LaRd Feeling Confident Before Champs

BFB Lard have consistently been a top dog in the Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) Do Gaming League and this year is no different. We chatted to Rynier 'Cranky' Schoeman, captain of the team, around where they're at for the DGL 2011 Championships this weekend.

The laRd line-up:

• Rynier 'Cranky' G Schoeman (Captain)
  
• Andrew 'd3tox' Deacon (Vice-Captain)
  
• Chris 'Evax' Noble
  
• Ian 'iTR' Robertson
  
• Greg 'Rora' van der Spuy

Telkom Do Gaming (DG): Every year laRd gets into the Championships final, but this year all the line-ups are quite different. Do you think you have what it takes to take the Champs this year and why?

Well if Rora and ITR fire on all Cylinders I’m confident that we could reach the finals. But with me not having Internet yet and Rora studying we are not getting as much game time as we would have liked, so we'll have to see.

LAN has been good for laRd and the players in the team over the last couple of years, so I hope we can perform well. Having finished first in the Premier League we won't face Bravado or Ventus in the semi-finals which takes away a major headache, but Mint and Qoob have come close to bringing an upset and we might see the same in 2011.

DG: When you guys were crowned the Leg 3 victors you expressed dismay that Greg 'Rora' van der Spuy would not make the Champs. But he is in your registered line-up, so is he now coming?

Rora is putting his RL second at this stage, studying to 3am every morning to make time to play for us. He didn’t want to drop the team this close to the Champs and is now playing and still writing his Exams on Monday after the Champs. After the daily games at the Dome, Rora will also have to return home and study. Big ups to the dodgy prawn.

DG:Many gamers tend to say that laRd always comes 'late to the party' – you stay under the radar until Championships time. Is this a fair statement? If so, is that always your intention?

The thing is just that laRd has just had a very good run come LAN time and I think this is what people are talking about. It's almost every year that laRd has some one standing up and when laRd did not compete at rAge 2010 Gaming Inc Champs Muptards were ranked sixth to eighth place and also made the finals.

DG: A lot has changed since your original leader Trevor 'Qu1k' Henry left. Where do you feel you lead differently and why has your leadership proved successful?

The most important thing Trevor did was not give me full control over the clan as D3tox and myself have a 50 percent share each. This ensures I can't go over his head and he has stopped me from making changes many times (smiley face).

But Trev's role as captain is undoubtedly the biggest asset of his game as he knew how to motivate the team and call the open spots in a team’s defense. This is a role that no one in laRd has been able to fill. My front as captain is only there so that some Afrikaans Boerkie rage can be thrown at those not listening to calls; Rora and myself share calling and we are always open to suggestions from team mates. Due to the amount of experience of our team this is a easy task for us.

DG: How has the team dynamics changed since Qu1k left?

More teamwork and calling has helped us. Trev set an example that can't be followed and we are trying our best and managing somehow. Trev's leadership was the best thing laRd as a team had, followed by having the most gingers (laughs). Also Qu1k won't be telling people our worst maps before the comps start so we don’t have to adapt in the last minute!

DG: What's Qu1k up to anyway?

Quik is a Gaming events coordinator somewhere in Germany

DG: How have things changed for laRd compared to last year's Champs?

We have gone down in LAN skill as we now have two ex-Pantheon players in our team. Not wanting to point fingers so I'll use smurf names – LANRA and EARWAX.

We've recruited ITR – that has made headlines over and over again as he single handedly ripped teams apart this year. Mention has to be made that he was a talentless nothing when he joined laRd and we shaped him into a good player (laughs).

DG: Who do you think will be the top three teams this year?

Due to us not having had enough practice I would like a top three finish but can't guarantee it, so:

1. VEntus/BVD (depending on who wins that game)
2. Qoob
3. Ventus/BVD
4. Mint

DG: Who do you rate are the dark horses for the Champs this year?

BFB RGM-ANtec has had some great games in the last leg and I think they will carry the BFB name high.

DG: What partnerships in the top contender teams are you on the lookout for?

BVD scope exchange between Vindi and Robo; Jayden swapping roles around in his team;
Qoob Geek nades in a team formation; and most importantly, Slowy and LAN.

DG: How does laRd approach LAN as opposed to how you approach online? What's the difference between the two, in your mind?

The one has KWV10 and the other one has more KWV10! But jokes aside I think most of the okes are used to LAN now with all of our players having attended 20 plus CoD4 LAN events. We'll approach LAN with a joke and a smile and just go to have fun. We are at our best when we joke and have fun.

DG: What kind of preparation are you putting in for the Champs?

We are trying to practice as much as we can versus the best teams to try and keep our skill up. Rora has notified me that he will only play one game a night this week purely due to his studies.

We also try and play lower ranked teams to help them, especially trying to help our sixth seed second team so that hopefully they can cause an upset – which I believe they can.

DG: You recently acquired RgM as your second BFB CoD4 team, now BFB RegiMent. How do you think they'll do in the Champs and how is your partnership coming along?

I will not underestimate this team if I was any other team at the event; this team has the potential to thump big name teams if you manage to give them just half an inch. They have had some good results winning the One Night Cup last week as well as beating laRd on some maps and a draw vs BVD on backlot that resulted in BVD having a rage quit.

They have Fluff_e now who has a 250FPs PC (he used to play on 90FPs) and I think he can cause some serious damage if he is on song. That is if he keeps his ego in check (laughs). Nial showed that he can do well with the 30Bomb at Real Gaming versus Power Gaming and two Aks that can really control a map. Rexxar as the young blood has some very unusual but effective tricks up his sleeve.

Mention has to be made that when this team gets a chance they come and spectate our games and I would like to thank teams like Ventus, BVD and QOOB for allowing this as most teams would not allow kill specs.

DG: What can we maybe expect to see from BFB next year? Anything interesting in the pipeline?

At the moment we don’t know what we'll do. With the free mod tools and the CoD4 server setup on Modern Warfare 3 we might have a look at it and Battlefield 3 on the other side. We'll see how the community reacts.

DG: If Julius Malema was a gamer, what game do you think he would play?

Rise of Nations – Conquer Southern Africa.

DG: Anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank ANTec and Esquire for a great sponsorship . We have received a sponsorship in excess of R30K for our two teams in the form of custom cases shirts and high-end power supplies. Without support like this gaming would not grow in South Africa. We hope to make you proud and show you your investment was not in vain.