Mondragon: Fun Comes With Winning!

Christoph "MonDiSSy" Semke, also known as ToT)Mondragon(, is one of the best StarCraft players in the world. We managed to get him for an interview in which we talk about StarCraft, poker and how he ended up in Gibraltar with us.

This interview was conducted by
vhallee

He is arguably one of the
most established players in the StarCraft universe, the most
competitive Real Time Strategy game. With a dominance that has not
only streched over the German scene, but the whole international
realm, Mondragon aka mondissy earns his spot in
the StarCraft Hall of Fame. Recently he joined us at the offices of
PokerStrategy.com in Gibraltar and we had the chance to sit down for
an interview with him.

PokerStrategy: Hello, mondissy and thanks for taking some time for an interview. Since you are famous for being one of the best StarCraft players in the world, let's start with this: when did you start playing and how did you come across the game?

mondissy: Hello there. I started playing back there in 1999 I guess and came across the game due to my brother who was playing StarCraft back then. So I figured I should give it a try too and unfortunately invested a lot of time in that game :p

PokerStrategy: So we should blame your brother for this success of yours :). There were several other Real Time Strategy games out there. Why did you choose StarCraft and not the other ones? Did you at least try the other titles at all?

mondissy: Well, I guess I only played StarCraft cause it was the most famous one back in those years and I kept playing it because I don't like to play new games and learn them from the scratch on ... so I always preferred to stick to StarCraft, but to be honest there was no reason to switch the game cause StarCraft has always been the best RTS game.

PokerStrategy: Indeed, StarCraft is generally considered as the most important title in the RTS field. You may have noticed this, but many StarCraft and RTS players in general switch to poker and happen to be quite successful (e.g. Elky). Why do you think this happens? What do they have that others don't?

mondissy: StarCraft players mostly have talent to think strategically and make the right decisions quickly. I think that is a capability which helps you a lot for poker in order to be successful.

PokerStrategy: StarCraft is definitely a great game, but Blizzard Entertainment, the company who created this game, is almost done with the long-awaited sequel. You are one of the few players who managed to test StarCraft II, so please give us your impressions on it. What do you think of it? Is it worthy enough to bear this name?

mondissy: No other game can ever reach the level of StarCraft. So whatever Blizzard is going to do, it's gonna be worse than StarCraft. I already played it a few games, and I have to admit that it does not seem too appealing to me so far but I have to mention that it is only an alpha version, thus it is very likely that the game is going to change and evolve a lot until the final release - we should not exaggerate because of an alpha version but one thing is obvious: No other game will ever be on the market as long as StarCraft.

PokerStrategy: So this probably means you will not consider playing it competitively? Or do you at least plan on trying it and see if you can enjoy it?

mondissy: I will try it and see if I can reach the top or at least be close to the top, but playing a game I'm not one of the best is no fun to me. I probably just don't have enough time anymore to practice enough to be at the top, but we'll see about that. I play to win and not to have fun in first instance. Fun comes with winning!

PokerStrategy: Judging from what you played so far, do you think StarCraft players will have an edge in StarCraft II or this is a completely new game?

mondissy: At the beginning they will have an edge in my opinion, but later on when people who are just able to invest more time in this game will catch up and eventually be more skilled if they got the talent as well.

PokerStrategy: Well I can only hope you will dominate the international StarCraft II scene just like you are doing with StarCraft 🙂 But let's move to another area of your interest - poker. How did you get yourself into poker?

mondissy: I started poker in the very beginnings of PokerStrategy. I heard and read about it and then played poker casually and some time later I got more serious about it but I never had the big interest to become pro. Thus I remained a casual player who prefers to play StarCraft 🙂

PokerStrategy: So you're pretty much an old acquaintance of ours - we should make you our e-Sports section moderator 🙂 Speaking of this whole poker issue, you are now with us here, at the Gibraltar offices of PokerStrategy.com. How is everything going so far for you?

mondissy: I love working here. It's a lot of fun and good experience for me. The work is interesting, the people are all very friendly and besides of that the weather is another good reason to work here 😉

PokerStrategy: Yeah, it definitely is a nice weather around here and you realize we're glad to have you here, even if it's only for this month - we're waiting for you to come back as soon as possible 🙂 Since you play poker and you are now staying here, surrounded by many poker players, have you tried some tournaments - be it live or online?

mondissy: The poker fever caught me again since I am here and I went to casino already several times. I love to play live games although I'm not such an awesome player.

PokerStrategy: Speaking of your skill, what type of poker do you play and what limits?

mondissy: I played until NL100 but I don't really play anymore since 1 or 2 years. Thus I am just playing some SnGs casually, but I might think about starting again if I got enough free time =)

PokerStrategy: I see, I guess the main reason for your inactivity would be your studies. And when it comes to online poker in general, even if you say you are not too active at the moment, on which platform can we usually see you play? If you play at several poker rooms, which one is your favourite and why?

mondissy: I've always preferred PokerStars, just cause of the design and support which is superior from what I have experienced. I already played on the most common platforms but in the end I always ended up on PokerStars 😛 

PokerStrategy: At the moment you still have an university to finish, but I guess you are already thinking about the future. What kind of long-term plans do you have? Do they include gaming and/or poker?

mondissy: My plan is to work in a finance department of some company after my studies. This means that after my studies the game for gaming or poker will be reduced a lot. But for sure I can see myself working in a finance department in the gaming or poker industry.

PokerStrategy: Well I hope that company's name will be PokerStrategy 😉 Let's leave this and go to some more off-topic questions. How does an average day look like for the mighty Mondragon?

mondissy: Usually an average day consists of waking up, going to university, coming home, hanging out with friends or playing some BW and spending time with my girlfriend.

PokerStrategy: Besides StarCraft and poker, do you happen to have other hobbies?

mondissy: I like to do sports such as football, volleyball and go to gym occasionally when I'm not too lazy 😛

PokerStrategy: Since you're a well-established player, you are in the position to offer advices to other players out there. What is the key to becoming a successful e-sports player in your opinion?

mondissy: Practice, practice, practice ... and talent.

PokerStrategy: Many of our readers are also your fans so they will surely take this advice and start training 🙂 Speaking of fans, do you want to mention anyone in particular - anyone that you think had a major impact in your gaming career so far?

mondissy: Nah, I never had a role model or something like that. I played for myself in order to become one of the best. I wanna be the best at whatever I do, so there was only one thing that counted but nonetheless fun is the basis of every success 🙂

PokerStrategy: Yeah I bet it would have been much harder to achieve your status in the international StarCraft scene if you wouldn't have enjoyed what you did. I have to say it's been a great interview, so thanks for joining us. The last words are yours, so if you have anything else to add, now is the time.

mondissy: Thanks for interviewing me and giving me the possibility to work here for some time! 🙂