(USA) - GotFrag talks to owner/founder of Verge Gaming, Matt “d00bi0us” Marcou, and CSS captain/co-founder, Jon “juan” Mumm, about the upcoming EverLAN Winter NIT.

GotFrag - This will be Verge's third major Source LAN tournament. How does this one compare in importance to the previous CSS tournament? Do you feel it is a good tournament for the Source community, and how important is it to win?

Matt - Our first major Source tournament appearance was at Summer CPL 2005 where we fell short of our expectations and placed 25th~32nd. Our roster at the time was juan, paradox, bfw, oconner, and dave-o. Although the performance left a lot to be desired, it was there that we met Cannon, at the time on Net-X, & Helix and AC, who were on TAU at the time. That’s a tough question, but I think that this event is more important for the Source community as a whole. The Digital Life tournament was important, because it brought Source back into focus after Angel had announced that Source would not be an official “World Series” game. EverLAN is important because it keeps Source teams and community interest alive and hopefully builds off of the excitement at Digital Life. It’s also a good opportunity to show how Source teams have improved. EverLAN has been quite a spectacle for the past 2 years and a lot of fun from what I’ve heard. It’s helped to keep players and team practicing between major tournaments. I’m looking forward to my first visit.

Jon - I’m very grateful for the event because it has sprung the top level teams into a much higher level of dedication. Before the announcements of CEVO and EverLAN, the activity level of the better teams was for the most part, a joke. Looking at the team list, I see a lot of talent. EverLAN will be the most competitive source tournament to date. Things are looking up for competitive source.

GotFrag - In New York Verge faced PowersGaming in some very exciting finals and was able to get past them. Do you guys look forward to facing PG again, and what kind of things are you doing, without getting into too much detail (don't want to give anything away), to prepare for PowersGaming?

Matt - I’m definitely looking forward to facing PG again for multiple reasons: 1) The quality of matches, 2) the excitement of facing another highly skilled and professional team, and of course 3) the potential rivalry that could develop.

Matt - The matches we played vs. PG at Digital Life were some of the most strategic and intense matches I’ve ever been a part of or witnessed in ANY game. The atmosphere was simply electric with what I would estimate to be at least 100~200 spectators crowded around both teams. (I would hope you would agree with that, since you were there Mark. ) Finally, I think that there is a bit of a rivalry between the two teams. I don’t want to over-hype the relationship between the two teams, since we’ve only played against each other at one event, but I see potential. Both teams are extremely professional around each other, but underneath it all you can feel the energy and fierce energy that everyone in both organizations possesses. I love it! Having a rival is what brings you to the top of your game and more importantly it keeps the community interested and brings other competitors out.

Jon - Our preparation for PG is no different than any other team. I look forward to facing them again hopefully at EverLAN. Right now I see it as a friendly match up. They’re a respectable and skillful group of guys. Maybe one day it will develop into a highly intense rivalry like coL vs 3D in 1.6, which would be pretty neat. Just like in business, stiff competition in gaming is a good thing.

GotFrag - How is the present Verge team different from the team that played at Newegg NY?

Matt - The roster is the same obviously, but there are some differences. The biggest difference would have to be our confidence and experience. Coming into New Egg, we still had some unanswered questions about who we were. That’s definitely not the case anymore. All of our players with the exception of Nick (n0it) had major tournament experience before, but the experience at the Jacob Javits Center was definitely a new level for all of us. I think it takes a lot more to rattle us now and our exceptional chemistry is even better.

Jon - I feel that the intensity we displayed during our matches played a large role in our success on LAN and that our overall team chemistry has improved since the New York event. We’re much more confident now going into EverLAN than we were going into NewEgg. At NewEgg, we were regarded as a severe underdog, being given the ninth seed. But I must admit it was a lot of fun being such a huge underdog.

GotFrag - 3D has announced they will be participating in the EverLAN tournament. Are you guys looking forward to playing them at the tournament, and does the announcement have any effect on the way your team is preparing? Does this put more importance on how well your team performs at the event?

Matt - I’m extremely thrilled. I see this as a huge opportunity for our team. This also adds a lot of credibility and attention to the tournament. Yes, this does up the stakes of the tournament, because a win against Team 3D would be a huge boost for any team. I would personally be a little disappointed if we did not have at least one opportunity to play Team 3D.

GotFrag - How are preparations for EverLAN going? How do you feel Verge's chemistry and teamwork will be at this event?

Jon - We have always relied heavily on teamwork and right now I think we’re on the top of our game. Preparation has continued as normal. Off-season, LAN prep, and during the season we do not change how we prepare. However, with only a couple weeks before the event remaining, we’ve decided to incorporate weekends into our practice schedule. It’s easy to get tired and a bit burnt out, but it’s all a matter of how bad you want to win.

GotFrag - Who is the in-game leader of Verge? Who makes strategies for the team?

Jon - I’ve been the leader/strategist since the founding of the team.

GotFrag - Can you tell our readers just a little something we might not know or should know about each of the players in the Verge lineup for EverLAN?

Jon - Yes I’d love to…

Nick “n0it” Nowakowski
Noit has been with me on verGe since it started. He’s been a good personal friend of mine since we met at a LAN center that I used to work at. He is the team’s primary AWP. Nick would be voted the most feminine player (: *laughs* <3 my quake 4 practice partner) on the team, but he’s a great role model of courtesy and sportsmanship.

Jon “HeliX” Wilson
HeliX joined verGe after CPL. Jon has a pure, consistent rifle and contributes spontaneity and spirit to the team. He’s pretty goofy.

Mike “paradox” Stanowski
Paradox has been my cohort for almost a year now. He’s infamous for being suspended from CAL on a rather questionable ban. Nevertheless, he’s stuck with me through thick and thin. We’ve gone through more together than most teammates should, but here we are today. He’s mostly known for an excellent rifle and his impact plays.

Zack “cannon” Cannon – aka Big Z
Big Z joined with verGe when the team was reformed after CPL. Cannon holds down the long range spots with his AWP. He’s also the team’s XXXL tough guy. I reckon you don’t mess with Big Z on LAN or he’ll flip your table over.

GotFrag - When will the team be arriving at the event? Will you have time to practice at the venue before the tournament?

Matt - We will be arriving Thursday morning/early afternoon.

Jon - We are bringing our computers, so we will be getting to EverLAN bright and early on Friday morning when the event opens.

GotFrag - What teams do you see doing well at this event?

Matt - PG, Team 3D, and ourselves are the obvious favorites. I’m sure there will be at least one surprise performance. It all depends on who is ready to step up.

Jon - I can see TEoS and Hyper being two strong dark horse teams.

GotFrag - You guys have some media stuff going on, with a documentary/movie being made about Newegg and now this appearance at EverLAN. The team has also recently released a new website, is that correct?

Matt - Yes, that’s correct. Originally we were going to release a documentary about the New Egg/Digital Life Tournament, but due to the lack of demos available, we have decided to combine the two events into one documentary. I think it works out better that way, because you get to see how the team has progressed and how we deal with different venues and expectations.

We produced a 3.5 minute teaser/trailer for the documentary and you can find it on our website at www.verge-gaming.net . The trailer and documentary are both being done by Erik “Jinxed” Kehl, who is Verge Gaming’s Director of Media and Promotions. I can’t really express how grateful I am to him or describe the amount of time and effort that he’s put into the team so far. So far we’ve had over 700 downloads.

The trailer can be found in the Media section of the site and you must register before you can download it. While you are visiting our site, you can also update your profile, leave comments on the forum, check out our galleries, and sign up for some lessons from the team.

Also, for those of you who are interested in Call of Duty, Dead or Alive, Quake 4, or Warcraft III, you can check out the other divisions of Verge Gaming and get to know us a little better.

GotFrag - Thank you for your time, we look forward to seeing you guys at the event. Is there anything you would like to add about EverLAN, or any parting words of wisdom?

Matt - I just want to thank Everlan, Baker, and the entire staff and crew at EverLAN for sticking with a great and upcoming game. Also thanks to ATi for their sponsorship of the tournament prizes and Intel for donating the tournament machines.

Jon - I’m ecstatic about the upcoming event; I believe it’ll be another big step in the right direction for source. This should be the most competitive source tournament to date. Do not count ANY team out of contention for first place. You never know who will surprise you.

Full GotFrag coverage of EverLAN Winter 2006 can be found here.