By Shibby

If you’re familiar with the Dr Pepper Ultimate Gaming House, then like me you’ve probably wondered what the winners’ rooms look like now—what they use the most, and how winning has affected their lives. Well, that’s exactly what this blog is about. I had the chance to catch up with a couple of our 2011 winners, Ryan Pliske & Nicholas Frichette, and here is what they had to say. Enjoy!

Here's how Nick's room turned out: it's a PC gamer's dream: 

And take a look at Ryan's sweet setup: 

Shibby: What’s different about the room since we left? Did you rearrange anything?

• Ryan – We moved into a new apartment and had to get a UHAUL truck to move everything. Took quite a while, but we reset the setup partly in the garage and partly inside. (It's cold during the winter.)
• Nick – The room is exactly the way it was left. I think it is in the best position [grins].

Shibby: What’s currently in the Dr Pepper fridge?

• Ryan - Diet Dr Pepper Cherry for my girlfriend and water for me—I don't drink soda much.
• Nick – Soooooooo… I drank all that Dr Pepper in like, a month. So now all that is left in there is a half-filled water bottle.

Shibby: Has anything been broken yet?

• Ryan – I just got a black lab puppy and she's been chewing through power cords.  And I did accidentally lose all eight copies of Reach in the move, but they've been reproducing in our apartment from all the Midwest LANs me and my roommates attend and hold.  
• Nick – The TV was broken for a bit but we got it fixed .

Shibby: What do you use the most in the room?

• Ryan – The Xbox's for Halo Reach. Halo is the only console shooter that takes both map positioning, power weapon control and team shooting. My non-competitive roommate has been playing Skyrim and has been flying through it. He got to level 50 or something ridiculous in a week, but then he got an arrow to the knee.
• Nick- I would suppose I use the Alienware Aurora ALX the most.  SOOOO MUUCH STARCRAFT!

Shibby: How often do your friends come over and game?

• Ryan – Well, since I live with my roommates who game with me, we game practically all the time. Friends will come over and play too, but mostly on weekends or for LANs.
• Nick - My buddies come over every weekend to play 3v3s.

Shibby:  How did your family and friends react to you winning?

• Ryan – My parents are both lawyers. So I think they were more worried about the winnings being taxed than anythingb [else]. 
• Nick – The day after I won I invited a bunch of guys over. My buddy Butters actually fell to his knees in shock. Brandon wasn't far behind him, dancing around and screaming profanity.

Shibby: What are your holiday plans?

• Ryan - I think we are going to have a winter LAN for the Midwest Gamers.
• Nick- The current plans are to play a bunch of StarCraft and get my skills up. Maybe chill with the girlfriend after vacation.

Shibby: What is now your favorite prize of all the ones you received?

• Ryan – Definitely the Gunnars. They really help with sensitive eyes, headaches etc.
• Nick - My favorite prize was actually Blizzcon. I had a small leather book that I filled with signatures from all my Idols. JP and MLG Lee managed to get me backstage passes so I got to talk to all the top players. 

Shibby: Has anyone ever recognized you from the show?

• Ryan – I went to all the MLG events this season as a Pro Coach and since the episode I've been asked for my autograph a few times, which caught me by surprise. I didn't know whether to sign my actual name or gamertag.
• Nick- A few people from my school and around town have. When I was at Blizzcon I had a bunch of people come up and be like, "Are you the Dr Pepper kid?" and I was like, "Yeah." I remember when I was standing in line to meet Sean "Day[9]" Plott he recognized me and asked me to come to the front. I was so speechless. Even Tasteless and Artosis knew who I was!

Shibby: Nick, how was Blizzcon? What was your favorite part?

• Nick – Blizzcon was the greatest weekend of my life. With the passes I got to skip the lines on all of the game demos and play for as long as I wanted. I played through the SC2 Heart of the Swarm demo for like two hours. MLG Lee got me special passes so I got to go to the restricted Player lounge. I met NesTea, Naniwa, and Liquid Sheth and Ret. I even met my personal hero, Day[9], who I idolize. I don't think I have ever been happier. 

Shibby: Ryan, did the setup help your MLG team prepare for events? How did you do this year on the Pro Circuit?

• Ryan – I actually quit competing, but have been Pro Coaching this season. Our best placement was 11th at Raleigh, knocking Str8 Rippin into AM and taking Carbon's Pro Seed. My roommates have been competing all season long but have failed to obtain any pro points. Hobbes forever pointless!

Shibby:  You basically have all the gaming equipment you could dream of, so what gifts did  you ask for this holiday season? [note: this interview took place a few days before Christmas.]

• Ryan – I don't ask for anything because I normally don't like to receive things. I'm not a fan of the holidays because it means no MLG.
• Nick- I have so much stuff, I’m not sure I need anything else. I'm really looking at getting the new EG hoodie, so I can support SC2 and stay warm at the same time. Not sure if I’ll get it though. Money is tight when I’m buying gifts for everyone else.