First off let me congratulate you on your WSVG victory.

Last time you met Sweet in a major final he came from the lower bracket and beat you twice to claim victory. He also knocked you into the lower bracket at WSVG. Does that make last weekend's win a little… sweeter?

Indeed it does. I was looking to return the favor to him ever since he beat me twice at BWI when I knocked him into LB. Despite of starting off with a 3-0 lead in the Grand Finals, he still almost beat me in the second Best of Three. Every match is a fight for him, he doesn't let up just because the score isn't currently in his favor. I think I booked some progress on the 3rd day as compared to the 2nd day. I didn't rate my chances before the GF very well though.

There have been numerous comments on various forums about the fact that four of your five games were against Undead players. Do you think that had anything to do with it or were you just 'in the zone', so to speak?

I don't think this has anything to do with 'zones'. The whole 'in shape' / 'on fire' thing is overrated anyway. I practiced and concentrated quite seriously for this event which would help me perform better. Sweet had some of his best matches in this tournament in my opinion, which led him to beating me. The day after, I did better and beat him. It's as simple as that. Very little wisdom comes from forum comments anyway.

In an interview before the event with Shortround, he stated his opinion that he was the best American WC3 player around and that no American will ever "be part of the best in the world". How far would you agree with both of these statements?

As I see it, only two Americans have proven their mettle: Wizard and Shortround. Though Wizard has actually won an international tournament, I would rate Shortround's accomplishments higher, because he's done stuff more than once. In that sense I would say that Shortround is rightfully immodest. As far as the second statement goes - I've seen enough never to say 'never'. I don't agree with that, although currently I don't see a valid challenger.

Although you are no longer team-mates, yourself and FoV met again at WSVG. Is there still something special about games between you two or was it just another step on the way to the final?


Apart from him not playing in clanwars for us anymore, I feel like almost nothing has changed. We have less obligations towards one another but we're still very good friends. When we meet, it's just a normal match as any.

Just a couple of days after the final you, and 4k as a whole, were brought back down to earth with a bump, losing to a somewhat under-strength WE team (if you can really call it that) in NGL-one. Was it just a case of bad preparation?

I don't think you can call it that. We'd only feel like being brought down to earth if we were with our heads in the sky. As it is, we're not expecting to win every clanwar. I think what we saw vs WE is a solid performance, also considering we're not playing with FoV anymore, and not with ToD for the time being. The only one who I'm disappointed in from that clanwar was myself, but I can't be too hard on myself since I played that match the same day as I got back from New York. Everyone knows how exhausting long travels and big tournaments can be. Soju is not exactly a player you can mess around with by not playing your top game.

Speaking of NGL, 4k seems to have struggled a little with their system. Do you think the way the league works causes you problems or is it pure coincidence and you just haven't been playing well enough?

That's the second time I've heard GotFrag suggest that. Maybe it's true, I don't really know. I didn't have that idea. If you look at our regular WC3L seasons, we've always done very well. I got the idea that NGL works very differently, that's true enough. The map system is not alike WC3L's, both test you in a different way. We'll be looking to at least qualify for the play-offs and see how it goes from there.

Finally, it's been a while since FoV left the team. Are there any plans for a replacement?

There are no plans for acquiring a new player at this time.

Thanks for your time Manuel.

Welcome.