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Inaged only 16, Alexey "Cypher" Yanushevsky was signed by Fnatic. By that point, he was already one of the strongest Quake players out there — both the third and fourth instalment. Cypher continued to make a living playing quake until Cypher spent the last year and a half playing Overwatch, but switched to Quake Champions when its beta was announced — and went on to win its very first online tournament.

Afteryou went on a hiatus. What did you do while away from your Quake 4 and QuakeLive career? I started devoting myself to my personal life and I was faced with a choice whether to remain in esports or take a different path. InI tried Counter-Strike. I played for a year, talked to pros, asked for advice, spent a lot of time playing on FaceIt.

And then Overwatch was announced at the end ofand I had to choose again: After discussing it with several people, I decided to try my hand at Overwatch. And how did Overwatch go for you? I was hyped from the get-go, I played a lot, and I mean a lot, just like in the good old times. And I felt that, mechanics-wise, I was no worse than the Team Fortress 2 peoplebut I was a little slow in my understanding of the game.

I did play CS for a year, but the teamplay experience I got in Overwatch is unlike anything. From the beginning, I wanted to start a team. So around the start ofI got heavily into trying out US teams. I had already made arrangements and was about to go the US, but things went differently at the last moment. I go all the way because I want to be a hardcore pro in it.

Does Overwatch have a future in esports? If you have tournaments with money on the line, especially big money, then you have a future. It could be anything: If you know the game has a future, you will sit down and practice it. Nevertheless, you soon switched from Overwatch to Quake Champions.

Do you feel more at home in Quake? I like Overwatch a lot as a game; I met a lot of people through it. Just when I got into form and could show what I was capable of, I had to make another choice and likely change my course.

What were your first impressions of Quake Champions? I was invited to a test in Katowice, where IEM was holding a tournament. I did some testing; the game was fairly different then from what it is now. Everything was kind of weird and unfamiliar, while at the same time, I felt that it somehow lacked in novelty.

The teamplay experience I got in Overwatch is unlike anything. Is it fair to say Quake Champions has become too much of an arcade game? It became simpler by an order of magnitude.

Many old players were worried that classes and their abilities would break the game. Have they changed it a lot? I feel that a newcomer will find it insanely hard. In Overwatch, there's always suspense. But in Quake, you don't get to relax. It's for the brutally hardcore shooters. Every frag is earned with blood and sweat.

Personally, I now use a champion that counters my opponents. Nyx's invisibility has made her one of the most popular choices in Quake Champions. The overall level of play may not be too great right now, but the QuakeCon and post-QuakeCon matches between the people who are practicing now are going to be very tough. Would you agree that by giving the player more opportunities to make a comeback after dying, the developers have brought the game closer to an actual sport?

You can just start the next game and try something new. However, this can happen between two pro players as well, so the entertainment factor can drop dramatically. It all depends on the person. If you accept every engagement that a player like that forces upon you, the fight will be over in three minutes: While if you run from them, get sneaky and so on, then, of course, the game will be more or less coherent.

What are your overall impressions of the duel mode in Champions? Those three rounds can go on for quite a long time, up to 15 minutes. It all depends on the people playing. But if I smell blood, I can end the game right there and then without waiting for anything.

That was what happened in the final against fazz, for example. There are a ton of exploits in this game, and the player that finds and uses them wins. Nyx gets chosen for her invisibility.

What other exploits are there? The exploits are everywhere. You just have to see them. The first machine gun that you spawn with is an exploit in its own right, since it deals 8 damage.

No machine gun in any game has ever dealt that much. Then I fell down, he respawned in the shaft area and ran for that shaft on B. Blazkowicz who had another exploit, shooting two guns instead of one and the damage is increased by a half.

He drew those two guns, and I still managed to suppress him with that exact same zoomed machine gun, killing him in a matter of seconds. But that double-gun exploit is just unreal. You get two shafts, and nothing survives. Those exploits are everywhere; you just have to see them. How do you play against Anarki? I sat down and thought what I was supposed to do when I was getting outplayed on Anarki; in the tournament, that was Wicht, and there had also been another player during practice.

What does Anarki do? He flashes before your eyes, eats up the whole map, and then attacks really brutally at some point. This character has totems that can remove up to 75 HP.

They can be placed at certain spots, around corners, which Anarki will not notice when making a turn. If one of those totems softens him up, he loses speed immediately. Anarki is also very sensitive to 75 HP hits: You said that players have split into two camps: Which do you choose? However, I find it more pleasant to play Slash. Which hero is your favorite? Probably Scalebearer as well. The map is my first consideration, then the opponent, then their picks.

I try to adapt. What can you say about the weapons, other than the machine gun? The railgun is currently the most efficient one. Overall, the rocket launcher, shaft, and railgun are nicely balanced. There are useless weapons, such as the nailgun. It has a certain flair to it. Which other old maps would you like to see in it? Playing this map in Quake Champions would be a pain in the ass. Can Ranger or Nyx be a match for them in theory? Which famous players do you practice with now?

I do play against those occasionally, just to get slapped awake a bit. It can be anyone, whoever agrees to play. Comments 0 New Popular Old.