You know I mean it's kind of interesting isn't
it that the whole Fifflaren story kind of
you know dropped off a cliff.
I'm saying that particularly because Robin
flies in today and I've known for Fifflaren
many years you know.
People don't realize what a big deal he was
in Counter-Strike Source, how he was a star
player.
Then he goes in CS:GO and he's in the most
successful team in NIP, and they have that
legendary streak which will never be beaten.
There will never be another 87 and 0 team.
Then he is kind of deemed to be the fifth
wheel.
Everyone is wrecking him.
You've got journalists basically using their
entire platform just to criticize him.
You know writing articles about one thing
and then just writing a paragraph about how
much Fifflaren sucks.
Yeah lurppis, I mean we all know who I'm talking
about.
You know he finally leaves and everyone's
like "God, I'm going to bloody miss that Fifflaren"
and all the fans who are baying for his blood.
And now he works at Twitch he's like still
involved in esports and nobody talks about
it.
Like he's had one of the most interesting
careers.
When I first moved to Turner we storyboarded
some documentaries, I don't know if I should
say whatever... it's true, but I storyboarded
some documentaries.
And one of the ones I did was working title
was "the fifth wheel" and was talking about
for Fifflaren's career.
I thought it was just super interesting.
So definitely that there was another interesting
one with Mangiacapra.
This is going back a little bit more.
Mangiacapra the legendary 1.6 player from
the UK.
He was, when CGS came up, he was offered the
general manager spot, he was offered to be
a manager at Birmingham salvo and that would
have been brilliant.
You know that's job security it's certainly
a lot more secure...
I mean no one secure in CGS it turned out...
you know you certainly more secure as a manager
than you were as player.
You could just get cut from a team.
If you are a general manager and part of the
machinery, obviously you've got a job for
as long as you know?
But Mangiacapra turned down that job because
he wanted to win a World Championship cause
he's never done it before.
And they brought ODEE in as a result of that.
ODEE the Dignitas founder.
So he ends up being the Birmingham Salvo manager.
He picked up the 1.6 team with Mangiacapra
in it and they won a championship in the first
year.
so Mangiacapra got to achieve it so.
So it's pretty cool.
Pretty cool story overall and I always respected
him for that.
I don't know what he's doing now Mangiacapra,
I think he went on to be a poker player.
So yeah but I don't think he'd like me particularly
which is fine.
But I got a lot of respect for him and you
know some cool ones now.
I wish people would focus on like some of
the sacrifices that I know some players have
made.
I don't want to name names but I certainly
think there's players out there that are estranged
from their parents because of the choices
they've made and they've gone pro and it's
like this weird awkward negotiation.
I don't know how I'd feel if parents and said
we will not talk to if you pursue your dreams.
You not only pursue your dreams, but you're
successful doing so.
Then your parents are like OK you're making
more money than me now, let's be friends again
let's play happy families.
There's a couple of players in that situation.
There's a ton of great stories out there.
People don't really dig they want easy narratives.
They want stuff that's like little snippets.
The average fan treats esports like a pantomime.
You either are a villain or a good guy and
you can be that many times over and it lasts
for weeks at a time.
You know, I know that.
One minute he's bullying somebody "he's evil
he's despicable."
Put a story out exposing you know something
bad.
"Where would we be without Richard Lewis."
Three weeks later.
"God I hate Richard Lewis" you know, it's
the same person it's not different people.
That's what's crazy about it.
So yes I think there's good stories out there
and people need to start telling the overacting
stories because we've been around awhile now
you know.
I mean, again, it's different generationally.
You know right now I think FalleN, you know,
is certainly iconic right.
You know, not just for what he does in game
having you know, but everything he's done
for the Brazilian scene now.
You know no icon is without flaws but certainly
there wasn't really a Brazilian scene before
he took it by the scruff of the neck and made
a team and then eventually brought through
new talent like Coldzera, you know this amazing
player, pound for pound one of the best players
of all time in CSGO.
It all goes through FalleN right?
So there isn't really a Brazilian scene, there's
not an amazing SK Gaming team, there's not
these amazing games like at Columbus, you
know, the Luminosity Team Liquid match.
All of that really propels from him so he's
definitely iconic.
You know I think from a European perspective
because our teams tend to be a bit more competitive.
It's kind of cyclical.
But you know that fanatic 2015 lineup is absolutely
insane.
Everybody from there you know Olofmeister,
old school JW.
Obviously people have their issues with Flusha
but he is worthy of being mentioned in that
same breath depending on what you believe.
And yeah I mean you know that there's a ton
of names.
I think that's what's great about it.
You have these players that emerge and they're
like the best in the world or one of them
for maybe 12 months and even beyond that is
crazy.
You know and when you do get those players
that kind of cycle in, the new ones, it gives
you like that's what continually gives the
game a shot in the arm you know?
And I would personally say Guardian because
I've known him many years and I think he was
quite possibly a contender for the best Source
player of all time alongside RPK.
You know, I take a sense of pride in what
we're doing and the stories we get to tell.
So yeah you know the best part about it for
me is just that we got to put Counter-Strike
which is a game about two groups of people
running around shooting each other in the
head and trying to plant bombs.
We put that on American television and we
made it super entertaining.
We've told the stories about the people who
did it.
Everyone's bought into it and we didn't compromise
anything to do it.
That was the best thing about doing it the
ELeague way and the Turner way.
We didn't compromise anything at all.
It wasn't like CGS where it's like we're going
to make it shorter, we got to have more money...
We put Counter-Strike as it should be on TV
and we made people like it and tune in.
So yeah I'm very proud of that.
Good question.
You know I what I miss is I do miss the idea
of being involved of like the running of a
team.
I miss that feeling.
I used to be a manager and a coach I've done
that in the past and I miss that.
You know you've got a broadcast team but it's
not quite the same thing because a broadcast
isn't necessarily a grueling ordeal it certainly
shouldn't be right.
It's not like the end of every broadcast at
ELeague we all get together and go "I can't
believe we made it!" you know.
But but but you know I missed that feeling
you know of achievement and pushing and driving.
So yeah you know I think I could see myself
going back to that one day.
I don't know when but I feel like I've got
unfinished business there.
You know when I was a manager I never won
a major tournament or you know a major class
of tournament.
You know had some near misses but.
You know it would be nice be nice to be behind
some players again relive my Jason Lake fantasy
I had when I was like you know first getting
involved in sport.
So very briefly I wanted to write a book about
kind of homelessness in the UK and I spent
a lot of time just volunteering, there's a
lot of local shelters.
And you can, just in general you know like
go out for a night and you know where they
congregate and where the social programs are.
Give them you know soup, soup kitchens I think
you call them in America.
So I used to go out and distribute clothing
or whatever it was money, food.
So I used I used to do that.
I wouldn't call myself a great Samaritan or
anything by any stretch of imagination.
You know I didn't do it for a particularly
prolonged period of time.
I did it as long as I was able and then I
kind of tunnel in on work again.
But you know I think homelessness is like
one of the really shocking things about Western
society.
I think it's incredible that it sort of happens
and having talked to a lot of people the stories
are always heartbreaking.
I went through a phase where I used to believe
it was bad life choices that put somebody
on the streets, that was the only explanation
for it.
But it isn't.
You can literally slip through the cracks
of society and you've not necessarily done
anything wrong yourself.
It can be something as simple as you can’t
hold down a job for whatever reason and then
you can't pay your rent and then you don't
have a support network around you and before
you know it that's that.
And a lot of veterans on the streets a lot
of people a lot of got mental illness.
These people are you know ill.
They don't they shouldn't be out on the streets.
And I think what really tapped me on what
was in Birmingham there was a double murder.
A guy stabbed two... we have this magazine
called The Big Issue.
That's what you sell to make a bit of money.
It's like a way to enterprise the homeless
which I don't particularly approve of but
it's a it is a social program.
And yet there was a double murder like two
guys just got stabbed and you're like wow
you know that's what they're living with every
day.
So yes that was a big item.
So I try and try and do as much as I can but
probably not enough like a lot of people.
