London Mint recently lost out on their chance at the Championship Gaming Series with a loss to the San Francisco OPTX. Richard "ritch" Gibbs plays for the Counter-Strike: Source team, currently with a 2-1 record, I sat down with him to answer some questions.

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Hi Ritch, how has your experience been so far in Los Angeles?

It's been great really, especially socialising with the American CSS teams, it was better than I expected anyway. There is a lot to do here and the apartments are nice, just a shame all the food is so damn bad for you!

How have you been getting along with the London Mint Counter-Strike: Source team and franchise?

Pretty well, at the Holiday Inn I stayed with Henry in a room but when we moved to the Oakwood apartments I moved in with Paddaman and ChrisyB and we've been getting along great, everything’s been pretty smooth really.

Has the total experience lived up to your expectations?

It’s surpassed my expectations really; the only thing I can even complain about is the long-ass flights and the heat in the practice rooms it made it almost impossible to play.

Your first game was against Birmingham Salvo, did you feel especially nervous before the game?

Nope, nerves don't even seem to hit me anymore, I just knew this was going to the hardest game I'd ever have to play and would be the hardest game even if we made it to the world finals, their CSS team is pretty much indestructible and we'd have to have been on top form to make it closer.

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Your franchise lost the first two games, were you able to stay detached and just focus on the CSS?

Nope, it had a huge effect on us, it really does change everything, especially when you go that far down, and it basically needed a miracle to change anything.

The miracle wasn't there as you lost 14-4, one of the biggest losses so far in the CGS, were you simply outclassed?

Yeah, we just got totally out played, no excuses.

Are Salvo the best CSS team in the world right now?

I think so, yeah.

How did you recompose yourself for the next game after the Salvo match?

Just got on with it, can't change anything just focused on the next match.

The game against Stockholm was on Tuscan, what do you think of the map?

I don't really know, some days I think it’s good, some days I think it’s bad. I always hated mill but it’s better than that for sure!

The game was a back and forth affair, sum up your thoughts for me.

We should have got a lot more rounds just silly on-stage mistakes as usual. But one day we'll be flawless watch out!

Who was your key player throughout the match?

Against Stockholm? I can't really remember. Everyone played great!

And for Stockholm?

Definitely Ferus, that guy is still a machine!

The game went into overtime, you were on the terrorist side, did this favour you?

Well actually Ben accidently chose the T side on the coin-toss if it went to over-time, but yeah Ideally I hate being CT's in pistol rounds because if a glock hits you in the head it’s pretty much game over!

The rest of the franchise pulled out wins across the board, how did you feel after the game?

We felt good obviously; it was nice to win all 5 games after being beaten the day before. We all celebrated with a few beers and had a laugh! Think we went out for a team meal too!

You would go on to face the third place finisher in the US playoffs, was this the first time you played a USA CSS team?

On LAN yeah, we played them online before, it was a good experience!

You ended up playing the San Francisco OPTX , the Counter-Strike: Source team with the worst record in the region one season, how confident were you going into the game?

We knew we'd win, well I did, I don't consider any of the American teams better than SALVO and on a very good day we can beat SALVO so the confidence was high.

You ended up winning 10-8, despite taking a huge lead early on; did you feel you let your franchise down?

Nope, I don't feel we did, although we could have improved our score so could everyone else. It was a franchise loss not down to anyone in particular, every player played great in my opinion.

What does it feel like to not make the world finals?

It was disappointing but I wasn't going to cry about it, there’s always another chance next time! Hopefully anyway.

Do you think the CGS experience has changed you? Are you the same ritch we saw 12 months ago?

I don't even need to answer that, people with brains already know that answer; I’ve been problem free for a long time now.

What are your opinions on the other US franchises?

I like them all, OPTX especially, and 3D, coL, chimera etc are cool too. Core on the other hand are probably the worst people I’ve ever had to be near. They're very unprofessional and just generally annoyances, always late for practice or just not turning up without notice. Pretty sad really, but they looked miserable too poor guys.

What’s the best US team you've played?

Venom are one of the best and core are good too, it’s hard to say really.

No mention of Complexity?

coL are good, not as good as expected but its only practice everyone knows teams play differently when its serious.

What about the other games in CGS, have you become more interested in them?

Dead or Alive 4 is tense and awesome to watch, but personally all the other games bore me. Dead or Alive 4 is so fast and can be so close when you have two top players fighting each other.

So what’s next for Mint, will you be at TeX, i34?

I'm not sure if we're attending TeX but i34 is a definite. There will be news about TeX if we decide to attend; I just want a little rest after CGS and being away from home ideally though.

How do you think the CSS scene outside of CGS is doing right now?

Not too sure, once you're in CGS you don't care about anything else really ha-ha. But I guess it’s going fine, although a lot of people are saying CSS itself is dying.

Do you think the fact that you "don't care" about anyone else outside of CGS shows the split CGS is causing in the community?

Not sure really. But I think if CGS keeps expanding, then everyone eventually may be in CGS making everything good again, but CGS can't be harmful as the best teams are in it, that’s all that matters!

Where do you go from here as a player, do you think you've done enough to warrant your spot next season?

Yeah I think I have. I don't see why not anyway, but thats a long way from now, we'll just have to wait and see!

Thanks for your time, and Happy Birthday!

Thanks.