Dumbazo with some key play against London Mint. [No I don't know what happened to Dr. Gonzo's face.]

Spanish superstar Carlos “Dumbazo” Garcia shares his thoughts on his gaming career so far.

If you don’t know Dumbazo well, he is one of the best rising stars in the Counter-Strike: Scene , and currently plays for The Last Resort. He was voted the most valuable player at i34 and based on his performances both online and offline he has emerged as a key player in any team he’s in.

At only sixteen years of age, he is also one of the youngest talents playing at a high level and should be one to watch over the next coming years.

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Hey Carlos; what has been the feeling in the team following the 5th/6th placing at i35?

The feeling in the team is really good; we really needed an event together to get to know each other better if possible. You could say that the team is more solid now, and we are more confident on our selves.

What did you make of your own performance throughout the LAN?

 I believe I played pretty well in the key games, getting important picks and clutching few rounds, although I didn't play at my best, and I'm sure I will play even better at the next one. Playing on BYOC with so many people next to me, talking about how you're playing, while you're playing, is something I need to get used to, and that might have affected my performance a bit.

You seem to be your own biggest critic, people seem to be raving more and more about you after every LAN, does this add to your confidence?

Yea of course it does, but it also adds a bit more of pressure on me, as some people expect me to play at my best every game. And yes, I believe I'm my own biggest critic, no matter how good or how bad I play a match I will always point out my mistakes to myself and try to fix them in the future.

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Dumbazo [closest to the camera] at i35.

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You're a Spanish player, why are you consistently playing in mixed European line-ups recently?

When I was in Wizards I saw the option of going to European LANs with my team, but it was always the same story; we would decide to go and one month or so before the LAN started we pull out, for a few reasons. After failing to attend to my first international LAN with dtekt (BRB New York), I gave another chance to a Spanish team joining overGame. We had decided to go to LAN79, but few weeks before the event they decided not to go as well. Then, I realised that if I wanted to LAN in Europe I'd have to do it on my own, and that’s what I'm doing now. The main problem with Spanish team’s ability to LAN in Europe is the money, the two main Spanish organizations, x6tence and Ledpc, don't invest in CS:S teams, so there are only non-professional organizations that can't afford it. Also, sometimes, is just not worth it.

You've spent plenty of your own money travelling to events like the I-series and the SGL summer slam. Is it worth the money and long term do you hope it pays off long term with a CSS career?

It’s worth it, definitely. Going to LANs is what I most enjoy of this game, and the game itself would have no sense without them. At one point of my "career" I felt that Spanish LANs were too small for me and I needed something more challenging so I went for it. I don't do it so I can add more achievements to my profile, and I don't really expect nothing long-term, when I go to LAN I just want to have fun and compete, and I will go to as many LANs as possible as long as I can afford it.

You're a young player, 16, how does this affect your experiences in gaming and if you were older would you be going for CGS?

Being a young player has his own advantages and disadvantages. The bad part is that, a few months ago, it was really hard to me to get in any team, even in average ones. No one wanted to get a 15 years old-spanish-onliner boy so I was pretty much screwed. Good thing is that, when I get older, if I still play this game, I will have more experience than most of the people of my age, which is always an advantage. And yes, I would go to the CGS combine if I was 18, and is something I'm looking forward to, if the league still exists in two years. Not really hoping to get drafted, but it's got to be a great experience.

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Dumbazo [Second from Camera] at i34 with k1ck eSports

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Is this TLR team the best team you've been in so far in your playing lifetime?

Hmmm probably yes, to be honest I never had the chance to be in any "top team" as the closest thing a Spanish team has ever come in the EU TOP10 is 10th (Wizards) and we got mega flamed for it. So yes, it is.

Do you think eventually you'll break into the top of Europe?

I think we need to work a lot still before that happens, to keep our lineup and don't let the occasional internal problems affect us as a team. But yea, if we keep working like we are now, I see it coming.

I was actually talking more about you personally than TLR as a team, you seem to be one of the talents of Europe, surely a top team may come along soon with a more attractive offer?

Maybe, but it will have to wait. At the moment I'm 100% commited to my actual team and team mates, and I want to see where this ends. As you said before, I'm a young player and I will have time for different projects in the future.

So what’s next for TLR, events wise and a team?

We haven't really talked about it, at the moment we want to focus on ESL EPS, and surely our next event will be i36. We would love to go to some LANs in the rest of Europe as well, but we have to talk it yet. Oh, and also some surprises coming soon!

Is this a team with Pez in that may last?!?!

Time will tell.

How hard has it been adjusting to playing with an English line-up speaking the English language in game, and how much easier has it gotten since you first started?

About a year ago, I started to chat with English people and mix with them. In few months my English got better and I started to consider the idea of being in a non Spanish team. At the start, it was such a challenge, but as I stated before I love challenging myself. My English obviously got better with the time, and I try to improve it every day, thinking that, hopefully, it will help me in the future, not only gaming wise.   When I first started playing in the UK scene I had basic range of English vocabulary, It's fair to say I've learnt most of what I know from playing CSS.

Where is Dumbazo in six months, a year, two years?

Six months is a lot of time in gaming, I can't really tell. My aim is to keep playing in the UK/EU scene during these two years, and then go to the CGS Combine, and see what happens. Hopefully, CSS will improve a lot in that period; I guess it depends in what happens with the CGS.

How do you balance CSS and other life requirements school?

About balancing my priorities, on a normal day, I get home from school at like 2pm, so I got free time in between 3pm-7pm, and then we like to play some PCW’s. So I got 4hours per day to study, chill or whatever. I think it's about knowing what’s more important and spending in right time and attention to each thing.

Further expanding on an idea used by DuRuSwe gave Dumbazo some topics and asked him to give anything between one and three words on them.

Pez?	Chef?	i35	wTm to Sway	EPS UK
Mess	Cool	Worse than i34	Good Move	Stability and Prizes
Spain	KritikaL	UK CSS Scene	CGS	CoD4
Funding Problems	Cocky	Mess	Chances	Crap

Thanks for your time Carlos, good luck in all your endeavours.