Fnatic - A profesional gaming team

Matt "Warden" Dickens from Texas was an integral part of the team from its beginning. Surprisingly, Warden doesn't have any major achievements until joining compLexity, and is one of two players from the original team that still play.
Usually the first man into the bombsite, Warden is compLexity's spearhead. With his remarkable aiming and a good sense of prediction for the game, Warden is bringing compLexity crucial entry frags that help them take control over the round. In addition, his abilities to perform under pressure helped compLexity to turn many rounds where they were in disadvantage to their favor.

Much different than Warden, Justin "Sunman" Summy from Pennsylvania had his share of the spotlights for a long amount of time now. Previously he was a part of the legendary N.A team zEx, whose line up included, amongst other American stars, Shaguar and Volcano, now of Team3D.
zEx began to shine after the CPL Winter 2002 where they defeated several of the world's finest team, including Norway's pride eoLithic. The team kept this performance going and placed second at the ESWC 2003 Championship, in front of that year's hottest name, SK.Swe. Two years later, Sunman returned to France and claimed the throne.
Just as they finished to celebrate their victory, compLexity was plagued issues. Sunman departed from the team due to personal reasons, and with their pick up, Exodus, they didn't live up to the expectations. After a string of losses to Team3D in the WCG US Finals, as well in AmeriCup and DigitalLife Finals, compLexity didn't hesitate to welcome superstar Sunman back into their lineup. As the team's CPL Winter 2005 performance, including his own, was beneath everyone's expectations, compLexity is eager to bounce back during 2006.

As you are both well known personalities in E-Sports, please begin this interview by telling us something that majority of the people don't know about you.

Warden: I enjoy playing, reading and poker, although I do a lot more of the latter.

Sunman: I call my car The Hulk if I refer to it by name because its green and ugly.

What were you doing on new year's evening?

Warden: Drinking vodka and rum and overall being completely worthless.

Sunman: I think I was playing DOTA when the clock hit midnight, but I went out earlier in the day to my dad's house and won the Disney version of "Scence It DVD" in 4 turns.

So you ended up 9-12th in Winter CPL a few days after winning the CAL Razer and that was your worst placement in 2005. What happened?

Warden: JMC happened. They shocked everyone and came up big versus us on nuke. Although it was a map we had matched JMC on at the bootcamp, I'm fairly sure we underestimated them. I wish we could of played them on a map we hadn't just played them on a week before, but that's no excuse. NiP match was just a disaster as well. We won both pistols and couldn't win a gun round it seemed. We've gone back to the drawing board for the 3rd time now on a lot of our strats and hope that 2006 will bring much more success than Winter CPL 2005.

Sunman: I don't feel I was at full strength at The CPL to be honest. Getting 1st at LG beating 4K and beating 3D for CAL Razer sure helped brighten the trip up though. Heck, we made as much money as 3rd place got at CPL just from those two tournaments.

Isn't it disheartening to close the year with mediocre performance after constantly climbing through it?

Warden: Always disheartening to under place from what you expected of yourself.

Sunman: In a way, but that also makes me want to practice harder so we can win the next big tournament too.

Is it possible that Justin didn't manage to integrate himself back into the team?

Warden: Justin wasn't playing up to par at CPL. He'll openly admit this to me, but I think our superstar will be back in true form for 2006. I have all my confidence in Justin's ability and skill.

Sunman: I don't think I was in top form at CPL, I have been working on that though.

What were the differences between the JMC you met during the LG bootcamp and the one that defeated you a few days later?

Warden: It wasn't so much what they did, but it was what we didn't do. We didn't try to anti strat and they did. I feel had we actually prepared more for the match the night before and actually reviewed those demos in depth we could of avoided our fate.

Sunman: Everyone that plays CS knows that one day your team can win, and others they won't. That's just how CS is, but they played a better game than us and won.

Exodus was cut as a direct result of the downgrading performance coL showed during the Fall. Do you see yourself at risk of being taken off the team as well if the Winter's results are followed by other disappointing results, particularly due to the fact that CompLexity provides you with all the resources to succeed?

Warden: I feel no pressure of removal and niether do any of my teammates. Exodus' removal wasn't a result of our previous performances as much as the chance to get sunman (our championship lineup) back in the rotation. We are in this for the long haul of 2006 and hope to bring the great coL community as many solid placings as possible.

Sunman: Having that mentality isn't really smart if you want to be able to perform at events. Thinking you are going to get cut if you do bad is just silly.

Aside of JMC, American sides performed poorly in this CPL. Did European teams become stronger or Americans became weaker?

Warden: Well you're comparing an entire continent to a country. I think America always has the chance to take a top placing in any tournament we attend with the 2 teams coL and 3D competing as well as many other contenders such as Rival and u5. Europeans have always been and will always be strong opponents to play against.

Sunman: American teams just don't stay together long enough. Take JMC for example, they got 3rd place, and now everyone left for another team. Player movements, teams disbanding, new teams created, all of which aren't going to help. I respect teams that don't change rosters after they do mediocre at an event. CS is random folks. So American teams will always remain weaker as a direct result.

Will CompLexity attend all WT stops? You still have no head sponsor to cover your expenses like the vast majority of teams that will participate do.

Both: We will be at every world tour stop.

With the high stakes this year there is bound to be strong competition. Which teams do you expect to perform best this year? Which underdogs do you think will surprise us in 2006?

Warden: coL for 2006. To name a few other teams I think will be strong: Lunatic, 3D, NiP, SK.swe

Sunman: It's silly to guess what teams are going to do good or not. I think whoever practices the hardest will get the best results, or better than they expected.

After much debate on the eligibility of their title of CPL Champions from the Summer, SK.Swe won their second CPL Championship in a row proving everybody wrong. Do you think there is a chance they will become as dominant this year as they were in 2003-2004?

Warden: Absolutely not.

Sunman: Of course there is a chance, you have a chance to win the lottery too. So I guess there's a chance anyone can dominate this year as well. :)

Who would have the biggest impact on the team's performance if he is having a good day? Who would the team suffer the most if he's off his game?

Warden: fRoD can impact us the most when he's on, definitely. I'd say if Storm is off we could feel some heat because he's usually pretty consistent.

Sunman: Any player on his game can be a huge impact. It would take more than one player to be off his game for it to really effect us that much. Any of us could cause the team to suffer in the right situation though.

With compLexity implementing rigorous training regime, how do you manage to balance your social life with CS commitments? Was your(Sunman's) retirement earlier this year a result of an unbalanced schedule?

Warden: I usually just practice and try to spend time with other people who are important to me. Family and friends always come after or before practice and it's really not any harder than anyone with a normal job.

Sunman: Most of my social life is talking to friends online, so it's not too hard to balance the two. Other than that we only practice during the evening. Yes, there was conflicts in my life at the time which lead to my retirement, but that is now in the past, and I can't wait for the future.

How did competitive gaming influence other parts of your life such as family, friends and sports?

Warden: When I quit playing football and baseball I picked up Counter-Strike. It was a way for me to keep my competitive nature without normal sports in my life. It's turned out great in my opinion. I've been to more cities than my parents have and they are quite the travelers.

Sunman: I've made more friends as a result and my family thinks it's awesome what I get to do. I had quit sports before this all started.

If you reminiscence, what is the most bizarre thing that happened in a match you played?

Warden: Not really bizarre but probably beating NiP in Spain and realizing we are a force to be reckon with. That was the first time I ever felt we could win any event we attend and truly believed it.

Sunman: That stuff happens everyday. Usually it's better when it happens on LAN in big matches. AWPing a guy through 2 walls not knowing he's there(zEx vs eoL at CPL), eco deagling kids in the face(zEx vs NiP at ESWC), or throwing a grenade at my feet to kill the last guy before I die to send it to overtime(coL vs 4K at LG). Those three are the most famous from my end. I can also remember this one scrim with zEx when Volcano got the most random headshot from window room to big pit through the wall in like 2 AK bullets.

Did you at any point think "Why the heck do I need this Counter-Strike thing" and just wanted to hang the mouse for good?

Warden: Haha. Sometimes it may feel like it but I love this game and I really love the perks that come along with being a pro gamer. Getting to travel and play a video game that gets your blood flowing can't ever be that bad.

Sunman: If I wasn't making money or traveling the world for free I would.

You're in the middle of a CAL-Invite final and receive a very important phone call from a friend, how do you respond?

Warden: I tell them I'm in an important match. All my friends know of my job and they think it's really neat. No one disrespects me or looks down on me like some might think because I make more money than they do working at their really crappy jobs while in college...

Sunman: I wouldn't pick up, so how would I know if it's important?

Had you been forced to quit playing Counter-Strike and continue your gaming career on another game, which game\genre would you have tried to become professional in?

Warden: DOTA!!!!!! GO CLAN PLUG PULLERS INC. !  ;)

Sunman: 1v1 FPS

You have the opportunity to create the future's most popular competitive title. What would it be like?

Warden: Would be a game that had team play and graphics but the graphics wouldn't hinder the game play.

Sunman: I would create a first person MMORPG, where you have to do the aiming. For the competitive aspect it would have to be a special level or map, a capture the flag type of situation. Sort of like TFC and WoW combined.

To conclude: A date with Jennifer Aniston or winning the CPL WT 2006. Your choice?

Warden: CPL WT 2006 OF COURSE! ;)

Sunman: She's too old for me, how about Kristin Kreuk? I've always had a thing for her because Smallville. Since it's my choice I pick both. If I could only pick one, then how much $$ is WT? Dang that is a hard choice now that I think about it. Can I have a sample of both before I pick?



Warden and Sunman would like to thank to compLexity's sponsors: Steelpad, Icemat, GameCOMM, Hi-DEF Servers, Comcage, IMG and Branzone, and to the fan base of compLexity.

Images courtesy of compLexity website.