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All Games: Nihilum speaks on trip to USA

By: Trevor Schmidt - Published June 10, 2008 at 3:35 PM EDT - Writer Archive
Nihilum, backed by Mousesports, looks to make the trek to MLG San Diego in hopes of showing the US what Europe can do.
(GotFrag) - As announced here at GotFrag, Nihilum, one of Europe's top World of Warcraft organizations, will be sending it's PVP team to the MLG event in San Diego, USA. GotFrag sat down with Nihilum's Hunter Johnny "Cherez" Martin about his team's chances and the pressure of playing under the shadow of a top PVE guild.

So the opportunity to come to the USA and play in a major WoW tournament; what are your feelings about MLG San Diego?

I feel it's a great opportunity for us to prove ourselves at a live event and with it being our first LAN event, I feel we can gain valuable experience for future competitions.

It’s a big chance for Nihilum and Europe to make a statement on American soil, do you think that you as a team can upset Pandemic, the supposed #1 team in the World?

Yeah it's a huge chance for us to prove EU has something to offer in terms of WoW as an eSport. We'll give it our best shot, I hope we can give Pandemic a run for their money but with it being our first live event I am not sure how we will deal with all the extra pressure.

How does it feel to play under the shadow of such a famous PVE guild as Nihilum?

It's a lot of extra pressure. People expect great things from us, being under the name Nihilum, we're just hoping we can meet those expectations. Or as Ryan “Hydra” would put it, “PVE IS HARD”. In all seriousness though, we have met some awesome guys since being picked up by Nihilum. Love you morris xx

Recently the PVE guild has fallen behind SK Gaming for downing the top bosses in Sunwell, any comment on that?

To be honest we are not too involved in the PvE side of Nihilum so I can't really comment.


"...coming to America in itself will be a great experience for us."

The 3v3 setup you guys run is Hunter/Priest/Druid, how do you feel that setup will do against traditional Battlegroup 9 RMP?

We've played a lot of RMP teams with our main setup and the difference between one RMP to the other can be huge. We honestly aren't too sure what to expect from the American version of this combo.

Who do you see as the top teams in America that you’ll be looking at heading into the tournament?

Pandemic, fnatic, SK etc. We're looking forward to the chance to compete against all the big names that have been to previous live events. With Pandemic topping a lot of previous competitions it will be fun to see if they play at the level we are expecting them to.

A lot of people will wonder if you guys can stand up to the travel schedule of coming across the Pacific and America to play on the West Coast, what do you say to those concerns?

Driving to the airport, followed by a flight to southern England, followed by a three hour bus journey to a different airport in London. Onto a ten hour flight to LA, then boarding another Flight to San Diego. That's just one way. Think I'll be fine, however I know Ryan will be missing the comfort of his cup of Earl Grey and his fluffy duvet. Guess we will suffer from a bit of jet lag but we will worry about that WEST SIDE.

What are you most looking forward to on your trip to San Diego?

We are looking forward to the live events and meeting each other, as well as the other teams, putting names to faces. However, just coming to America in itself will be a great experience for us.

Johnny "Cherez" Martin
Speaking more of your setup, Hunter/Priest/Druid, what is the main key to your success?

Communication, keeping the other team in check. Making sure we always keep pressure on the other team and avoiding being put on the back foot.

With a Dis Priest and a Resto Druid, you are the primary DPS. How do you determine which targets to focus?

The target focus will always change throughout the game, catching people in good spots. Like I said, I want to be putting out as much pressure as possible.

Which setups do you think give your team the most difficulty?

I guess that's for the opposing teams to work out for themselves!

You are currently #1 on the Cyclone Battlegroup for Europe and the supposed best in the EU, do you think that battlegroup is closing in on Battlegroup 9 in the USA for success and skill?

I would like to say yes, however I guess MLG and other events this year will prove to be a good opportunity to compare the two. Although a lot of Europeans took a hit with certain countries being ineligible for future events.

What’s your feeling on using Season 2 Gear versus the current live servers Season 3 Gear?

The difference between the Season 2 gear and the Season 3 gear isn't huge. However the introduction of so much PvE gear heavily affected the game. Knowing who you are up against and choosing the right amount of PvE gear can be more of a "decider" than the compositions and players playing the game.

What is your opinion on mods not being allowed on both Blizzard and MLG events?

It affects some classes more than others, having no focus bar for a Mage as an example. It's definitely the right way to go, however, it shows the blatant obvious failures that the Blizzard UI has, no cast bar for steady/aimed shot drives me crazy.

There has been a lot of talk about the supposed WotLK character changes. Have you seen these and do you have a comment about the hunter or other class changes?

A lot of the changes and new abilities look a lot more creative than the ones brought in through TBC. The new warlock abilities are crazy, they seem to be wanting to take the game in another direction. There's not a great deal of Hunter info released at the moment, here's to hoping that WotLK bring's more balance and less Druids.

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Official MLG PC Circuit Website
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