Interview: WHO mint - TEK9 Networks

Heya mint, Could you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a few things about your gaming history?
» Hi well some of you may know me at this stage but for those of you that don't I play for team WHO crew. My gaming history began with some Quake II public after which I started playing Medal of Honor Allied Assault where I played with the nick "HolyMan" in that game I've reached a ClanBase no1 in TDM-Realism and a second place in Eurocup in Objective-realism. After that I moved to vCOD, changed nick to pngv1n and contributed to an EC playoff place with zeroPoint. In COD2 I first started playing with some friends and then moved over to flow and zphrr in AEON but left them just before it got serious and joined up with WHO crew.

You played for the team of zeroPoint! Back in Call of Duty 1 under the name of pngv1n. What were you like back then and how do you feel you progressed so far. I am not talking about skills (since CoD1 and 2 cannot really be compared) but just personality, smartness and when it comes to team play.
» Back then I was just like now, aiming to be the among the best, what's different now? I think I'm more experienced now and able to make better decisions in-game and I'm more calm now compared to back then.

Is there a story behind the names pngv1n and mint?
» Actually pngv1n, when I'm in school I always take my time walking between classes and one day one of my friends said "hey penguin hurry up" and that sort of stayed with me, no I didn't walk funny. I think mint came to me one day when I was playing public, sniping someone and he actually didn't call me a cheater or called me anything else but just said, "that shot was mint", short and nice, taken!

After some time you made the switch to the WHO Crew. You must have been excited back then, to play for such a famous team, together with players like kickR, zEm and dark?
» Of course I take some level of pride playing under such a "famous" name but also I feel a responsibility towards the team to perform as good as possible. But we also work very well together and we try to have as much fun as possible. So playing with WHO has been a dream come true in all aspects.

Was it hard adapting to their level of play and playing style?
» I consider myself as a part of both the level and playing style, it's hard adapting to a style of play. It's much easier to adapt the style to the players you have in your team and I think Swedish teams have always been good at doing that.

The second week of March WHO was present at the Finish Level7 LAN, which they eventually won. What teams surprised you the most, both in positive and negative way?
» The team who surprised me the most was team Spite both in positive attitude and on the battlefield. Negative was the result of idle.ee, I was expecting more from them.

With a victory at Level7 the WHO Crew seemed on their way back. With teams like idle.ee, All-In and spite attending, this was one hell of a competition. What set you apart from the teams you played? Was it team play, individual skills, tactics or just plain experience?
» What actually happened to idle.ee I have no idea but they weren't the same team I've gotten used to see. I think what made us stand out was our will to take this tournament home and show everyone that we actually were a force to count on, not just a bunch of players taking over after the old WHO crew. Also our good spirit and how fun we had helped us relax and keep our nerves under control.

One the main players, moMa, left the team right after the Level7 LAN. Did he already inform you guys of his departure or was it just a complete surprise?
» I knew about it but decided to not tell the others until the event was over to not ruin the spirit we had going. But even for me it came as kind of a surprise but it was his choice and I didn't have or will never have any bad feelings towards him.

At first the team discussed a merge with the Finish team idle.ee (zEm, mint, dark, Orphan and Fuku), presented the news to the public, but decided not to go through with it after all. What was the main reason for this sudden change?
» It was a blink-of-an-eye decision that looked good on paper but almost as fast as we got together and no matter how well we worked off the battlefield, just as fast did we realise that this was far from where we wanted to be as a team. The communication was poor and the way the finish people were used to play did not match ours in any way. Just a few days after the merge VonoX told us he wanted to get back and we decided to make the WHOgirlz a short project.

With the Playz LAN coming up the team eventually decided to practise with n00b allstars player chippy, but after his adsl got disconnected, the team made the rational decision to call it a day. The main reason was that the team lost their motivation to play after chippy his adsl went down, but was that really all or was there something else going on?
» After all the line up changes and set backs, lack of patches and a great need to get away from each other for a while zEm decided to visit his dad for a while. When he came back things were starting to clear up. It was the break we needed to refuel our batteries. We got kickR onboard and having him with us only made things more fun. So after that it was all green lights towards Playz.

Eventually, with chippy back online and the return of kickR, the famous sniper from CoD1, the team did decide to take one of the open slots for the Playz LAN. What made you guys return and how did you guys expect to perform at the Rumble at Playz?
» We knew each other good enough by now to say that nothing is better than getting together at LAN, beating some good teams and having a really good time doing so. Our expectations were low regarding the level of game play we were going to display. We wanted to get through the group stages and then perform well after that.

KickR was not able to practise much before Playz (understatement) because he did not have a pc at home, so the preparations weren't all that good. What was kickR his job during Playz? Did the team gave him certain spots or strategies to focus on?
» Not really, we had great confidence in him, letting him snipe where I used to and basically just giving him free hands to do it his way. kickR is always kickR and he still has some aces up his sleeves so you can never count him out.

Both kickR and chippy played really good at Playz and kickR probably surprised a lot of people, winning several important clutches. How do you feel they did, especially considering the circumstances?
» First of all it's a team effort none of us could have taken us as far as we got alone. But yes especially kickR really made me glad we decided to take him, also chippy has been performing well since the day we first played with him. I think it has become a positive trend among teams to put faith in relatively unknown players and their abilities.

Playing with two stand-ins, WHO was the big surprise at Playz, taking down teams like TeK-9.Steelpad and Trademark-Gamers (now Check-Six). Its hard to believe a team would be able to perform this good with hardly any practise and without a solid line-up. What's the secret?
» Well I think in our case team play is the key, and for us it's like riding a bike we always get back to it. However, how we manage to rise a level or two when on LAN I can not answer but I think it's a combination of our skill, our trust in each other and the good times we expect to have and always have together. And on a side note, LAN is a different game, there are so much more involved in the playing when it's live it's right there and you all the distractions and things around you, we seem to have all that under good control and I think that really helps us perform.

Right after Playz chippy moved back to n00b-allstars. Did the team ask him to stay or do you guys have other plans with the line-up?
» Chippy replaced slize for playz event because slize was on vacation. With him back home we asked him if he wanted to keep playing and he said yes so he got his place back. It has nothing to with chippy or how we feel about him, we enjoy playing with him and still keep him as a very close friend.

With the great performance at Playz, WHO seems to be back strong, together with slize and kickR. Could you introduce your fellow teammates with their ingame strengths?
Rickard "zEm" Intveld - A star in every inch, masters any gun, outsmarts any person and is one of the greatest people I have the privilege to know.
Peter "dark" Ahlgren - One of the funniest people there is. Sneaky player who likes playing cat & mouse with his opponents.
Andreas "slize" Sundberg - A sprayer who seem to have mapped the way the bullets spread when having mouse 1 glued down. Also makes great movies.
Mikael "kickR" Tyrsén - Never seem to do the move you expect him to do. An extremely skilled player who has his own way of doing everything, including configs :/
Martin "mint" Röjder - Hard to write about your self, but I consider myself to be a very all-round player. Hope some one else can tell me my good sides ;)

The current team does include kickR, who showed his amazing skills at LAN but still lacks a pc at home. Will he buy a new pc or, how is he gonna solve this problem?
» He has managed to get a new home computer from his work, a macintosh that apparently is able to run windows and powerful enough for COD2. He will hook that up to VonoX old screen and will through this have more time for playing and still do his work.

Can we expect any changes in the current line-up?
» Not at the moment but things has happened before and may happen again. Though if we decide to change any players I'm sure we will be able to implement them in the team and bring out the best in who ever it may be.

I assume WHO are interested in participating after their recent performances at LAN. Especially now that Clanbase picked up CoD2 as one of the main games, which includes some nice cash prices. Do you feel that the game is taken more and more seriously nowadays?
» Yes, Which is great. I think all the players that are considered to be top players in COD2 at the moment likes the development and I think that we are all part of making it happen. So keep working hard and maybe one day some COD game will be up there together with CS on the big events.

check-six crow: Why do you call me Harry?
1. Because you can never be the king man ;)
2. you look like him
3. I just enjoy teasing.

tek9 seifer: Which match did u enjoy the most at Playz?
» I think the tek9 game and both the TmG games were wonderful to play with all the expectations and rivalry between the teams, from inside the game I think it's hard to "feel" a game but the feeling of beating TmG and coming back and winning from 9-4 against tek9 both has a wonderful feeling to it.

nd solz: Is Ashlee Simpson your sister?
» No, which is good 'cause then I can make a move if I ever meet her.

audacia:vir KinG^Lee: What brand of mints inspired you?
» The mint brand snipershots!

Flame-Instinct samjazZ: If ext kai and g4rwin started to play cod 2, and wanted to return, what would happen to the current WHOcrew realistically?
» They'd be more than welcome to join us and learn! ;)

cem: What's your personal top 3 of cod2 clans at the moment?
1. Speed-link
2. cZar
3. x6

check-six qwertYYY: How much does your pink belt cost?
» I'll sell it, autographed by my sister so contact me in #whocrew and we'll talk about it… it'll cost!

check-six knaller: Where do you buy those pimpy belts?
» In any gay or 12 year old girls store around, yes all the places I normally shop for clothes.

idle.ee Fuku: Why did fuku own you at lan?
» Cause he stole my nades! :@

I would like to thank you for your time and cooperation. Good luck with WHO! Tek-9 Networks Ltd. wishes the team the best of luck! Any shoutouts you would like to add?
» To tek9 website, junk52 site for taking time to interview and cover the game as good as they do. To all my mates! Get on the battlefield!