Now over to another aspect of this interview: eSports in general. Any thoughts on how the year 2006 will be in relation to eSports?
I don't know, in my opinion 2005 was a pretty good year with the CPL World Tour in mind. I think slowly but surely things are getting very interesting. The GUNKteam is quite a nice example that gaming can take off in our little country as well. Belgium has a bunch of very good players who can compete with the best players in the world, I'm convinced of that.
Do you think the future is pro-gaming in Europe ?
I think the future is pro-gaming globally with LAN-pings :)
And in how many years do you see your prediction as reality ?
10 years or so...
You also mentioned the possibility of a Belgian breakthrough into the global professional eSports-scene. What is, according to you, the issue that kept Belgians away from the world elite (except for Defuse Kids maybe)?
I (_personally_) wouldn't call Defuse Kids *elite* after seeing them behave at ESWC 2004. But to answer your question, maybe Belgians are born underdogs, we're not used to rating ourselves that high. To become the best you need to believe in your own capabilities. Also, interested sponsors should step up and help develop gaming in Belgium.
But as a manager myself, I can imagine that getting sponsors for players who don't (yet) perform at the top is difficult. Is their any way Belgian gamers can help this? Or do you think that they are in a need of an example or a central organ that controls eSports in Belgium ?
I don't think it matters that much to sponsors if their sponsored gamer(s) is performing at the top and ranking in the big bucks. What I think they value more is the exposure their gamer(s) can provide.
I'm not quite sure what a central organ would do to help develop eSports in Belgium so I'm not going to be able to give you a good answer on that :). I think the best advice for players is not only to perform well at tournaments but also keep sponsors happy.
Do you, as one of the better Belgian gamers, have one more message for the Belgian gamers and young talents to give them a positive boost to start performing at the best level possible ?
Don't underestimate yourself and your team. Enjoy your game of choice as much as possible and remain motivated to become better at it.
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