The Four Kings Counter Strike team just arrived in Korea yesterday and they have already been kind enough to provide us with some time to do a short interview. 4K|Mangiacapra was interviewed on behalf of the team and even had a rushed breakfast to do the interview.

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Hope you had a nice breakfast? What did you have? Did you smuggle some Wheatabix with you or are you coping well with the food over there?
Actually I had scrambled eggs on toast and the hotel we are staying in is basically aimed at international visitors so it's a very nice place to stay whilst we're in Korea. They even have an Italian restaurant and a bar downstairs.

Anyway before we talk about the World e-Sports Games lets talk about the ESWC UK Qualifiers. First I would like to congratulate you and Four Kings on your success at Oxford. Did you do a fair bit of preparation or did you take a shot in the dark?
We didn't play any team practices before the qualifier - just a lot of mixes with each other so everyone was in shape. We had a 5-10 minute talk on what we would do in the pistol rounds but we only used pretty simple tactics which worked.

How did you fancy your chances at winning the qualifier?
Well i thought it would be pretty easy for us and it turned out it was. I just didn't want what happened last year and lose to a random prepared mix team.

Do you have any plans on bootcamping with teams before the ESWC?
All the practice we will do will be done whilst we are in Korea. If we make it to the finals, we will be arriving back one day before the ESWC finals so there wouldn't be any time to bootcamp. If we don't make it to the final four we will bootcamp, as there will obviously be some things we need to change/improve.

I guess that the ESWC acted as a really nice practice session for the WEG season. How long is the stay in Korea for?
Well we didn't run any serious tactics at the qualifer as we didn't need to plus it stops teams looking at the demos for our pistol rounds so it helps when they can't prepare properly when they are playing us. I believe WEG is JUne 3rd-July 3rd.

Where abouts are you staying in korea and what is the accommodation like?
We are staying basically in the center of Soeul. Everything is close which is a big change from season one where we were pretty much in the mountains. Last season it took us one hour travel to the TV studio but now it is about 5/10 mins by bus or taxi. We have three rooms at the hotel - one room sleeps 3 people, another sleeps 2 and one room is our practice room.

Who's room sharing with who?
Red and Akujii, but obviously the room of 2 is better so we drew straws for a rotation over the 5 weeks :)

Is the WEG one of the events that Four Kings looks more forward to attending? If so - why?
WEG is different from all other events the first season turned out to be a huge success for both WEG and 4K so it was a pretty natural decision to come to season 2. WEG organisers really listened to the players feedback and that's why season 2 has been shorted to five weeks rather season 1's original nine. There have also been a lot of other improvements such as the increased prize money, more teams, sound proofing on stage and the practice conditions. In fact the more I think about it the more I realise how much WEG staff do for us. They fix every problem and also live and hang out with the players - so if we need anything they are right here.

Many gamers whilst being overseas have had big problems with getting used to the culture.
I guess that depends on the player and how much they are willing to adapt to new cultures - some people don't like change. I think it's about getting the right mix. A lot of the people who came back to season 2 have been all over the world already so they know how to adapt to the different cultures.

How do you feel about playing whilst being filmed in a studio?
Once the game starts I just forget about the cameras and try to win the game. In fact I don't even notice the cameras are there since I'm concentrating on playing the game and communicating with my teammates.

Do you feel slightly confident about this season after such a promising last season?
I think the whole team is feeling confident this season and we have talked about it a little bit but we won't make the mistake of thinking the title is ours. We will just take each game as they come and prepare for them and see how it turns out in the end.

What's the daily schedule looking like for you at the moment?
Well I've only been here for 24 hours, but I guess it will look a lot like:
Wake up, breakfast, PC/movies, lunch, CS practice, dinner, CS practice, alcohol, partying, poker, sleep, repeat.

Have you learn't Swedish yet?
Only a few swear words :p

Do you think that Four Kings have been performing at their best recently?
I think we have been performing a lot better, which is due to having really good teammates. Everyone is good friends with each other outside of gaming too. This is a good thing to have as we will be spending a lot of time together. It also helps with CS as we can work together and there are no ego's between us, so when things go wrong we can lift each others spirits and when someone does a really nice shot they get a pat on the back. I would say we work really well together and we aren't just a random bunch of guys who play on the same team.

When you get to go overseas to play in an international lan - do you have time to do other things than gaming?
Well some events we have spare time, but when your in a different place or country you don't really know what to do so most of the time. As many others we just end up chilling and drinking in bars. We aren't really here to do all the tourist stuff but it is nice when we get the chance too. For example last season we had trip to the Great Wall of China which is something I'm really glad I had the chance to see.

How is playing in Korea different to in England?
I don't think it's very different at all, we are still playing the same game, against many of the same opponents we would play/practice against in the UK.

Whilst your not playing do you do things as a team - or do you go off and do individual things?
We do both, which i think is a good thing there are 71 other players at WEG and of course it is fun when it is only us 5 hanging out but it is also good to meet the other players many of which i have actually known for about 3 years. Especially meeting up with Dark and juve9le again.

What's the best thing you are looking forward to whilst you are in Korea?
Reaching the final again. If we can do that I will be happy but I also think it will be a challenge. It will be a lot tougher this season with more teams meaning more opportunities to lose. But we aren't here to joke around we are here to win every single game and to do that will be achievement. Also with a slightly different lineup than last season we will only get better and better with every game we play together.


Why did you choose the names that you took at the ESWC Qualifiers? Was there any special meaning behind them?
I used my normal nick some of the others used their aliases but not for any particular reason.

Focusing on the team have you had time to work with element? Has he settled in as a good replacement?
Today we have gone over a few demo's and talked about what we will be doing on the maps we have to play in the first group. We are about to play our first scrim in about 20 mins.

Was it a group decision to invite element and what made him your number one choice?
Well we just talked about who we wanted as our 5th member and as we spent nine weeks with Ola at season 1, there wasn't a lot to decide as everyone already knew each other pretty well anyway.

Would you say the team is now Four Kings and element or rather Five Kings?
It will always be 4Kings but to us it's just a name/tag and the real team is down to the players not the name we use.

Thanks for the interview

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I'd really like to thank Mangiacapra to take time out to do the interview with us. I would also like to thank Protex - without him this interview wouldn't be possible.