Germaine answers the questions that you asked him

The most recent person to venture into the Ask Series chair was Declan "germaine" Elcocks, the newest memeber to Team Dignitas CoD4 team. Having previously played in the TCM team that dominated everyone bar fnatic throughout 2009, he is definitely up at the top end of the scene.

Now he has answered the questions that you asked him. Ranging from deadly serious questions aboutt how he managed to get to the top of the scene to questions about what hair products he uses, it is definitely worth a read.

Thank you to germaine for answering all of these questions. Expect our next Ask Series to kick off in a few days time.

If you could form a team of UK players who would you pick and why? (yourself included) revoltz

I like to play with people who I actually get on with both in-game and socially, I’m finding it hard to narrow it down to only 4 players though as there’s a huge number of a people I get on with and talk to within the UK community at the moment. If I were to form a team of UK players though, I would form a community team from all of the Nye Vent guys ;D

germaine with his team mates at EPS Season 2 Finals

Why could TCM always overcome [R] and dignitas but never beat fnatic? revoltz

We built up a lot of confidence in ourselves even after our first event together at i36, coming back from 10-4 to beat reason 10-13, so I don’t think we ever went into a game against a UK team thinking we would lose. And after UKeSA, I don’t think they could beat us, we just had far greater teamwork than them in-game, we just clicked. When it came to fnatic, I don’t really class i37 as too much of a defeat as we went in with no practice or anything at all, and we definitely dribbled versus them in the TeX WB final. Both times however, our strike let us down when we were 1 map up, at TeX we were simply outplayed on the map, they used the street a lot and as kboy told us, pretty much knew everything we do on that map from our demos.

Do you think fnatic will be stronger or weaker with their roster changes? revoltz

It isn’t official what exactly their roster change is going to be yet, but I don’t think they’ll find anyone as good as rivve that’s for sure. He gave them quite a lot tactically in terms of adapting to other teams mid game from what I saw of them, but it all depends on who they pick up. At the moment, I honestly can’t think of any players who would fit in with them like rivve did, but we’ll see I guess.

Do you think CoD4 will last past the summer LANs or die out as it has done the past two years in the fall? revoltz

No doubt a lot of teams will go inactive again after the Summer LANs, hopefully if Vanner and his Vita Nova group get something up and going though we can continue to play online for prizes through the fall.

What would you consider to be the main reasons behind TCMs success which led to them being the undisputed team of the year in 2009? vanner

Teamwork.

Not going into a numerical order, what is your predicted top 5 for CIC7? vanner

I won’t include ourselves, but it’s too hard to say at the moment really, I’d put Power in there simply because they’ve been playing non-stop while everyone has been inactive, and for that reason I’d also put unique and TLR up there.

Why is counter strike source so much better than cod4? iDeFy

Did you mean Counter-Strike 1.6? I don’t quite know why the CS:S guys on Cadred flame CoD4 so much though, their beloved game is just as “wasda spray” as the game they flame so much....no recoil and just as easy to master as CoD4, and it’s not like CoD4 players are awful at other games though like we’re made out to be ^_^. Anyway, Counter-Strike 1.6, brilliant game I agree iDeFy, Counter-Strike: Source, awful game I agree iDeFy.

What do you hate the most about MW2 (and you can't say the whole thing that's a no brainer) iDeFy

I never really bothered to play the game, but from what everyone seems to have said, it wasn’t suited to competitive play at all. I’m not really in any place to comment why though as I didn’t play it, I just followed the community!

How does it feel when certain individuals compare your in game play style to that of HoN synergy 'plague rider' ? D1ablo

I’m not even sure I get the comparison. All I know is, plague rider uses his ulti and gets a genocide, and I can nade everywhere and anywhere and get a genocide in CoD4, that’s just how I roll Tom.

Do you feel that playing alongside a fellow ginger enhanced the team's connection in pressure situations? If so do you think that I should kick duff and pick-up Hamza 'X' Mahmood? D1ablo

Me and Adam had a telepathic connection only gingers can understand. If you kicked duff though, you’d definitely place higher than 4th, regardless of the pickup “:D”.

Experienced individuals within the scene would state that the In-Game leader has the most difficult and stressful role in any top competing lineup, do you feel that this is evidently shown by the lack follicle growth in both ex-partner Carl Finch and Stationary target, Myles Cahil? D1ablo

Hahah, well it is probably the hardest role in CoD4, you’ve got to try and focus on everything in-game which in itself is hard due to CoD4’s extremely fast gameplay in some situations, and concentrate on how you’re playing yourself. This isn’t why Carl Finch has a distinct lack of hair though, he told me he shaves it for greater awareness.

We've seen Vasquez go into a management type role within TCM, is that something that attracts you? vanner

Honestly, no. I enjoy playing competitively, and to be involved with eSports not playing just doesn’t sound quite right to me!

You very quickly went from a very average player in DOK to being in the best team in Europe with 6 months. What was the main ingredient in your success? vanner

I don’t know whether that’s an insult or a compliment Vanner :( I can thank Twist for being in TCM though I think, it was Twist who wanted to take the gamble on picking me up for TCM from what I remember, after playing in numerous CB mixes with him beforehand. So I can only thank him :D when it comes to why, I think I try to focus on being as much of a team player as possible in-game and support the SMGs in every way possible, whether it be by AK, nade, smoke, whatever! Their previous player pukker was also this sort of player, so I guess it made sense to pick up me.

Do you feel that not attending OOF3 made you lack the competitive edge that possibly led to you not winning an event for the first time in 4 months when you went to tex? vanner

Yes. Well I think it gave fnatic a slight edge over us at TeX anyway, after their epic comeback versus Reason and getting to the final they must have been pumped for TeX. They were our only concern after watching OOF3 when we travelled to TeX as we didn’t really know how they played, everyone else we knew we could beat.

Why do you think people find you as the best nader in cod4? must

Because I’m just a genius when it comes to the tactical grenaders of Call of Duty 4 Must.

What was your best individual performance in any LAN match in cod4? Must

Individually I’d probably say the last map versus dignitas at EPS Season 2 LAN finals, but I don’t care about my performance as long as we win :) While we’re on topic, my worst game, WB final at TeX versus eSuba :D on top of being depressed after just playing like idiots against fnatic, they managed to bore me to death.

Who is the player you hate the most to play against and why? must

Can’t say I’m one of these guys who gets angry when someone abuses the amount of nades/angles they have, I just play. From the time in TCM, I’d say the most annoying person to play against was raz, simply because even when dignitas were losing, he’d just keep getting frags. I think it was LAN79 on Strike I remember particularly, he would just push random places, and somehow take down 4 of us every other round, incredibly annoying...However, most fun person to play against is blackmane, only at LAN though, because I’ll do some keen nade, or shoot him from some keen angle and just hear him shout across to me “OH FFS YOU F*CKING KEEN PR*CK” :)

Do you ever feel like the players that made your team have gone elsewhere and you'll never achieve the same heights of the former TCM and 2009? vitrolic

I’ll answer this from the time it was written, and not playing with rob/phan again. I never planned on playing again unless it was with some guys I really enjoyed playing with, but I believe if I didn’t join dignitas, it would have only have been with a team I believe had the potential to do great things.

Why are you always in A bins at strike defence? Do you feel attracted to places with a lot of trash? Froster

I’m just too keen, and it means I don’t have to bother moving, I’m lazy.

Do you think CoD4 can progress as a scene and as a game? mtyyy

It already has as a scene leaps and bounds in the past year or so, and still is as shown constantly by people within the community. As a game, it can only grow if the community does, which it is.

How do you see the future of CoD4 as a whole, LANs, mods, teams,scene, do you see anything changing from 2009? xpero

The mod will stay the same, as said previously the scene can only grow if the community put in the effort.

What hair product do you use? Emoton

I get out the shower, leave it to dry, and I’m done. So before you ask, no I don’t use anything or straighten it :) Although I think when kboy saw me in the morning at LAN, he was under the impression I probably sleep in some sort of chamber to freeze my hair overnight.

Have you played any other games than CoD4 at highest level? (aka winning money like kajsk1ng have done in cod4/css) milA

I only really got into playing competitively in CoD4, and by the time I stop playing this game I doubt I’ll want to play any other games on a competitive level unless I really enjoy the game or who I’m playing with. Kajsk1ng didn’t really do that great in CoD4 though like you’re making out l0l.

What do you think is the most appropriate way to mourn the departure of our dear friend will nye? felix

I think you should put the $6 into my account so I can pay for another month’s nye vent jargon.

tw!st/vasquez/robYE - shag marry kill Jargon

Hey felix, good question. Shag roby. Marry vasquez. And I don’t need to kill Twist, he’s emo enough to do the job for me. Oh shi-

Where did the name "germaine" come from? bAKEZJi

I am a French female.

If you could be one person in the CoD4 scene for a single day, who would it be? bAKEZJi

Duffer to try and understand just what goes through his head, or maybe leonidas to understand just what it’s like to be 3 inches tall. There are so many possibilities.

What does Svulettete actually mean? Georgiee

Svuletett* It came from the word Szuletett which was a word on a band’s album from Finland, no idea what it means, it looks cool.

Why do you have the same voice regardless of what mood or state you in? Does this mean you are always slightly bitter and moody? Georgiee

Because whenever I speak to you I am bitter and moody, now get back to the kitchen.

Do you think the UK scene is in its strongest state ever in CoD4? chenson

The UK scene really is at an extreme high point, there are so many teams that are coming through the ranks and showing they can compete with the best, such as the ex-YYT and infused. There aren’t really any LANs or serious competitions online to judge the top teams from though. At the moment it seems the UK teams aren’t quite as dominant at the top of the scene like previously with TCM, dignitas and reason. We’ll have to see at CiC7.

Do you believe it was your addition to the team just before i36 that elevated TCM to a top 3 EU team? chenson

I don’t think it’s my place to comment on pukker as I never played with him and don’t know much about how he played, when I joined we focused on playing straight away as it was very close to i36, we never really spoke about how pukker played. From what I remember, I think me joining allowed them to focus more on their own game’s rather than pukker’s which allowed everyone to do their jobs in-game more effectively. On top of that, I showed them all a fair few nades ;)

Which LAN thusfar have you enjoyed the most, both socially and competitively? mrfantastic

TeX 09.

What was it that stopped you from defeating the swedish fnatic lineup over the summer? Did you lack the appropriate grenades or were there other reasons? mrfantastic

As said before, from demos and speccing us, they knew every single thing we did on Strike, so it was kind of hard to do anything. We were unlucky in the way that we attempted to adapt and push street, but the one round we would do this, they would nade it randomly, and like I said I don’t class i37 as a real loss, even though the 1st map was pretty epic.

Will you be moving over to battlefield bad company 2 if its got a better play style than cod4? KELViN

Don’t even know the game.

What do you think about teammates going for a jog at 6 in the morning @ LAN? robyYE

“There is only one place, and that is first place” – Johnny Swaters prior to our first UKeSA’s match.

Why did you decide to model your looks on the mushroom from Super Mario? wnye71

He’s a lovable guy.

Both you and your ex-team mate Twist are famous gaming gingers, is it completely random that you both always sound bitter, angry and whingey? Or do you see him as some sort of father figure? wnye71

I’m not ginger sorry nye.

You have recently joined up with Team Dignitas. What was your reasoning behind this? DuRuS

Well there wasn’t really any reasons given as to why we disbanded as TCM, news articles seem to claim we folded, then roby joined up with dignitas, which is quite misleading. We were in a position where we wanted to play after the Christmas holidays and vasquez had said he would be very inactive due to work commitments, so we would need another 5th. Understandably roby wanted to just start playing, and having already just rebuilt a line up over r along period of time, neither me or roby could think of any replacement as good as vasquez either. Personally I didn’t want to use TCM just to go to CiC7 and other LANs with a team I know won’t achieve what TCM deserve, and with no suitable replacement at hand, roby decided to join up with the dignitas guys as they were raring to get practicing. The only teams I said to myself that I would then join would either be Reason or Dignitas ideally as I know all of the guys in both teams really well, and I just like playing with people I enjoy playing with. So when mark said he was moving to Cyprus, roby pm’d me, and of course, I couldn’t say no :) Had I not joined them, I probably would have called it quits.

A lot of people are saying that the new dignitas lineup is pretty much the old TCM one, just with raz and nreo tagged along. Is it going to be as successful as the old TCM one? DuRuS

Time will tell I guess, if you’re doing a direct comparison the previous team, both raz and nreo are just as good as Twist and vasquez, and play similar roles. The only thing we lack at the moment is some simple teamwork between the 5 of us, but hey, we’ve got 2 months, we can only go from strength to strength I guess!

Who takes control in your new lineup? In TCM you always had the veteran mind of Vasquez but who is in charge now? DuRuS

True, vasquez was an incredible leader in-game, and had amazing motivation at LAN which really helped us when we were down. At the moment we’ve got nreo calling most of the shots and don’t doubt his veteran mind :D, but on close quarters maps of course a lot of things come from the SMGs at the start of rounds and what they’re going to do so the AKs can support them with various nades/smokes/positions. I think each of us are able to think of ways to adapt to other teams during matches, so we all contribute as we did previously with TCM. But when in doubt, nreo does step in as vasquez did and call something when we need it.

Can we see this lineup lasting or will it do what most UK lineups seem to do, and change around in a couple of months or so? DuRuS

I really hope we don’t change anything, and don’t think we will. I _really_ hate how UK teams think that if one thing goes wrong, they should change the line up. As we showed with TCM, if you stick together, focus on your weaknesses and strengths, and work on teamplay, you can get far....I think we have the right people to do this with dignitas. We’ve got 5 people who get on perfectly fine socially, and have known each other for a long time, so no no no no changes!