A tumultuous year for Spart1e has seen him go from a shock finalist at ESWC Athens to a hot favourite this weekend and one of Europe's big hopes traveling to Dubai. His second and third/fourth placings at Quakecon and IEM Cologne respectively have deservedly earned the Swede a top seed ahead of fox but, coupled with his loss in Athens, will have him wary of developing his fellow countryman's reputation for choking at the last moment.
A closer look at Spart1e's loss to noctis in Cologne would reveal, however, that of the two maps he lost out of three neither will be in the map list for Dubai. This perhaps indicates the difference between the pair is likely to boil down to who has put the most hours in front of their monitor and, despite Cypher's attendance, both will remain the most likely to dent rapha's hopes here. With the weight of expectation on his shoulders, Spart1e looks set to get as good a chance as ever to exact revenge on the American for the two major finals he's come up short in.
Tim "DaHanG" Fogarty (Evil Genuises)
Before Spart1e gets anywhere near rapha he's going to have to navigate his way past another American, DaHanG. Famed for his unpredictable play style, former Quake 2 star DaHanG has now proved himself a success in both Quake 4 and QuakeLive. A fourth place finish at Quakecon earned him respect on both sides of the Atlantic and he'll travel to Dubai with strong ambitions of progressing from a very difficult group.
DaHanG's eventual elimination at Quakecon interestingly came at the hands of Spart1e but he'll have to set aside notions of revenge here and make sure to keep a fair share of his attention on the group's third seed, a familiar Russian face. A loss against Cooller would land DaHanG in a world of trouble but, all hype aside, this might be expecting too much of the mousesports player on his QuakeLive debut. If DaHanG can keep his cool and save the unpredictable madness for the playoffs he might just have a chance of going all the way this weekend.
Anton "Cooller" Singov (mousesports)
Out of shape? Probably. Washed up? Possibly. Still a legend? Definitely.
The only player who was going to keep rapha out of the headlines ahead of this event, Cooller, is now looking to return to Quake with a bang. With multiple CPL, WSVG and ESWC titles to his name, the Russian Quake star could arguably match any achievement he has to date by successfully pulling off this comeback with victory in Dubai. As unlikely as it is, the fans are still dreaming and will be avidly tuned in to ESL-TV for every match he plays.
Realistically though, even making it out of his group would be an achievement for Cooller given his limited practice time. His most recent appearance was in Quake 3 at the ASUS Cup where he lost to Cypher in the finals despite winning the upper bracket. Now with 385 matches on his QuakeLive account in the last three weeks, there can be no saying Cooller hasn't made the best of the time he's had and if there's anyone likely to pull off a win aginst Spart1e or DaHanG three weeks after installing the game it's got to be him.
Anas "spammah" Ilyas
Representing the United Arab Emirates in QuakeLive this weekend is spammah. Fairly well known in Quake 3 CPM, the group's low seed was a late addition to the roster following the removal of k1llsen and you could be forgiven for suggesting he's just here to make up the numbers. A massive underdog in this tournament, spammah will be cheered on by neutrals everywhere and even the slightest of upsets will be considered a moral victory!
The games will be streamed live on TEK9 vie ESL-TV.
Sorry im such a nooby so could you send me a link cheers corbi
when the stream is up you'll see it here on tek9....i guess
Yep!
Just keep an eye on TEK9. Corbie will be brining top-quality coverage as soon as it happens. All available streams will be on TEK-9 front page somewhere or another.
Sebastian "Spart1e" Siira (fnatic)
Tim "DaHanG" Fogarty (Evil Genuises)
Anton "Cooller" Singov (mousesports)
Anas "spammah" Ilyas
edited 2009-10-16 08:58:36
gonna be just sick :)
ESL-TV
ESL-TV
nais
prizepurse compared to Quakecon or ESWC Grand Finals is.... WTF? THIS IIIIIIIIIIIS DUBAAAAAAAAI :D
go Alexey!
The games will be streamed live on TEK9 vie ESL-TV.
The games will be streamed live on TEK9 vie ESL-TV.
Sorry im such a nooby so could you send me a link cheers corbi
The games will be streamed live on TEK9 vie ESL-TV.
Sorry im such a nooby so could you send me a link cheers corbi
when the stream is up you'll see it here on tek9....i guess
edited 2009-10-16 18:16:23
prizepurse compared to Quakecon or ESWC Grand Finals is.... WTF? THIS IIIIIIIIIIIS DUBAAAAAAAAI :D
go Alexey!
Why the fuck aren't you representing yet? :(
The games will be streamed live on TEK9 vie ESL-TV.
Sorry im such a nooby so could you send me a link cheers corbi
when the stream is up you'll see it here on tek9....i guess
Yep!
Just keep an eye on TEK9. Corbie will be brining top-quality coverage as soon as it happens. All available streams will be on TEK-9 front page somewhere or another.
not great but its not shit considering its 1on1, 3 grand for yourself is no slap in the face.
not great but its not shit considering its 1on1, 3 grand for yourself is no slap in the face.
he just means that its low comparing to the prizepurse quake used to have.
luckier than me mate..i won't be able to see the quarters semis or the final :'(((
fucking classes
luckier than me mate..i won't be able to see the quarters semis or the final :'(((
fucking classes
Sorry to hear that man. They better come up with VODs.
But anyway it's about to go down! Everyone, hit the stream tv.esl.eu/de/esltv_stream/stream/55-flv-free
edited 2009-10-17 16:37:43