Fnatic - A profesional gaming team

Name: Yoan Merlo
Date of Birth: 20/03/85
Location: Living in Beijing
Race: Human
Marital Status: Dating (Girlfriend)
First RTS Game: C&C Red Alert
Likes: Good food, nice people, having fun with friends
Dislikes: hypocrites, haters, arrogant people and dirt
Food Preference: Asian food, or American, or French... I like many foods
Favourite Song: These days it's Jay Chou - An Jing
Favourite Movie: Butterfly effect
Favorite Model / Actress: Elisha Cuthbert
Favorite Actor: Brad Pitt, Nicholas Cage
Favourite unit to kill: any elf unit, or grunt or destros, they make a nice sound when they die ^^
Favorite Hero to kill: without hesitation, demonhunter.
Favourite player: BoxeR
Motto in Life: no particular motto, I just always stick to myself and do whatever I think is best not to have regrets

The Origin~

When I used to play Brood War long time ago, I joined a clan where there were a lot of friends which was called MaSsE, we used to make our nicknames out of word games such as MaSsE-TuRbAtIoN or MaSsE-If which means wank*** or gigantic. The nickname I chose back then was MasSe-ToDoNtE which sounds like Mastodonte being Mastodon in English ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon ) I had this teammate with whom I played the Team France 2on2 Clan wars. He kept on calling me ToD all the time, I just switched to a shorter name from time to time.

The Hotkeys~

I started playing Warcraft in internet cafés in France, and the game was in French as well as the hot keys which were different. Later on I went to Korea to play in 4K, I figured i better should adjust myself to US version, so I just made a custom key file with the French hot keys and started playing with it. The hot keys for the shop items couldn't be changed so I adapted rather rapidly to them.

The Groupings~

1: 1st hero, melee units, or whatever fire power I have, rifle etc.
2: sometimes second hero, but these days in 2 is only my casters when I'm making them, or tier2/tier3 units, depends what I am going for
3: scouting peon in the start, then often is mortars all alone in this group
4: Barrack(s)
5: Town hall in the start then arcane(s) or t2 buildings
6: Altar in start then often I group workshops here in late game
7: Blacksmith
8: Arcanne towers, to use magic sentry

The Config~

Well I don't know too much about computers, got a regular machine, a shuttle, with some decent stuff inside.

The First Game~

It was during the beta, I think I was Elf, I made some chimeras thinking they looked cool and would kill everything, but my opponent made mass gargoyles... I don't think I need to tell how it ended.

Introduction:

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

well, my names Yoan Claude Merlo, I'm born the 20th of March in Bondy (93 , near Paris) been playing Video games since a very young age and always liked it. I can a very moody person from time to time especially after losing but apart from this I think I'm quite an ok person

How did you get into computers?

I used to play a lot on Nintendo, the Megadrive, then PlayStation, and one day i tried to play on a friend's computer and i kinda liked it then i switched slowly myself.

What attracted your fancy to multi-gaming and now pro-gaming?

I was playing Starcraft Broodwar, and kind of was amazed at how some players seemed to be so excellent that we would call them "pro" then I started discovering about what pro-gaming was and how little it was in Europe but when Warcraft came out I definitely wanted to give it a try or I would have regret it forever I think.

ToD at SuperCup in Germany

Which clans have you been part of?

in Warcraft, I first was in Magic which was our local team in Marseille, and probably the best French team already (not because of me) with some excellent oldschool players like rOm or OvErMinD and even GeRaNce. at some point we split up, I joined armaTeam and that's when i started to play really well in France and winning some tours. later on I joined SK but not for too long as I came back to aT and finally after a great team in armaTeam I joined 4K with who I have been playing ever since.

Instead of just asking how 4Kings is at the moment, how about you talk about your days at SK and aT?

Well I had a really good time in armaTeam, no specific memories, just a lot of fun with InToX Blatty OvErMinD Llewellys and all the others. Lots of trash talking and flaming but it was all in good spirit. hmm in SK lots of trash talk too but not always in the right way .. :D! part of why I didn't stay too long.

With RotterdaM and friends!

You're back in France right now, how does it feel and how is the practice going on?

Feels good to be home after so long. The practice is not going too well haha, not so many games... Not many opponents to play versus like in China, not many people willing to play many games as well, but it's not all bad I think, I've done good before without too much practice so why not again.

4Kings:

There are plenty of things left to discuss about 4Kings so worry not, firstly let's talk about your new recruits; DeMusliM and LiiLD.C, how did the team decide on these two players?

DeMusliM was a choice by the managment, not the players, that's why at first he wasn't in any way associated to the rest of the team. But we decided that since he was in 4kings too, we might as well use him in the line-up from time to time to let him improve And LiiL is due to Creo's depart, we were in need of a new player and most of us agreed that it had to be an Elf. We talked about a lot of players and decided that LiiL was the best option Since he seems really motivated I'm glad he has joined us.

What about Zeus and FuRy? Their performance level seems to have dwindled a little bit since their glory days a year or two back, what do you think about their status so far?

Hard question ... Well I'm a bit disappointed with their recent results of course but they probably need more time to be able to reach the level everyone expect them to be able to play at.

With Grubby and Creo

When you joined 4Kings was there a set image you had to live up to? Did you feel pressure at anytime to perform well?

I had pressure of course, 4K already was a big name by then, but I had nothing to lose, I was ultra motivated to dramatically improve my gaming skills and so did I.

There has been some controversy and talks regarding you joining up with BeT, how far do these rumours go?

People think that just because I live in China (Beijing) and BeT is a Chinese team ( Beijing Esport Team ) it would be the logical choice for me to ditch my friends in 4K and join up with them which I quite fail to understand. I don't think I will switch to any other team, or at least I have no plan to so far. I've thought about it and even had a few propositions but it's just not what I want right now.

Your new manager is TriMble, how has he managed to bond with the team and make the team go forward?

We already knew him a bit, and he has the same kind of humour as us so it all came naturally. As for making the team go forward, he helps for clan war scheduling and that kind of stuff so we don't need to think about it and can focus on playing only.

With Creo in Hamburg

What according to you is team spirit?

Team spirit is to like playing with your mates, know to have fun with them always. Support each other in the good and bad times and always stick together.

Community and himself:

Moving on to lighter questions. Do you wonder about how you were perceived in the community? Sometimes you come across as a bad mouth flamer and can also be a nice guy sometimes.

Hmm yeah, well I'm the kind of person who always sticks to himself no matter what. I say out loud my thoughts and many people don't like this, I guess it's their problem, I don't care too much what is being said about me by people who don't know me. I'm friendly with nearly all the top players I meet off line that's enough for me.

Talking about top players, whom would you count your friends as and why?

There's just so many ... and why ? because I have met them a lot of times offline and shared many games, many meals and a lot of good times with them as well.

With Grubby, Nilk, Sky

There's always a myth about how top players don't want to read forums and stay away from the community. How important do you think is a community for a player?

Depends how the player look at it, everyone has different opinion, I read quite a lot of forums in my spare time but none of it really affects me, I read it to find some funny stuff which is quite often what I find The Asians don't read or at least post as much as the Europeans is what I have noticed.

You won the E-sports award for the WC3 player of year. Judging by how many people were shocked to know that you won, how special is this award for you?

I'm happy and flattered of course, I think I have played pretty good so far this year, but I do agree that Moon probably deserved it more.

ToD at the Esports Awards, image from: readmore.de

Currently in France there are quite a few players, and there is a Female wc3 squad as well, what are your thoughts on how competitive France can be? After all the most famous exports from your country are yourself and Wolf.

I don't think anyone takes the game seriously enough besides me to reach a good level enough to play at an international level which is quite a shame considering the huge potential some players carry.
I think France could be really competitive if more players took the game really seriously but e-sport practically doesn't even exist in France apart from those who play a lot not really anyone knows what it is so that doesn't help.

real life:

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

Hmmm, I used too lookup to my elder brother a lot, but haven't been talking to him much lately. I got inspired from ElkY a lot and the way he pursued his dream of becoming pro-gamer. And finally SlayerS_BoxeR is probably the player I lookup to the most, his mindset and way of thinking just amaze me..I try to get inspired by him but I probably never will reach such a high level of 'wiseness' and professionalism.

Would you consider yourself to be religious or if not then spiritual?

not really... I used to think that I'm kind of cursed, because I almost always get bad position on temple, or just unlucky overall, but now I don't care so much, I just try as hard as I can. And about religion I'm a Christian, but I don't go to church much to be honest.

What are your hobbies beyond Gaming? Have you tried pursuing them?

I used to do a lot of sports, like swimming, tennis or even soccer but no I don't do any of this any more. I like to go shopping from time to time, especially during travels, or go to movies to see the new releases.

With Sky at Finals

Which is your favorite book/magazine?

I'm not too much of a reader but I really liked a book I read earlier which was called "Blink" I believe and that included a lot of results and deep discussions about several tests including Human behaviour. Magazine, I just sometimes read Maxim or Men's health (I never follow their advice on losing weight though)

What kind of music do you like listening to?

Either Trance or Hiphop. Eminem, Tiesto, Van buuren, Snoop dogg, I also listen to quite a lot of Asian music these days, Korean or Chinese pop.

What is your favorite car and why?

I don't fancy cars too much as I don't even have driver's licence. But I like Lamborghini or Ferrari cars, cause they look awesome and can go really fast.

What sports do you like to play?

Used to do a lot of sports but now I play nearly none any more, those I liked the most were swimming, boxing, tennis and soccer.

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

They mean a lot of course, and yeah they do cheer for me. It wasn't always like this though, in the start they had a really hard time accepting that this was my profession

Tournaments!

Let's talk about some tournaments that you've been to, What has been the most memorable one that you've been to till date? and Why?

WCG Singapore, because of all the fun I had there and Singapore being such a great country. WEG Masters, pretty much same reasons, 1 month living with all good friends, playing each other, beside some health issues it was a really fun time. WC3L season 10 playoffs, boot camping with my team and then winning the playoffs nearly only just Grubby/me is an unforgettable thing. Lately I ran into a lot of trouble at several tournaments but I hope my luck will turn and I will again enjoy and be able to play well in the upcoming ones

I see, You've been to a lot of countries and played a lot of tournaments, if you're ever to visit a new country, what sort of preparations do you undergo? Or what sort of a state of mind you are in?

I'm really excited and eager to try new food or experience new culture, that never happens these days though.

With ReminD at a LAN

In all your travels, do you think now you've gained a better perspective on the way in which people from across the world function. How important do you think this form of 'empathy' you have is?

Of course, I understand a lot better how people from different culture think which doesn't mean I never run into some culture conflict sometimes. I think it's rather important to know how to make the difference between different people with different culture to avoid trouble but sometimes its unavoidable.

Strategy:

What do you do versus a good elf player on a map that supports him a lot?

Pray for a miracle to happen? Hmm depends on the size of the map, it's pretty much all about the map, the way it's shaped and what's available (goblin shop, how much gold at expos) but I would suggest something including towers, either offensive or defensive.

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

Paladin first was quite unique, or Sky's riflemen push versus Elf.

How do you handle a human opponent?

Make anything but riflemen

Why did you select the Human Alliance?

Well because I thought it was like Terran for some reason

What do you think about players who rely on hero focus to win? Does it take them only so far?

Warcraft is a game where this kind of move allows a player to win .. But obviously at top level it can be a weakness to only rely on hero focus, because if you have to face someone who always does it you can take measures and get ready for it

Discussing Strategies or maybe just random stuff!

When you enter into a battle with elf in what you think could be the last battle, how do you focus your units? and what goes on in your mind at that time?

just need really neat and flawless micro according to the standards being melee>piercing>casters>melee

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

hmm that probably would be mass air with armor upgrades on temple against Orc.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Hmm to be completely honest, I have no idea. I don't think I'll be playing still that's for sure. Maybe I'll open my own shop or company with the money I saved up, or have a job related with gaming with all the contacts I've made... Most people seem to think that pro-gamers after they stop playing will have a really hard time in life. I once saw a show featuring the Starcraft player xellOs and at the end he says that he's not scared of the future, and about his after-gaming career, because right now he does something and he's really good at it, so he's really confident for the future. I kind of share his opinion, in a middle like gaming there are a lot of jobs to take and a lot of contacts to be made, if a player is really good at his game he will have no trouble managing his future and make the right steps.

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

Hard to say, there have been more and more tournaments coming up earlier but now the scene seems to be stable. Guess it depends a lot on when Starcraft II will be released, too hard to tell now.

You've pretty much made the dream of going to Asia (Korea and China) and competing successfully at tournaments around the world, is there any tips you can give the youngsters out there?

Just that they should try their very hardest to do as good as they can, all the time if they try to become a top player. Many people in Europe gave up their dream of becoming a pro-gamer because of school or parents or public opinion on the game. I think it's wrong, if someone dreams of something he should always work to realise his dream and not give it up because of other people. Then again for some people it might just be the will to feel the sensation to be really good at the game that attracts them instead of actually liking to play it and become good at it, to those I would recommend not to try to become pro because they will fail. And last advice, if a young player tries to achieve something just anything like winning a small tour, the old-schoolers advice on how to best do it should always be wanted , it always really helps.

At a LAN

Have you ever felt the need to have a protege? Or have you actually trained with someone whom you thought was good but lacking the advice to hit the next level?

Yeah, in Starcraft I had a tutor or a master or whatever you want to call it, I really enjoyed learning the game through him, his name was Pierre. So when I switched to Warcraft and started doing good I often thought it'd be nice to teach the game and help a younger player rise to the top, but nobody ever came to me asking me to help him do so. Those I gave advice to never completely listened to it and I didnt like it, I think I helped eLqua a lot to switch from average player to one of the top French players, with a lot of advice on how to practice or think about every matchups, and try to improve as fast as he could but apart from him I havent had too many students ^^ But if someone that I know comes to me and ask me to help him reach the top I think I would help him for sure ( unless he's Elf )

Coming to the penultimate question, if you could punch someone from the community who would it be and why?

What do you mean if I could ? I can, anytime! Jokes aside, maybe every single player who was supposed to be my friend and when saw me struggling so much with tournament organizers offline stood aside instead of coming and standing by me and just didn't do anything which I hope wasn't to make the tournament easier for them.

Ah, I can't resist this but, are all things good with DeadMan and you?

After the fighting story in WEG, we didn't have any trouble any more ever, didn't talk or anything. Then I met him at SEC, where he lost pretty early and I hung out with him and talked a lot we were pretty friendly at this time. But then came Kode5 and he seemed really into only winning the tour which he did, stayed away from everyone as much as he could so there we didn't get to talk. And since this, haven't had any opportunity to talk to him again so I guess we're not friends nor enemies ?

Any last words/praises/comments/shoutouts?

The first name who comes to my mind when asked for this is INTEL, who are our head sponsor, also thanks to SteelSeries who has given me a few Steelkeys 6G lately which is a great keyboard by the way. Also would like to advise you to check out our website http://www.four-kings.com where a lot of good coverage is made by Cassandra ( PpG ) including many pictures, then there is our forums where 4K players often answer when asked a decent question. Shoutout goes to Ivica, Sebastian, Manuel, Daniel, Toby, Cassandra, Daehee, Kim, Cindy, Anna, Christophe, Sebastien, Romain, Arnaud,Jean-Marc, Vassili, Kevin, Alexander, Nadine and Julien and Myriam and all the fans who support me through the good and bad times, I hope I can keep on playing good matches and perhaps beat some Elfs ? for your own viewing pleasure. And thanks to you for being so patient when it came down to waiting for me answering the questions all the time ^^

Comments

fnatic.Satiini:
Well in my opinion ToD is the best human player there is or ever was and I have alot of respect to his gameplay (beating all those imba ud's), on top of that he is a cool and funny dude. :P

4K^Grubby:
ToD aka the only European WC3 player who has lived in both South-Korea and China to enjoy the lifestyle and practice that’s available there. When ToD first moved to China, I must admit I thought it would be a bit bad for the team, with him being so far away, in a different time-zone and having more laggy internet. I think he proved the opposite, because no matter how much or little he says he practices, he does practice seriously when it’s necessary and has increased his skill a lot. He now has the best of three worlds, the experience in Europe, China and Korea. ToD tries to be quite honest usually, but sometimes he’s a little more honest than is good for himself or others around him. ToD is not a perfect person, he's a guy that comes with a manual, but when you read him well he can be one of your best friends and teammates. Further, it will never be boring with ToD living in your apartment, hotel room or going to a club with you! As long as he would not get on my side of the bed...

srs`Zerter:
ToD is a great player that has been on top of his game for a long time and probably will be so for a long time to come.

fnaticRob:
Well tod is always the different, sometimes you can see him pretty friendly, talking nice etc. and sometime he can be a true nerd :)

fnatic.DieSeL:
He's a great player and funny guy who can always find a reason to whine :)

PGS|KnOfF:
Tod is prolly one of the badmannered progamers out there, even if he flamed me a lot and will allways do i still see some nice sides at this guy. and i hope i will get to know him better

Fire_de:
I think ToD has a very unique personality. He has a quite strong frame and does what he thinks is the best. That also transfers into his playingstyle in the game itself. I often see him doing moves I hadnt seen before and I have troubles understanding them in the first moment, but then they seem to work out very well. He definitely is the best human player together with sky and one of the top5 players worldwide. Him moving to china probably had a great impact on this, because he has great training opportunities there and he can work on his game a lot. So, all in all I think he deserves to be where he is and hope he can go on like that, as I always like to see humans on the top

Creo:
Tod is a characteristic guy who gives out everything he got, no matter if he's at the dancefloor or towering some random elf. He's a perfectionist and hates to waste time waiting if he could be practicing instead. Once you get to know him he's a great guy who takes care of those around him.

mTw|KiWi:
All I can say is that he's a great player, I don't know him well enough to say what I think of him as a person

mTw|PaTo:
Tod is a guy that likes to flame, but on deep of him , he's such a nice guy! We had lots of fun clubbing and hope we do so again someday.

4K^DeMusliM:
ToD is not only my teacher, but a great mouthy fella to have back you up. Great player, wise head on his shoulders and above all the best fag I know ^^

Here's ToD's Replay Pack