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Chance: ESL has done everything right |
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October 15, 2009 at 7:03 AM |
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This weekend, Team EG's top two duelers will be flying to Dubai in hopes of conquering the world. Nobody is sure what to expect from them though, as while their performance at QuakeCon was stellar, the competition level has gone up a notch since the announcement of the game's inclusion in this Intel Extreme Masters season. With tons of prizes and pride on the line we're seeing everyone from Anton 'Cooller' Singov to Shane 'rapha' Hendrixson working hard to prepare, so how will things played out? We sat down with EG's very own Chance Lacina to find out exactly that.
Kristina 'Korini' Chin: First and foremost, this tournament series is a really big step for QuakeLive, a game that has lacked major league support until now. Do you think that it'll only keep making strides towards a big following such as something like CS? What else is necessary?
Chance Lacina: Well, ESL has done everything right so far in my opinion, so if there were ever a time in recent history for this to take off, it'd be now. Next year when they remove the beta tag they'll have a huge surge in players, especially if they run some advertisements. On top of that, there should be bigger and better tournaments so I'm thinking we'll be drawing in hordes of new talent. Everything looks good for the near future. We're just hoping to reach a larger e-Sport fanbase, and I think with ESL running things and QuakeLive coming out of beta we'll see it continue to grow stars and fans alike and establish itself more prominently on the e-Sport stage.
EG|Korini: What are your thoughts about the overall progression of QL as a competitive game? Does the current level of competition have any impact on the growth of the community?
EG|Chance: On one hand, with the majority of the players being seasoned vets its hard for newcomers to get into the groove of a game like Quake. On the other hand, we have all-star players and epic matches unlike anything any other game can boast. As long as there's a good matchmaking system running everything and leagues make sure to have separate divisions for professionals and amateurs I think we really have the most conducive sports scene I can imagine.
Anyone can play, too, you just hop on your web browser and it auto-installs and you're ready. I do think we need a matchmaking system thats _perfect_ on paper to keep everything in pubs going smoothly. Also, I think tournaments need to have more than just amateur and professional events. There's a lot more depth in quake than just two divisions. One guy could beat one guy by 40, who beats another guy by 40, who beats yet another guy by 40, who still loses to destrukt by 40. So there's a lot of skill variance there that I think needs to be addressed in some way.
cooller poses for the camera
EG|Chance: I think cooller is great. He's an icon in Quake, and it's awesome he's willing to play in this event with such little practice. He's never backed down from a competition even when he hasn't been preparing like he once did, and I think that shows balls ;) He's not likely to perform very well compared to the rest of the players in Dubai, though ;(
EG|Korini: Many pre-QL stars are re-emerging and fighting once again for a chance in the spotlight. Are there any you'd wish would make a return? Does this seem like a hindrance for new players who are trying to become competitive and make a name for themselves?
EG|Chance: If cha0ticz, czm, and ZeRo4 all came back we'd have a much more diverse training scene in America, and as a result we'd have a much stronger country. It'd be fun to play with those guys because they're all experience and can maintain the highest level of play when they're in practice. There's no correlation between their skill and the decline or rise of other players in my opinion. The talented players always rise to the top. It's the organizers who limit the number of people who can get a taste for victory by not having separated events. I know this isn't an easy problem to remedy, though =]
EG|Korini: Although many consider your breakout in the scene to come during the time of Quake 4, you've been around for quite a while. During this time do you feel you've seen any changes in the players and their attitudes? What about the overall community and the tournaments/competitions?
EG|Chance: I think the players and the community are all becoming more cohesive. I think we're all learning to get along and leaving the competition in-game. I've compared the Zero4/Fatal1ty primetime around 2001-2002 as the cold war era. The scene was a lot darker then and no one really seemed to befriend anyone else. Everyone stayed in their own little cliques and generally talked shit about the players in the other cliques. Maybe I'm just imagining things, but the whole world seems to be slowly coming together a bit more with every passing year ;)
ESL Dubai Maps
- qzdm6
- qzdm13
- qztourney7
- qztourney9
- ztntourney1
EG|Korini: How do you feel about the bracket stage's best of five format and the fact that players will not be able to drop maps because of it?
EG|Chance: I think its awesome. The more maps we play the more likely it is for the better player to win. Who wouldn't want that? The only drawback could be that it takes longer to play matches, but personally this doesn't bother me and it's well worth the trade.
EG|Korini: As for the groups themselves, many have seen that both Mouz players were originally placed in Group A, but one ended up getting swapped for jibo in Group C. Is this something you view as a fair move? Something even necessary?
EG|Chance: Yeah I think its fair. I don't think anyone will really care. It may, however, present greater problems in the future if everyone is in the same few clans ;p
EG|Korini: Overall do you feel the groups are balanced? What are your thoughts on the overall format (group stage, then best of five bracket play)?
EG|Chance: I think they're all balanced pretty well. It was a random drawing right? Well it turned out pretty good in my opinion. I think Group B is a little weak, but pretty much everyone in this tournament is amazing so they're all pretty balanced on that standard.
EG|Korini: You'll be facing off against two tough opponents, having to beat either strenx or cypher to advance. How do you anticipate your matches against each of them will go? How do you see the group playing out overall?
EG|Chance: Everyone's expecting Cypher to win our group. I'm thinking most everyone is expecting me not to make it through this group. I've lost to Cypher I think two or three times in different tournaments in the past, but I'm really elevating my game so I might be able to surprise everyone. Strenx I've never played but I keep hearing he's great. I've watched some demos but it's hard to know what to expect in a match when everyones been practicing so much. Madix I know virtually nothing about. I'll just play it by ear and bring my game. I'm ready.
EG|Korini: Rapha has been impressive for some time now, recently taking first at QuakeCon and GamesCom. Now that all these veterans are meeting head to head with a long series of events ahead, do you feel that Rapha is strong enough to still come out victorious? How do you personally feel about all of his recent success?
 SK|rapha the QuakeCon champion
EG|Korini: Any last comments you'd like to make before the tournament?
EG|Chance: Best tournament ever.
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