For the fifth part of our “Meet The Academy” series, Academy commissioner Michael “Twixz” Shane sat down with Sean ‘vGEroSennin’ Gough. Being one of our newest members, we wanted to give Sean the chance get his name out in the community and let people get to know one of our rising stars.
Let’s start off with a little introduction about you, your background, and interests?
My name is Sean ‘vGEroSennin’ Gough, I’ve been playing StarCraft off and on since 1999. As I said previously in my blog A Little Bit About Me I started playing Brood War in 2001, beating my first Korean Progamer in 2003. Took a few breaks in between, and wound up finishing in two final four qualifiers for WCG 2010 with games off of Machine, Sheth, Slog, LastShadow, among others in the various qualifiers that I played in.
As for non-StarCraft related events, because of my teacher deciding to give me a ‘C-’ in a physics class for a final grade even though it shows as a ‘C’ online, I’ve had to retake the course in a span of six weeks this summer. After that I will receive my diploma with a BA in Athletic Training. I’ve already passed my national exams back in April, so once that is squared away I will have my license. For those of you who are unaware of the duties an Athletic Trainer performs, we do preventative taping; we provide acute care for athletes on the field, specializing in orthopedic injuries, muscle strains, ligament sprains, and all that fun stuff. We also participate in rehabbing the athlete to help get him or her back on the field as quick as possible.
I’m a pitching coach and instructor; I also play amateur Baseball, so those, combined with gaming, are my interests.
How long have you been into professional gaming? What other games have you played before SC2?
As I spoke about briefly in the previous question, I’ve been around the BW scene since 2001, with a couple year break from late 03 – late 05. Before StarCraft 2 came out it was all SC1. Sure I’d play around a bit with DOA4 for the 360 or Madden, but it was pretty much all SC1.
What have been some of you favorite moments with SC2?
I’m not sure I have many favorite moments, but I’ll mention a couple that stick out in my head.
I started playing SC2 in October 2010, and the second day my friend added Combat into our Skype chat and we played a 1v1 PvP on Lost Temple. I won, and he was ranked ~100 in the world at the time I believe.
To continue on that, about a month and a half later I beat RootCatz PvZ on Scrap Station in a tournament, which I thought, was cool because I had beaten a few people on teams before that point, but I was aware that Root wasn’t some no-named team, so I thought it was nifty, considering I still wasn’t taking the game that seriously. Not until after I got into compLexity Academy did I decide to start putting forth some effort into the game.
In the Spring of 2011 I won a chance to go to MLG Columbus 2011. It wasn’t all expense paid trip, just, competitor pass was paid for.
My first opponent reaches over shakes my hand, and goes, “Oh my God, I know you from Brood War.” I thought that was pretty cool.
Who are some of the SC2 players you follow closely/ take interest in?
To be honest? No one. I’ll keep an eye out for a well-known Protoss player, like a Sase or Bling, and if they’re playing in a MLG or something I might give a look or might download their replays from a Red Bull LAN. I’ll see how a coL member or a former teammate of mine is doing in a tournament, but other than that? I really don’t follow anybody closely.
There is a MLG qualifier coming up for the academy, how do you think you will fair? Who do you think will be your biggest competition?
I’m hoping to win it. I was hoping to win the last one but I wound up taking 3rd, so this time I better win it. As for the biggest competition, I’d say it’d be anyone who plays Zerg.
You recently beat qxc in the academy vs qxc showmatch. How did it feel to take a game off of him and get a win for the Academy?
It was nice to take a game off of him; he’s a really solid player who will capitalize on any mistake he sees in your play. It felt nice to step up for the Academy and potentially set the pace for a comeback. Most importantly, I just wanted 25 bucks, and there was no way for me to get my money unless I took a game off of him.
Any final words, shoutouts etc?
I would love to. I want to give props to Brood War, which is the greatest RTS ever and is the sole reason all of this is possible. I pray that nobody ever forgets that.
I want to thank compLexity for being amazing so far. From someone who literally spent 8 months out of a year training for 10 qualifiers in 09 and 2010 for Brood War, to have the scene grow as it is now and to have the opportunity to go to events like MLG, it’s still a shock. So, again, thank you for the opportunities.
Also I want to give a shoutout to Kyle ‘LRM)Semih’ Himes who is a fantastic gamer and a so-so friend :). Everybody should be pestering this man to start playing SC2 because he is one of the best foreigners to play Brood War. Any team that is lucky enough to take a chance on.