Could you tell us your name and introduce yourself?
My name is K.L. “arctic” Smith. I’m 21 years old and reside in Ohio!

What led you into gaming in general, and what has been your favorite console and genre?
My parents bought a Super Nintendo when I was 3 yrs. old and I’ve been gaming since. My favorite console was probably the Dreamcast because it really started the competitive gaming scene for me. My favorite genre would have to be First-Person Shooters.

I know you are a bit of a Gears head, but what other game and platform do you consider to be your true calling?
The franchise that has and will always be my true calling is Unreal Tournament. I’m very eager for Unreal Tournament 3 to release later this year. My favorite platform without a doubt would be console, in particular the Xbox 360. I could never really afford a high-end PC and I wouldn’t want to upgrade them every 6 months. The Xbox Controllers seem to work so well with shooters that it just calls out to me haha.

The competitive gaming circuit is something that most gamers look on as a pipe dream, yet you have managed to pull it off. How were you able to succeed in making it happen?
Well to those wondering, it’s all about dedication. You have to ask yourself, how much are you willing to sacrifice to make it happen. I was fortunate enough to be able to play with an excellent group of people for about 6 years (vBi). The fact that I am able to constantly play against people that are as good as or better than me definitely made me want to constantly improve. Once I realized where gaming was heading, it was a simple move to transition from playing for “fun” to making it more than that. The biggest factor is predicting what games have the ability to make it on a Professional Circuit. We guessed right with Gears of War and have been playing it since it launched. Once a circuit picks up a game, it’s up to the player to commit to being the best at that game.

Team vBi is an interesting clan name? How did you come up with that?
Violent By Instinct (vBi) was created after =Violators= (Team V) and Just Bring It (jBi) merged in 2005. We didn’t want a “corny” merge of the two names like, Violators Bring It or something along those lines. Essentially, being that I was originally a part of Violators, I felt it fitting to keep some remote distinction of the two former teams. “Violent” was the first word that came to mind and we progressed from there.

What platforms and games are Team vBi currently competing in?
We are currently competing on the Xbox 360. We are working on plans at taking some shots at the PC in the near future, but we’ll see how that fairs. As far as games go, we’re all over every game that has potential at making it on a Professional Circuit. We have guys training for F.E.A.R. for the CyberAthlete Professional League (CPL), we’re tackling Fight Night Round 3 for the World Series of Video Games (WSVG), and have been pretty successful in Gears of War on the World Cyber Games (WCG) and Major League Gaming (MLG) circuits.

As a team captain and co-founder of the team, what kinds of responsibilities fall on your shoulders?
My active roles on the team include:

Player Management
Coordinating Practice Schedules
Tournament / Game Selections
Media & Sponsor Relations
Staffing


What clan/team is the t...