Fire Base: An Interview With 5Peaks
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is one of the fastest growing eSports titles in the world today, boasting millions of players from all over the world. With local gaming organizations such as Mineski refocusing on the game, CS:GO is slowly returning to the Philippine competitive gaming scene as the premier First-Person Shooter title of choice.
Esports Inquirer had the pleasure of interviewing 5Peaks, which is one of the invited teams to the recently concluded Mineski’s The Shootout – CS:GO Invitational.
We talk about their history, their tricks of the trade and their takes on the Philippine and SEA CS:GO scene!
Rave28: Can you please introduce yourselves to the public?
5Peaks: We’re 5Peaks, currently one of the top 4 teams that competed in the Mineski’s The Shootout. Previously, we were the over all champion in MPGL CS:GO.
Our current lineup are as follows:
Mark “aimix” Dela Cruz
Ryan “BabyBoy” Crisostomo
Stephen “Getziimov” Doron
Dominic “Cpt.Hannibal” Fajardo
Arvin ” ToMi” Lim
Mic “Mic” Caraig
We also have previous players consisting of the following:
Shane Wong
Clive Canlas (founder)
Lance Reyes (founder)
Dominic Fajardo
Jayvee Paguirigan
Jhun Dadole
Rave28: What did you feel when Mineski invited you for The Shootout Invitational?
5Peaks: We felt very happy and honored that all our hard work had come to fruition. However, we were not satisfied yet because getting the championship was the only thing running in our minds right now.
ON CS:GO
Rave28: When did you start playing CS:GO? Did you have any background in other FPS titles before?
5Peaks: We had experience in CrossFire, Counter-Strike Beta and versions 1.0 to 1.6, along with some Assault Fire as well. We are a diverse group since some of our players came from League of Legends, DoTA and Starcraft 2.
Rave28: Which style of gameplay do you prefer? Do you play aggressively like Fnatic? Or do you tend to go for the execute strategies like Na’Vi?
5Peaks: We don’t really follow the gameplay of any of the top teams in the European scene, we’re more of kinda focused on our own ideas. But what we’re doing at the moment is somehow relatable to the top teams in Europe, such as execution plays like Na’Vi or being aggressive like Fnatic.
Rave28: What is your favorite map? Why do you love this map?
5Peaks: Our favorite map is de_nuke, which is unfortunately not anymore a part of the competitive pool anymore, because we had great control and team chemistry in that map. But now, we’re considering de_train for our current favorite map since it’s our 2nd favorite after Nuke.
ON THE SCENE
Rave28: Do you think CS:GO will go big here in the country, considering that ESL plans to include the Asian region soon? Will it be able to compete against other well-established local titles such as CrossFire?
5Peaks: I’m sure that CS:GO will be big: There are lots of upcoming tournaments for the CS:GO fanatics. And, yes there would be a possibility that CS:GO would grow bigger than any other FPS game. The possible cause of it could be the CSGO Monthly community tournaments, ESL CS:GO 2015, Mineski Shootout and etc. CS:GO is getting bigger and bigger, thanks to the group OFFICIAL CSGO-PH and Mineski.
Rave28: What do you think is the level of CS:GO play here in the country at the moment? Do you believe that a team like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse can come out once again?
5Peaks: Actually, the Horsemen had its glory days already. For me, the new generation of players are at its peak like aimix, dubstep, hannibal, getz, and others which would dominate the scene. But nowadays, it’s a much harder ball game unlike before, mainly because strategies and tactics are easily observed and checked due to their availability on the Internet.
Currently, I believe the level of players here in the Philippines would be at par at least with other ASEAN teams. But if we bring up the East Asian countries (i.e. China, Japan and South Korea), then we really need to step up our game.
Rave28: Do you think that there is a need for a coach for CS:GO teams (and Esports teams in general?)
5Peaks: Yes, coaching now is officially part of the Esports scene, so we need to follow and adapt to what’s new. Primarily, teams would like to add a coach because it allows them to formulate strategies much more efficiently.
Rave28: To wrap it all up: How long do you think will it take before CS: GO becomes big locally and produce a good stable of teams?
5Peaks: To be honest, we don’t know how long it will take for the scene to grow in the Philippines. But it I am sure it will be fast if the eSports companies continue to make way for CS:GO, such as Mineski, Pacific,and MSI among others. The presence of more tournaments and monetary prizes should help out the growing scene too. The game is really great.
Rave28: Do you have any shoutouts to your fans and to the players out there?
5Peaks: Shout out to Lance Reyes and Clive Canlas (founder of 5Peaks), as well to DubsteP, Shiro, ACGaming TANKZ, Zak, Dan, Miracle, IPT.Mic, IPT.Migz, IPT.Amber, Jhay, Rbtx, r4mpage, Retrac, Aji (the head of CSGO-PH), Arvino Sunny Rockets and the others who are helping out the community. Also special mention to Gibo Philip for helping the community! We would also like to say hi to Mika Ortiz!
Rave28: Thanks for your time and patience! It was a pleasure talking with you!
5Peaks: Thank you too Earl, until next time!
As we can see, 5Peaks believe that CS:GO will grow big in the Philippines and that it will grow fast as long as local stakeholders cooperate for the betterment of the scene. They also mention that the current level of the Philippine CS:GO scene is at a similar level with the Southeast Asia scene.
Considering that ESL announced that they are planning to include the Asian region in the future editions of their league and pick-up game service FACEIT opened up their servers in the Southeast Asian region, one question remains:
Will the Philippines regain its FPS glory days, along with the likes of South Korea and China?
Time will tell.
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