ESL RO: Everybody knows you`re behind Airwalk, can you tell us anything about the teams that play for Airwalk?
KrieppeN: Sure. Actually everything started with Airwalk Media, a community founded in 2005, and at the moment we have the best moviemakers in Romania and the best movies. Being a Counter-Strike player, I wanted to make a team with the name Airwalk, that`s how I started Airwalk Gaming. Now we have Airwalk.Cs, Airwalk.DotA and Airwalk.Babes (the girls team). We will add more games soon…
ESL RO: From all the teams you lead, which are the most active at this moment and in what competitions?
KrieppeN: If we are to talk strictly of ESL, I could say that the only active team is the DotA team, taking part in EPS and EMS. Also the girls team (Airwalk.Babes) is active but this one is newly formed, taking part only in one qualification: EMS Season IV CS Female. Airwalk.Cs doesn’t play in ESL for the time being.
ESL RO: Could you tell us something about the DotA members?
KrieppeN: The team consists of:
Mihalcea “MoD” Mihai: He is the “cappo di tutti cappi”. The manager of the team and the person who holds the team together, he`s the link between the players.
Armand “Uganda” Pittner: The “in-game” captain of the team and a very good player.
Alexandru “ComeWithMe” Craciunescu: The second player in rank, after Uganda (or that`s based on my opinion)
Cristian “Delfinu” Radulescu: He is the new guy but I can say that his place is with this team.
Costel “W1z4rd” Radulescu: From what I saw, W1z4rd is a calculated player and he communicates with the team very well.
Marcel “ThoR” Pirjol: Experienced player, he played alongside our team and it seems he gets along very well.
ESL RO: Everybody knows that Airwalk.DotA won 2nd place at the ESL Pro Series 3. What do you think about this performance, are you happy you tooked 2nd place?
KrieppeN: Yes of course. ESL Pro Series is the place where all the Romanian DotA teams play. 2nd place in EPS means a lot, it means 2nd place in Romania and that makes me very happy and proud of my team. If the boys will practice a lot harder I`m sure they can be number 1.
ESL RO: What objectives would you like to reach with the teams?
AirWalk KrieppeN: The DotA team to become the best one in Romania and to take part in international competitions, the CS to become a top team in Romania, and probably for the girls to play as much as they can together at a higher level among the best teams in the world.
ESL RO: What are the awards the Airwalk teams got and at what events?
KrieppeN: Airwalk.CS – 12 place @ZoomLess Lan #1, 5th place @WCG PreQualifiers, 9 place @ZoomLess Land #3 and 5th palce @ACL Finals Season 5
AIrwalk.DotA- 4th place EPS 1, 2nd place EPS 3, 2nd place RCL Finals
That`s all the awards I can remember.
ESL RO: Do you plan on gathering more teams?
AirWalk KrieppeN: Yes. Xeno is the one responsible with the recruitment part.
ESL RO: We`ve reached the questions about gaming. What`s your opinion about the level of the national
and international gaming?
KrieppeN: Gaming in Romania? That`s a joke. The real value is on the international level. If I think about
it all the Romanian teams want to practice with international teams, searching private mIRC channels.
The Romanian scene suffers from the same disease as in `99-2000: lack of sponsors. The same reason
comes up everytime we discuss about the Romanian gaming and what`s missing. Sponsors and they`re lack
of dedication. There are many Romanian teams that change everyday. Even TeG, the best organization in
Romania changed it`s lineup many times until it reached the one they have today. It`s pretty hard
to reach a higher level in Romania and that`s what everybody says.
ESL RO: What do you think about the future of the gamers and of gaming in Romania?
KrieppeN: I don`t see a bright future. The lack of sponsors is the main reason. If every pro-gamer would be
payed and would receive the newest gear, I`m sure they would reach new boundaries. But as long as this
doesn’t and won`t happen soon, I really don`t see a bright future. Maybe between Romanian players, but
between Romanian players and outside players, it`s hard.
ESL RO: What are you thoughts about the difference between the national and international gaming level?
Besides lack of sponsors.
KrieppeN: Well lack of sponsors offer a psychic downfall, first of all for the players. They are not motivated
and you can feel this in the way they play and think. The mentality is different from that of the
outside players. I think I said the move important downfalls. Another would be: Computer and
Internet Caffee`s price that is very high for a player that doesn`t work and they can`t sustain
themselves, they relly on they`re parents. Probably this would be the difference.
ESL RO: We`ve reached the end of the interview. I would like to thank you for your time. Would you like to say something for the users of ESL Romania?
KrieppeN: Yes, I would like to thank my parents for… oh wait, that wasn`t for this interview. Well, first
of all I would like to thank you (KayLoN) for this wonderful interview, then those that are part of
Airwalk (Media and Gaming), ESL Romania, AsRoma and all those who support Airwalk. And for the ESL users:
Keep ESLing !…
Thank you!
ESL RO: Good luck with the Airwalk Teams!
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RO:ESL RO : Toata lumea stie ca esti omul din spatele organizatiei AirWalk, ne poti da cateva informatii despre echipele care care fac parte din aceasta organizatie?
KrieppeN : Sigur. Defapt totul a inceput cu AirWalk Media, o comunitate fondata in 2005 momentan detine cei mai buni moviemakeri din Romania si cele mai bune filme. Fiind jucator de Counter-Strike, m-am gandit sa-mi fac o echipa cu numele AirWalk, asa a luat infiintare AirWalk Gaming.
In prezent avem AirWalk.CS, AirWalk.DotA si AirWalk.babes (echipa de fete). Vor urma si alte discipline, in curand…
ESL RO : Dintre toate echipele care le conduci, cate dintre ele sunt active momentan si in ce competitii ?
KrieppeN : Daca stam sa discutam strict de ESL, as putea zice ca singura activa ar fi cea de DotA, participand la EPS si EMS. Ar mai fi si cea de fete (AirWalk.babes) dar aceasta este una noua formata, participand pana in momentul de fata doar la o singura calificare, EMS Season IV CS Female. AirWalk.CS participa la alte competitii, deocamdata.
ESL RO : Ne poti enumera membrii echipei de Dota si ce parere ai despre ei ?
KrieppeN : Membrii echipei sunt urmatorii :
Mihalcea “MoD” Mihai : El este “capo di tutti capi”. Este managerul echipei si cel care tine echipa in viata, este legatura dintre jucatori…
Armand “Uganda” Pittner : Capitanul ‘in-game’ al echipei si un foarte bun jucator.
Alexandru “ComeWithMe” Craciunescu : Al doilea jucator, in rank, dupa Uganda (sau cel putin asta este parerea mea).
Cristian “Delfinu” Radulescu : Nu este de foarte mult timp in echipa dar pot zice ca aici este locul lui
Costel “W1z4rd” Radulescu : Din cate am vazut, W1z4rd este un jucator calculat si care comunica mult cu echipa.
Marcel “ThoR” Pirjol : Jucator cu experienta, a jucat mult alaturi de cei din echipa si se pare ca se inteleg bine.
ESL RO : Momentan toata lumea stie ca echipa AirWalk.Dota a participat la Finala ESL Pro Series 3, unde a luat locul 2. Ce parere ai de acest lucru, esti multumit pentru acest loc ?
KrieppeN : Da, normal. In ESL Pro Series activeaza toate echipele de DotA din Romania. Locul al 2-lea in EPS inseamna foarte mult, inseamna locul 2 in Romania, ceea ce ma face foarte multumit si mandru de echipa. Daca baietii se antreneaza mai mult si comunica mai mult sunt sigur ca vor fi numarul 1. Asta ramane de vazut daca isi si doresc atat de mult acest lucru.
ESL RO : Ce obiective ai vrea sa atinga echipele AirWalk pe viitor?
KrieppeN : Cea de DotA, sa devina cea mai buna echipa din Romania si sa participe la concursurile din afara, cea de CS sa fie printre cele de top din Romania iar pentru fete probabil primul obiectiv ar fi sa joace cat mai mult impreuna si sa se inteleaga, apoi sa joace la nivel cu celelalte echipe de top din lume
ESL RO : Care sunt premiile castigate de echipele AirWalk si la ce evenimente??
KrieppeN : AirWalk.CS – locul 12 la ZoomLess LAN #1, locul 5 la PreCalificarile pentru WCG, locul 9 la ZoomLess LAN #3 si locul 5 la Finalele ACL Sezonul 5
AirWalk.DotA – Locul 4 EPS I, Locul 2 EPS III, Locul 2 RCL Finals
Cam astea sunt premiile de care imi amintesc, daca sunt mai multe, voi citii in comentariile interviului.
ESL RO : Mai ai de gand sa vorbesti cu baietii pentru recrutarea altor membri la echipe ?
KrieppeN : Da. Xeno este cel responsabil de recrutari pentru echipele AirWalk.
ESL RO : Am ajuns si la intrebarile despre gaming. Ce parere ai despre gaming-ul din Romania si cel extern ?
KrieppeN : Gaming-ul din Romania? Este ca o gluma. Afara este adevarata valoare. Daca stau sa ma gandesc, cam toate echipele din Romania vor sa se antreneze cu cei din afara si cauta sa intre pe canale private de mIRC unde pot gasii echipele din afara. Gaming-ul din Romania sufera de aceeasi boala din ’99-2000: lipsa sponsorilor. Aceeasi tema este dezbatuta de fiecare data cand este vorba de gaming-ul din Romania si ce-i lipseste lui. Sponsorii si lipsa de seriozitate sau de dedicatie. Sunt foarte multe echipe in Romania care se schimba de la o zi la alta. Pana si TeG, cea mai buna organizatie din Romania si-a schimbat line-up-ul de foarte multe ori pana sa ajunga la cea din prezent. Este destul de greu sa faci performanta in Romania, si asta o poate spune toata lumea.
ESL RO : Ce parere ai despre viitorul gaming-ului si al gameri-lor din Romania si nu numai?
KrieppeN: Chiar nu stiu, nu vad un viitor prea roz. Lipsa sponsorilor isi spune cuvantul. Daca toti progamer-ii ar fi platiti si ar avea gear-urile cele mai noi, sunt sigur ca atunci ar face performanta. Dar atat timp cat nu se intampla si nici nu se va intampla asta prea curand, chiar nu vad un viitor prea stralucit. Poate intre romani, dar intre romani si cei din afara, e greu.
ESL RO : Dupa parerea ta care este diferenta dintre gaming-ul din afara si cel romanesc? Cu exceptia lipsei sponsorilor.
KrieppeN : Pai lipsa sponsorilor ofera un dezavantaj psihic, in primul rand pentru jucatori. Nu sunt motivati iar asta se simte si in joc dar si in gandire. Mentalitatea, iarasi, este una diferita de cea din afara. Cred ca am zis cele mai importante dezavantaje. Altul ar fi si cel al PC-urilor si al preturilor de la Internet Cafe-uri, care tinde sa fie unul din ce in ce mai mare iar ei sunt doar niste pusti care vor sa se joace si sa faca performanta, nu muncesc si nu au invatat inca sa se intretina singuri, tot pe banii parintilor stau. Probabil ca asta ar fi diferenta…
ESL RO : Am ajuns la sfarsitul acestui interviu. Eu iti multumesc pentru timpul acordat acestui interviu. Ai de spus un cuvant de incheiere pentru utilizatorii ESL Romania?
KrieppeN : Da, vreau sa multumesc parintilor mei pentru… a, stai ca asta nu era pentru inteviul asta. Pai, in primul rand iti multumesc tie (KayLoN) pentru acest minunat interviu, apoi trebuie sa multumesc tuturor celor care se implica in proiectul AirWalk (atat Media cat si Gaming), ESL Romania, AsRoma si tuturor celor care sustin AirWalk-ul. Si pentru utilizatorii ESL : Keep ESLing !…
Va multumesc !
ESl RO: Mult success in continuare cu echipele AirWalk !
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