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Name: Teppei „SIGUMA“ Terabe
Age: 24
Location: Tokyo, Japan // Currently London, UK
Sponsor: Ask-Corp
Website: SIGUMA.net (Japanese)
Website: Babelfish Translation
Japanese Painkiller player SIGUMA is something of a mystery to the scene. He participated in every CPL World Tour stop so far but never reached Top16. Mostly, he just seems to enjoy the experience of the many travels he embarks on in the name of Japanese gaming. Back in his home land he is quite well-known and one of the few PC pro gamers. He has yet to get a grip in the western gaming world but continues to improve his gameplay with each stop.
The interview was done via IRC and a translation software was used by SIGUMA. He is still studying English, so he asked us to correct his answers in order to make the interview more accessible. We tried to keep it as close to his original anwers as possible.
readmore.de: Please introduce yourself shortly to our readers.
SIGUMA: My Name is Teppei Terabe, I’m a 24 years old Japanese and i live in the UK at present.
readmore.de: How did you come by your nick „SIGUMA“?
SIGUMA: It does not have a special meaning. I made it up because of its sound although the accurate spelling is SIGMA. But that choice was wrong because many SIGMAs already existed. So the U in SIGUMA became my special identity.
readmore.de: How do you feel now, after the tour stop in Sweden?
SIGUMA: This stop was wonderful. A terribly good atmosphere. I was deeply impressed because I had never seen such a big LAN. As for LAN parties held in Japan, we usually have about 60-70 participants.
readmore.de: The next stop is in Dallas, will you be there ?
SIGUMA: Yes, i will participate in all the World Tour stops.
readmore.de: What was your favorite stop?
SIGUMA: Sweden was nice. And I’m looking forward to Dallas.
readmore.de: What are your chances in Dallas?
SIGUMA: I need more practice ;/.
readmore.de: How much did you practice and who is your partner?
SIGUMA: I couldn’t practice very much because I came back from Japan right before the event this time. I did a bootcamp in Sweden for two days before the stop with InsG|Jagad, quKie, Zhaho, team9.Tronic and Acelethal.
readmore.de: Who pays for your World Tour attendance?
SIGUMA: I have a Sponsor in Japan, Ask Corp.
readmore.de: What do you think about players like Vo0 and zyz?
SIGUMA: They are wonderful players. I’m going to practice more, and want to approach their skill.
readmore.de: You did not really perform well in the last stops, are you going to change this?
SIGUMA: Yes. More practice is necessary because of that.
readmore.de: What do you think about the newly enforced deathmatch rules?
SIGUMA: Well, I feel no discontent with any present rule.
readmore.de: Do you ever go back to your home country Japan?
SIGUMA: Well, I won’t come back this year because effective practice can’t be done in Japan.
readmore.de: What do your parents say about your eSports activity?
SIGUMA: My parents don’t say anything special. It is supported.
readmore.de: You won the Halo Tournament in Japan, right?
SIGUMA: Yes, the Japan Tournament as World Wide Tournament Preliminary. I placed 5th at the world wide championship. It became a little topic. It was the record performance for a Japanese at an FPS event.
readmore.de: The eSports activity in Korea is enormously big. What is it like in Japan?
SIGUMA: Japan has a few HALO PC users. Practice couldn’t be done very much because consumer games (videogames) are more popular in Japan.
readmore.de: What are your plans for the future? Do you want to earn money with PC games or do you plan on a job without eSports?
SIGUMA: I want to do this work in the future, too. I want to increase the number of players in Japan. I want to exist as a player as long as possible.
readmore.de: Thanks for the interview and readmore.de wishes you a great time.
SIGUMA: No problem, you’re welcome and thanks.