Fnatic - A profesional gaming team

Statement from Elroy 'Noname' Pinto, FnaticMSI General Manager:

So it's been coming for a while since we launched the Rookie Draft and over 300 players competed in a ladder for us to eventually find our top 32 and finally a top 16 that all very very talented and some of the best Brood Wars players. Today we can finally announce our new squad which was carefully picked over several weeks of deliberation. With the kind of exposure these players have and the perfect leader in the form of Duran to guide them I am very confident that we will do well in SC II, but that's not the end of it we're also looking to participate in any remaining Brood War events as a team - so it's a double win! We were looking to balance the team properly (age wise) and also look at getting players who would contribute to the growth of the community within FnaticMSI. On a side note Joan (Fenix) becomes the first South American player for FnaticMSI, so that's a big first for us as well!

A big welcome to Adrian, Payam, Joan & Wojtek to the FnaticMSI family. There might be a few additions in the future which should make more people happy to see the support we are extending to StarCraft II which is still in it's beta phase

All this would not be possible without our title sponsor MSI, main sponsors - SteelSeries, BigFoot Network Cards all of whom helped to power the Rookie Draft in the first place."

Statement from Duran 'Xeris' Parsi, FnaticMSI.SC Leader & Coach:

I think the Draft was really exciting and I’m happy with the four players chosen, I think they all represent a good balance between skill, motivation, and community presence. iFunkYou (AsTeRRiX) was definitely the biggest surprise, while in my eyes Fenix and TT1 were no brainers, and KawaiiRice is someone who I see having an enormous amount of potential and is someone I’ve known and trusted for several years now.

I hope that this team will provide us with a solid foundation to help build a winning Starcraft 2 team. All four players are motivated to be the best and I think with the help of MSI, Steelseries, Bigfoot Networks and Slappa they will be put in the best position possible to maximize their potential and make a name for themselves.

We also got a chance to catch up with the four players who have just become the FnaticMSI.SC team:

You’ve just been announced as a new members of the FnaticMSI Starcraft team, how are you feeling?

IFunkYou: It's pretty nice to be a part of a team like FnaticMSI. I hope we will work together as one big family and our relationship will improve and get better by reaching our goals in Starcraft.

TT1: I'm extremely happy and proud. FnaticMSI is one of the best eSports teams around and it is an honour to be a part of this organisation.

Fenix: This was what I have been waiting for and I will give my best to the team in order to achieve my goals.

KawaiiRice: It can't really be described with words other than "amazing"! I'm honoured to join such a prestigious team. I'm rather surprised that I was picked over several of the people in the Rookie Draft, but I'm happy nontheless.

You played very well throughout the Rookie Draft but did you believe you could get this far go home with a FnaticMSI contract?

IFunkYou: Yea I knew I was able to get that far but I didn't really think I would. The contract was my main aim when I saw that this tournament was being played and now you see I have reached that aim.

TT1: I was always confident about being able to make it through to the top four but I wasn't satisfied with the way I played. I wasn't very well prepared and it showed in the ro4 but I will be working hard in order to represent our team well in our future league matches.

Fenix: Yes, I trust in my skill

KawaiiRice: Not at all! The week or two before my games, I was busy playing Starcraft II and Aika Online. I hadn't touched Starcraft 1 at all so I felt really rusty.

What does this achievement mean to you?

IFunkYou: It means a lot. This is a new chapter in my eSports career.

TT1: I'm extremely proud, however this is only the beginning of the road for me. I have set many goals for myself and I'm happy that I will be able to achieve them with FnaticMSI at my side.

Fenix: A new beginning in which to achieve my goals.

KawaiiRice: I hope that becoming a part of FnaticMSI will motivate me to practice harder than I did in Starcraft 1 and maybe accomplish much more in the coming years. If I hadn't been accepted into FnaticMSI I really don't know what I would have done in SC2 - maybe just be a casual player or something.

What are you looking to achieve under the Orange and Black banner?

IFunkYou: I'm just looking to do the best I can during my time at FnaticMSI.

TT1: My main goal as it has always been is to win every clanwar and individual match I play in, be it SC1 or SC2 in order to make FnaticMSI one of the top teams. Individually I want to be recognised as one of the top players, I know that achieving this goal will require a lot of hard work and effort but i'm motivated and I believe in myself. I also want to help all of my teammates as much as I can whenver they need anything.

Fenix: I hope to work together with the orange and black in order to achieve my goals and have a fun time in competitions.

KawaiiRice: Destroy everyone in 2010-2011! :)

Do you have any final words ?

IFunkYou: Yeah, nice to meet you guys ;)

TT1: Thankyou to FnaticMSI for giving me the opportunity to represent the team, I promise I won't disappoint. I would also like to thank all of our sponsors, MSI, SteelSeries, Bigfoot Networks, Ugame and Slappa for sticking by our side and believing in what FnaticMSI has to offer.

Fenix: Thankyou to all the people who trusted and had faith in me.

KawaiiRice: Thanks a lot to Xeris, Dirtybird, Neverexpo and everything who was in LighT for helping me out in SC1! Corey if you read this, thanks as well :) Hope to see you on sometime... Shoutouts to Evyl from HoC, Fox, Nam, Colton, Andrew and all my other friends :) A massive thankyou to MSI, Steelseries, Bigfoot Networks, Slappa and Ugame for the support!