Tag: Interview

Community Interview: Maple

Season 14 rolling right along and there is no better time to continue getting to know our great players and staff. Let’s take a light-hearted look at those that make up the great MLE community.

In this interview, it’s time to get to know Maple!

What role do you play in MLE?
I am the director of the Development Team, an advisor to League Operations, a member of the mod team and I help out with Production whenever Leachy let’s me.

Wow! You do a lot of stuff! What does the Development Team do in the grand scheme of MLE?
Thank you! I do love to help. Development is responsible for two core areas. The first is all of our code, so our bots that provide scrims and replay submission and so much more. The second is Data Sciences. That group tracks all stats, helps tune elo, and help league Operations with information needed to help keep competitive integrity. They also do lots more, like babysit Adi. 

What brought you to MLE and how long have you been here?
Ripperr brought me here. I used to run another community, MiddleAgeNoobs (MAN) and was looking for a place to play. I’ve been here for close to 2.5 years.

2.5 years is impressive!
Thanks. I love it here, and can’t wait for the next 2.5 years! 

What team do you play for currently?
I’m non playing this year, but I am the General Manager of the Sabres. Go SAB!!!!!

How long have you been a part of the Sabres?
This is my third season. I started out as a Foundation League Captain, then became GM last season and again this season!

What aspects of MLE do you love?
Almost everything. I love the non-toxic part the most, the people are amazing, Raspberries and Water took me on a BBQ date, the quality of play and the professionalism of our entire staff are exciting. 

What other ways do you think MLE sets itself apart from other leagues?
The fact that we play all 5 games, that we are draft based, and that our staff are the best in league and community management are big. But by far, the biggest thing that sets us apart is our community and our members. MLE’s community is second to none! We also have TyTy and he’s pretty awesome! We also have the active support and participation of Phoebe, a Ubisoft Nadeo Dev who believes in MLEs community and values, so that’s saying something!

The non-toxic part was huge for me as well. My wife basically told me, “If you don’t start having fun… I’m going to break the disk.” Finding MLE was huge for me in that regard. That aspect really sets MLE apart in my opinion. 
I couldn’t agree more Brava. I think that there are tons of communities out there, but MLE rises above for me.

What caused you to have a desire to help out?
I love to help, it’s just in my nature. There was a spot in Admissions open and I applied. I still think that whole admissions team is amazing. Love ya Deejay! 

What has been your favorite or most fulfilling time on staff?
This is a tough one. I’d say joining League Ops and helping bring 3s in, and also working with Shuckle, Adi, Riz and Zach on Emilio and now Sprocket has been extremely rewarding. The scrim system alone has helped mle rekindle its community first focus. 

Silly questions: Does pineapple belong on pizza?
Yes. If it makes you happy, why not? 

What do you consider rule 1 to be?
Sacred.

Have you ever broken it?
Only in the playoffs. Otherwise, you never break rule 1. 

What’s your opinion of demos?
The more the merrier. I’m a huge fan of Rocket Sledge and think demos are an important part of the game. 

Rocket Sledge is definitely a hero of mine! Demos add excitement to the gameplay in my opinion. Have you had a favorite demo play in an MLE series?
I was playing in a 2s series with Goosen, who is a Sabres Captain now, and an incredible friend that I’ve made through MLE. He was out middle waiting for a pass, so I passed and then got a double demo so that he had an open net to score on. That had to be my favorite play!

We’re only a week in but what is your prediction for the Academy League championship? Who’s in it and who takes it?
Sabres take it in 7, against… whomever they play!

I want to thank Maple for all of the amazing work that is done here at MLE and for taking the time to do this interview.

Keep a look out for more community interviews over the course of Season 14 right here on our website!

Community Interview: Stevo

Season 14 is now underway and there’s no better time to start getting to know some of the people involved. From players to MLE staff, over the course of the season we will be interviewing a whole host of them! Bringing you a light-hearted look at those that make up the great MLE community.

This time it’s the turn of Stevo, long-standing member of community who has helped greatly behind the scenes specifically with the website. So let’s find out a bit more about him…

When did you join MLE?
I forget. Maybe 2017 or 2018.

What brought you to MLE?
Reddit. From there I got to know admin and got involved on a higher level to help make such a great community continue. Love it.

What teams have you played for?
Puffins, Dodgers and Wolves

Favorite moment in MLE as a fan or player?
Watching the Puffins Academy team take championship I think in 2019?

What’s your favorite cereal?
I don’t eat cereal anymore but when I did I loved to eat lucky charms.

What’s your go to drink during a matchup?
Beer. But kid friendly would be a Diet Coke.

What kind of hobbies do you have?
I run D-COT.com as a side hustle hobby, I love playing the piano. I produced four albums, played in a big band and in a girl-fronted band which played at CBGB!

What is D-Cot all about?
D-COT is a social community where Disney fans can gather and share in the magic of Disney Theme Park music. Members can stream park music from our jukebox, create their own favorites playlist and listen anytime they wish. It’s the only on-demand music player!

You produced 4 albums! That’s really cool. Do you sing or is it piano?
I sing and play piano. These four albums were only instrumental. All recordings were in my home studio.

A girl fronted band? That sounds pretty awesome. What’s CBGB?
The girl-fronted band was in the mid 2000’s. CBGB’s was a venue in NYC. https://www.cbgb.com/welcome

What’s your favorite meal?
Pizza. 🙂 A meal though be eggplant parmigiana.

What kind pregame routines do you have?
Take a shot to calm the nerves. I do free play to warm up the fingers.

Do you have a favorite BAWLS flavor?
No. I have never had it sorry :s

What’s your favorite season? Fall winter etc..
Winter. I love playing during Christmas and the colder weather.

What kind of MLE merch do you have?
I have a couple shirts.

Do you have any random skills?
I know how to play the piano.

Do you have any pets?
None. If kids count, I have three lol.

Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m not involved in MLE as much as I used to be but I’m so happy to see that it’s thriving and going strong. I’m here if anything is needed.

Big thanks to Stevo for taking the time to answer our questions. Who will be next up in our community interviews? Well you will just have to wait and see!

Community Interview: Kyuubii

Season 14 is now underway and there’s no better time to start getting to know some of the people involved. From players to MLE staff, over the course of the season we will be interviewing a whole host of them! Bringing you a light-hearted look at those that make up the great MLE community.

Our first “quick-fire” community interview is with Kyuubii, who is currently playing for the Academy League for the Hawks. Let’s find out about Kyuubii…

Brava When did you join MLE? 
Kyuubii – About a year ago, two weeks before the playoffs of season 12. 

Brava – What teams have you played for?
Kyuubii –  I’ve played for the Podgers, Outlaws, Wolves, and now the Hawks.

Brava – Favorite moment in MLE as a fan or player? 
Kyuubii – My first scrim in MLE, I felt like I was in a RLCS 6MAN scrim.

Brava – What’s your favorite cereal? 
Kyuubii – Oh Cinnamon Toast Crunch, all the way.

Brava – What’s your go to drink during a matchup? 
Kyuubii – Pineapple Cocktail Gamer Supps or W A T E R.

Brava – What kind of hobbies do you have? 
Kyuubii – I’m stuck to my chair and play too much RL, PLES HALP!

Brava – What’s your favorite meal? 
Kyuubii – Grilled pork chops and some mash potatoes with gravy mmmmmm.
Brava – The pork chops and mash answer totally made me hungry

Brava – What kind of pregame routines do you have? 
Kyuubii – I get on an hour before each match warmup in free play, custom maps, then some ranked.

Brava – Do you have a favorite BAWLS flavor? 
Kyuubii – It’s a tie between orange or root beer.
Brava – Root beer Bawls is probably my favorite.

Brava – What brought you to MLE? 
Kyuubii – Ok so i joined as a joke at first, my friend was approached by someone trying to recruit him, he gave me a website and said ,”Hey Zay, join this league no balls.” I did and I’ve been here ever since.

Brava – What’s your favorite season? Fall, winter etc.. 
Kyuubii – I’m a black bear, I like winter and like to sleep.

Brava – What kind of MLE merch do you have?
Kyuubii – I just ordered an elysium Hawks hoodie.

Brava – Do you have any random skills?
Kyuubii – I can make bubbles noises with my mouth and I can do a good Carl Wheezer from what I am told.

Brava – Do you have any pets?
Kyuubii – Sadly, no but I would love a huskie and/or german shepard.

Brava – Do you have any links you’d like to share? You’re twitch or anything else?
Kyuubii – Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/kyuubii_lol and TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@itskyuubii?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1 

Many thanks to Kyuubii for talking the time to answer our burning questions! Keep your eyes out for more fun community interviews everyone.

(*The words that are in italics are words that have been added for grammatical purposes.)