Back in the land of oil gobblers and dollar currency, we take a moment with half of Devastation's dynamic scout-duo, the one and only scknss. There is no doubt in my mind that, together with punisher, these two scouts can outwit, outplay and outlast all others to become the sole Survivor and go to jail for tax evasion.. err.. or something like that. Enjoy!

Player Info:scknss is very much at the centre of Devastation's strength on such open-ended maps like cp_granary and cp_badlands - his ability to harness the speed and agility of the scout and put it to use like no other is crucial the success of the team as a whole, and has served Devastation well in matches gone past.

Interview:

GotFrag: Lets start with the past - what competitive game did you start out in, and with what teams?

dev^scknss: After pubbing games when I was younger, the first competitive game I played was Natural Selection, a mod for Half-Life. I played with my brother (Nadagast) and one of my best friends (PainUser) in Exigent. We had fun winning, and were dedicated enough to be crowned CAL-ns champions a few times. As the game died down I moved to CS and played for a local California LAN team, Man Down. We had a couple great upsets at a few LANs as the underdogs, but just as we were getting good, 2 of our members had to quit. I stopped playing games competitively for a while, and then TF2 came out. I initially joined up with some ex-ns players and we made c.opt, but after a month or two they decided TF2 wasn’t the game for them. Sadly they’ve mostly moved on to other things, and don’t care to come back, even though the leagues are now non-crit. Except for axe of course, I’ll see you in this upcoming cevo season, buddy ;). (If it ever starts?)

GotFrag: How did you end up with the team around you?

dev^scknss: After getting my name out there in the TF2 community while playing scout for c.opt, I was able to find a new team by asking around. I saw big potential in SIT (now Devastation), and decided to join up with them. They’re laid back guys, and so far it’s been a great combination of real life and dedication to the team.

GotFrag: What drew you to competitive TF2?

dev^scknss: When TF2 came out a few of my friends were trying to get me back into CS. But after comparing both of the games, I realized I liked the change of pace TF2 brought. I loved playing scout (and sniper, before the nerfs). In TF2, as a scout, you’re always on the move, always in the thick of it. CS seemed slow, boring, and tedious in comparison.

GotFrag: Do you like the way TF2 is evolving? Are you for or against the constant tweaking Valve's implementing?

dev^scknss: I wish Valve paid more attention to the competitive community, but I think they need to please the pubbers too. In the end, the amount of people pubbing is going to tell you which games are popular and which games die out. Ideally they would make a pro mod of some sort, but it seems doubtful anything like that will happen anytime soon.

GotFrag: What do you think of the tactical differences between the North American and European scenes? (ie. more Heavy-usage) Any opinion about which one works best?

dev^scknss: I’m undecided as of now; I need to experience both sides a bit more before I can really say anything about it. Although, Devastation plays a very aggressive game, so I don’t think a heavy would fit our play style well in most situations.

GotFrag: What about the local scene - what two clans are the most fearsome in your mind?

dev^scknss: I’d have to say Pandemic and Eximius are the two teams that I feel pose the biggest threat to us right now.

GotFrag: What other players of your own class do you have the most respect for? Who do you think is the most dominating/fearsome in your class.

dev^scknss: Speaking from experience alone, Punisher, Doze, Saber, Bman, and Enigma are the names that first come to mind. I’ve heard some things about other up and comers, but haven’t had the chance to play some of them yet.

GotFrag: What do you think of the upcoming medic changes? Do you think they're balanced enough to be in matchplay?

dev^scknss: I like the leeching needle gun and the bonesaw to charge uber seems interesting as well. The crit gun seems useless for competitive play, but fun for pubs maybe?

GotFrag: Excited for Goldrush? Think the style has a place in the competitive scene?

dev^scknss: Yeah, it should be fun. Hopefully this type of map plays well competitively, although I don’t really expect it to.

GotFrag: Any final comments/shoutouts you'd like to make?

dev^scknss: I’d like to give a shoutout to Miller for leading and organizing #Devastation, all my teammates, and my homies over @ #hc, the CS team I would’ve played for had I not joined up with c.opt and SIT. Also, a shoutout to the awsumest girl in the world =)

Now everyone give sckness the collective "awwww".. lol, well done. Stay tuned for the next feature of rk's i'views :)