USA - GotFrag had a chance to speak with Kat Hunter, the newly selected General Manager of the Championship Gaming Series San Francisco franchise. Kat answers questions about herself, the league, the upcoming draft, and more.

Hi Kat, thank you for talking to the readers at GotFrag. Tell us first who you are and what you do, please.

I am never sure how to answer the question, "who are you" but I have probably answered that question a dozen times over the last two weeks, so you would think I would be in practice. I am a 32 year-old professional who eats sleeps and breathes gaming. I am a workaholic overachiever who loves to have fun. I live in a maze of electrical cords and wireless adapters. I have been working in the advertising/marketing industry for 16 years in various positions with newspapers, advertising agencies and gaming publications as a Manager and Producer.

Recently, I have produced projects from video shoots of rock concerts for Winterfresh and NBA action videos for Adidas to a new gaming show for AT&T where we go behind the scenes at developers studios to show what goes into the final stages of game production.

All of the other Championship Gaming Series General Managers come from a PC or Counter-Strike background in eSports, you however come into the CGS from a slightly different direction. Can you please tell us your “road to the CGS” if you will; when did gaming start for you and how did that lead here?

Well, I have been working on and off in the gaming industry here in San Francisco since 2000. I actually moved to the bay area to open an advertising agency, but before long, I ended up as the Webmaster and MARCOM manager for a little start-up called Gigex. The site is now goes by the name GameDaily, and was recently sold to AOL Games. After I left GameDaily, I spent several years writing and producing video content for several online and offline gaming publications such as GamePro, GameDaily, 1up.com, GameTrailers, Yahoo! Games, and AT&T Blue Room Gaming. During this time, Ubisoft contacted me about a new all-female team called the Frag Dolls.

For those not familiar with the console world, the Frag Dolls are a team of exhibition gamers who travel to events like PAX, MLG and WSVG to compete in and promote Ubi's first-person shooter titles. It was during this time I had my first exposure to eSports, and I was hooked. I was amazed at the maturity and dedication of the players. I had spent years with journalists in the main stream gaming industry, but did not understand why these leagues were not being covered on more sites and magazines. Long story short, over a year later, I found out about this opportunity with the San Francisco franchise and I was honored to be accepted as the General Manager. I have known for the last few years that furthering eSports was where my heart was, but it was not until recently I knew what path that desire would take.

What qualifications do you feel you have that make you qualified to be a General Manager for the Championship Gaming Series?

Throughout my life I have taken on new challenges and done well, not because I am especially smart or talented, but I am resourceful and hard working. In my career, I have over 12 years experience in managing small to large teams always in a start-up environment and this is nothing different. My resources and experience will be particularly valuable when it comes to promoting and marketing the team, and as a past exhibition gamer where the games we were expected to compete in changed monthly, I respect the experience and advice of the people around me. Someone asked me once what my favorite part of management was and I realized it was creating a situation where people who I worked with can succeed. That is what I plan to do with the San Francisco franchise in CGS.

What have you been doing, since your selection to General Manager, in preparation for the Combine, Draft, and subsequent regular season? Are you presently scouting players, or are you reserving judgment for the Combine?

We have only had the official green light to begin scouting players since the press announcement, so it has been a whirlwind since then. I have spent a great deal of time scouting players, calling teams, calling respected people in each of the various gaming communities, watching demos of the team's past matches against each other, asking a lot of questions and researching statistics. Truthfully, I am coming into the Combine with certain people in my scope, but anything could happen when we get to LA. The Combine is going to be a high stress situation, and the General Managers don't plan on making it any easier. Performance under pressure is a huge part of success and this will give me a chance to see in person what the teams are made of. Numbers can't tell a story.

Have you considered the fact that being a woman chosen as General Manager in the first fully professional gaming league would place you in the position of being somewhat of a pioneer and role model? If so, what advice would you have for girls or young women who would seek opportunities in gaming?

I don't consider myself a pioneer. There are several women in professional gaming who made it possible for groups like CGS to trust me with the San Francisco franchise. This is, however, an opportunity for me to step out of the "female gaming world" and simply lead a team of excellent gamers. CGS is committed to bringing more women into the sport, and my role in the organization is certainly a part of that. For any women out there who see the competition and wish they had tried to qualify, start training now and take an example from the guys who have already been so successful in the sport. Find a clan you can train with and never be too shy to kick some ass.

We see and hear many negative things about gaming in media, what are some of the qualities and better parts of the gaming culture in your opinion?

Just take a look at the eSports community. Everything that is good with the gaming culture is represented right here.

There will be tests of eye-hand coordination at the Combine. How important do you feel this talent or trait is in gaming? How do you find the balance between eye-hand coordination, aim, strategic skill in a particular game, marketability, personality, and experience? Which do you feel is most important in making a champion?

Everyone at the Combine has excellent eye-hand coordination or they would not be there. The tests are simply a way to provide further statistical information to the General Managers. I am not sure if the results will be public or not, but it would be interesting bragging rights for whoever came out on top. But being a champion is obviously much more than a wild-west duel. Strategic thinking, team work, dedication and desire are the qualities that set the foundation for the making of a champion. Experience is a huge consideration when drafting a team, however I feel that in some ways experience can work against a team, but I won't go into those theories here.

What will be your strategy from the end of the Combine going into the CGS Draft the next day?

Actually the biggest shift will be when we are told the order of the lottery. At this point, my strategy will be predicting the first round picks of the GMs ahead of me, and determining my picks based on various scenarios.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Is there anything you would like to add that our readers should know about you?

Just that I am excited to become a part of the community here at GotFrag, and I look forward to meeting so many of you at the Combine.