Interview with Nickunj FINaL ELEMENT Bansal

With India’s next big LAN ‘The Gaming Contest’ beginning tomorrow, the players are all set to show off their skills. In a rapid chat session, we spoke to Nickunj ‘FINaL.ELEMENT’ Bansal, the most successful Warcraft 3 player in India to learn more about his thoughts on the game and the upcoming tournament. Continue reading to discover the Holy Light that surrounds this young Hero of the Human Alliance.

GI: Lets start off with a little introduction. Please tell us about yourself.

Final. ELEMENT: Hi im Nickunj Bansal. I’m 15 years old, studying in the 10th grade and currently situated in Chennai. And of course, I love gaming.

GI: Please describe a typical day in your life.

FINaL.ELEMENT: Well, a usual day with school is pretty boring. I get back by about 3 and I’ve got tutions and stuff and so I’m busy up to 7. After that I start off by practicing a little and go on and play or study a bit until 2 am

GI: How long do you practice each day?

FINaL.ELEMENT: When I have school, I practice for about 3 or 4 hours, maybe less.

GI: You started playing games at a very young age. How did you get initiated into the world of gaming? Was it your brother’s influence?

FINaL.ELEMENT: No it wasn’t .. lol. It was my cousin who first introduced me to console games and it took off from there.

GI: What games did you initially play? When did you decide to focus on competitive Warcraft 3?

FINaL.ELEMENT: Hmm, I started playing at the age of 7, I think. I played mostly classic games from that time like Quake 2 and stuff. Tomb Raider III was the first really cool game that I played. I didn’t restrict myself to a single genre and played just about everything. About Warcraft 3, I loved it right from the beginning which goes back to ROC. I played with a lot of friends and I guess I always played competitive to excel and become number one in India. I guess I have succeeded.

GI: You have been playing HU since the ROC days. Many people agree that NE are very strong after playing with another race for a while and then switch. Did you ever feel the need to change your race?

FINaL.ELEMENT: Well, right from the beginning I started playing with the Human race because I really liked their style, Night elf is a pretty strong race but I don’t think I will ever switch. Besides I’ve come this far and it’s too late now.

GI: What is it about the Human race that suits your playing style so well?

FINaL.ELEMENT: I find that the Human race is really defensive and requires a lot of skill to play with, at least a bit more than the other races… I’ ve always liked a challenge. Also I think they’re really cool.

GI: What is your current level on the Kalimdor ladder and how long did it take you to get there?

FINaL.ELEMENT: My level at the moment is 44 and it took me about 3 months of playing time to get there… In India it’s really tough for gamers to ladder on Battle.net as you probably know because of the lag and disconnections.

GI: Have you beaten any well known players on the ladder? If so, please name them.

FINaL.ELEMENT: As far as I remember, I guess I’ve only beaten lov)KenSiro who was no.1 a long time ago. I’ve also come very close to beating famous players like ShowTime.WeRRa.

GI: What are your thoughts on the Indian competition? You have not been defeated in a tournament so far. Do you think you can keep this winning streak going?

FINaL.ELEMENT: Sure… why not? Although some matches maybe close, I’m pretty sure I’ll manage to gather up the win. The Indian scene is improving rapidly though, there are a lot of players who are out to get me.

GI: You have also participated in 2 WCG grand finals so far at Korea and USA. What does it take to do well at international events like these?

FINaL.ELEMENT: I guess that would be practice. The main reason why Indian gamers aren’t able to perform well at the international events is because of the lack of practice. And of course, thanks to our wonderful Internet connections which disconnect at least 4 times a day. Not to mention the lag. If we had better net connections and really put in effort by practicing online, I’d say there would be no stopping us.

GI: How about the lack of sponsors? Do you think that could make a difference in the level of play? Sponsorship may provide the players with enough motivation to practice hard.

FINaL.ELEMENT: Well, yeah that too but what’s the point in practicing when you’re gonna get nowhere… The only way to improve is to practice online at the international level.

GI: So is the lack of good Internet the main factor that is holding you back? Is there anything else?

FINaL.ELEMENT: I guess it’s the time factor right now since I’m in the 10th and I have to balance my gaming and studies.

GI: You are India’s closest thing to a ‘pro-gamer’. With a huge win in the Microsoft Halo tournament and many Warcraft 3 tournaments, you must have earned a lot of money and prizes. Could you list out your achievements?

FINaL.ELEMENT: My achievements so far : Surfs up cafe Warcraft 3 tournament 1st place, A lot of local tournaments as well. Microsoft Halo tournament 1st, WCG India ‘03 Warcraft 3 tournament 1st, WCG India ‘04 Warcraft 3 tournament 1st, Urban Fury Warcraft 3 tournament 1st, Reliance Gamebox 2005 Warcraft 3 tournament 1st. I don’t intend on losing anytime soon on my long journey to becoming a pro gamer.

GI: What changes would you like to see in the next Warcraft 3 patch?

FINaL.ELEMENT: I’d love to see Undead destroyers nerfed in the next patch. As for Night Elves, a whole lot of things like dryads, trees, expos and bears. Grunt cost or HP for Orc and for Humans, the Heroes should get 1 million HP. What else?

GI: What is your current gaming rig?

FINaL.ELEMENT: Intel Pentium 4 3.0 ghz, 1 GB RAN, 19″ Samsung Monitor, Microsoft digital media keyboard, 160 GB hard disk, Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 ultra, Warcraft 3 mouse pad and a Logitech Mx 500.

GI: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best for your tournaments. Now you can shoutout to your friends.

FINaL.ELEMENT: Thank you for interviewing me. Greetz to all my friends, all my friends on MSN and also from clan AGN. My Bombay friends too, even Sagar :’(