1) Name: Michael "Paradox" Stanowski

2) Age: 19



3) Hometown: Chicago, IL

4) Game playing in CGS: Counter-Strike: Source



5) Can you please tell us who you are and a little about your gaming history?
I've been playing CS since 1.5 came out, competitively since season 10 of cal (1.6), and changed to CS:Source when it came out. I saw an article on competitive gaming, and counter-strike specifically. I was intrigued by the competitive nature of it and it all clicked then. I wanted to become the best and worked my butt of for it. Up until now, I've played for teams such as verGe, D!E, Forbidden, and Pandemic. For the past two years my team has consistently placed top 4 at each event and winning multiple events including the buy.com and Summer CPL 2007 Championships. I was also part of the Complexity CS:S Taxi squad for season 1 of CGS.

6) What is your most memorable in game/match moment?
It has to be the finals of the October 2005 Newegg DigitalLife CS:Source tournament. We came in with a team of relatively unknown players as team verGe Gaming and took out the CPL champions, PowersGaming, in style. We worked hard for a few months prior and I personally remember eyeing PG when they walked into the Newegg lan center thinking to myself… “these guys have NO idea what they just got themselves into.” A bit ballsy but I had full confidence and wanted it so bad. It was my breakout tournament and pretty much propelled my team and I to the forefront of the competitive CS:S community.
 



7) What is the story behind your alias?
I wanted a unique alias that sounded cool and came up with “paradox” after going through a few others that I grew out of. There’s not much more to it but I will say that I love hearing my alias in English class discussions. It’s just a fortunate side-effect that forces me to daydream about games in class on occasion.



8) What do you think about the rest of your team?
Although I’ve been playing with the team for a short period of time, I’ve been competing against most of the guys for a very long time so I can at least say a little something.

ClowN is a very outgoing and has a very personable character. There’s never a dull moment with him around and he stays true to his name. Although he has a easy-going personality, his play in-game is intense and fierce. Yaz has the capability to AWP or rifle, and does each with style. His movement is among the best in the game which makes him really exciting to watch. I’ll tell you from experience that I’m really glad that I’m no longer on the receiving end of his antics.

Warmach1ne is the most serious one of the group and he does NOT tolerate failure. Okay so I’m making him out to be a really mean person but that couldn’t be more wrong. He’s a great, driven guy that keeps his focus in-game and is a joker when it’s time to be. Last but not least, he’s an explosive, yet consistent rifler that will do his job, but also will make huge plays when the heat is on.

Moe is Clown’s partner in crime… or is it the other way around? Anyway, he’s another outgoing guy that always cracks a joke or two while bringing a great deal of intensity in-game. He’s one of, if not the most dominant AWPer in the game and has the confidence and capability to completely take over a match.

Garett is our new team leader and a great one at that. You’ll be hard-pressed to find somebody that dislikes him and he’s one of the most easy-going and respectful people I’ve ever met and played with. I anticipate him to bring a lot of experience, smarts, and direction to a team of some blazing talent. Not to mention that he was Chicago Chimera’s best fragger. He’s going to fit right in!




9) Previous offline or online placements?

-LAN-
1st Showdown Lan ; September 2007
1st CPL Summer 2007 Championships ; August 2007
1st WSLP ; Summer 2005
1st W2Z Bootcamp Tournament ; October 2005
1st NewEgg DigitalLife NYC ; October 2005
1st Lacledes Lan ; Fall 2006
1st Buy.Com CGS Qualifier ; Fall 2006
1st ECL ; Spring 2007
2nd Zionlan ; Summer 2005
2nd Ryu Lan ; Fall 2006
2nd DC Lan ; Winter 2006
2nd XFX $10,000 CS:Source Qualifier - September 2007
3rd GGL DigitalLife - September 2007
3rd/4th CGS Season 2 Combine
4th Newegg Lanfest - October 2007
5th Everlan Winter 2005
25th-32nd CPL ; Summer 2005

-ONLINE-
16-0 regular season cal-invite s4
2nd place Cevo-Pro s1
2nd place Cevo-Pro s2
3rd place Cevo-Pro s3
3rd place Cevo-Pro s4
3rd place Cevo-Pro s5

-OTHER-
Cevo-Professional Season 1 Grand Finals MVP (verGe) - www.gotfrag.com (Gamesense Statistics)
Cevo-Professional Season 2 Grand Finals MVP - www.gotfrag.com (Gamesense Statistics)
2nd Overall statistically ranked player cal-invite s4 ; www.gotfrag.com (Gamesense Statistics)
Grand Finals MVP of RYU Lan - www.source-radio.net
Participant for East Coast Allstars in SourceRadio Allstar Game ; 2006
Captain U.S. East Allstars in Gotfrag's CS:S World Allstar Game ; 2006



10) What do you do when you are not gaming? I’m usually doing one of three things which are working out, eating, or sleeping. Okay so that doesn’t sound like very eventful life and I agree! I like to play sports, namely tennis, basketball, soccer, and bowling recreationally… okay so I’m too competitive for it to be recreation but I enjoy myself. Of course I spend time with my great friends whenever I get a spare moment. Beside everything else, I love to take time to enjoy the simple things in life including food, nature, and some other things I’ll have to leave out here. ;)



11) Your favorites
Food: Vegetable fried rice

Drink: Water

Film: “300”

TV Show: “Family Guy”

Sport: Soccer, basketball, tennis, and bowling. Can’t pick one because it’s different almost every day… sorry!



12) Practice routines
I’ll cycle my CS training depending on tournaments. I’ll hit it really hard for a month, 6 weeks before a tournament and then relax a bit two weeks leading up to the event, simply staying sharp and fresh. Aside that, I have a simple 200 point death-match routine (100 awp/deag, 50 colt, 50 ak) that I do 5 days a week aside team practice to keep my mechanics solid. Pugs are also an option more so for recreation… because games are meant to be fun!



13) What are you aspiring to accomplish with CGS / Your objective in life.
I want to simply play the best game I can and help my team become the Season 2 CGS World Champions! As long as I put forth my best effort, I’ll be content with whatever result that brings, but the team as a whole has potential to win it all for sure.
My only objective in life is to seize the moment, make the most of the opportunities that come to me, and simply be the best person I can be physically, mentally, and spiritually. That should bring me some of the tangibles that I dream of having some day!



14) Myspace URL
Took my old one down a while ago but a new one will be up soon!