How big can pro-gaming be? Do you invisage it one day rivalling other sports?

Yes I think that the will develop to be on a major level with structures in place from top to bottom just as other have. The TV deals are now in place for the CGS on Sky and Eurosport for example and I hope other leagues and tournaments will come along to rival that. The more exposure it receives and the more support it gets from the mainstream is the key, education of our sport to the masses is the next step and I hope that one day we are seen as a major sport.

How is the pro-gaming working to attract spectators and make gaming fun for onlookers?

The pro-gaming teams rely heavily on the tournament organisers for this aspect especially at live LAN events. At many large events the games have commentary and the big matches are played on stage for all to see at the venue. With eSports though internet broadcasts are the norm and thousands tune into watch the big tournaments live from anywhere worldwide.

Another industry has grown up from eSports and that is shoutcasting, basically the John Motson’s of the gaming world commentating on matches. The shoutcasters are also stars such as ReDeYe from Quadv.com, his voice particually spread’s the word to the uninitiated about our sport.

We have visited many events that have a festival feel to them with side shows going on making them a real fun place to go. The sponsors also get involved with booths showing off their new products, they have giveaways competitions and add something special to each tournament.

Can normal players compete against the team?

Yes, our players practise and use public servers to warm up a lot before practise matches. A few times we get told that we are not really who we say we are because we are rubbish, that always makes us laugh. Some people pretend to be Pro Gamers online by using our names on public servers, it is a kind of compliment we think. To get noticed though by top teams and players, the best way is to play on public's or mix matches.

We also participate in online events such as Xfire, where people who use Xfire are given special codes allowing them to track where our players play online. People can then join the same server and they know for sure that they are playing the Pro’s. This is very popular especially for our 4 team who are without doubt our most popular team.

At a lot of tournaments they are open to all, so people can signup and play against us. At trade shows we also do shootouts where the public try and play against the pro to win prizes from our sponsors.

Pro-gaming is big business in Korea. What can you tell us about this, and why it isn't so in the west?

It is massive in Korea and is now almost the national sport, the top players are mobbed at the events from adoring fans and the tournaments are broadcast on national TV. In South Korea the internet connections are excellent and widely available and also in 2000 internet cafes started popping up everywhere in Korea. This made gaming and especially online gaming accessible to all, the craze spread from a game called and still today the Koreans play it non-stop.

In the west the internet connections are fantastic now but still there is a lack of internet cafes that can cater for gamers. There is a large centre in Birmingham now, the Omega Sektor, which is the largest in Europe. Also there is a cafe inside HMV in Piccadily Circus (London) that caters for gamers. So now we have venues in the that can host the major events, so things are looking up.

With gaming now on mainstream it is only a matter of time before we get to the stage that Korea and some other countries are at now.

Finally, where next for Team Dignitas?

We will continue to develop our brand but this year the focus is on making our own money, that is for sure the priority for our company. We need to generate our own funds and we will be looking at all sorts of ways to do that in 2008.

For the team, our new CS 1.6 team are off to the KODE5 final in Moscow this week and after that we are packed out until October with tournaments and events around the globe. You can follow our exploits on Team-dignitas.org.

For me personally I will be off to LA in June to the CGS World Championship with my Birmingham Salvo team, and we will be looking to win it for the UK and get our hands on the $500,000 first prize. Check www.birminghamsalvo.com to see how we do.

By Luke Guttridge