CoD Champs Team Spotlight: UX Gaming

UnderRatix’s Roster

Frederik ‘FreddyK’ Kuhl

• Age: 21
• Location: Osnabruck, Germany
• Twitter: @uX_FreddyK

Sven ‘Theros’ Arp

• Age: 22
• Location: Hamburg, Germany
• Twitter: @theros_ux

Philipp ‘DMagic’ Eßfeld

• Age: 20
• Location: Paderborn, Germany
• Twitter: @uX_DMagic

Sebastian ‘CooKsTeR’ Schubert

• Age: 18
• Location: Munich, Germany
• Twitter: @uX_CooKsTeR

 Most Notable Placements:

• FreddyK: EGL12 17th-24th, RGT9 9th-12th
• Theros: Qualifying for CoD Champs 2014
• DMagic: Multiple season wins on PSL in World at War and Modern Warfare 2
• CooKsTeR: Multiple top 8 placements in 2k/5k MLG tournaments

History:

• FreddyK started playing Call of Duty back on Call of Duty: World at War when he was just 15, but didn’t start playing competitively until Modern Warfare 2 on GameBattles.
• Theros started with Call of Duty 4 on PC, but switched over to Xbox 360 during Black Ops 1. He was introduced to competitive via CoD Champs 2013 and already had a large following on YouTube as a public player, so it was a drastic change.
• DMagic started shooters with Medal of Honor: Airborne in 2007 then moved on to World at War where he was asked to join a 6v6 SnD team on PSL, a German online league similar to GameBattles, but specific for PlayStation 3. He then eventually moved to CoD, and now he’s off to play in the biggest CoD tournament in the world.
• CooKsTeR’s first Call of Duty title was Black Ops 1 on the PS3. When the new consoles were released, he switched over to the Xbox One with Ghosts and competed here. He claims the start of Advanced Warfare was when he really started to get noticed as a top player.

What’s your favourite CoD?

FreddyK: “Modern Warfare 2 was my favourite because it was simple, everyone only used the UMP, FAMAS or ACR. Also every map in the game was playable for competitive whereas in most of the other games there’s only 5 or 6 good maps.”

Theros: “Black Ops 2 because I made a lot of new friends through that game and also a lot of fond memories. It was also the introduction of Hardpoint, which is my favourite gamemode.”

DMagic: “World at War because it was my first CoD game and I had so much fun with the zombies mode. MW2 sniping and competitive was just as awesome though.”

CooKsTeR: “Black Ops 2 because it’s the CoD I really started to grind on, and it was the CoD title most suited to competitive.”

What’s your favourite memory from competing at CoD?

FreddyK: “The best play I can remember is an ace and a 1v4 in the first 2 rounds against RNX at Reflex GT9 (Dutch LAN).”

Theros: “Winning 3-2 at the EU regionals in 2014 to progress to LA; we were playing a team that had beaten us a lot online, but we performed when it mattered and reaped the rewards.”

DMagic: “I’ve had so many great moments in GB’s and online tournaments. But qualifying for LA has to be the best.”

CooKsTeR: “The relief of qualifying for CoD Champs in LA this year is a feeling that cannot be beaten.”

How have you seen the scene develop since you first started competing?

FreddyK: “In the beginning all we had was GB and a couple of online tournaments, but it’s progressed so much, now we can literally play a good tournament every single day and there’s LAN events practically every month. Just amazing.”

Theros: “I think Treyarch did a great job with Black Ops 2 as they laid the foundation for the growth of CoD eSports with their great dev support. The scene continues to grow which shows what great momentum the scene has. AW has the potential to be a game that both the players and fans look back on fondly. I’m hoping soon we’ll see something similar to the MLG league in the EU soon from Gfinity.”

DMagic: “Sadly the growth only started at Black Ops 2, but what Treyarch did then was fantastic for the whole community. Since then it’s still growing, but a lot slower.”

CooKsTeR: “I can’t think of anything specific but it’s apparent to even casual fans just how fast it’s progressing. Especially in the USA, MLG are very professional.”

Any fun facts about yourself?

FreddyK: “Outside of CoD my main interest is football, I play for an unknown team here in Germany. I play as a striker but I only switched there in 2014, previously I played on the right wing.

Theros: “CoD Champs 2015 will be my 4th LAN and also likely my last as I’m thinking of quitting due to uni. Last year I also knocked out my current teammate FreddyK at the EU Regionals.”

DMagic: “I’m currently studying to become a History and Sports teacher, CoD is just a hobby along with my football, swimming and running. I also read a lot of books and spend a lot of time with my girlfriend.”

CooKsTeR: “I used to play a lot of sports when I was younger but CoD has started to take over that. What is interesting about me playing CoD is I play claw and I’ve never owned any expensive gaming equipment like a Scuf controller or an expensive headset.”

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You can catch UnderRatix in action at the Call of Duty Championship at the end of the month.