Pre-CGS Combine Season 2 Interview: Jack "Callisto" Mason

Jack "Callisto" Mason is one of those quietly consistent players who has been around the scene for some time now. Perhaps better known from his 1.6 days where he played for a variety of top UK teams, he made the move to Source and has since been a victim of circumstance with each of the teams he has played for. Narrowly missing out on a spot with the Zboard team that finished second at the previous combine he attended with Infused. After he found his way into the promising Guns 4 Hire line-up he was removed after being made a scapegoat for their defeat at the hands of London Mint at i-series and has since found his way back to Infused and is having another crack at CGS. We caught up with him to find out how things were going in his second spell with the team.

As a supposedly reserved CSS player you'd probably tell people a bit about yourself...

Hey, im Jack, I've been gaming for over 8 years now. Played cs since the first beta, played for some top uk teams, moved to source about a year ago - played for TLR, infused, xciteuk, ebuyer and guns4hire. Im on a gap year from uni studying computer games design at Stafford - I enjoy a variety of games from cod4 to gunbound to css, playing badminton and football and going out with mates etc - im also addicted to chinese food.

How do you feel about the removal from Guns4Hire post-i33?

Just accepted it and moved on. It's not something worth talking about really. Most people know what happened and it doesn't phase me at all.

Now part of Infused, how has the team been performing?

The chemistry in the team is very good, we dont really have any ragers in the team, we all get along well. The most important and the best part of playing in this team is that we all have positive attitudes and offer support / advice to each other when things arent going to plan. Myself, vpr, shivers and friza have all played in the same teams before (infused, xciteuk, TLR) so we have a lot of team play there already - we know each others playstyles and accomodate to them.

PCW's have been going well so far, weve been playing against Mint, Salvo, g4h as much as we can as they are obviously the main UK compeititon at the event. As the lineup hasnt been together that long weve had to cover alot of ground in a short space of time but I think we've managed to pull it off. We havent lost an official match apart from vs esuba since being together either. We're currently playing in clanbase eurocup, cluk qualifiers and the OSPL.

This weeks bootcamp starting from tomorrow to friday (Tuesday 12th to Friday 16th) will really help us and speed things up tactics and team play wise - it also gives us an opportunity to get used to the PC's at Omega Sektor and feel comfortable playing in the venue + we get to meet some of the management behind infused gaming who are very supportive and top guys.

How prepared are Infused for this tournament?

We've only had 3 weeks to prepare for this event but I think weve managed to use the time as well as we could have. We've been playing monday to sunday 6-11 most nights - but we've missed about 5 days due to personal commitments. Most of the players in the team play on deathmatch / mixes etc to keep up to speed when we are not practising, but the main bulk is obviously team games and going through strats on a server.

In general the team is very strong, I think we have a nicely balanced roster, shivers is an amazing awper and hits some crazy shots, getting those important picks as Terrorist and locking down posititons as CT - myself, vpr, tom and friza are great all rounders and rifle players who can also whip out the awp if needed to depending on the map / playstyle of the other team which can really help sometimes in CGS matches. We all have alot of experience and lan attendance which helps cut out the silly mistakes.

I've also now taken on the role as the main caller in the team. We're going to be bringing some old school, no nonsene 1.6 strats to Source and mix things up a bit.

Socially - we all get along really well, have a laugh and enjoy playing together which is obviously the most important aspect of being a successful team.

You're a mainstay in the EU CS: Source scene now, what are your motivations for attending the Combine?

Our main motivation for attending the Combine is to show everyone what we can do as a team and just to have a good time really. None of us expect to get drafted, therefore our main goals at the event are to make an impact with this lineup - this bootcamp and event is also really great practise for us - it will help us improve team play, skill, tactics and our overall ability as a team. Its always great to play against the top UK / EU teams on LAN aswell. Obviously we are going to try and win the event as every team would and it would be nice to take home as much prize money as possible!

What are your views on the individual draft?

I think its good for the teams who have been drafted and for the CGS in building up a fan base - It makes sense from a publicity and financial point of view for CGS to keep the main core of their players for more than 1 season and only bring in a couple of new players at a time - this way they get more people concentrating on new and old individuals rather than teams and then fan boys come rolling in.

It would be nice to see more uk teams in there - personally i think they should do 4 UK teams and 4 EU teams in the future if the CGS is still alive for 2 more years or so - maybe even a mixed EU UK team - that would be interesting.

How do you feel about the EU and UK tournaments being merged?

I think its a good idea to merge the tournaments. It was fun being involved at the CGS last year when the GM's called for challenge matches between the UK and EU teams and even though its still 2 UK and 2 EU franchises - pitching the EU talent vs the UK talent will really show us who the best teams are.

In terms of the lack of attendance I think most teams / players wont attend as they know they wont get drafted. Its pretty obvious that theres only going to be a select number of new players who get drafted - hudz, wez, wilzoo being the most likely candidates, but then again, you can win lots of prize money up to 16th place and if you do well in the tournament you can gain alot of respect - ie; a team who wont have any players drafted could still win the tournament. Its just whether you sum up the pros and cons of transport and hospitality versus possible prize money. For us its more about being there for the experience, building the team, representing infused-gaming and any prize money is a bonus.

Whats the future for Infused post-Combine?

We're all pretty sure none of us are going to get drafted - if someone did (which they wont) infused would find a replacement and continue playing as they have big plans on the horizon.
Lans after CGS are Sychosis, the experience (TeX), i34, SGL Summer Slam, CLUK and PC GAMER.

Any closing comments?

Thanks for the interview pete, shame you cant make it to Birmingham for some bantros but never mind! The team are going to be bootcamping at Omega Sektor from tomorrow to Friday so if anyone wants to come say hi, feel free to drop by! It's going to be ace seeing everyone again at the Combine, should be a good laugh as always.

Shoutouts to the Infused Gaming management who are really pushing the organisation now and to our current sponsors Multiplay, Qpad and Lanwear (who are currently doing discounts on lan clothing!) - also to Christine and housemates; Sam and "the nadge bomb".