Pandemic is rooted firmly in the history of competitive PC Gaming. It wasn't until recently, however, that we became interested in console gaming. That chapter of our organization -- likely the focus of the future -- is one that's yet to be written.

One of the individuals responsible for our migration to the console community in particular is Matt "BLiTZ" Siegfried, a former Major League Gaming (MLG) official and community moderator. Few posess his high-level experience and working knowledge of gaming events and tournaments, but even rarer are those as well known and respected as BLiTZ -- the focus of the latest MLG Community Member Spotlight.

Gamers are already a fickle bunch, and in a world of 'what-have-you-done-for-me-lately' the former referee stands constant as one of the most reputable and well-liked MLG/GB personalities of all (hey, aren't we supposed to hate the zebras?)

As moderator for MLG's online leagues and tournament site Gamebattles, he's helped execute hundreds of events ranging from promos to championship stage matches. He brings a wealth of X360 knowledge, in particular, to the Pandemic family.

As we've yet to formally introduce Matt to our friends and fans, what better time for him to have been selected as the focus for this piece by MLG 'Forum Junkie' Silentrare. The following is an excerpt from the piece:

Silentrare: You recently left being a Moderator and Referee for Major League Gaming to work for Pandemic. What persuaded you to come to this decision?

BLiTZ: Ever since I started following competitive video games, it was my dream to be with the best of the best. These PC teams that have been around since ’99-’04 always have multiple teams dominating multiple genres of games. Since I’m a World of Wwarcraft player, Pandemic was specifically one that interested me because they were the #1 team hands down back in day, while maintaining top teams in other games. Their President approached me through Twitter and after debating a while; I knew I couldn’t turn down this chance. Staying with MLG created a conflict since it’s a team that has competed at MLG and plans to in the future, so for now I’m taking some time off staff to be part of one of the best teams in history.

Silentrare: So, how's it been with Pandemic so far then?

BLiTZ: It's been great. We've tossed a lot of ideas around, talked to a lot of people, and hopefully soon we'll get the ball rolling on everything!

It was a choice that was very hard, since working for MLG was something I loved every minute of. Still, I knew that it was better to take this opportunity right now and return to MLG in the future than to miss out on this and wonder what it would’ve been like. It’s awesome how much respect I get from random strangers just from the Pandemic name next to me. People with a Counter-Strike or WoW background immediately strike up a conversation about it asking if it’s the same Pandemic from back in the day, and they’re always really cool guys. It’s a great conversation starter online and in pre-game lobbies.

Silentrare: So what do you plan on doing while working for Pandemic over the next few months?

BLiTZ: Well really I’m here to help give some insight on the console world. The guys there really have their expertise in the PC world, and although everyone has quite a bit of general console knowledge, their talents are much better spent focusing on the PC side of things. Pandemic’s really looking for a big change in this upcoming year; there’s a ton of HUGE new ideas being put into action that I can’t really talk too much about yet. While we brainstorm and start talking to people and putting work in on ideas, I rep the Pandemic name in various online games. Since changing my gamertag to include Pandemic, I climbed to the top of all six worldwide leaderboards for Rogue Warrior, ten #1’s in Alien Breed dominating single player and co-op leaderboards, which gained me recognition from their lead programmer, and of course taking 1st in the Borderlands 1v1 and 3rd in the MW2 Handgun 1v1.

I don’t want to give too much away with what we’re working on, but once everything underway, it’s going to be an incredible resource for both PC and console gamers of hardcore and casual nature. 2010 is bringing new sponsors, a new look, and a new attitude from the legendary PC squad. Console gamers will love what’s to come! You can follow the team on Twitter: @TeamPandemic, and of course you should be following me on my quest to 10,000 followers!

Silentrare: Can you give us a time period when we can see Pandemic make this announcement?

BLiTZ: There's no specific release right now we're aiming for. We want to make sure everything is ready for the website overhaul and all the new projects we have planned.

Silentrare: Alright then, can't wait to hear this announcement! So when you were a Referee for MLG, what game(s) did you normally ref during events and talk about a typical event day while reffing.

BLiTZ: Well I was a ref for Halo 3 for every event except the Saturday of Anaheim, when CoD4 was taking place. A typical day would be waking up way too early and grabbing a quick breakfast with the mod squad. We always tried to do ‘moderator breakfasts’ and whatnot, but it usually consisted of five of us stumbling around to the nearest food place to grab a croissant and some orange juice. After we woke up a bit we’d start doing stuff in the venue, helping out with any random tasks needed, like assembling the staff/pro/VIP/etc. passes for everyone to get. We patrol around the warm-ups to make sure everything is going smoothly, and then once the matches start we’re pretty much busy for the rest of the day.

There’s a lot of work to do and a ton of matches to ref in a day, but we get enough time between our series’ to hang out and talk to each other or run to a rushed meal. Since there’s so many moderators and other non-mod refs who have been around a while, everyone is always friendly. It’s great because when I try to explain to non-gamers what I do, it boils down to taking a weekend to go travel and spend time with hundreds of friends, from staff to players to spectators. It’s an incredible experience and if you’re willing to put in the hard work during the day, it’s one of the best jobs you could ask for.

Be sure to check out the article in its entirity. It's a great look into the day-to-day of one of the unsung heroes of the gaming community, and someone who we feel will make a big impact within the Pandemic ranks in the near future.

Source: Major League Gaming Community Spotlight