Bradley “APG” Laws has been quite the force on the Major League Gaming Pro Circuit this season. APG’s team, THO Infamous, won first place at the event in Raleigh. APG lead the event in both kills with 754 and assists with 240. It comes as no surprise that he was selected as the Raleigh MVP. Infamous also finished in second place at the recent event in Orlando.
APG recently spoke with me about his pro gaming career and his thoughts on the Halo franchise.
Describe what things were like in the early stages of your pro gaming career. What made you want to become a pro gamer and what type of struggles did you face?
I started my gaming career at the young age of 12 and attended my first Major League Gaming (MLG) Pro Circuit event in 2006 for Free For All only. I made it into the Pro bracket for the first time at the end of Halo 2, but struggled playing Halo 3 at the beginning. 2009 was my “breakout” year. The first event I placed top 12th, a couple events later I secured my first top 8 then 4th in the event after, followed by a 7th place finish at the 2009 MLG Pro Circuit nationals.
I wanted to become a Pro Gamer because it was seemed like the most enjoyable thing in the world. I set my expectations high, spent a ton of time practicing and finally earned my first 1st place finish at the MLG Pro Circuit in Raleigh this year. Throughout my Pro Gaming career, I have been fortunate to make a pretty solid income from just playing Halo. The biggest struggle has been honing my skills to master the game, and finding players who share a similar mindset and gameplay style. In the past few years I’ve learned to be versatile player in order to compete with a wider range of players in future events.
Do most professional gamers also have a full-time job or does gaming bring in enough income to make a living off of?
I think the majority of pro players do not have a full time job. If you are consistently placing in the top six, you are making a pretty good amount of money, but it all depends on your future and your age. I’m a senior in high school and am hoping to save enough money to move to California and attend college with a major in Psychology.
Compare Halo: Reach to other games in the Halo franchise. Which is your favorite and why?
My favorite Halo game is Halo: Reach. At first I was terrible, I didn’t know how to play at all and I did not expect to win an event in this game. During the off season leading up to the first Halo: Reach event, I put in numerous hours with my team Believe the Hype and managed to place 3rd at the first official Halo: Reach event. I like this game so much because I have been able to master this title and have the most skill at Halo: Reach out of all games in the Halo franchise. After hours and hours of playing, I still don’t get bored off the game. If I had to pick any other Halo game to play, it would be Halo 2.
Outside of Halo, what other video games do you play?
I mostly only play Halo, but if I had to choose any other game it would be Call of Duty. All of the Call of Duty games are extremely fun to play.
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The 2011 Pro Circuit National Championship is set to be held in Providence, Rhode Island on November 18th – 20th. There will be over $600,000 in prizes and stipends on the line. Competitor and spectator passes are currently on sale at www.majorleaguegaming.com.
(This interview was originally published on Examiner.com)