Graphics by Nick "LuPO" Lupo

ChicagoChimera.com is launching a new interview series! And who better to get things rolling than the general manager and mastermind of the 2007's duo North American and World Champion, Chicago Chimera. The first round of Q&A will be regular interview, but starting next round, fans can submit their own questions as well.

---

Hey Brian, so another year is already upon us. How are you feeling as the new season approaches? Are you confident the team can repeat as both Region 1 and North American Champions?

I'm confident we will do extremely well this year. Obviously, the goal will be to copy last year, and perhaps even improve upon our regular season record. The thing about CGS is that every team is full of highly skilled individuals who can win it for their team at any time. With that said, I feel like my guys are the most talented of all of them.

What made you decide last year to make the leap from professional gamer to general manager? Considering your competitive personality, have you ever considered a return to the player side of the sport?

The answer to that is fairly simple: I am getting older. I am married, I have a house, and a cat, and all that good stuff. I want to have children eventually, so CGS has given me the opportunity to be able to make that transition from player to manager. I think it has gone pretty well so far. :) I always consider playing in tournaments. I practice with the CS team once in a while and I'm actually going to be participating in the ESWC qualifiers for Quake 3.

What can you say about your experiences last year with the whole CGS?

Absolutely, amazing. I've been around a long time in pro gaming and I can safely say CGS is the best thing yet and will be for a long time to come. Everyone involved in this league is so passionate about professional gaming. Not only the production crew, but the players, the managers, the DirecTV people involved, everyone.

You have signed up for the ESWC US Q3 qualifier, tell us a little bit about that decision.

I haven't played in a tournament for a couple years, but I think I'll be able to get good enough at Q3 to be able to have a legit shot at qualifying for ESWC. In fact, I won my first round match today.

You've recently come out with a new keyboard after your DKT pad was very successful for several years. Are there any plans to expand your hardware brand?

We'll see. For now EverGlide and I are focusing on the DKTBoard and the Titan: DKT Edition. I'm hoping the keyboard takes off, because honestly it is a really sweet piece of gear. DJWheat actually did a review of it on Epileptic Gaming. You can see the review right on the front page of EverGlide.com

You've played a number of games professionally, which has been your favorite?

Unreal Tournament 99 was such a fun game for me. Everything was so fresh and new and exciting. I made a lot of my name in UT and met so many great people. With that said, Quake 3 is an amazing game. It is so polished and clean. I think it is the best 1v1 death match game, ever.

Besides last years championships, what has been your best eSports memory?

Everything else really pales in comparison to the CGS World Championship, but my best memory was probably my first official tournament. I qualified on the old school heat.net in a 2v2 competition with my old buddy Voyd. We were flown out to San Francisco and the whole experience was the beginning of something great.

How did you get your start in pro gaming, and when did you realize it was something that you could actually accomplish?

I used to play console games quite a bit and then my friends got me into Doom. I started playing Doom2 and Duke Nukem on DWANGO, which was a dial-up style gaming service. I later then went on to play Quake 2 on TeN and eventually was involved in EverQuest for a long time. When the UT demo came out, I started hearing about the PGL and CPL. Then BattleTop announced the World Cyber Games Challenge Qualifier in Phoenix. I was visiting my aunt that same weekend in California and I talked her into buying me a ticket to the tournament. The rest is history.

Do you have any advice or tips for aspiring pro gamers?

Wow... The only advice I can give is that it can be a grind. Sometimes, you'll probably ask yourself what the hell it is you're doing spending so much time in this niche sub-culture. Then one day it'll click for some of you. And you'll begin to realize you're better then everyone else. It just takes patience. The CGS is making it much easier for gamers to "go pro." Now, if you feel that you're at the level you can show up to the draft and prove it. And if you are, chances are you'll get drafted. Look at Eafra, he is living proof.