Behind the Username is an interview series where I ask some questions of regular players I meet in and around SC2SEA and our tournaments.
Today I have a chat with Lalor 'rezyn8' McMahon, the founder of Silicon Sports and organiser of the ever-popular Melbourne Barcraft events
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How long have you been involved with Starcraft, and have you always played Terran?
I can remember my younger brother introducing me to StarCraft when Brood War came out. Back then I was more into the competitive Quake 3 scene and other FPS'.
I never got into the online side of things, because I was terrible and internet was bad, but loved the single player campaigns. With Wings of Liberty, it renewed my love for the game and have enjoyed both the campaigns and multiplayer immensely since.
I have always played Terran which is most likely a throwback to my love affair with the Warhammer 40k Space Marines, namely the Blood Angels.
I'll be honest: I still like to offrace as Terran partially thanks to my playing Ultramarines in my own 40k days. Please describe your playstyle in ten words or less.
Bio with good reads from scouting to counter whats coming
When it comes to working on playstyles and builds for your games, are there any progamers that you look to for inspiration?
Jinro was a huge inspiration for me back in the early days of the GSL. These days I look up to players like Maru, Polt, Bomber, Taeja, Innovation and Australia's own, Iaguz.
Watching Iaguz' rock-solid play in recent WCS events has been incredible. How did you decide upon your username?
Ah this goes back a long way. In the FPS circles I was known as neXus and a few other other nicks but I wanted a new handle for the MMO, Matrix Online, when I was invited to the beta. Something a little different, something that had an impact and an after-effect. I toyed around with a few ideas and eventually landed on rezyn8 derived from resonate. It was obviously a little too innocuous as certain members of SLCN only recently worked it out (they shall remain anonymous), thinking that it was just rezyn with an 8 on the end for aesthetics!
I like it! From here, I want to jump into the subject of Silicon Sports, whose SC2 team I have a great fondness for. 'SLCN' is a team tag that even newcomers to the SEA scene like myself rapidly became familiar with. The SC2 professional team was created in April 2013, I believe, but you were running events such as barcrafts before even that. Could you share with us how Silicon Sports came to exist, and what led to the initial creation of SLCN.pro?
I have been involved with some form of gaming for most of my life. Whether it was clocking Space Invaders on the Atari 2600, taking down as many ducks as possible in Duck Hunt on the NES, battling my brother on the Mario Kart circuits to being lead for an ISP gaming network and adminning and competing in several Quake 3 leagues - it has always been there with me. I wanted to do something that I love rather than do the mainstream thing.
In 2010 I came up with an inkling of an idea of Silicon Sports. 'Silicon' to represent the base medium video games is played on and Sports to set the ideology that competitive video gaming should be considered a sport alongside those recognised at the Olympics.
I struggled for a while as to where I should concentrate my energies until StarCraft 2 came along. I had plans on building a game/hardware review site but there were so many others that were doing this already. With Wings of Liberty and the accessibility of watching the top players online and seeing the growth of BarCraft across Canada and the US, there was a gap that needed to be filled. So with about 6-7 months of planning and hunting for a suitable venue the first BarCraft Melbourne event hit on March 3rd 2012.
I didn't expect what happened that hot Saturday night or that Silicon Sports would grow to include numerous other titles in its social events let alone being running its 25th BarCraft Melbourne later this month.
As for SLCN.pro, I didn't particularly have plans to have a team. But running BarCraft helped to build a brand that was recognisable and showed that the organisation was serious about supporting eSports. It wasn't until after Clan FaDe with the very early stages of Team FaDe collapsed that Team Silicon Sports was considered.
Through FaDe I had made a number of good friends in the SC2 community. One such person approached me about the prospect of playing for and building a team under the SLCN banner. Mark Fittipaldi, aka RealPet or Petrify, really was the driving force behind the team. He has an amazing knack of not only being able to play at the highest level but scout out true talent. To this day he is a very important part of what makes Silicon Sports and SLCN.pro what it is today.
Would you please tell us a bit about how Silicon Sports and SLCN.pro has evolved since its inception?
It has been a long road since BarCraft 1. We are coming up on our 25th BarCraft on June 28 for the GSL Season 2 Finals. Other social events events include Pubstomp for Dota 2, Breakfast of the Gods for the Smite World Championships and 'Stadium Events' for League of Legends World Championships. We run tournaments for different titles, both online and offline, for StarCraft 2 where we hope to bring the Domination Cup to the Melbourne scene once again this year; Dota 2's Oceanic Cup series from last year; and our Cardslinger Conquest Series for Hearthstone this year which is part of the pathway to the Hearthstone Championship at BlizzCon.
Our pro team has expanded to other games as well such as CounterStrike, Smite and most recently, Heroes of the Storm. Our StarCraft 2 has completely evolved from its early days into a tight group of players who really have what it takes to mix it with the best in the world as seen by NXZ in the WCS recently.
The organisation has expanded with Glenn Jones, Synthetic, joining me soon after BarCraft 1 as my right hand man. He has been extremely valuable with his ideas and input over the years. And of course Petrify joining the management team to help with our projects as well. We still have a number of projects we are working on which we hope will be a major factor in the eSports scene in not just Melbourne but also across Australia.
The key learnings from all of this is to 'just do it' and be 'transparent' in everything.
If I didn't get out and do the hard yards to get the first BarCraft going in Melbourne, we wouldn't be here having this conversation right now. Again if the management team wasn't transparent with the various gaming communities & publishers we work with or the players on the roster then there would be no trust or the culture we have that makes Silicon Sports what it is.
That is an impressive roster of events. On a personal note, I finally got to attend a barcraft this year (obligatory reminder to all that Life r3kt PartinG after herO in GSL) and had a blast. I'm really looking forward to the next one!
I'd like to add in some questions about the Oseanic Starcraft 2 Championship series. Firstly, taking a look at the current rankings, what are your thoughts on them? Any favourites or early predictions for the grand finale this year?
Our Rock Paper Scissors tournaments are mayhem but a hell of a lot fun and your final was epic. Hopefully you can make it to more of our events and seek retribution!
The OSC is so hard to pick. Of course I would love to see our boys Law and NXZ in the Grand Final. The amount of quality players in the twenty is mind boggling. Its a testament to the hard work that Eddie has put into the program and I am proud to have Silicon Sports as a sponsor.
I'm not going to let you off the hook that easy Any predictions at all? People you expect to see in the top 8?
Look, EnDerr has been playing great. It was a shame to see him miss out in the WCS qualifiers due to issues out of his control. So he will be definitely pushing for an OSC crown. Besides Enderr, my picks in no particular order would be NXZ, Law (no bias), Iaguz, Xenocider, HuK, PiG & Arthur. I think that is a good mix of all races which would make an amazing top eight for local SEA heroes and Internationals.
Law and NXZ have definitely been shining recently, and I'd love to see them make a deep run as well. Of the various partnered OCS tournaments, which do you get a chance to keep up with/enjoy the most?
Masters Cup and SEACraft are the two I keep an eye on. Mainly because the Masters Cup is where it all started for the OSC. I have had the privilege to cast it in the past (and hope to do so again soon). It regularly shows great matches with foreigners and Koreans duking it out and even if I don't get to watch/cast it I usually know the results.
As Philosopher is a friend, I have a soft spot for SEACraft. This too is starting to get some great matches on a regular basis and its always good for entertainment on a Monday night.
I've got a lot of respect for SEAcraft as well. I got a chance to cast one event with Metalcore which had Losira and Gumiho playing in it. Philosopher has really created something incredible. Looking to the future now, with Legacy of the Void on the horizon, what are your thoughts on what you have seen of LoTV thus far?
Hopefully I will be able to get more time to cast in the future. Just a bit hard at the moment juggling family, work and eSports at the moment.
Legacy of the Void will definitely breathe new life into the game at the higher end of the skill level. I do have concerns that the micro focus will make the game a little more difficult for low to mid level and new players to get into. There is still a long way to go to get the right mix in place to address this. Blizzard do an amazing job when it comes to play testing and working with the community - it is in good hands despite the vocal naysayers. I haven't had a chance to play Archon Mode yet but it will be an interesting beast across all levels and can certainly ease new players into the game.
I am sad that the bio element of the Terran composition is being reduced in favour of mech. The marine has been a stalwart through out the game universe and it would be a shame to see them under used in LotV. Having said that, Liberators are freaking awesome!
A lot of us, whether in tournaments or on ladder, have games which stick in our memory as being more fun or entertaining than others. Do you have a war story or favourite match you'd like to brag about?
The most memorable moments are usually against haters that bm you because they think they have you, but in reality they really don't or I manage to pull it back to win the game from the jaws of defeat. Its always a good feeling beating a Platinum or Diamond player on ladder (being a Gold scrub, but most likely Bronze now though haha).
As for an epic game that sticks out, I probably have to go back to Wings where I played a mech Terran with my bio. I think the game went for close to an hour with him teching to Battlecruisers and me taking up as many expansions as possible to have an endless supply of marines and marauder hit squads. I can't remember the map but the manoeuvrability of my forces whittled him down for the gg.
There is definitely something rewarding about winning those longer games. Like completing a marathon. For a bit of fun: if there was anyone in the world you could challenge to a Best of Five match, who would it be, and why?
Or just completing a Marathon! The half-marathon I did a couple of years ago almost killed me (well it destroyed my big toe nail) haha.
I don't think I really have the chops to challenge any one of my idols. But if I could see a rematch it most likely be one of my favourite matches of all time, MVP v Squirtle. Having said that, a rematch wouldn't live up to the spectacle that GSL Final produced. So seeing Innovation v Soulkey would be ideal so that Bogus could attempt to get some revenge after losing that series with a 3-0 lead.
Moving from questions about playing the game, and on to the subject of casting SC2. You mentioned earlier that you've casted the Masters Cup in the past, and if time permits would happily do so again. When did you first start casting, and how did you start?
I started making videos ages ago when I was crafting hats for Team Fortress 2 and posting them to YouTube.
Due to my experience, or lack of, in multiplayer for Brood War, I devoted a lot of my time to the Wings of Liberty campaign. I am a bit of an achievement hunter and so I started doing guides how to get certain achievements in the single player campaign.
When I got more involved with multiplayer and joined up with FaDe, I threw my hat in the ring to observe and cast for the clan tournaments and eventually the BSG tournaments on SC2SEA.com.
Once I had a bit of experience I kept putting my hand up for different tournaments such as the Masters Cup and our own tournaments through Silicon Sports.
I am not an expert caster by any means, but I enjoy it and I do like to think I bring a bit of production value to the cast as well.
These days I can't commit as much time as I use to for long tournaments unfortunately. But if I can get the 'leave pass' sorted then expect to see me casting more SC2 this year.
Here's hoping! From a technical aspect, what is your preferred set up? What kind of equipment and programs do you rely on when casting and streaming?
My streaming set up primarily uses Xsplit Broadcaster (Licensed) to control the scenes and media assets with my PC at home. That is a dual screen i7 CPU with 16GB RAM & a GTX 680. I am using the Sennheiser G4ME Zero closed back headphones which has a great noise cancelling microphone. Sometimes I will use my iPad to control music and sound bits like 'First Blood' and the like - most of the time I forget about it haha.
My streaming set up primarily uses Xsplit Broadcaster (Licensed) to control the scenes and media assets with my PC at home or laptop when at LANs. I know a lot of people use OBS but I got my Xsplit license before it went premium. It may be a little limited in the number of scenes available but I rarely run into that problem.
My PS has dual screens to control Xsplit, the game in question and chat. The has an i7 CPU with 16GB RAM & a GTX 680. I think I am due for an upgrade though! I am using the Sennheiser G4ME Zero closed back headphones which has a great noise cancelling microphone. Sometimes I will use my iPad to control music and sound bits like 'First Blood' and the like - most of the time I forget about it haha.
Most of the time I will record locally as well as we all know how unreliable Australian ADSL2+ is for streaming let alone watching a stream. I have plans of setting up a studio with NBN access soon so that casts do not suffer from this issue.
All the media assets are done with Photoshop - so the stuff you see on the Silicon Sports stream and the SLCN.pro players streams for NXZ and deth is all generated by me.
The Silicon overlay is a crisp and clean design. On a personal note, is there a moment in your career which you consider particularly important or formative for who you are as a player and person now?
I don't think there is one particular moment. Its more of a series of gaming experiences from my early years through to now. Having said that, playing Mario Brothers & Zelda with my brother on the NES probably started the love affair with gaming at a very early age.
Then my experience in the Quake 3 scene for Team Fortress, Rocket Arena, CPMA and OQCL leagues as well as Battlefield 2 really hit me with the competitive bug.
In terms of eSports and where I am today would definitely go back to running the first BarCraft Melbourne event by myself. I learnt a lot that day, not just about my capabilities and adopting the just do it attitude but about the awesome community we have here. Since then I have made a lot of friends and worked with some outstanding people. So I guess the passion of the community is what drives me to improve the eSports scene locally.
Attending my first barcraft was a fantastic experience, so it has been grand to have had this chance to have you tell us about how it all started! To wrap things up, please feel free to self-promote and drop some links here if you want folks to follow you on the various social media/streaming sites
Thanks James. Its always great to hear that. It assures me that we are doing the right thing by the community with our events. Hopefully we will see you at more events in the future!
I can be followed on twitter @rezyn8 & I sometimes stream on twitch.tv/rezyn8.
For all the Silicon Sports events, including BarCraft Melbourne 25 (which will be at The Fringe on June 28), upcoming events for Dota 2 TI5, League of Legends World Championship, our Hearthstone tournament series and all things SLCN.pro please visit SiliconSports.net, like us at facebook.com/SiliconSports, follow us @SiliconSports and tune in to twitch.tv/SiliconSports.
Thanks for taking the time to have a chat, Lalor, it has been a pleasure!
Thank you James, its been my pleasure. Thank you to everyone who reads my walls of text!
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It was great to find out more about Silicon Sports, and I encourage anyone in Melbourne to check out the next barcraft!
The woodfired pizzas at The Fringe are fantastic, and there's nothing like watching a GSL final when there's an entire room of SC2 fans trying to out-compete each other in shouting out the name of their favourite player.
GLHF all!
___________________________________ #WhyILoveSC2: Writing articles and interviews for the OSC and Exile5.
@x5_Crescendo - follow for SC2 info, interview alerts, and fanboy gleetweets.
Rez is an awesome guy, who does a lot for our scene! It's been great to see Silicon Sports steadily grow, and now expand into other areas and events, while still staying loyal to their roots. #Melbournebarcraftsthebestbarcrafts
Thanks for the shoutout guys! SEAcraft will return on July 13th! June has just been too hella busy and expensive to be able to put it on. But we will see consistent tournaments from July 13th to the end of the year!
ya Rezyn. Truly a God amongst men in our community.
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twitter PhilosopherSC2
Every zerg who goes SH must die ~ Nemesis
thanks for this article and it helps to get to know more about the man behind SLCN... hope to meet him and the great cast of characters there in Australia. A trip some day!
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