Liam Crowley: To begin with, how well have you prepared for this year's ESWC?

Michaël Bignet: I've tried to play as much as possible against good players and was supposed to bootcamp with forever the previous week before the event but unfortunately he canceled it due to his PC problems. So I'm coming here without any real bootcamp.

You have been out of Quake 4 for some time now, do you feel you will even have a chance against players like av3k, Cooller and forever? Realistically, what's your goal for this event?

I'm a very ambitious player, so I'm always going for the highest place meaning the first one, nothing is impossible. I feel pretty comfortable in my game. No one affrays me, what were actually my chances of winning the ESWC last year, beating on the way toxic and cypher to do it? Nothing is impossible.

You have taken a lot of criticism over the last year for a number of reasons. People said you had an unfair advantage at ESWC 2006 for example. What do you say to your critics now?

What kind of advantages? Should I be eliminated for using a picmiped and allowed config? Should I lose to please all the idiotic fanboys that hate seeing their idols losing? I don't know what to say except f*** off. I don't see where my win was unfair, the people were cheering for me and that sure is motivating when you are playing, but that's far from being unfair, that's f***ing normal damn it.

How did it feel to play last year in front of a crowd of thousands cheering you on?

It was of course awesome and intense, you know, when you just raise your arm and they start yelling and cheering for you. I'm very glad that I was lucky enough to live that and I hope I will have the chances to live it again.

Why have you avoided other major Quake 4 events such as the WSVG over the last year?

I just couldn't practice for that event, I can't play from home and the only way for me to get decent gaming conditions is to stay in Paris at a friend's place, which was unavailable at the end of last year. There is no point to go to any event without any practice. If I travel, I will be prepared.

What do you think of the decision of players like Toxic to attend the WSVG Dallas event as opposed to ESWC?

That is just crap, how can any person say a WSVG event is any better than ESWC? The ESWC staff is the one that actually cares about the players by still using CRT every year even if that is still logistically more difficult. The ESWC staff is the one that gives us headphones to be able to play the finals and other matches in the best conditions. At least, it's much better than just bringing a so f***ing loud Fatal1ty stand, for example, which just disturbs the players more than anything else. That is why I think it's stupid to participate at the WSVG event instead of the ESWC, that is just better to me, even if I agree with the bracket argument though.

There are still a number of talented players competing at ESWC however. Who do you see as your toughest opponents in Paris and why?

Obvious answer, av3k, his playstyle is unpredictable much more than the others, it's gonna be a very tough match for me if I manage to go this far in the tournament.

How well do you see Cooller performing? Does he have a chance of repeating his 2005 success?

I don't have any clue, it will depend on his preparation mostly. But even without practice he should be able to place pretty high due to his huge experience, it's gonna be up to him.

Finally, what does the future hold for you? Are you aiming to attend more Quake 4 events or are you on the look out for new games such as UT3?

I haven't planned anything else for the moment, I will probably attend the WSVG event in London at the end of the year but I'm surely looking forward to UT3. I really hope it gets a bigger community than Quake 4 has ever had (which shouldn't be hard).

Ok thank you for your time winz. Any last words?

No problem and no, I don't have anything special to say.