"I hope I get to face Cooller in the final"

You arrived early in Germany to prepare for the Event. Who did you play and how much did you practice?

Shane 'rapha' Hendrixson: I got here Tuesday and two days later Cooller arrived. I just thought it would be good to train with a player of his calibre and it didn't matter that we were in the same group, so I probably played him the most. Also I played just whoever I wanted to, online, to mix up the styles and get the practice that I needed. So I had about four to five days practice for the event here in Europe.

You won GData-Cup last Saturday. Did you enjoy the European competition?

rapha: Yeah, I really did and it's unfortunate that in the states we don't have that yet. I like the fact that once every other week, you guys can play online and compete, I mean it's just 100€ but it's something to play for. I think it's good because it can keep you in the mode for competition. If you are out for a while, you play a lot different when you go back to a tournament the first time then. For me playing in it was really nice to get used to keeping your nerves again and I hope the US gets it because I really enjoyed playing in it.

So were you out of your game at the NA Finals?

rapha: Well, before that event I had problems with my internet and I was pinging about 400-600 at most hours. So for like two or three weeks I was out of practice just playing maybe 20 games. So I was underprepared but when it came to the Final I did play really well. In fact I think that I played above my shape back then but I got exhausted and DaHanG didn't. He managed an incredible comeback over three maps, so all credits to him.

What do you think is the reason that you don't have competitions similar to G-Data and Zotac in the USA?

rapha: In the US it seems hard for everybody to agree on a time to play and just actually show up. In Europe you have so many players from so many different countries and still ping isn't as much of an issue. Here in the US if I wanna practice with Zero4 I have to play with a 60 ping or more because he lives all the way in California. And though I am used to playing with 40-60 I was never able to play with 10-20 ping like I did here, so I usually can just play chance because he is here in the mid-west. If they would start something like a regional tournament maybe it would help bringing more players in each region, because they would be able to compete under fair conditions.

You mentioned Zero4, how serious do you think is his effort to come back?

rapha: I think he does try. The key will be, can he get time off from work to put the practice in that he needs? I know he wants to go to QuakeCon, whether he will or not is still up in the air. I think it will be great to see him back playing, I always love playing with him so it's good to have him. Right now he has been practicing few nights a week. He helped us to practice online and I had good matches with him, just refining my game. I hope he sticks around, he is a great player.

You mentioned that you practiced with Cooller a lot before the Event. So what did you expect before the game and what do you think about how it went?

rapha: Well our styles clash and I have the feeling that we know each other inside out. There were so many times where one of us tried to attack and he was just shot down immediately. Or we would know that one of us is waiting in a certain area to catch the other out, so we would always choose the right path to run away. The first mistake normally costs a match, so it is about who will do less mistakes during the game. I did too many yesterday and he managed to win and rightfully so. I hope I get to face Cooller in the final but if I don't, I am not worried about it. I am only worried about getting into the final.

It looks like you, Cooller and Cypher are in the most consistant shape here. Do you think fox or av3k could pull out an upset?

rapha: I’ve seen it before, in Edmonton I played really bad until I got into the final. I mean it can happen with anybody, Av3k was struggling a bit yesterday and the day before but who knwos, if he gets in the rhythm, anything can happen. If fox keeps a good mental attitude he can use his raw natural talent although despite his lack of practice. If he doesn't make mistakes and finds a way to get into his opponent's head, who knows? And between the two, it's a really tough call.