Today marks the announcement of a new SK Gaming Counter-Strike team: welcome SK Gaming US, assembled by former SK Gaming female in-game leader Alice 'ali' Lew. The team is composed of a number of former Turmoil members. They will be competing in the upcoming ESEA-o season.

SK Gaming US
Ben 'ben' Hui
Joe 'perez' Perez (formerly known as spyro)
Alice 'ali' Lew
Tyler 'willsoNirL' Wilson
Ryan 'NineSpot' Bell
Derrick 'impulsive' Truong (backup)

Ediz 'goodfornothing' Basol (coach)

ali answered some questions about the formation of the new team and its goals.

Introduce each member of the lineup and explain what role you
anticipate them having within the lineup.

1. ben - Been playing for 6 years and will most notabably be recognized probably from his days in x3o, turmoil, and gravitas where he has gone to international LANs like gamegune, eswc, wcg grand finals.... etc etc etc. His role in the team would most likely be the more quiet/calm player that is able to evaluate the other team's strats and positioning. His strength is definitely his rifling and ability to outplay other players.

2. joe perez - Been playin for 11 years; played alongside with ben, gfn, thomz, impulsive in numerous of those same teams and have gone to many of those same international lans. He's a force to be reckoned with in the states, super well known and is definitely considered one of the best players in the country. Great communication and great team-mate in general! He was my first pick above all other people because of his smarts and ability to read the game. We have started out with joe being the strat caller while the other players put in their input. He is VERY vocal which may be a good or bad thing.. we have yet to decide. He reminds me very much of me while I played on SK.ladies.

3. ryan "ninespot" - Been playing for as long as me and has been on ALL the top US teams throughout his career: EG, x3o, coL... been to many international lans as well: dreamhack, kode5, eswc etc. He was the final 5th that we decided on - we had a lot of options but he has SO much experience plus brings a lot to the table in terms of his maturity and calmness. He has been very helpful in terms of organization and experience - his calm and mature attitude has been helpful when the team gets chaotic in-game. I'd like to think of him as the regulator.

4. tyler "willson" - Not as much international lan experience as other potentials, but I see him as a huge rising star in the states who just hasn't gotten the chance to showcase his skill. Reminds me exactly of benita when I first brought her in. super explosive ability and I have my ultimate trust in him - can't wait for you guys to see him in action!

5. derrick "impulsive" (my other roommate) - He will be our backup. He plays as much as me and ben while we're home but he's on academic probation right now so he is using the next couple months to get serious with school. If needed or if there is an emergency, he will be there to be our backup.

6. ediz "gfn" - OUR COACH!!!!! He was our first pick as our last player, but doesn't have the time available to be a progamer like that anymore. He is moving to San Francisco and will be working fulltime etc etc.... but he really believes in our team and wants us to win, so he wanted to be as involved as possible, therefore he is going to be our coach/strat maker/caller. Coaches have proven to be very beneficial... and he can definitely help us out in terms of strats and in-game comm when we're at tourneys. We've already started working
together.

What are the short term and long term goals of the team? Which competitions will you play and which LANs can you be expected to attend in the future?

Obviously our goal is to be one of the best in the world. This is a star-studded lineup with years of experience, so I find that with practice and time, we will definitely be a force to be reckoned with. Our short term goal would to be the #1 team in America. Our long term goal would to be the best team in the world. There was no way for us to start in ESEA-i.. so we are starting off the year in ESEA-o next week and hope to be playing in the invite division by next season. You'll definitely be able to see us in tourneys around the states and whatever tourneys we get invited to outside the country.

The lineup contains a number of previously top tier North American names who have at one point or another decided to step away from active play at the top. What lead to the formation of this lineup?

Although many of these players stepped down from competitive play at one point, we always stuck together and played for fun through pugs and scrims. It also helped to be friends outside of the game as well, so it really was a given for me to pick who was best fit for the team. After talking as a team, we knew we shared similar goals, and with the support of SK, we knew we would have a chance to achieve them.

Does the retired nature of some of the players mean this team will be less active or intense than full time top North American teams?

Absolutely not... I can already see us playing as much or even more than other top American teams at the moment. We know that we have something to prove - so that only gives us more motivation to practice harder. Stakes are just that much higher for us because of this sponsorship. We know that this may bring either a bunch of support/excitement and/or controversy/criticism. Let's just hope that we'll be able to shut them up. Just playing with the thought of being a co-ed team and being one of the best teams in the world excites the hell outta me. How awesome would that be? :)