August 4, 2008

Gaming Team EnvyUs on What It Takes to Play Call of Duty 4 Professionally
By Louis Bedigian

“We have always maintained the original four members, building a tight-knit team/friendship.”

Pro gaming doesn't start when you enter your first competition or on the day you win your first tournament. It starts -- albeit unknowingly -- the first time you pick up a game controller. The thrills received from your first game are not unlike the thrills received by someone playing a sport for the first time. Every nuance is ingrained in your mind, driving you to continue the experience that eventually leads to the moment you go pro.

For most of the members in EnvyUs, a rising pro team that was formed last December, first-person shooters were a part of their initial gaming experience. "I have been gaming since I was able to operate a controller or keyboard with various games like: Counter-Strike and Golden Eye," said Daniel 'Fierce' Leeds, one of EnvyUs' four members. "I have been gaming competitively since the release of the original Halo game." Adds Tosh 'Stainville' McGruder, "I started gaming at a young age as well, gaming competitively with Halo in which I attended multiple professional events."

Michael 'Nemesis' Wortham concurred -- he too started young and played Halo competitively. Skyler 'TrulyBlessed' Johnson was the late bloomer of the bunch, as he didn't get into video games until he was 13. Madden was the game that drew him in. "I started [competing] in Socom 2, in which I played in multiple professional leagues," he says.

Start with the history of EnvyUs -- how did it all begin? How many team members do you have, and how did you guys come together?

EnvyUs: We all played Halo competitively together then noticed that Call of Duty 4 was being released, bought the game and things simply clicked. We originally started with three members and formed an extremely tight-knit team. Our fourth player bounced around and we eventually found someone to fill the void from a rival team that had problems at the time.

How did you guys get into tournaments, pro gaming, etc.? Is EnvyUs your first experience at this?

EnvyUs: We started with local LAN events that were offering cash and prizes for HALO. We eventually began playing major online events, which later turned into professional online and LAN events through Major League Gaming and Game Battles.

We had all played on other teams prior to the forming of EnvyUs, but with the release of Call of Duty 4 we realized that this team simply works and the name was fitting.

Do you have other jobs? Is there enough time to do other things while competing in games professionally?

EnvyUs: We are all college students but work part-time jobs periodically to help support ourselves, when gaming doesn’t. We make time to hang out with friends and family during the day but reserve our nights for gaming.

Halo helped push EnvyUs' team members into competing professionally.

How are your finances covered? Are you relying on sponsorships?

EnvyUs: Our only means of support in gaming are our winnings and finding the funding to pay for competition fees, hardware, etc… gets pretty difficult, so sponsors are very important and we always appreciate all of their help. Currently we receive support from our sponsors at NVidia and Turtle Beach.

You are also competing in Cyber Evolution’s first console gaming tournament. Tell us about that.

EnvyUs: We are very excited that we have another league to compete in and CEVO picking up Call of Duty 4 as their first console game is huge. We love their support for console gaming, specifically Call of Duty 4.

As far as games...why Call of Duty 4? Is it the only game you compete in?

EnvyUs: Call of Duty 4 is an amazing game, which happens to be one of the largest selling games of all time. It has that great online competitive quality that all gamers look for.

What is your training routine? Does it consist of daily, weekly or monthly skirmishes?

EnvyUs: We are constantly playing, practicing and competing. We usually practice through various scrimmages and then right into 2-4 matches per night.

You wouldn't want to be scoped by one of these players.

Has the team found that other games can be distracting from your main competition, or do you guys like to play games besides Call of Duty 4?

EnvyUs: Other games can be distracting yes, as we like to play Rainbow 6: Vegas 2, WoW, Guitar Hero 3 and Unreal Tournament 3, although we only play Call of Duty 4 competitively.

Have you found that playing other games -- even other shooters -- can help improve your skills?

Fierce: I believe that certain games can help improve your skill as well as your hand-eye coordination. Most of us feel that other games don’t really help you much but rather hurt you by the different control options and gameplay in general.

EnvyUs has competed in all of the Major League Gaming Call of Duty 4 Pro-Circuit Ladders. The team placed in the top three of each one. How were you able to pull this off -- first from an entry perspective (why was EnvyUs the only team?) and second from a competitive perspective (your gameplay philosophy, how you achieved this level of skill, etc.).

EnvyUs: We all agree that our maturity level is so much higher than other teams. Most teams can’t handle a loss and tend to have a high turn-over rate. We have always maintained the original four members, building a tight-knit team/friendship. As for our gaming philosophy, it is a professional approach in which we take gaming very seriously and put 110% into accomplishing our goals. Our manager, Blaine “BadKarma” Lippe, has also been a huge help in recruiting sponsors and taking care of a lot so that we can focus on gaming.

In traditional sports, teams have extra players to step in when someone gets sick, injured, etc. Do you have any backups incase someone can't play?

EnvyUs: In our case, the professional events do not allow more than a four player roster. It does hurt sometimes when someone loses connection or can’t play but we are always sure to only schedule when all members are available.

What are the goals for EnvyUs? What do you hope to achieve in the long-term (several years from now)? What do you hope to achieve by the end of 2008?

EnvyUs: We currently hope to be the top team in all professional events, leagues and ladders. As for long-term, we would love to have full-funding as well as endorsements and the ability to move from game to game as new games become more popular in professional gaming events. By the end of 2008, we hope to become the top team in all major gaming events and to be secure in our position enough to not have to worry about money.

Thank you for your time.

EnvyUs: Thank you for this fantastic opportunity and we would like to thank our sponsors: NVIDIA www.nzone.com / Turtle Beach www.turtlebeach.com / LagTV www.lagtv.com.

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