"Mose" Interviewed - The Maltese Professional Halo Player

As the local gaming industry grows, more and more opportunities are arising for Maltese enthusiasts to pursue a career in esports. Many have tried, are trying and will try, but only those who take their chances and are completely fearless will really make a name for themselves. Luciano Calvanico is an example of one of those that made it. Ever since 2016 he’s been tearing up the Halo scene and we’ve been dying to interview him - that day has finally come. The interview was begun on December 13th, hence the reference to the public holiday.

Hello Luciano, we hope you’ve had a great day. We’ll start off the interview properly; from the very beginning. You weren’t always 21 and part of a huge esports organization. Tell us how it all started, when, where and all the necessary details. Who was your inspiration, if anyone?

Thank you very much I had a fantastic day! It all started around Halo 3 days which was about more then 10 years ago when I found out about esports and that you could actually make a living out of it. I started playing with competitive settings always trying to get better every day, then when Halo: Reach came out a few years laters my parents decided to send me to the first ever European event I attended. I was about 15 years old back then and from there the dominoes started to fall because I started playing with better players and climbing the ladder always joining better teams.

For the past two years, you’ve immediately risen to the top of the Halo scene with four 1^st place finishes and a single second place to create quite an impressive record. Of course, there were three finishes outside the top two. Anyway, how have the past two years of your life been? What’s changed? Did you ever expect to be where you are at the moment?

Yes, so I broke into the pro scene in 2016 when the first big team picked me up which was Dignitas. This was a short run with them as we fell short at Gfinity Finals, placing 2nd. Then we had a really disappointment finish at EMEAS, the World Championships qualifiers. We were the favorite to win it, to qualify for the 2.5 million dollar tournament but got knocked out in the group stage which to this day is the biggest upset EU Halo has ever had. After that,  I won everything Europe had to offer and it's been more than a year now with my team that we've remained undefeated in EU. My life has changed a lot since then, I couldn't be more lucky with the position I currently fill in. It has always been my dream since a kid and being able to make a living like this is exactly a dream coming true for me.

The lifestyle of a professional gamer is unlike any other job. Do you agree with this statement? Share your daily routine on a normal day. How do you prepare yourself for competition online and offline? What’s it like to compete on the largest stages in the world?

I think that being a professional esport gamer is like every other job. Usually, my daily routine starts by going to the gym before I start playing, then when I get back home I start warming up and at around 6pm is when we usualy start scrimming and practicing against other top teams. Competing on large stages dosen't get to me anymore - I keep myself focused on winning. At the start I used to get very excited but now I only focus on winning the match and don't really pay attention to the stage or crowd; but watching it back from twitch after every tournament I can't belive that I manage to do this as my full time job.

In shocking contrast to these huge tournaments and events is Malta, in terms of Halo of course. How has the lack of a local esports scene affected you? What do you think is necessary for Halo to rise in prominence locally? How did you go international?

It hasn't really affected me to be honest. My main goal was always to play with British or European players because that's where you are going to find the best players in the game and learn from them. That's why I put my name internationally instead of locally -  going to English events and making them recognize me as a talented player.  

Now let’s take a look into the future? What’s next for “Mose”? What are your main goals for 2018, improving on 2017, and how will you achieve them?

This year, 2018, I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing but I will start streaming again once I get my webcam consistently working and I'll be working towards winning an international event!

Only one more question remains. For all the keen Maltese enthusiasts; what is your advice for starting out as a professional player? What does it take? What mentality and what sacrifices did you have to stick to?

If you want to pursue this as a career. my advice is to just play a lot to be one of the best in the world and sacrifice time instead of going out with friends, but most importantly use that time wisely. Don't build an ego and always try to improve daily as a player! And last but not least you have to go to international events and always try playing with people better then you so you can have the opportunity to learn from them.

The interview did take a while to complete; such is the dedicated life of a professional gamer which Luciano Calvanico is fully embracing. He puts in a tonne of work and it pays off incredibly as he is now on of the top Halo players in Europe. Right now, he's got the world in his hands and he's targetting all of it for 2018 - yet, he remains humble and levelheaded like a true professional. Gamers.com.mt couldn't be more proud and supportive of his ambitions and goals for his career, and we'll always be here to help if necessary. 

Good luck Luciano and to any Maltese gamers still making their way into their respective scenes!