This is the first in hopefully a series of interviews with people connected with the Pro gaming circuit. The questions are fairly basic, and are aimed at getting a feel for what the interviewee thinks about eSports in general.
So first up, Ben 'Benson' Bowe, widely recognised commentator, live streamer and CoD personality, kindly answered some questions for me, and the results are below.........
Grumpy Gamer (GG) - What lead you into competitive gaming, and then onto the Pro scene?
Benson (B) - I used to play football at a high level, then broke my ankle badly
enough I could never play again. From there, gaming grabbed me! With my
competitive nature, the transition into competitive gaming was simple. I
just want to be the best at everything I do in every aspect of my
life.
GG - What do you feel sets a Pro player apart from an amateur/Public player?
B - The difference is massive. It's the equivalent to asking what
separates an Olympian from a Sunday local meet athlete. The way the
players think / communicate and simply know the game are all on a
completely different level.
GG - What are the Pros and Cons of constantly moving from event to event?
B - A question I get asked very very frequently. In terms of the pros,
they are obvious. Following something I love around the globe. Seeing
making places, sights and people. In terms of the cons, the only real
one I have is keeping my sleep schedule as normal as possible. A month
ago i went from LA - Germany - London - LA! Trying to keep that as
normal as possible was difficult, but not impossible. At the end of the
day, I love what I do and can't wait for the future, so realistically in
my eyes there are no cons.
GG - From the outside, it seems that players and teams/organisations are
constantly changing line ups. Do you see this as correct and what are
your views on this?
B - Sadly I do. The example I give whenever talking about this is - OpTic
Gaming, MW3 season, 0 roster changes, won every event. They were the
most dominant team on the game. Same can be said with Impact at the
start of the Black Ops 2 season. 4 events back to back, 0 roster
changes. Team chemistry is something I often say is a key part of a
winning formula.
GG - How do Pro players/people involved in Pro gaming generally view the 'fans' and other amateur players?
B - I have never met a player who doesn't love his fans. Without the fans,
opportunities would not exist. You only have to go to a major
championship to see how the players love their fan interaction. Often
signing autographs and taking pictures instead of resting and preparing
for their next games!!
GG - Trash talking in games recently became a hot topic. What are your views
on this and do you think it has a negative impact on eSports image in
the world outside gaming?
B - For me this is a simple topic. There are two types of "trash talk" in my
eyes. One is a motivational tool you see in EVERY SINGLE SPORT
worldwide. The other needs to be banned. Their is a significant
difference between me screaming "Let's GO" and me saying "your ****" at
an opponent mid game. Anything DIRECTLY aimed at an opponent needs to be
stomped out of the game. It has a massively negative effect on the
growth of the game within eSports. I don't think people realise how much
it affects it, but after speaking to the developers about this exact
topic, I can tell you, it needs to stop.
GG - Where do you see eSports and competitive CoD in particular going in the short to mid term future?
B - The only way is forward!! People are worrying about several things -
New consoles, New games and the life spam of the game itself. All valid
worries, but this last year has been the BOOM of COD. The next couple of
years will be the "cash cow" After that we will see the future of COD.
For now though, it's looking very very promising from everything I can
see!
So there you have it! Again BIG thanks to Ben for the answers to my questions. Below are some of his links, so please visit him and show him your love.......well not literally obviously!
Twitter - @Benson_EU
Twitch TV - www.twitch.tv/benbowe100
And thanks for reading guys, and keep an eye out for my next big interview hopefully coming soon!
