After a spectacular prelude of the Intel Extreme Masters yesterday, right now the supposedly easier group B starts off to the Counter-Strike 1.6-tournament. One of the attendants is the taiwanese underdog, Ultimax Gaming. Shortly before facing compLexity in the first match of the day UMX-player Tsung-Kai ‚Evant‘ Chen found some minutes for an interview and readmore.de took the chance to put some questions on him.
The Counter-Strike scene’s addicted observer surely knows the east-asian team UMX. Instead of never winning a big title, the players are well known for attending several top-events during the past years. Besides of participating the World Cyber Games many times in a row, one could see UMX playing for example at the ESWC 2009 in Cheonan or at the finals of fnatic’s PLAY Cup in 2010. As the 21 year old Evant states to readmore.de, it is not the first time, he puts up with a 9000km trip and 7 hours of time shift to spend a few days in Germany.readmore.de: Hello Evant! Is this your first travel to Germany and where will you guys stay the week?
Tsung-Kai ‚Evant‚ Chen: Hi! No, this is not my first travel to Germany. I’ve been in Germany in 2008 to play WCG in Cologne. One of my teammate, realment, has been with me. We’ll stay at the hostel, which ESL Organization arranged for us.
readmore.de: Did you have to pay the trip on your own?
Evant: Yes, we have to pay the trip on our own, but our sponsor solved the ticket problem. I want to express big thanks to our sponsor, ZOWIE Gear.
readmore.de: Most of the European esport fans probably think, that Asia is „Starcraft-only“. Is there a big CS 1.6 community in Taiwan, too?
Evant: No, the community of CS 1.6 in Taiwan can’t compare with Sweden or Germany, but is better than China and Korea. We have a steadily tournament every month – the Dospara SOC 1.6 Tournament. It includes the best four teams in Taiwan and we can compete with each other every month. Besides, in summer we could also attend some local tournaments, for example WCG Qualifier.
readmore.de: As we know you already attented some international events, such as WCG and ESWC. Are you feeling quite experienced or is there any kind of excitement and nervousness while playing such a great event as IEM World Championship indeed is one?
Evant: I think we’re experienced, but not „quite“ (laughs). I think all we need to do is perform our style and show the world what we’re able to to. And the most important thing is decrease our mistakes.
readmore.de: In 2010 you already qualified for IEM Global finals but had to cancel your participation a few weeks before the event started. What were the reasons for that, and how frustrating was it four you players to miss this tournament?
Evant: After the IEM4 Asian Championship we were soon to meet the Chinese New Year. We had a long holiday during the Chinese New Year, so that we were too late to prepare our visas. We were very frustrated for missing the tournament, because except the IEM Global Finals, we couldnt participate in another tournament to meet so many top teams at the same time.readmore.de: Did you prepare in a special way for the upcoming tournament? What about your training in Taiwan? Do you mostly play against local/asian teams or are there possibilities to mess miss the Europeans oder Americans as well?
Evant: Weve benn training for 2 weeks after the Chinese New Year Holiday. We are usually training with local teams, but sometimes we also practice with teams from China or Korea. Due to the internet problems, it is impossible to play with Europeans or Americans in Taiwan.
readmore.de: You and your teammates had several opportunites to mess with the international elite, for instance tyloo, WMF, fnatic, MYM or mTw, but always had to leave the server as the losing team in the end. Will there finally be one or more UMX-victories this time?
Evant: (laughs) Just wait and see!
readmore.de: What are your personal expectations for the Event? Which team is your favourite and on which opponent/match are you looking forward the most?
Evant: Were looking forward to play with mTw and Frag eXecutors. mTw is also my favourite to win the tournament, because they have lost too many titles, such as WCG 2010, Dreamhack Winter 2010, IEM V European Championship, etc. It’s time to prove themselves. Our personal target is to place Top3 in our group and to advance the playoffs.
readmore.de: How will it go on with UMX in 2011? Will the fans be able to see you on other international events again?
Evant: We dont have a further plan now. But if we get the chance, well attend any event as far as possible.
readmore.de: Will you also explore Hannover’s nightlife in the aftermath of the tournament?
Evant: (laughs) Haha, I dont have any idea for Hannovers nightlife, but I think I will take a look with my teammates. At the end I want to thank our sponsors, ZOWIE GEAR, BenQ, Gamania and Dospara. Danke schön!!
readmore.de thanks for the interview and wishes the best luck for the tournament.

