Kickin’ it with Eafra

BY Andrew Miesner / January 22, 2009

Interview by Liam “Loki” Belcher

Hey there Eafra. First of all, welcome to compLexity! Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and what it is you do?

Eafra
My name is Yfran Garcia and I am a FIFA player for compLexity. I started playing FIFA since the 2000 series, but it wasn’t until the 2006 series that I decided to play it competitively. Now I am here on one of the greatest teams in the World and I just hope I can repay the favor.

You’re one of several new editions to the coL squad that Jason and co are building upon. How does it feel to be a part of this new gaming movement? Are the nerves running high on your end?
It feels great to be a part of such a well-supported team. The fan base is incredible and I am glad to be a part of all of this. Nerves are definitely running high on my end but they are good nerves. The nerves that won’t allow me to lose focus of my goals and make stupid mistakes in matches.

A lot of people in the mainstream gaming community may not know that FIFA has been around competitively for some 10 years now. How long have you been in the scene and is it getting bigger?
I have been around the FIFA scene competitively for only two or three years now. I personally think it’s getting bigger and with the help of legends such as Jason Lake and Alex Conroy, it won’t be long until FIFA is even more popular in the USA. So you can definitely bet that it’s going to get bigger.

Now, you shocked a lot of people when you were drafted to Chicago Chimera back when the CGS was still around. Why do you think you were picked to play at such a professional level other than the fact that you placed well at the combine that year?
Honestly, the only reason I think I was picked was because Mark Dolven stole Andrew “Anomaly” Brock from the Chicago Chimera, which made a clear path for me. The only manager I spoke to at the combine was Alex “JaX” Conroy and I thought for sure he was going for Barmoa. So I guess I got lucky to get into the CGS. But becoming the North American FIFA Champion in my first season was no fluke.

Does it help already knowing the management and some of the staff already on coL?
Honestly, the only reason I think I was picked was because Mark Dolven stole Andrew “Anomaly” Brock from the Chicago Chimera, which made a clear path for me.Absolutely. With the Chimera, I spoke to the staff every single day. I got to know them very well and JetBlk is now here with me so it definitely makes it easier. I had lots of laughs with JaX during the CGS season and he really made me feel comfortable. No doubt I will be able to play to my full potential under him.

What are your plans for this team in the near future?
To have a bigger influence in FIFA on a global scale. Right now, everyone believes that FIFA is and always will be dominated by the Europeans. They have every right to believe that too, considering the fact that American FIFA players don’t get out to many tournaments to place well. The only tournament we get to is WCG and even then, we only get one bid, when there’s at least three players that can compete on an international level. Barmoa and I are looking to go to a couple lans this year so that we can attempt to put American FIFA in as a top contender, where it belongs.

What, if anything, do you think is going wrong with E-Sports and why?
To be honest, I haven’t been around that long in eSports to know much about what’s going right and what’s going wrong. Jason Lake is someone who knows a lot about risks and I too believe that this is the right path for eSports. I am experimenting with something right now, but hopefully it will change eSports forever.

Finally, are there any footballs teams that you want to meet in your life-time?
I would have to say the Red Devils (Manchester United for all the non-footy fans) but not the all-stars. I would like to meet players like Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, definitely Park and Nani. I don’t think I would get along with Ronaldo or Rooney or even Berbatov. Nonetheless they are all great players 😉

I definitely wouldn’t mind meeting Sir Alex Ferguson as I always saw myself on the management side of things.

Any shoutouts or final words of wisdom?
I would like to give a shoutout to my teammate Bardia “Barmoa” Moayedi. We’re gonna do great things man…I would also like to give a shoutout to the CS team. They are really cool guys! And I would like to welcome the new WoW team! Lastly, I would like to thank the Managers: Jason Lake, Alex Conroy, and Jason Bass for giving me the opportunity to play for such an illustrious organization. Thanks also to Creative, NationVoice and Electrify Servers for their support.  Thank you coL’09.

Thanks for your time. Best of luck in the future!