Is Robert "blackpanther" Tyndale pulling a HeatoN by temporarily going inactive and coming back “in the near future?” If these five players click will we ever see bp back in action for EG?

Did you just say "pulling a HeatoN?" I think we should take a moment to give that comment the awkward silence it deserves. With that said, Rob has been and still will be an integral part of our team, and whenever he's ready to come back, we'll be happy to have him. As for how that would effect the lineup, we'll assess the situation when it comes.

Why did you add these new recruits to EG? Does tr1p fill a needed strategy caller/creator role that EG has been missing? What role does Grt fill in EG? How will these players compliment Lari/Royle/Stevenson?

I'm so excited about how well these players fit together. I think Corey has been the best leader in North America, if not the world, over the past three years. If you look at what he did with CompLexity, the work just speaks for itself. I'm so thrilled to have him in that role. As for the remaining four players in our lineup, I think it's incredibly versatile. In Matt, Pasha, Ian, and Garett, we have four players, all of whom can use pretty much any weapon in any situation. The AWPing responsibilities will likely go to either Pasha or Garett, but I think the flexibility of the lineup is something unique and exciting.

So tr1p coming to EG adds strategic depth to EG? Is this something that had been missing from the team?

I wouldn't say that it had necessarily been missing, but I think it's definitely a huge upgrade. Any time you add a leader of Corey's abilities to a team, it's going to be an upgrade.

Are some of your players burnt out on Counterstrike? For instance, Matt Stevenson has been playing since the early betas. How are you coping with this and are the Source announcements bringing some excitement back for your players?

I think that all players who've been around for four or five years at this point go through phases of being "burnt out." I think that this can occur for a variety of reasons, related both to the game itself, and the environment the player is in. I think that for my guys like Matt who've been playing for so long, the change in personnel, as well as the new game play coming in, will be very refreshing.

How does DIRECTV's announcement of CGS affect EG and what effect will it have on your team's practice regimen and focus? What are your opinions on it?

I think the DirecTV CGS is revolutionary, simply put. We'll certainly be directing some of our practice attention to Source, solely because of this event (exactly how much yet, we're not sure). We'll also be participating in the CSPromod invitational tournament, hosted by CEVO, which is coming up soon. It will be very interesting and exciting to see what the CSP maps are like and how much the improve the game play of Source.

Does your position within EG and your position within CSPro give your team potentially an unfair advantage? How are you working to prevent the impression that EG is getting special access?

Very good question. I think the question can be answered by the simple fact that we do not allow professional players in our map testing. This applies to every professional team, including EG. So, the only people who have seen the CSPromod maps are me, Mike "aTa" Mayea (the maps' creator), and our team of map testers (none of whom are professionals).

The EG players will have the opportunity to play test the CSP map pack on Monday, when it's released to the public.