Now that the first large international Quake 4 competition has come to a close, it is time to get to know some of the players a little better, and predict which ones will have success in the upcoming year(s) of Quake 4 competition. The players that I believe will be successful are listed in this article according to my personal analysis of recent Quake 4 competitions and past accomplishments. It is a simple analysis and prediction for the future, and should not be taken as anything more. It is very likely that many people I do not even mention will be very successful.

First, let’s start off with the players that are likely to do well for themselves in the year 2006. The following players are listed in no particular order.

Benjamin "zyz" Bohrmann

Zyz is most recently known for his Painkiller achievements on the 2005 CPL World Tour. He consistently finished with a great placing, and took home over $100,000 in winnings over the course of the year. Prior to his success in Painkiller, zyz was a part of one of the most successful Quake 3 TDM teams in Europe, Unmatched. Although not extremely successful in the area of dueling in Quake 3 on an international scale, zyz has proven himself to be an exceptionally talented Quake player with the multiple TDM events he has won with Unmatched, and teams representing Germany in Nations Cups. He is a part of the newly formed Fnatic Quake 4 team, and will get plenty of practice with the extremely talented group of duelers Fnatic has brought together. With his success and experience as a top dueler in Painkiller over the past year, along with his achievements in Quake 3, he has a chance to do some major damage in the upcoming Quake 4 competitions.


Jason “Socrates” Sylka

Socrates (pronounced soh-crates, not like the philosopher) was one of the American powerhouses in Quake 3. He started his success streak in 2001 at QuakeCon, where he placed fourth behind players like ZeRo4 and Fatal1ty. In 2002, he placed first in the WCG USA qualifiers, and went on to place third at the extremely competitive 2002 WCG world finals behind uNkind and Akiles. Other great Quake players in attendance at this event were ZeRo4, Rocketboy, death, cooller, daler, cha0ticz, Stermy, St. Germain, and Jibo. He would go on to be a part of the USA duel team who would take second place at ESWC 2004, and would place fourth at ESWC 2005. Most recently at the CPL Winter Qualifier event, Socrates was the best placing American player taking the 6th position and $1200. Socrates is currently the only member of the Complexity Quake 4 squad, and has been training extensively with a former Quake legend, Immortal. He is extremely dedicated to improving his game, and with his past accomplishments, it is clear that he has plenty of potential for major success in the year 2006 with Quake 4. Expect Socrates to be one of the most successful American players along with czm and Fatal1ty.


Sander “vo0” Kaasjager

Vo0 is now very well known for his absolute dominance throughout the Painkiller World Tour in 2005. He placed first at 5 of the 9 world tour stops, second at 3 stops, third at the last stop, and second in the world tour finals. He earned the MVP of the world tour, and made more money than all of the other players by taking home $232,000. Before his glorious Painkiller career, he played Quake 3 CPMA. Vo0 was talented in CPMA (CPMA done by vo0 movie), and the superior movement skill he showed transferred over to Painkiller, where his advanced movement was one of the main reasons for his dominance. Some are skeptical as to how Vo0 will perform in Quake 4, since it is a game not focused on movement; he excelled in CPMA and Painkiller where movement was extremely important to how the game was played. Quake 4 is more based on aim and control rather than movement. I predict he will adapt just fine and become a top contender. He will not show the same dominance as he did in Painkiller, but he will definitely earn some money on the 2006 world tour.


Magnus “fox” Olsson

Fox has had multiple high-level achievements in Quake 3, especially in TDM with iCE cLIMBERS and teams participating for Sweden in Nations Cups. He has also had success as a Quake 3 dueler taking fourth in QuakeCon 2003, placing first as a part of Sweden’s dueling team for ESWC 2004, and third in ESWC 2005. Already fox has proved that he is a force to be reckoned with in Quake 4. Recently, he placed second behind his teammate toxic at Dreamhack Winter 2005, and placed third behind cooller and toxic in the first CPL Quake 4 tournament at the CPL Winter Championships. He has had a great start in Quake 4, and there is nothing that suggests that he will falter through 2006. Look for fox to do well at every stop.


Karl “fooKi” Johansson

Fooki is one of the members of the SK Quake 4 squad. He has had plenty of experience in Quake 3, and had multiple achievements, including a first place finish with the Swedish duel team at ESWC 2004. In the CPL Winter 2005 tournament he fought his way to a very respectable fourth place finish, one of 4 Swedish players in the top 5. He and his fellow teammates will have plenty of time to practice and train before every event, and will be well-prepared for anything that comes at them.


Alessandro “stermy” Avallone

Stermy got his start in competitive gaming in Quake 3, and participated in high level events such as the World Cyber Games in 2002. He has more recently made a name for himself on the Painkiller world tour where he earned more than $100,000, and is now a part of Fatal1ty’s group of F-players. By being an F-player, this will ensure that he will get plenty of practice with the best players in the world, and he will be as prepared as he can get for each tournament he attends. After his success in Painkiller and a strong Quake 3 background, it is certain that he will do well in Quake 4. Watch for stermy to get a top 10 finish at every stop.


James “TooGoood” Harding

TooGoood is the player that used to be known as Jay. The thing that I best remember him for is punching Andre “infinite” Anbarchian in the face at ESWC 2004. Yes, he was a talented Quake 3 player, but he has indeed become the formidable Quake 4 player! TooGoood is a funny character in his interviews, and seems to be a confident and dedicated player. At Dreamhack Winter 2005 he placed third behind toxic and fox, and he secured himself a seventh place finish in the first CPL Quake 4 tournament at the winter event. He was able to beat players like Akiles, Rocketboy, and Scooby before falling to Team Fnatic’s Ztrider. Expect him to do well in any tournament that he enters.


Jonathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel

Everyone knows who Fatal1ty is. It goes without saying that he will be a top competitor in Quake 4 since he got his start in professional gaming by being a top Quake 3 player. Oweing to his strict practice regiment, dedication and hardcore competitive nature to win, you know he will be one of the Americans to watch. The competition will be fiercer and more numerous in numbers than Painkiller, but I predict he will finish within the top 5 at every stop and take a few wins home.


Paul “czm” Nelson

Czm was one of the top American players for years in Quake 3, and for about the last year of its competitive existence he was the undisputed king of American dueling. Known for his incredible rail and precise map control, he made even the most skillful opponents look ridiculous on his map picks. The only person to take him down in 2005 was the one and only cooller, who prevented czm from winning ESWC 2005. Czm was a part of the famed Clan Kapitol and performed very well in big dueling events in his earlier years. He placed third at QuakeCon 2003, first at the Gravity Games, second at ESWC 2004 as a member of the American dueling team, and first at QuakeCon 2004. How well czm does during the next year of Quake 4 competition depends solely on how much effort he puts into playing. If he takes it seriously and is able to get in some quality practice time, he will be a devastating player and will have a very good chance of winning events. If he plays but does not practice very much, he still has a chance to go far in tournaments because of his raw ability and intelligence. It will be awesome to see another czm vs cooller game in the future, and I hope czm will end up playing and representing the USA.


Johan “toxic” Quick

Another member of the SK Quake 4 squad, and member of the famed iCE cLIMBERS TDM squad, toxic is one of the top Quake 4 players at this moment. He has always been known for having amazing aim with the railgun and the lightning gun, and he has definitely shown his dominance with these weapons in the initial Quake 4 tournaments. In Quake 3 he did not take home any big international competition championships, but he proved his skill in the many TDM events that his team won. He also finished fifth place at ESWC 2005. In Quake 4 he has already won the Dreamhack Winter 2005 event, and taken second place at the CPL Winter Quake 4 tournament falling only to the Russian cooller. I expect toxic to keep placing within the top 10, but might fall down in placements as the year goes on, and others get more practice and Quake 4 experience under their belts.


Anton “cooller” Singov

This is the man everyone needs to watch out for. Cooller has a style of play that focuses on very strong map control, and coupled with his amazing fragging ability he is definitely one of the top three Quake players at this time. He is known for his sarcastic comments and trash talking within the game, and some of his quotes have become legendary in the community. Suffice to say he prefers the thinking aspect of Quake rather than railing. The Russian has stated that he plans on attending every world tour stop within the next year, and will be practicing regularly. If there is a chance for one person to be as dominant as Vo0 was last year with Painkiller, cooller is the man for the job in Quake 4.