Fnatic - A profesional gaming team

Name: Phil Crawford
Date of Birth: October 23rd, 1990
Location: New York, USA
Race: Night Elf
Marital Status: Not sure... O_O
First RTS Game: Starcraft
Likes: Anybody who I don't dislike.
Disslikes: People who won't admit it when they're wrong.
Food preference: Quesadilla!
Favourite song: None
Favourite Movie: THE TERMINATOR 2
Favorite Model / Actress: Jessica Alba
Favorite Actor: Don't really care, as long as I like the movie.
Favourite unit to kill: Gargoyle
Favorite Hero to kill: Naga Sea Witch
Favourite player: -
Motto in Life: There's no reason I can't do what I see another person doing, if I decide I really want to do it.


Introduction:

Phil "LongWalk" Crawford can be considered to be one of the strongest new elf players to have risen from America, stamping his authority on the competition there and performing in big events like Bnet offline finals, DigitalLife finals and many others. LongWalk is no doubt one of the players to watch out for in coming months. His recent move to StarComa.Tagan International speaks volumes of his desire to compete with the best at the highest level. In an exclusive interview with Fnatic, he talks about his life, ambitions and a whole lot more!

Origin of LongWalk

Well, I used to just play the game like the average person these days: I'd play some RT, lose at 5-0, and make another account that probably resembled FIREDRAGON56_XX. When I decided I wanted to start trying to get better, I made the account "LongWalk" for ladder season 3. The name comes from a book by Stephen King that I had read recently, and it was about a group of 100 people forced to keep walking, or else they would be shot. I hoped this would remind me to keep playing.

Hotkeys of LongWalk

I have basically adjusted most of my hotkeys so they're on the left side of my keyboard. "Move" is on Z, select hero skill is on Y, and I've basically just changed all of the Units/Buildings into keys to the left of G, obviously to make them more accessible if I need to use a combination quickly.

Groupings of LongWalk

For the most part, I use:
1:heroes + bears
2: archers + dryads
3: Dotts and faeries
4: huntress hall
5: AOW
6: Main Tree
7: Altar
8: Expansions

First Game of LongWalk

Well, my VERY first game involved me getting obliterated by Computer(Easy), and playing from a saved game over and over, but still getting crushed. My first game on Battle.net was pretty hilarious, because everybody on my 4v4 RT team was trying to look at another person what to do, so we all had our heroes out around 7 minutes later. When the other team attacked, I asked everybody to give me gold, and I ended up tele-porting to my own base instead.

Introduction:
Hey can you introduce yourself to us give a little bit of trivia that no one knows about you?

Hi, I'm Phil Crawford, I'm 16 years old and I'm a junior in high school. I play tennis and soccer, and I have one younger sibling. When I was in preschool (4-5 years old), I failed, somehow, but then I skipped first grade later.

How did you get into computers?

I was at my cousin's house one day and I saw him playing some weird game with aliens and monsters running around. I thought it looked pretty boring, but then I heard NUCLEAR LAUNCH DETECTED, so I asked what the game was about. Anyway, I ended up buying Starcraft, and after playing Use Map Settings games forever, I finally bought warcraft. Even thenm it was pretty much just a one game per day type of thing. But, once I went to sites like mym and wcreplays, I realized that there was good opportunity!

Which clans have you been part of?

If you closed your eyes and clicked on a random clan on the Azeroth solo ladder, I'd probably have been in it a long time ago. But, the most recent ones were "TGS," "PoP," "Zn," Verge, and now sCa.Tagan).

You just switched your team some weeks back, why did you leave verGe?

VerGe, up until now, was always the greatest clan I'd been in, and not just because of the skill level. Everybody enjoyed playing, and it was a great environment. However, we sadly failed to secure a spot in next season's WC3L. Before I had started playing "for real," I promised myself that if I was ever given an opportunity to play in the WC3L, I would take it, and that's been my realistic goal.
So, when I was offered to take part in sCa.)Tagan's lineup due to inactivity, it was an extremely difficult decision to make, but I decided that it would be stupid to pass up an opportunity like this, to join another group of exciting, talented people.

There are some rumours floating that verGe has run into some issues, is that a reason for your departure as well?

No, if anything, my departure has caused verGe to run into issues, something I never intended to happen and hope doesn't get worse. The timing was just extremely unlucky for them.

What sorta issues are we talking here?

Well, by "issues," I'm speaking of my own departure. I'm not too sure what else has been happening, but I know verGe will shed light on this only when they are ready to do so.

You reside in team sCa right now, what is so special about this team?

Well, my team's players are all excellent players individually, and you can't just count them out against a supposedly "better" opponent. Everybody is extremely friendly and personal, and if one wishes to improve on this team, all one needs to do is ask another member to play, and there will always be somebody who wants to play. This type environment should lead to good results and improvement, so I'm very optimistic about the way things are run here.

Can you tell us a bit about your team mates and what each of them means to
you?

Although I recently joined, I know a bit about each person already. First, Naniwa is always ready to play, even though I might not feel like getting nuked, so maybe eventually I might be able to beat undead.
Combined with Naniwa, Pato is probably the most humorous person on the team, when he's not busy practicing hard as random, although he does waste precious time playing elf once in a while.
I haven't talked much yet with neither Nilk nor Kaki, but I've met them before and they're obviously both determined, but friendly people,and I hope to get to know them better soon!

In real life whom would you consider to be your role model and why?

No matter how corny it is, I'd have to say my dad is probably the person whose behavior I hope to emulate the most, because he hardly gets angry at others, or at least doesn't give a sign of how he's actually feeling. This trait, combined with helping other people when they least expect it and always trying to be fair, makes for some characteristics that I don't always have, but would like to develop.

Which is your favorite book/magazine?

I don't really have one favorite book, but I like books by Stephen King the best, as you could probably guess. Maybe The Long Walk (surprise) or The Dreamcatcher.

What kind of music do you like listening to?

Although I do enjoy listening to different types more than others, this is just one area I've never had any interest in. If something good comes on the radio, that's fine, but no music has ever had such an impact on me that I've made an effort to find it and replay it one hundred times.

What is your choice in cars and why?

I'd probably say Lexus, because a friend used to have one in good condition, and it was pretty impressive! BMWs aren't bad either, but I still favor the first one for some reason.

What sports do you like to play?

I like playing soccer, although I don't play for an official team anymore. I play tennis for my high school team, and I'm currently in the process of tryouts to determine which spot I get. Basketball is pretty fun when I actually play it, but I can't say I'm very good.

What activities do you indulge in school?

I write for the school newspaper, occasionally go to a political group
meeting, and give myself terrible hours homework by taking 4 college level courses.

You like writing?

I wouldn't choose to write in my spare time, but it's definitely more fun than doing chemistry calculations for two straight periods.

Which are your favorite subjects in school and why?

I think Calculus in Math is pretty interesting, but there are pretty hard topics every once in awhile that really, really suck. US History isn't bad, but I think that's just because of my teacher. I used to like Chemistry, but it's really hard to focus on it when it gets so complex.

What do your parents mean to you? Are they encouraging of your e-sport activites?

At first, all I remember is my Mom yelling "stop playing that stupid game and do ( X )," but once I qualified for a WCG regionals in New York City, they thought it was pretty cool. After I was able to go to Las Vegas, they were pretty much convinced that it wasn't such a waste of time, so now they're more encouraging, although not ecstatic.

How do you cope with towers on close spawn?

My philosophy on close spawn is that it's pointless to attack footmen unless you really have a good opportunity to. By the time you kill one, he's just going to have another one over, and you've just wasted an entire well. I
believe that the key to beating this is to remember that he can really only attack one thing at a time with force - either your DH or a building AOW, not
both. Therefore, I might tank with my DH while AOWs build, and once they're
done, I have a much better chance of survival.

In your experience what has been the most unique strategy you've seen ever?

I would probably say ANGRY_KOREA_MAN's strategy is the most unique, although it's not too effective. I say this because instead of simply making a hero, a lot of towers, and teching, he's turned it into an art with specific counters and strategies in different situations. While he might not win versus good players, he still made something out of a previously unused bloodmage as a first hero, and found a way to completely skip the human tier 1. In case you're wondering what his strategy is, it involves teching straight to tier 3 with a solo bloodmage, and making either mortars, tanks, gyros, sorcs, priests, or breakers, depending on what he need. He plays the game almost like what I've seen of StarCraft.

How do you handle a human opponent?

Although Night Elf is clearly the worst race, I have developed a way around this lamentable flaw: I right click on his riflemen. But, in all seriousness, I typically use DH/Naga/dual lore, and I find that the early game often determines the outcome of the game. I find that it's important to realize how powerful the DH, with wells, is, and use him as carefully as possible. Also, on most maps, speed is the most important factor, so AOW creeping as fast as possible and finishing it with an archer instead of your hero can mean the difference between an expansion getting up or not.

What diificulties have you encountered in a mirror match?

The versatility of Night Elf is what makes mirror so difficult. Starting from a DH + archer start, there are so many variations of strategy that somebody can do, so you can't just close your eyes and go bears and hope to win every time. Is the person going archer/dott push? Or is he going T3 cyclone dotts? Or is he expanding with archers/dotts? As you have to play each strategy different, it can get pretty difficult to keep up with countering your opponent.

How did you select the Night Elf Sentinels?

Well, when I first started the game a long time ago, I remember joining a clan where the leader of the clan was night elf. I had been trying to play undead, but when he offered to show me how to play, I decided to switch to elf. Since then, I have probably tried switching to a different race once a month, only to realize I'm wasting my time. Anyway, when I hear so many people saying Night Elf is imbalanced, I figure I must be doing something right.

Have you played this game right from Reign of Chaos or are you also a late entrant?

I bought RoC about a week before TFT came out, and I was just getting familiar with the game when TFT came out. Sometimes it's weird because I don't know the old names/strategies that people refer to, but it's not too big of a deal.

What is the most unique strategy you've ever used?

Well, the most unique strategy I've ever used was probably a fast tech on Gnoll versus human going Warden/Panda/Pitlord and doing invisible potion harrassing, while going mass faeries. However, I hardly innovate when I'm playing somebody that I know is good, something that doesn't make much since,
seeing as how these "good" people are accustomed to beating "standard" strategies.

Who in your eyes are the top and most creative players in USA for each race?

: I would say Nilknarf, he's had a lot of success versus established players recently.
: I'd probably say Boo, he's been around for a long time and there aren't many undead players that I've heard of.
: I'd say it's a tossup between Archibald, Legacy, and Minimum - I haven't played any of them enough to know.
: Strifecro reigns supreme at newbelf, and night elf is probably between me or Phreak, I haven't heard of many good results coming from a different player too recently.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Well, I'll be finishing my fourth year of undergraduate college, but right now I don't even know what I aim to do. I guess I'll be able to make a better decision there, so that's really all I can say for now!

Do you want to concentrate on college or do you want to play more computer games?

Right now, I I feel that I definitely want to concentrate on college, because although playing these types of games is fun, I believe that one can have an equal amount of fun in doing a job he/she likes, while still making more money, allowing him/her to do more things. Of course, I might still play from time to time if I'm bored, but it's not going to be at this intensity. I hope to accomplish all I possibly can in this year and a half, and enjoy myself while doing it.

Whom do you consider to be your role model in the online world?

Just judging from behavior in games, as this is really all I have to go on, I'd have to say SK.Insomnia. I don't think I have ever seen him complain about anything, at least during a game, and he always says "gg," no matter what unfairness may have happened. Not many people can say they always do that.

What do you think is the future of this game in America?

Well, with Blizzard having another Season 5 tournament so soon after the Season 4, I think that might signal a future growth in the game, if the game's original creator is still behind it. Like I said somewhere else, the game is still in all the traditional tournaments, and it's even being added to new ones, so right now, I think it would be unwise to predict anything but an increase in popularity.

Would you like to consider moving to Asia to go after a more lucrative career
in gaming?

Maybe if I was extremely good, I would consider doing that, but as I'm not a top, top player, I think I might even achieve less than I do here. It would be pretty difficult to win tournaments surrounded by some of the world's greatest players!

Any last words/praises/comments/shoutouts?

First of all, I'd like to thank you for this interview, I really appreciate it! Next, I'm going to give my long list of shoutouts, here we go: Nihor, Kesh, Limbo, Porc, Fervor, Techliz, Burrow, Virus, Rey, All of sCa, All of Verge, Moska, Gotz, Stan, All of Clan Last and Clan WoA, Mr. Lu, Bay_Yorker, and everybody else that predicts me to win when I can't possibly win. Thanks again, and I hope I'll achieve some good results in the upcoming tournaments!

Phil was kind enough to share some of his better games for our viewing pleasure! So here you can find the pack in which there are games of:

LongWalk (NE) vs 4K.FuRy (UD)
LongWalk (NE) vs OneLove (UD)
LongWalk (NE) vs MYM]FoCuS (Orc)
LongWalk (NE) vs Kow3.BiG (NE)
LongWalk (NE) vs wNv.Soccer (NE)
LongWalk (NE) vs wNv.Soccer (NE)

Replay Pack