ーHow did you feel after joining "The strongest team in Japan?"

ItaZan When I first joined I thought "This team operates well as an organization together". Umezaki, the CEO at the top of the organization was also at the same time on the board of trustees of the "Japan Pro eSports Federation", and also set up the first Pro Gamer Team in Japan that paid its members a salary, he is a real pioneer in the field.

Because you have someone that it is no exaggeration to say is a pivotal person in the eSports world working to represent the team, he arranged things so that it was very easy for us players to be active as well.

ーCan you be more specific on what kind of environment that was?

ItaZan He was the point of contact with all the companies that sponsored the team, he set up everything we need to practice games, and followed up with all the different tournaments that were being held. Because of that, we didn't have to worry about anything, and could just concentrate on what we needed to do. I'm really thankful for that.

ーThat sounds like an ideal environment for someone like you, where you could just devote yourself to the games that you love. Could you tell me more specifically about the activities that you perform?

ItaZan Sure. First, the most important thing is going to eSports tournaments. There is just an incredible number of eSports tournaments now.

For me, that means this year I'll take part in 15 tournaments overseas, and I'll join a number of domestic tournaments as well, for a total of about 20 a year.

ーSo that is about one or two tournaments a month …?

ItaZan That's right. There is a reason that there are so many tournaments. If you want to take part in the Capcom Cup tournament that I talked about earlier, you need to go to each of the tournaments and place well to gain points for it. Only the top players in the point ranking over the entire year will be able to join the tournament that decides the overall championship.

ーI see. So it is like tennis, where points gained at each tournament determine the world ranking, a system similar to that?

ItaZan It is exactly like that. The tournaments are quite frequent, so if you have any free time at all, just like people doing desk work on computer, you've got to always be playing games. I usually play for about ten hours a day, and before a tournament increase the amount of time I play. Just like an athlete who is super serious, I'll frequently get lost in it, and before I know it I've been practicing into the middle of the night.

Even if I can't directly play the game, I'll do research by watching other players' games, think about strategy for the upcoming tournament, and I'm always consciously thinking about how I can become stronger in the game. Actually, if I don't go to these lengths, I wouldn't be prepared for the next tournament.

ーYou really are an athlete. I'm sure there are people out there who think that games are just things that are fun, and have doubts about "Why do you need to be so serious and hard-working for that?". What is it about these games that makes it possible to devote so much time and effort to them?

ItaZan Just like you say, games really are something for you to enjoy, and one simple reason is that "No matter how much you play it is fun" (laughs). However, I entered the world of eSports, games were no longer for play instead became "competition", and I started to appreciate different parts of the game that I hadn't before.

ーHow is that?

ItaZan Once you take the game to its highest level, your power of observation of the players themselves and your tactics control the outcome of who wins and loses. For example, at the phase when you first start playing a game, the more you play the better you get at it. That is just the start though.

You can say this about any business, but when a new graduate enters a company and goes through the company training, all of them have about the same level of business skills, right? But in order to advance beyond that, you need to train your mental capacity and power of concentration, and concentrate on improving your knowledge, experience with people, and your techniques.

Games are the same, in order to cross the line into a higher level, you need experience with other people, and to train your mental capability.

ーSo for the games that you specialize in, have you made it a priority to train your mental understanding of those games?

ItaZan Yes. If you take it to an extreme, when you are at the highest levels, it isn't about the game but it is about the competition between "a person vs a person". You need to be able to see into that person's play-style and habits, and whether you can draw them into your pace and game plan. From your experience, tactics, and techniques a gap grows between the players, which decides the match.

"You can't win just be being strong."

I think that is the most interesting feature of eSports, and eSports games.