Finding the gamers who have what it takes - PAX West 2016

It’s no easy task putting together a pro gaming team, much less finding four gamers who make the cut in a single weekend.

But that’s exactly what the Republic of Gamers set out to do during the PAX West weekend “Join the Republic” Community Challenge campaign, with pro-gamer fl0m at the helm. The game of choice: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The goal: Form the complete US team to join seven other global teams for the Republic of Gamers Community Challenge Grand Final at the end of 2016. The place: PAX West.

Assembling a pro team in such a short span has a few major challenges. Pulling from a group with unknown skill levels means you must quickly (and accurately) assess their abilities. And it’s critical to build a team with diverse skillsets—if all your players are specialized for one particular role, it’s a problem no matter how skilled they are. No one player really matters in the end—the team must be able to play well together—but that kind of friendship isn’t built overnight.

The plan? During the first three days, anyone would be allowed to play CS:GO in 1v1 weed-out battles. Promising players would be greenlit for matches against fl0m, and fl0m would also be interviewing them. Our crew wanted sixteen players to make it into Monday’s final battle. Ultimately, the goal was to assemble a team of five players, including fl0m.

As a community challenge, anyone could participate—even everyday gamers. After all, amateurs all have the potential to go pro— it’s not a binary matter of “you have it or you don't.” Only when you can truly cultivate talent and provide the necessary mentorship and tools can individuals maximize their abilities—and discover what they’re really capable of.

Finding the finalists

PAX day one arrived—the first weed-out day. Beneath the moody red glow of the ROG booth in the giant PAX expo hall, five battlestations were primed and ready for action—each computer hooked up to a dedicated TV so the audience could cheer along.

The center computer was reserved for fl0m, while each adjacent pair was set aside for 1v1 qualifying battles which would determine who progressed on to Saturday. On the first day, fl0m took stock of the most promising players to invite back for the Saturday matches against fl0m and each other.

By Saturday, several participants made it past the 1v1 qualifiers to battle fl0m. Two players were so good that fl0m immediately tapped them for the final qualifiers, no questions asked. Two down, fourteen to go.

And, by 12:30, fl0m had lost two battles—a great sign that the players who made it through the first round of 1v1 battles were most assuredly skilled enough to be there. Heated 1v1 battles continued throughout the afternoon, and our crew continued to take notes and watch closely for talented players to progress onward. 1v1 battles and interviews carried over to Sunday as we continued our search for players talented enough for the campaign.

What it takes to go pro

The path to becoming a pro isn't easy. From grueling training and long hours to the intense pressures and expectations placed upon players, it can be filled with sacrifice and hardship.

Among the Sunday finalists were pro-hopefuls William “Kanvy” Gooch and Elbert “treblenaX” Cheng.

Fast-talking William radiated a charismatic and earnest intensity from behind his well-groomed beard, red-rimmed glasses, and grey hoodie. He established an almost-immediate rapport with teammates, keeping cool under pressure, even when his mic stopped working during a heated battle, forcing him to shout team orders across the noisy expo hall.

But he also recounted nights of cold sweats and dreams of victory, lost jobs, late nights of training, and financial hardship—all in the name of going pro.

“Winning is all I want to do,” he said. “Opportunities like this don't come often, but I gotta grow up sometime. This might be my last shot.” In spite of his incredible talents, William was feeling the pressure—and the ticking clock.

And sometimes it's even possible to be too good: he was banned from another hardware company’s PAX booth after beating their pro gamer too often and winning too many prizes. In this world, even success has a cost.

Although he’s still drawn to the idea of going pro, Elbert has slightly different motivations.

Beneath his casually side-swept black hair and a relaxed pose, he radiated a sense of calm and poise. While he likes winning as much as the next person, this year, he came with the goal of trying to “chill more” and be “more casual”—a big shift from last year where he was gunning to go pro.

But he couldn’t resist the chance to take on fl0m. And, although he started the match at an early 8-2 disadvantage, he battled his way back up to an 8-8 tie against the near-unassailable fl0m, buying himself an invitation into the final qualifier.

The Monday finals

By Monday, there were seven finalists; finding a full sixteen had proven much more difficult than any of us anticipated.

Bright and early that morning, the finalists began by warming-up against internet randos, then switched over to using the training map “Aim Botz,” where they could dial in their settings and practice headshots against AI.

At 11 am, the real battle started with three counter-terrorists versus two terrorists on Dust 2. The terrorists got to immediately spawn on the bomb site to plant their explosives. As their first real opportunity to play together, talk smack, and coordinate as a group, this would be the true test.

From behind the battle stations, fl0m stood and observed, occasionally leaning down to ask questions or offer guidance as the match progressed. Then it was time for a break.

In spite of the very real chance that they wouldn’t all be accepted onto the team, the finalists went out for lunch together—laughing, joking, and forming friendships. William even offered to give Elbert his DXRacer gaming chair if William made it onto the team.

After lunch, William, Elbert, and the other finalist hopefuls were ready to duke it out for their spots on the pro team. Only after several hours of extremely intense battles—and going more than a few hours over schedule—did fl0m make his decision on the final team: William “Kanvy” Gooch, Elbert “treblenaX” Cheng, Waleed “something” Ali, and Aaron “Krazy” Kirkpatrick had made the cut.

After a hardcore weekend of searching for the best CS:GO players at PAX West, fl0m and our Republic of Gamers crew did it—we formed the US Republic of Gamers team from an incredible set of contestants. Next stop: the ROG Community Challenge Grand Final. If the other world-wide teams are anything like this one, it’s bound to be epic.

 

By Kimberly Koenig