2003 1911 Interview of Haiku about TPG

[Sp3c-BuLLeT]

http://web.archive.org/web/200302160810 ... tml?uid=45

Haiku, TPG admin, interviewed by S|ash|1911 on 12.31.02

S|ash|1911 : Hi, can you explain to me the purpose of TPG and what it is?
TPG|Haiku : TPG is a DoD league (obviously) that started as a small project for a couple clans to setup regular scrims amoungst themselves. It stands for "The Proving Grounds" although I'm trying just to call it "TPG" because there is another CS league called "Proving Grounds" out there now. (done)

S|ash|1911 : What sort of clan skill level do you expect/want TPG to cater for?
TPG|Haiku : We started as four clans, USN ITF VP and GD. It was an opportunity for those young three teams get experience against a seasoned clan. By word of mouth we've grown and have a couple invite caliber and several silver level teams. At this point we cater to all levels of ability (done)

S|ash|1911 : What are some of the "invite caliber" teams that you currently have playing?
TPG|Haiku : uL and SE|. "Rangers Lead the Way" is un-known to most of the community but they are a very strong silver team.
TPG|Haiku : I guess I'm leaving out Fx| because I'm in them. We are probably a silver, maybe gold team at this point.

S|ash|1911 : What are the different divisions of competitive play that TPG currently offers?
TPG|Haiku : Right now we have "East" and "West" which I threw together during season 2 when I saw some play inblance. For Season 3 we will change to a Div I/II/III structure. East and West is confusing, I'll admit.

S|ash|1911 : How many teams are currently playing in each division?
TPG|Haiku : Right now there are 8 teams in the East and 8 in the West. For Season 3 I have 22 teams scheduled plus some applications I have to go through yet. I'd like to have 6 teams in Div I (invite) 8 0r 10 teams in Div II (silver) and 16 in Div III (copper). I can handle probably 32.

S|ash|1911 : What were the leading teams in the first 2 seasons for TPG?
TPG|Haiku : For season 1, 1stPD went undeafted and GD only lost to 1stPD. But there were some questions regarding conduct in that match so I didn't declare a winner. Season 2 playoffs are next week. I hope to do a HLTV match of the East title game.

S|ash|1911 : Who are in the playoffs for season 2, and who is facing who?
TPG|Haiku : Right now in the East we have: uL facing GDF and RLTW facing SE in the first round
TPG|Haiku : I can't tell you about the west because it's so close but QGB, WH, USN and ITF will play in the first round.

S|ash|1911 : What teams do you see being powerful in season 3?
TPG|Haiku : Well, uL and SE will dominate along with Fx and RLTW nibbling away in Div I. I really would like to see a couple more invite teams to balance things out.

S|ash|1911 : How do you expect to attract these invite teams to TPG?
TPG|Haiku : I just got a sponsorship commitment from Alienware and they told me this moring that they are shipping me a box of goods to give away to winners so I'm hoping that will make our league a little more attractive to higher profile teams.
TPG|Haiku : TPG is evolving in it's nature and it's becoming a more formal league (rosters, demos, etc.) sooner than I anticipated.
TPG|Haiku : Really in Divs II and III I want it balanced so every teams feels like they are in it until the last week. Good for morale and makes it more fun.

S|ash|1911 : What's the TPG website, so people can visit you guys?
TPG|Haiku : http://www.usnclan.com/league is the website for season 2 action. http://www.tpgleague.org is the new site that is being used for season 3. Both sites are up right now and available.

S|ash|1911 : Ok thanks a lot for your time..anything else to add?
TPG|Haiku : Just that I have a new respect for league admins now that I run one. The whole GXA / STA admins thing sorta hit home with me because, geez it's a tough job and someone always ends up being pissed.
TPG|Haiku : You want to be fair, you want to do what's right. It's just not always that easy.
TPG|Haiku : I'm referring to the fallout between GXA and the STA admins that happened maybe a month ago?

S|ash|1911 : And you support the STA admins in this I presume?
TPG|Haiku : I'm not sure what to think about it. I mean, a wonid is a wonid. Everyone knows that you are supposed to use a machine that has your wonid. But I can see that the admins wanted to be fair and in their minds they were sure the guy was who he said he was.
TPG|Haiku : It's like any major sport, a ref's call is a ref's call. You just live with it, move on and fight the next battle.
TPG|Haiku : Right or Wrong, next time you'll probably get the break.

S|ash|1911 : Ok thanks again for your time
TPG|Haiku : Thanks S|ash`