The WCG Grand Finals in Singapore this past year saw the reigning CS 1.6 world champion, team 3D, take it to the Source teams and come away with the win. Now Team 3D is back to take on the best North American Source teams at EverLAN. In this continuing series of pre-EverLAN interviews, Team 3D member Griffin "shaGuar" Benger answers questions about EverLAN and Source.

GotFrag - What is 3D's motivation in attending EverLAN? Does the team feel this is a change of pace and more for fun or do you take this as serious as any other event?

We're primarily attending the event to have a good time. Of course we go into every event with the confidence and motivation to take 1st place, but we're mostly using this event to keep busy, have fun, and see how we match up against the best Source teams in North America; and we are preparing as such.

GotFrag - Team 3D obviously did very well with Source at WCG, do you feel the team will do as well with the dedicated North American teams at EverLAN?

I think EverLAN will be endlessly more challenging than WCG was. There were really only two or three teams at WCG (Kazahkstan and Singapore to name a few) whose primary game was Source, while EverLAN will be riddled with teams that have been preparing 5-6 nights a week since Summer CPL looking forward to this event. We're definitely going to have to use our extensive tournament experience and 1.6 skill to break into the top 3 this weekend, and I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge.

GotFrag - Can you explain the lineup minus Kyle for this event?

Kyle is currently on a ski vacation trip and is unable to practice and compete with us online or at LAN tournaments.

GotFrag - Who would you say is the most adept player on the team (3D) in Source? Who has adapted well to the game?

We all bring something unique to the table, but Sal (Volcano) is without a doubt the best Source player on the team, if not the world; and if you check his GameSense statistics from WCG I'm sure you'll see why.

GotFrag - Do you believe that playing Source has any long term affect on the team's timing or gameplay in 1.6?

Not at all. It's impossible to deny that there are some short term effects. During WCG prep we were losing a lot of silly games or having close games with mediocre or worse teams, and between WCG and CPL the transition really affected our performance for upwards of 2-3 weeks. However, once we got it back we were definitely back to full form, and I think we've all adjusted to going back and forth now. Our primary concern right now is still 1.6, especially due to the CEVO playoffs.

GotFrag - What do you see as the future for Source? Do you think it has the potential to become a replacement for 1.6 or do you feel that something else may be on the horizon?

No. 1.6 is still a much, much better game. Although I may have said it a bit prematurely in an interview about 6 months back and not given Source a fair shot, now that I have I can still say that despite a few refreshing additions/changes, Source on a whole, still needs some work.

GotFrag -  After EverLAN, will the team return to business as usual with 1.6 and the CPL World Tour?

Yup =)

GotFrag -  What teams do you believe will do well at EverLAN? Which teams has 3D played/scrimmed at Source and do any stand out?

In our first day of scrimming Teos beat us around a bit, showing us that we actually really had to make strats, practice hard, and come to play if we want to take the event, which was actually a really good eye-opener for us. Since then, the only team that has really impressed us has been Hyper; although we played them with a ringer. I'm really curious to see how certain players do in a LAN environment, as we'll definitely have that edge over the not so veteran Source players.

GotFrag - What has the team (3D) been doing to prepare for the event as far as practice?

We've been putting in more time than usual, even taking Saturdays to put in some extra practice time. As much as we want to go to just kick back and have a good time in the BYOC, with a shot at $10,000, we still don't want to go and get embarrassed. We want to win, and we know we can, it's just a matter of execution.

GotFrag -  When do you arrive at the event and will the team practice/participate in the byoc?

We're all there by Friday, and I'm sure we'll practice in the BYOC once we've all arrived and are set up.

GotFrag - Thank you very much for your time and is there anything at all you would like to add about EverLAN or your team?

I'd just like to thank 3D's sponsors; Intel, Nvidia, Sennheiser, X-fire, PNY, and Steelpad for offering their constant support and providing us with the opportunity to attend great events such as EverLAN. Hopefully Mikey and I can become repeat champions ;).

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