First off Garett, let me congratulate you on all your recent personal success, including being picked-up by EG.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!


After being with the team for only a few weeks, you left Pandemic. In the press release, the reason cited was a "small chemistry problem," even though the team seemed to be on another level when you joined them for WSVG. Were there any other reasons why you left, or can you explain what kind of a chemistry problem elevates a team from barely scraping out a third place finish at digitalLife, to surprising everyone at the WSVG Finals?

Well, everyone on Pandemic was great, and it was a lot of fun playing for them, but out of game our personalities just didn’t mix. I would go further and explain it, but that wouldn’t be fair to them. In game things were fine, chemistry wise, I would say. They needed someone to awp, and I filled the role for them as best as I could and did anything they would ask of me in game and out. I didn’t leave Pandemic, it was mutual on both parts. They wanted a guy a little more close to home and someone that would fit with them out of game better. EG asked me to join and it was by far one of the easiest decisions I’ve had to make for CS.


Right after you joined EG, your team announced that it would be moving to Source in response to the announcement by DirecTV about the upcoming CGS season. How has the transition from 1.6 to Source been for you?

I have loved the transition so far. EG is playing in both CEVO-P for Source and for 1.6, and I couldn’t ask for anything better. Source was mad hard to get used to at the start, but if you’re dedicated enough to give it an honest try, realize that it takes time to get used to, and not get upset when you do poorly, then any 1.6 player can make this transition very smoothly. Some players will have too much of an ego to adapt, though, and get mad when they die to players they’ve never heard of. I have been playing it for a week now and I find myself getting better every day at it as well as my team. We are looking forward to playing more maps and getting utterly destroyed (at first) in order to make progress in the game.


What, if any, are the shortcomings of Source in your eyes? Which areas of the game would you change if you could?

Well, when I first started playing Source I thought there were a million shortcomings but after you get used to it, you realize that it’s not that bad after all. The only problems I have with it are the lack of sound on the footsteps, because sometimes it’s so hard to understand where footsteps are being made, I hear them to the left of me but can’t tell how far or close. Also, the smoke grenades, where you can see through them one side and not on the other, need to be fixed. Other than that I just wish they didn’t go nuts on some of the maps like Inferno. Inferno is just a complete wreck and needs to be fixed... the halls are messy, B is messy, A is messy, CT spawn is DEFINITELY messy. But as for the other maps, I think they are OK. Oh, and I hate how the peeker has such an advantage on the guys waiting in a certain spot... but on LAN that changes (from what I’ve heard). Overall, it’s not that bad, but I will be interested in seeing how CSPromod turns out.


Now that you've had sometime to play the game, is there anything that you like better about Source than 1.6?

I personally have been rejuvenated in terms of CS. 1.6 was getting to be like a broken record and playing itself out. I’ve always been a fan of change, and enjoy learning new maps, and new styles of play. I love the new maps that Source has and some of the new strategies you can perform on the regular maps, like dust2 and etc. I love how some of the players from 1.6 are excited to play Source and learn a new game. EG is very excited to get things going with Source and it’s going to be fun competing.


You won your first match in CEVO, do you think your team has effectively made the transition, or do you think this win may have been a bit misleading due to the fact that it was a new map for both teams?

We haven’t fully made the transition yet and nor are we close. It was a new map for both teams yes, but the Source teams obviously have an advantage because they have played the game longer and understand certain aspects of the game better than 1.6 players. The real test will be when 1.6 teams play Source teams on maps such as dust2, nuke, etc. That’s when you find out how much a 1.6 team has grown in Source. As for EG, we have transitioned well into CSS with the gun techniques, nades and style of play, but we still need to get down the new strategies and ways the maps are played in source compared to 1.6. It’s not going to be easy, but we are fully dedicated to learning.