Samsung Mobile Challenge is one of the major events at the largest eSports festival in the world, World Cyber Games. Last year, the Samsung Mobile Challenge Singapore Qualifier was concluded with the Champion belonged to Jackson ‘GODZ1LLA’ Tham. This year, Jackson Tham keeps track of his winning streak by participating in the online national qualifier to win the slot to compete on the Samsung Mobile Challenge Asian Championship 2011.

He is very busy at this point of time because of the national service. Luckily, RGN managed to catch him online to do the interview.

RGN: Hi Jackson, could you briefly introduce yourself for the RGN readers?

GODZ1LLA: Hi, first of all thanks for taking the opportunity to interview me. My name is Jackson and I played “Asphalt 5” in WCG Grand Finals 2010 at Los Angeles, I was also the flag bearer of team Singapore at the WCG opening ceremony that year.

RGN: How did you approach mobile gaming?

GODZ1LLA: I guess it was by chance that WCG included a racing mobile game in year 2008. As I am an avid racing game fan, I would love to try out all sorts of racing games, even in the mobile phone.

 

RGN: What was your first mobile game competition; and your achievement in this competition?

GODZ1LLA: I still remember my first ever official mobile game competition was ‘Asphalt 4’. I finished 5th to 8th position after losing to Jared “slyfoxlover” Beins in the quarter finals during WCG 2008 Singapore Finals and he became the World Champion for “Asphalt 4” in Cologne, Germany later that year.

 

RGN: Who is your biggest rival since you started competing on mobile game?

GODZ1LLA: Jared, of course. :) He is really good with mobile games as far as we all know.

RGN: You participated in the Samsung Mobile Challenge 2010. How did the competition turn out?

GODZ1LLA: I pretty much got the track in my head that year, and I guess I was lucky to beat Jared by surprise at the WCG 2010 Singapore Finals. After being the 1st and 2nd position for the nation, we were both chosen to represent Singapore at the WCG Grand Finals in Los Angeles. The 19 hours long haul flight certainly knocked us out on the first day we spent in Los Angeles. It took us a while to get adjusted to the United States time zone.

After much rest, we were ready for a face-off with the top mobile gamers from across the globe. At the arena, I brought up my A games and managed to top my group with a clean sheet of 4 wins defeating Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine and Bulgaria. Jared and I both qualified in our groups respectively and then proceed on to the eliminations.

At the quarter finals, I met Mussuri from Russia and I took the lead of 2-0 at the end of the second set. Partly due to my inexperience and complacency, I lost to Russia 3-2 in the end. Nevertheless, it was pretty much a good experience for me as a newcomer. Best of all, we definitely had awesome time in LA. :)

 

RGN: Did you compete on Samsung Mobile Challenge this year? If yes, how’s it going?

GODZ1LLA: Yes, so far so good. Hopefully I will get the chance to represent Singapore for this event again.

 

RGN: Beside Asphalt 6, are you interested in any other mobile games?

GODZ1LLA: Definitely, I have been playing all sorts of mobile games on my Android, from racing games to puzzle games. The most recent one I played would be ‘Zuma’s Revenge!’ by PopCap.

 

RGN: What is your favorite phone for gaming?

GODZ1LLA: Samsung Galaxy S2. Believe it or not, you can really see the differences in the graphic rendering as compared to the Galaxy S1.

 

RGN: Are you interested in playing PC game and console game? What do you think the differences are between mobile games and other platforms?

GODZ1LLA: Yup, I have an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 myself, and I am a big fan of the FIFA series and Need for Speed series. However, I hardly have time to be sitting at home and beating up my controllers nowadays. Therefore, my mobile phone will be my on-the-go gaming device.

RGN: You’re very busy at this moment. Could you tell us more about your work at the moment?

GODZ1LLA: Just like every other man in Singapore, I’m doing my national service now. Therefore, I hardly have time to sit down at home every day to play my games.

 

RGN: How much time do you spend on practicing mobile games? Does it take you much time?

GODZ1LLA: Well, I guess 1-2 hours a day will be reasonable. Not really, when it comes to competition, I will put in the required amount of time in order to achieve the results.

 

RGN: Besides gaming, what do you usually do during your free time?

GODZ1LLA: Apart from gaming, I love to spend quality time with my friends and family members like watching a movie or having a dinner together, etc. Other than that, I also like to collect and play trading cards.

 

RGN: How far do you think mobile games will develop in the eSports scene?

GODZ1LLA: I strongly believe that mobile games have a great potential in the eSports scene. Especially when there are great sponsors, like Samsung mobile, StarHub and WooWorld in collaborating different mobile challenges in the recent months. As I have noticed recently, more and more people own a smartphone, and mobile games can be easily accessed and downloaded through their respective marketplaces. As the technology is advancing at a fast pace now, maybe at the near future you might be playing a PS3 or Xbox360 game on your mobile phone.

RGN: Thank you very much for the interview!

P/s: The Samsung Mobile Challenge 2011 Singapore Qualifier has just concluded on October 17th with the 1st and 2nd belong to Jackson ‘GODZ1LLA’ Tham and Jared ‘slyfoxlover’ Beins in order. Both of them are going to represent Singapore to clash in the Samsung Mobile Challenge Asian Championship 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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