Beyond the Gamer - Shadow

How does a usual day in Romania look like for you? Do you have any time for yourself? Or is it basically practicing 24/7 all the time?

Well, usually I get up around noon, since it's summer I go to the beach a lot with my girlfriend and in the evenings I meet up with some friends to play poker. We are not practicing at this time, we decided to take a small break, also because one of our members needs to study for important exams.


Have you been practicing with another famous team recently?

Well for example, we played against x6 and a-losers before the WCG 07 quali.


How do you look for opponents in Romania? Do you have regular custom training partners?

If I'm not mistaking, we are seen as a very aggressive team by other teams in Romania. We didn't have that many practices with the same team in this past month, we play a lot with iNsane on LAN, other than that we just play with whoever is online at the time.


Do you like the location?

If the question is about the city I live in at the moment, I love it!


Now that you have been living in Constanta for so long, are you famous in your city ?

Yes I'm famous, in the gamers' community.


What about the foods in Romania? They're known for their spiciness and their traditions.

The food is great, but because it's summer I am eating a lot of salads.


Were you ever recognized while walking in the streets?

I get recognized on the street like 5 days out 7. People wanna shake my hand and say "OMFG SHADOW SHADOW, can i touch u ??"


Have you ever thought of taking a short break from CS and going on a tour around Constanta?

No.


Do you have a special lady in your life ? Do you spare a lot of time with her ?

Yes I have a special lady in my life, her name is Georgiana, I love her. When I'm not practicing with my team I'm with her.


With your team mates, are you meeting each other outside the game, maybe playing football together or so?

Yes, we meet on occasions and play poker or football.


Each gamer around the world has a different story about how they started playing the game they enjoy playing, what’s your story on how you started Counter Strike?

I was introduced to CS by my brother, in the fall of 1999, and I loved it! I remember playing with scout on cs_militia.


What about the management of Eq? Are there plans to make changes/add new people ?

Our management is fine, no need for changes at this point. Long live rhyth! Of course it would be great if some more guys, that have the skills, are really serious, mature and dedicated, get involved because to create something a lot of work needs to be done.


What has been your recipe for success?

An intense evening with my girlfriend before an important match and a lot of calm. RIGHT ON EHJ BOYZ?^_-


Counter-Strike takes a lot of your spare time and especially when you play on such a high competitive level as you do. Is it really worth all the time you have to sacrifice? Have you ever felt that it has been a waste of time?

There were times when I had given up hope, but I managed to pass those bad moments. I for one do not play that much anymore, only before a competition, yet we are still the best at this time.


A sequel to the previous question; how do you feel psychically, regarding to some people who claim that they're addicted to Counter-Strike? Can you quit whenever you want, and how would that affect your reality life (girlfriends etc)?

OMG addicted to Counter-Strike? Sounds really sick. I'm not addicted and I can quit anytime I want!