Meet The Academy: Michael “Twixz” Shane
by Alex “Yuenanimous” Yue
For the third part of our “Meet The Academy” series, we at compLexity wanted to put the spotlight on someone who may not be as well known in the community as our players. This is why I was very happy to be able to sit down with The compLexity Academy commisioner Michael “Twixz” Shane to talk about his role with The Academy, his history with eSports, and what he likes to do when hes not finding the next star player.
First off Michael, how did you get involved with eSports? Which game drew you in and what kept you interested?
My involvement in eSports started with World of Warcraft. Up until that point I was aware of eSports, but not involved in it in any shape or form. I was always intrigued by World of Warcraft’s arena system and had some of the highest rankings online in arena season 3 and 4. When arena season 5 started and Blizzard put up their annual arena tournament realm, I knew it was our chance to take it to the next level. After we qualified for North American Regional Finals from that tournament realm, the rest was history. What keeps me interested in it is the competitive side of eSports. I am a very competitive person, I love the rivalry’s and upsets, and everything eSports brings to the table on a competitive front.
How did you become part of compLexity? When you joined, were you aware of their history with games like Counter-Strike etc?
If I made one mistake in my eSport career it was not getting involved with compLexity sooner. I was one of the players who was winning events left and right but trying to find funding on my own. After joining compLexity and having the stress of finding funding, every thing became much smoother. The management they had (and still have) in place is really top notch, and the companies who support compLexity really know what they are doing and were amazing to play for and now work with. When I joined compLexity, I was fully aware of their history and if anyone has not seen “Redemption” yet, I’d recommend that you take some time to check it out here.
Outside of eSports and compLexity, what do you like to do with your time? Do you play other games?
Outside of eSports and compLexity I like to watch and play most sports. I enjoy playing some poker too. I have a girlfriend that takes up most of my time though when I’m not involved in eSport matters. Oh, and I am playing in an adult basketball league and we are dominating!
Getting back to The Academy, could you explain to the readers what exactly your role is and what are your responsibilities?
In The Academy my role as the commissioner is to pretty much scout the up and coming talent. I also organize all of the events for our Academy players to play in, and pretty much help them in any way I can in order for them to reach their full potential.
Building off the last question, what are your goals for the Academy? What interests you about The Academy? How do you feel about the current roster and how have their results been?
My goals for The Academy are to make it something appealing for all players to get a foot in the door with compLexity. It obviously is just a first step in a team with really no limitations. The interesting thing about The Academy is that it reminds me a lot of myself, when I was first getting involved with eSports. For most of the players this is the first contract they have ever signed, and most of them have really good online results and are just trying to get a chance to prove themselves to the rest of the world. I feel our current roster is actually our strongest yet by far, and with each season we are getting more and more high level players wanting to become a part of the program. The best result we have had in The Academy so far was Goswser being promoted to a “pro” contract and joining the main team while receiving a gaming pc from our sponsor Origin. That is the ultimate goal for The Academy, but outside of that result we have seen some good things popping up here and there.
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