also to surprise us in some of the games, and we noticed theres a talent she could work on together with us. She left her team and after asking her for a tryout, we finally decided she would fit in our team if she continues in the same direction she started with us.

Fraglíder: How is the day-by-day of x6tence, and how do you combat the difficulty of having two foreigners in lineup?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: To have a lineup from different countries is not a difficulty into my eyes. When you cant create the team you want in your country, you have to seek for other options, and since the connexions are much better all around Europe, is not so hard to play together. Actually Lena and iReNuKa got two of the best spanish connexions, and their pings are great out of Spain. Purple from uk, me from Germany and lajm from Sweden, also have powerfull connections, so we can play anywhere. And for the language, we just speak english, which is international :p

Our day by day? well, for me is a bit stressy sometimes, I write in a Female Only website ( http://feminagaming.com ) and I like to try to update everyone with the situation every female clan has. Team changes, new members, sponsors, new lans, interviews… or anything. I also prepare tactics together with iReNuKa, and this means a lot of time. I usually like to go for a walk or meet some friends, watch some movie, hug my rabbit… anything that is not computer only. I also have to start to study soon because of the exams in June, and last but not least, play every afternoon with the team. We meet, sometimes spend one or two hours going thru tactics and then we play. Other days we just play three or four games, and from time to time we do an intensive cs day to make sure everythings working.

Fraglíder: Which are the advantages of one female clan of Counter-Strike to join a great clan as x6tence?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: If you are part of a club / clan / organization, theres not so much stress for you as a player. The great management of a team like x6tence.AMD permits us to concentrate 100% on the game, and not on the rest of problems a clan has to face day by day. So this is great and we thank x6tence for it!

Fraglíder: Which are the goals of your team, in this next future?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: At the moment the CPL in Spain, the Rixhack in Sweden, and we have the hope that theres some Spanish Qualifier for the ESWC, or that we get invited to it. After that we will go, at the end of July, to the Campus-Party, which is one of the biggest and funniest events in our country, and are somehow a “Gamers Vacation”, with parties, beach, friends and lots of gaming! After that we have to check which events are comming, to plan our future. Apart from that, we want to play online some tournament. Waiting for the #Loew ( League of extraordinary women) to start!

Fraglíder: Do you think that the female CS level world-wide and in Spain, is little supported, in the perspective of sponsors and organizadores of events?

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: The female scene in general is not only growing in number, is getting better in level. The teams are more and more turning to some competitive and skilled bunch of fighters, which sooner or later will be able to participate in what the boys call “normal” events. All the top female teams nowadays pracc online against male teams, and they beat lots of them without problems. So that leaves these girls much closer to the TOP clans.

Fraglíder: Any final words or comment to our community in Portugal?

aNouC: Just best wishes for your community and keep on growing for the best of gaming.

Fraglíder: Thanks aNouc for your time, and good luck for your team.

x6tence.AMD|aNouC: Thanks to you for your interest, hugs.