ESFI World

Quake Live 3-a-days are back, this time focusing in on three players from Group A:  Pelle 'fazz' Söderman, Kevin 'strenx' Baeza and Maciej 'Av3k' Krzykowski. Our preview series continues until the 28th as we preview all of the remaining competitors in each of the three tournaments.

Pelle 'fazz' Söderman

Pelle 'fazz' Söderman is one of the top Swedish Quake Live players. He made a name for himself through his consistent performances playing under the SK Gaming and Excello banners. In addition to playing Quake Live, fazz considers himself an "e-sports nerd" as he watches almost all of the GSL StarCraft 2 games.  » Player Profile   » IEM V World Championships coverage

Söderman is coming off of a solid performance at the European Finals, where he went 3-2 in the group stage and advanced into the playoffs along with Cypher and cooller. Fazz was able to defeat noctis to reserve his spot in the playoffs, with two other convincing victories over group underdogs tox1c and GoHLinK. In the playoffs, he would be matched up with Av3k, and was promptly dispatched 3-0. Still, his level had improved since the end of 2010. His lackluster performance at DreamHack Winter got pretty ugly, losing all three of his matches in the group stage (strenx, Av3k, KRYSA).

Fazz and everyone else, for that matter, has had enough time to improve even more since the European Finals. He's already shown that he's within reach of the level of the top contenders that will be present at CeBIT. This tournament is his best chance to accomplish two things: 1) prove that he can compete with those guys at that level and 2) knock Spart1e off as the best current Swedish Quake Live player.

IEM 5 World Championships - Fazz's group stage predictions

Fazz vs. Av3k	0-2	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Fazz vs. DaHanG	1-2	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Fazz vs. vo0	2-1	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Fazz vs. strenx	0-2	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Fazz vs. k1llsen	1-2	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)

Fazz has a tough group, but that's no excuse. Each of the twelve players competing has a tough group, period. These are the best Quake players in the world. If Fazz hasn't improved his game since what we saw at IEM Europe, we don't expect him to take games off of top caliber players like Av3k, strenx, DaHanG and k1llsen. If that's the case, all things point to him winding up 1-4 or 2-3 in his group IF he manages to pull a win off against k1llsen or DaHanG (I have him beating Vo0). It should be doable against a player like k1llsen, especially if the German's aim is off. It's a common occurrence: it usually takes a day or two's time for k1llsen's aim to reach that scary, sick level that's so hard to deal with.

Kevin 'strenx' Baeza

Kevin 'strenx' Baeza is France's best Quake Live player. Now 20 years old, he makes his clan home in Fnatic and is recognized as one of the most improved Quake players since his entry into the professional scene.  » Player Profile   » IEM V World Championships coverage

Strenx is one of the players who's coming into this tournament with a lot of momentum. If there was a "Most Improved" award for Quake players from what we saw through 2010, the 20 year old Frenchman would be the unanimous winner.

At European Finals, strenx established his presence quickly by going undefeated in his group, and even earning a 2-0 win over Av3k. He lost to eventual champion Anton 'cooller' Singov in the semifinals but defeated Cypher in the consolation final to stay on the podium. It was at DreamHack Winter though, where a time came where fans and media alike knew that he had reached a point in his development that would see his name at the same tier as players like cypher, av3k, cooller and rapha. There, he also 3-0'd his group (including another win against Av3k) and followed it up with an even more impressive feat by beating rapha in the first round of the playoffs. He would lose out to Cypher in the semifinals, but his performance had left us already impressed. He still needs a tournament win. Has he peaked at the perfect time?

IEM 5 World Championships - strenx's group stage predictions

strenx vs. Av3k	2-1	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
strenx vs. DaHanG	2-1	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
strenx vs. vo0	2-0	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
strenx vs. fazz	2-0	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
strenx vs. k1llsen	2-0	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)

The majority of Quake fans will have no second thoughts in placing their bets on Baeza finishing in the top three to advance out of this group, and I wouldn't mind putting a few bets down myself. Along with Av3k, the pair seem like locks to move on, and it's not a stretch to have strenx at the very top above Av3k. Strenx has been beating him a lot lately. The third and final qualifying position is up in the air.

Maciej 'Av3k' Krzykowski

The 19-year old Pole from Serious Gaming is known for his aggressive playstyle as well as his ability to adapt to the playstyles of others. Now in his fifth year of professional competition, he looks to start 2011 off with a bang and win IEM Season 5.  » Player Profile   » IEM V World Championships coverage

Av3k's run at the European Finals was strong as usual. After finishing 4-1 in the group stage, he went through fazz and then Cypher in the playoffs before meeting cooller in the grand final. The two played an exciting, close set of games that only took three maps for cooller to win. Certain moments in the games, however, could've gone the other way and Av3k was in position to win the games he lost. At DreamHack Winter, he fell to Marcel 'k1llsen' Paul in the first round of the playoffs.

IEM 5 World Championships - Av3k's group stage predictions

Av3k vs. strenx	1-2	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Av3k vs. DaHanG	2-1	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Av3k vs. vo0	2-0	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Av3k vs. fazz	2-0	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)
Av3k vs. k1llsen	2-1	Wednesday, March 2nd (Time TBA)

Looking at his group stage matchups, Av3k will probably finish with 4 wins and 1 loss, to strenx. DaHanG and k1llsen will be challengers, with Vo0 and fazz being historically straightforward matches for him.

ESFI World will be on-site in Hanover, Germany to provide live coverage of the tournament. For continuing coverage, please visit the event page.

Photos: Julia Christophers