DaHanG: It's definitely up there as one my great life experiences since Quake has been such a big part of it. In the moment, I was probably most happy to win sacrifice at DH Winter in my entire esports career because I knew how much the practice had paid off. There was a clear gap of skill at Quakecon, and it was not just bad luck that we fell short of 2z and stacked (notofast). Then we put in the practice and anything short of winning it all in Sweden would have been very disappointing. So, to walk away with the championship...never felt so happy at a tournament.

Then for duel, in the moment after winning I had less emotion to expend since, even though the opportunity to win this was huge, I felt like this was just a bonus and sacrifice was the main focus for me personally. Now as I look back I'm just grateful that I have that major international duel title which itself had one of the deepest talent pools of players I can think of in quake history.

DaHanG: Well, I did not even plan on using clutch at all for duel. He was not used as I entered the group stage which for me was considered the group of death (DaHanG, AGENT, av3k, Spart1e). During the DH winter meta, lg still destroyed clutch, but anarki/nyx/slash were basically unhittable against it and they were also super fast to make chasing them with the shield difficult. Then, doomslayer had a broken ultimate that was hard to pass up as well (rocket + insta punch for 175 damage potentially within a half second). Since my anarki and doom slayer didn't feel particularly strong, I gave clutch a shot vs. vo0 and defeated him in the 9-12th round. I then realized that clutch was at least still strong on corrupted keep if properly executed (there is no rail and the layout itself favors clutch), and I knew I would just keep picking him since I could manage his playstyle well. Mainly out of comfort with the clutch I brought him into the other maps as well where I didn't think he was too strong at the time on. Additionally, others were not used to playing him in several months since he was off-meta so that played to my advantage. Overall, using clutch almost happened by accident. If in group stages I hit a few decent doom slayer rocket/ult combos he probably would have never been used in the playoffs.

DaHanG: It plays a big role in my opinion. Ultimately, it comes down to staying focused and trying to make the best possible decisions during matches all the time. If you are tilted over something that happened in game, you have to make sure it is quickly forgotten. Also, proper sleep for the event goes a long way. So, I don't think I can provide particularly insightful techniques to focus better, but in general minimize any distractions from the match itself so you can perform optimally. For those 3 days or so at a tournament pretend like nothing else matters.

DaHanG: There were many factors.

• Quake is my all-time favorite game
• Overwatch is a much bigger time commitment (35 hours/week minimum) which is tougher to meet
• Quake has the biggest prize tournaments now than in its entire history
• I would only want to continue overwatch for OWL, and getting into OWL was no guarantee
• If I got into OWL, I would have to put my "real life" career on hold and with quake I would not.
• I only want to compete (in anything) if I am "all in". Being all in with quake is so much less commitment. It truly is about quality practice than quantity. With Overwatch it's a full-time job and then some on its own.
• Team Liquid was interested in continuing to support me with quake. Staying with them was very simple for me. They are very transparent and fair with me personally, and of course a great organization.

DaHanG: I was pretty much ready to quit playing since around 2012 when I pursued my MBA, but I would always come back to practice for QuakeCon. Then a few more years later I figured I would be done with Quake, and Overwatch would be my last run in esports. Then quake champions was announced and I knew I would be interested as long as there were meaningful tournaments. Part of what drives me to play is the thrill of competition which I can't really get anywhere else. It's only interesting to me to be able to compete with the best in something, which I can't really do outside of esports. So, as long as I can keep competing at a high level then I'll keep playing.

DaHanG: I think the 2v2 TDM gametype is good and I've always loved TDM going back to my Quake 2 days. It plays well in Quake champions I think, especially with the new map Awoken and the protection power-up balance updates. Sacrifice has more variables and is more dynamic which is why I prefer it to TDM from a competitive standpoint. You can play offense one minute, then defense, then go for powerup, then toss the soul far away right before you die. It's non-stop action but still decision-making is extremely important even if it's not as obvious as it may be in 2v2 TDM. Anyways, going back to the question more directly I don't have any strong preferences with the current 2v2 TDM format (timelimit 15, fraglimit 50, and option to change champions within the game itself I agree with), I am more interested in champion balance changes which have gotten better and better every patch.

DaHanG: We have actually had a lot of history teaming up as well as being opponents, so it's par for the course in that respect. He brings a lot to the table, obviously - but probably even more than one may expect. What I've noticed aside from the obvious things (aim, positioning, timing) is that he's able to process so many variables quickly and then make good decisions off of it probably better than anyone, but also while communicating important information/reacting to important information conveyed to him while in the middle of key fights. I find that difficult to do at times (I may be more focused on a fight and not communicate until it is over - which I have also worked on improving), but it never seems to negatively affect him. On paper, there isn't much more you can want other than having proper execution in game as well. So, as a duo our biggest strength I would say we try to maximize our advantages tactically in every possible way through coordination rather than hope our deathmatch skills bail us out.

DaHanG: Thanks for the interview, and I am glad to see indications that the AU Quake scene will make a splash again this competitive year at major LAN events.

Dandaking: I am really happy with my results to get payout places at both events finishing within the top 16 and top 8 at the tournaments gives me a sense of achievement but also lets me know that there is room for improvement and I hope to do better at the tournaments i attend this year. I honestly never thought i would even compete at the top level of any game again, so to have the opportunity to do it again and with the game that started my love for gaming makes it that much better.

Dandaking: The most memorable moment was at Dreamhack Sweden after David 'Zenaku' Addati had lost his bet with me and failed to make it out of the BYOC and as a result of that was forced to jump into the Jonkoping lake at negative temperatures which can all be caught on Youtube!

Dandaking: I dont have any complaints with playing 2vs2 its essentially a duel with more action which suits me, and personally Team Deathmatch has always been my favourite team mode. I feel like the game is at a point where alot of characters are viable which is good to hopefully see a bit of variation in character selection but really with any team mode in a game like this which has character changes I just hope for balance so that no one character overpowers everyone.

Dandaking: As the event gets closer I will play more and more each week I will try to put in atleast a couple hours each night just to keep my aim sharp atleast. I think my level of play is still improving because in a game like this with abilities there are so many different strategies around how to use abilities and how to play characters that I definitely dont think ive mastered them all yet but hopefully come Paris ill be ready.

Dandaking: Well I had been given multiple offers by different teams during the off season but had also heard talks about 2vs2 becoming the competitive team mode for this next year and believed that Steej and I would be able to put forward quite a strong team and from there it was a pretty simple decision to make it a Corvidae team.

Dandaking: Tough question because it is always good to swap up your opponents to keep it fresh but when i went over to America I warmed up with Spart1e a few days prior and when i was at Dreamhack I warmed up with Strenx, Voo and Cypher were my main warmup opponents.

Dandaking: Without a doubt the long range dire orb, if you are able to hit a dire orb across half a map it requires such precision and timing and is just a general joy to watch and also for how much it can change the outcome of a game.

Dandaking: I will be streaming a number of different games hopefully to give tips on how to play at a decent to high level and how you can improve on your own game and also hopefully catch some of my long range orb kills :P.

Dandaking: Just would like to say thank you to everyone who supports me in anyway from fans who actually boost my confidence when im out there and make me take it to a whole different level, to the sponsors behind PLE computers, Sennheiser and also the team Corvidae as they helped me to build my new rig to get me up and streaming and so I could play on a decent PC it is much appreciated and I hope to be able to return the favour with good results this year.

Xron: Hey! Until Quake Champions I was just casual player that was playing a lot of Counter Strike, Overwatch, Quake Live. Most people know me by some Quake Live results but I never won anything there, just was able to make some bo1 upsets vs top players in duel and sometimes beat some good players in tdm. When QC was announced I started to play since first CBT and when tournaments were announced I decided to take it more seriously.

Xron: I'm just trying to play my game and saying to myself that I was preparing for this and I just need to play my game and do same things i did in practice, I am not trying to look for some excuses or secondary factors that can bring me down. From in-game POV I am trying to not overreact when I receiving bad spawn or something like that, there always will be some moments in-game where this or that could go either way, you just need to accept that and do your best. I was worried before quakecon about my perfomance on stage cause I never played on stage ever, but after I did setup i realized that its even better, you dont hear or see anything except the game and nothing to worry about, you can just focus and play your game.

Xron: Most memorable were duel games vs cooller and rapha on Dreamhack. Both were super close and fun to play. I cant say I remember some special moments from those games, I usually always keeping in my head terrible mistakes which costed me the game (laughing)

Xron: That was probably the most painful moment for me. I think we didnt play our game and did a lot of small mistakes which screwed up our confidence. Our communication became worse, individual play became worse, everything was going bad and we didnt manage to step up. It was real test for us to perform under pressure and we failed.

Xron: 2v2 seems fun for now and more enjoyable to play than duel. Still any 4v4 mode I would prefer more, because its simply more fun to play as a team, combine abilities and so on. I would like to see changes to health respawn system in 2v2, because for now it seems you cant maintain control and restack because of lack of hp on the map. So I would prefer going back to 15s respawn health for 2v2 and any team deathmatch/deathmatch mode. Overall its hard to say how this mode gonna work, I think it will be easier to answer on that after we will see how it will be played on Dreamhack Tours

Xron: All players were assuming 2v2 is incoming and we heard some rumours, so I was looking for a 2v2 partner because I didnt want to play 2v2 with Latrommi because of his schedule/other commitments. Silencep/clawz are my good friends and they are a great duo of 2z, so I was left kinda without partner. I messaged Tox, we decided to give it a try on some online tournaments in the beginning of the year. After positive results we decided to stick together. I think calm gameplay, no negative emotions and willing to play together and improve are our biggest strengths.

Xron: Thanks for having me for this Interview, hope people will enjoy the great matches on upcoming tournaments. And of course thanks to all community for support!

K1llsen: I would say that pretty much every top 10 Player of the last few tournaments are also favourites. In Quake Champions Duel it doesn't necessarily matter how well you are playing because there is always going to be circumstances where you can lose a match not because you've been playing worse, but just one situation costs you the whole round. It can even come down to the first Champion picks or first spawns that can make you fight at an instant disadvantage.

K1llsen: I was as hungry in Italy just the same as I've been at DH Denver and Quakecon - I'm always hungry for Quake titles. It's exactly what I've been missing for years because I wasn't able to and this has nothing to do with my mental state, but just some pressures I had in the back didn't allow me to just go for it. Luckily I've been able to sort all of this bothering me, so I can now better focus on winning like I have done in the past. I do really enjoy that I get to compete and play Quake again, but I feel like there is absolutely no reason to play outside of tournaments, it's not rewarding for people who are playing a lot. It was better during the Quakecon Tournament but with the META shifting, weapon balance shifting, some Champions being stronger especially in Duel - you just harm your confidence by playing too much. This was my attitude inbetween Denver and Italy I only played around 8 hours or so between the 2 Event's and instead just focused on being mentally ready to take it, but of course hitting incredible rockets and rail helped me get me the edge in Italy. Don't get me wrong, to get on a good level of course you have to grind the game for hours especially when you get started with Quake Champions, but after you hit a certain point it's better to make sure you're practiced to certain situations that can occur.

K1llsen: I really love to play Slash, sliding around the map closing gaps within 1 jump just rush into your opponent using the gauntlet or some nice placed rockets is super fun. Also really like to play Galena she can also be really fun to play with against other Champions with the Totems Damage and Heal if used wisely. I do also think they are both quite strong, but others just have an edge right now.

K1llsen: The only reason I placed as bad as I did at Quakecon was that I didn't play Sorlag, I refused to play aircontrol champions. Then the Denver Update Doomslayer got super strong because of the Rocket META and I just didn't play him enough to compete against the top players who had. I also wasn't sure how to use his ability the best way and it takes a little to know all the movements/jumps you can do. After that I played him a couple of rounds and I've been able to play him "good" not super good but it was enough because of my aim especially with rocket/rail.

K1llsen: Of course it feels good to have these victory's in my pocket having a Quake Champions title not going to lie - but that was another event, I leave the title at home and have to do it again! There is a new challenge coming up and it starts from the beginning of groups, so I need to forget about all of that and have to focus on one game at a time like everyone else has to.

K1llsen: Best way to get into the game again is to start practice 10-14 days before leaving to the Tournament. My personal preference is to play a wider range of players, some top but more mid/high-mid opponents. But I also watch some online Cups/VOD's until a point where I feel as prepared as possible understand META champions and more play styles.

K1llsen: I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and attending Dreamhack again, it's been a while since the last time. Every Top Level event is very dangerous to play, so I can't call out any specific matchup here

K1llsen: I feel good that i didnt end up in Group F for sure, its gonna be a real challenge to go trough in that one since there is this 1 risky BYOC spot left and Garpy or spart1e could end up in F whoever makes it out of the BYOC. My group could have been worse, could have been better, i feel like its the same situation i had in Italy and i will go into my matches with the same feeling. I feel ready as ready as i can be and hope the best players will get trough the groups.

K1llsen: I'll pretty much just be a variety Streamer at that point until something is coming up, since there is nothing else to do after the Dreamhack.

K1llsen: Thanks for having me for this Interview and hope all of you will enjoy the Show! Of course huge thanks to my Community, Family, Girlfriend supporting me as much as they can from home!

Nosfa: I've been here for 2 weeks I think. When I qualified for Dreamhack Winter I decided to take a long vacation at work (I was desperately needing it) and fly a little bit earlier to Europe to be able to play against European players to maybe feel their level, you know

Nosfa: I'm not an old school player. I started playing Quake Live in 2014 and played it for almost 2 years only for fun I would say. People in South America mostly played clan arena back in those days (especially in Brazil). I never played any kind of duel tournament in Quake Live, but SA had a few strong duel players (like nohead, doomsd4y, etjx, r4ynor, c0d47, v0dkax, maxter, ircwzd) which allowed me to learn a bit of the duel dynamic.

Nosfa: I think it makes no difference to me to be honest. Anarki is fun, I love to bhop around, but I can play another champions also.

Nosfa: I remember that I woke up and someone messaged me about the 1$ million dollar prize pool and I was like "WTF? I need to play this game", but this hype disappeared real quick when they said that would not be putting up a South America qualifier, so I just forgot about the game for months and kept playing Overwatch (which I was playing competitively for almost 1 year). When they announced the DHW South American qualifier it still didn't interest me at all because I was too focused on Overwatch. It wasn't until "ins" from Portugal messaged me on discord 10 days before the qualifier and said: "Hey, you should give it a try, if you practice for 7 days you can pass through the qualifier. Forget about Overwatch for a bit". To be honest, it was a very hard decision for me because I received an invite to make a tryout to be part of the best Overwatch's team in South America scene, but things weren't going so well for OW players at that moment and I decided to just give it a try and here I am. Blame ins. :)

Nosfa: To be honest, this is going to be my first LAN event ever. So my main goal is to chill, have fun and try to perform the best that I could.

Nosfa: I really want to meet everyone. But I'm really looking forward to meet GaRpY from UK, because he was also a legend in Half-Life Deathmatch (the game I used to play a lot when I was a kid). I already played and talked to him a little bit. He is a nice guy. Also I would like to meet Cooller and rapha, I think the quake community wouldnt be the same without these two figures.

Nosfa: Yes, there are is a edition of go4qc from ESL going on every week on South America right now. You can find information on ESL Website. Also, there is a organization called Netmasters that promotes sundays cups using the same format of 125fps duel cup. You can stay tuned to his twitch channel.

Nosfa: I would like to say "OBRIGADO" to all my friends in Brazil and South America that are supporting me on this Quake Journey. And for the rest of the people I would like to finish with some Cooller's words of wisdom: "Don't give up, quake is best" :)

Nosfa: I think the hardest group to predict definately group C, because there are only "new" and talented Quake players on this group, I mean, we didnt have seen these names on Quake live events so far. So it's gonna be interesting. Quick thoughts about my opponents? Mmm, both Cypher and Vo0 are strong candidates to win the whole thing. I didnt had time to look at griffin's gameplay but Im pretty sure he gonna be hard work also.