This week the FIFA Interview series saga continues with an European top player, from the German team of mTw. Winner of the silver medal, this winter in December with Mortal Team Work, in Cologne/Germany, Felix sits down and talks about personal life, gamin career and more, here on SK Gaming.

Hello everyone and welcome again to another FIFA interview, this week with one of the best FIFA players from Germany, currently playing for mTw, Felix 'LiX' Spix.
Good evening Felix, at the beginning of this interview I would like to start with some questions about your personal life. Please, tell us something about your birth place and if you still live in the same city, where you spent your childhood?
I lived my whole life in Neuss. It’s a beautiful city very near to Düsseldorf and Cologne. I don’t want to change my living place, even when I’ll be finished with my Abitur. For me Neuss is not too big and not too small. My childhood was lovely here in Neuss. I found so many friends at school or in my old soccer team, who are still my friends.

What’s going on in your life at this moment besides gaming?
I go to the grammar school called “Quirinus Gymnasium” and I will do my Abitur next year. Current I have got a new girlfriend since 1 week. Her name is Tinka. She doesn’t know much about gaming, but perhaps she will come to an event in the next time.

How does a normal day look in your life, from the moment when you wake up, until you go to sleep?
My mum prepares always a tasty breakfast. After that I drive to school with my bicycle. The most of the time in school I’m very tired, because I always go too late to bed. After school I check everything in the Internet, eat something and try to train a little bit Fifa in Team speak with my mates and friends in the Fifa Scene. Two times the week I go to the gym with my father. In the evening I often met friends or my new girlfriend Tinka. Tuesday is Kentucky Fried Chicken time with my best friend Marc and the former Fifa Mod and mousesports Player Soltari, who live in Neuss, too. We eat always a huge number of Hotwings. A little bit after midnight it’s time for bed.

Speaking of girls, do you remember your first love? What was her name and how did you meet her?
My first love.. Well her name was Fifa 98. No Joke. Her name was Julia and I was thirteen. She goes to my school and is one class under me. We were together for about 3 months. After that I didn’t have any girlfriend at my school. I don’t like it and I can’t imagine it anymore.

Being a professional player needs a lot of support from the family. What does your family look like? Do you have any brothers or sisters?
No I don’t have any brothers or sisters, but I am not a typical only child  My family supports me very much. My mother was at the last EPS finals on Friday and my father was there during the final versus SK-Gaming on Sunday. They were fascinated of the professionalism of this gaming event and how much people are interested in it. I explained them always a lot of Fifa, but they didn’t imagine that it’s so big.

Everyone has a special place where he would like to visit, relax or just to feel good and chill - what is your favorite, and can you talk about a country, pub, disco or everything that makes you feel great?
My special place to relax is the sauna after the gym. I love it. But to feel real good, I have to go out with my friends and make party with good electronic music. My last big event was the “Sensation White” in Düsseldorf at Sylvester. An unbelievable atmosphere, I’ll go to the Sensation a second time.



Do you think it's possible to take pro-gaming as your work, or do you plan to stop with it and do something more 'typical' in the future?
No I can’t imagine to be a real “Pro Gamer”, but I can imagine that I go on with Fifa, even after the school time, because it’s so much fun and I found a lot of friends in the scene. Besides you can earn extra money very well  after the school I want to go into the insurance business, like my father.

"You need of course the skill, but it doesn’t help a fifa team, when only one or two person earn the big points. So you need the team work to learn from each other and to have fun during the training. Without team work, you can forget the success"

Now, going straight to gaming and eSports in general, when did you have your first contact with the FIFA scene?
My first contact with the fifa scene was in the end of 2004. A few friends of mine bought Fifa 2005 to play it in the ESL. Before that I was interested in eSport, but I only played Counter-Strike. I have always played Fifa versus my friends on PC, Playstation or Xbox. So I combined this two hobbies. In this time I met Marc (luison), who is my best friend today. He was two classes above me at my school. We didn’t know each other, but with the help of Fifa we become friends. Today he only plays for fun and attends me to events. We have the same clique today. ESports connects.

Are there special moments from that time? A great match or maybe just a person that you remember?
The two best moments were the two Winnerbracket-Final wins versus SK-Gaming in Season 10 and 11, but in both of the Seasons we lost the Grand Final.
The person is of course Benjamin ‘biq’ Schäfer , who will play now In the first league in the ESBL. He became a real friend of Marc and me. He visited us 3 times here in Neuss and it is always funny with him. My friends from the “real life” know him now, too.

Your full name is Felix Spix, and probably for some of our readers, that sounds funny, but your nickname is LiX, and that is funnier. What is the story behind your nickname?
My first Nick was “LiXuS”. It’s the second syllable of “FeLiX” plus “uS” , but after that I changed it to “LiX” , because it’s sound better and funnier. It’s a kind of jingle Felix LiX Spix.

In the early days of gaming, when you began to play FIFA, what was it that convinced you to begin playing professionally?
It was the will to become better and better and to perfect your moves, your crosses and so an. I love the competition with the other teams and players. It motivates me always to know more about the game than your opponent. At the end of every Fifa version, you have to know everything about the game, when you want to be successful. Another point was the big events, which I met as a viewer. I always wanted to be on the stage and not in the audience anymore.

Before Mortal Team Work, had you performed? Your gaming history...
In Fifa 2005 and Fifa 06 I played for kiwiCULTURE, SFTO, plan-B and n!faculty in the Amateur Series. In the second half of Fifa 06 I joined pod to play my first Pro Series Season. It was Season 9. And after that I joined mTw. I have been playing there now for one year.

For some of our readers that are not following the FIFA scene in Germany, what position would you place your team in your country and what other teams are there?
Germany have got the most Fifa teams in the world and I’m very proud to be a part of one of the best teams here. At the moment I have to say that SK-Gaming is a little bit better than our team, but we are very near behind them. So I would say we are number 2 here in Germany. Maybe in some months number 1!

The ESL ProSeries is one of the best tournaments in Europe, how is it to play and fight for some great prizes?
It’s a great pleasure to be a part of the ProSeries and an honor to participate for mTw. The prizes are a great motivation, but for me the interest of the people and the events are a much better motivation than money.

What do you think is more important in a clan, the individual skill or the team work?
I have to make a typical answer. Sorry :) It’s a mixture of these two very important things for a Team. You need of course the skill, but it doesn’t help a fifa team, when only one or two person earn the big points. So you need the team work to learn from each other and to have fun during the training. Without team work, you can forget the success.

Last year in December at the EPS Finals in Cologne, mTw had the 1st place in it hands, but you lost two games against SK Gaming, and as the history never forgives, SK won again the EPS Title for the best FIFA team from Germany. How did it happen?
We played very well on Saturday and won against starComa and SK. The team spirit was there and we were very motivated for the final. But in the first war we lost in the final game between daimonde and styla. Before that we had only to shoot one more goal. But the Fifa god didn’t want it. So SK got the second chance and won it. But we try to forget it and go on.

So revenge will come soon? What are mTw’s objectives for 2008?
The revenge will come! The objectives in 2008 are the same like every year. We want to be number 1 in Germany, in the EPS. We want to get the title in the 5on5 EPS. But we want also have success in the 1on1 EPS, in the Major Series, in the WCG.. and so on. There is a lot of work to do, but we will handle it.

"I don’t know this Pro Evo.. What was it? Ah Pro Evolution Soccer.. Is it a game? :D So I pick the pink clothes and the 5000 Euro ;)"

Let’s say that you are the team manager of an all star FIFA team. What would be the line-up and some reasons for picking those players?
mTw|BroDo (he has got the experience and the skill for a very good team captain)
ESBL|daimonde (probably the best young fifa talent in the whole world)
ESBL|biq (for the fun in the team, but also a little bit skilled)
SK|styla (I think.. I don’t have to say something about him)
cless|xavo (Fifa 08 will be the version for him, I feel it)

Make a short comparison between Fifa2007 and Fifa2008, with some advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest difference between the two versions is the new cross and pass mode. The crosses and the through passes are now full manual and you have to train much more to handle the game. But I see it as an advantage for the pro players, because it’s better for us, when the game is harder to learn. Another advantage is that you can save now Demos. A disadvantage is that fifa hasn’t got a spectator mode… Very bad for the eSports.



If you could change something in the FIFA community, what would you like to change and why?
I would change that you are allowed to play in the ESBL and in the ProSeries. I don’t like this rule. It divides the scene.

Skipping to some weirdo questions, if someone would ask you to chose between playing ProEvolution Soccer and pay 1000 Euro and wearing pink clothes and winning 5000 Euro, what would you pick?
I don’t know this Pro Evo.. What was it? Ah Pro Evolution Soccer.. Is it a game? :D So I pick the pink clothes and the 5000 Euro ;)

Did you ever have any racists thoughts or you are just a normal guy that agrees with every race and minority?
I don’t look like a typical German, but I am, so I think it’s not good for me to become a racist :D No I am against racism and I have never been thinking of. I played in a football team with a lot of different cultures for about 10 years. We are all the same, aren’t we?

At the end of this interview, I want to thank you for your time and answers. Any last words?
Yes , thank you too. It’s an honor for me to be on the SK-Gaming page.I want also to thank the sponsors of mTw: PokerRoom SPEED-LINK NEC Enermax Doomster Ultraforce.I hope Fifa will get more attention in the future. We are on a good way and I hope that the community growing will go on.