Maciek 'av3k' Krzykowski has proven that he is one of the best duelists in the world. He placed third at the ESWC Masters of Paris and won GameGune. Unfortunately for him, he missed the ESWC Grand Final due to problems with his visa.

The ESWC Masters of Athens this weekend could be where the seventeen-year-old Pole finds redemption. But he himself does not expect it.

Do you think that you are prepared well for Athens?

I am not happy with my preparation for the tournament. I went to Germany for a week-long boot camp so I had the opportunity to train and play properly but I did not use it as much as I should have. It was partially my fault and some of it were external factors.

How is your shape compared to Paris and Bilbao?

I lack self-confidence right now and it is difficult for me to judge how I really play. Whether I am playing well or not is hard to say.

Did the fact that you are in the middle of the school year affect your preparation?

I think that it is difficult to get out of the reality that surrounds you just like that. I have a lot of stuff to do in Poland on a daily basis and it is hard to focus on gaming and the tournament when I have a lot on my plate. It is hard to do both when you have school and professional gaming to focus on at the same time.

How important in your life is Quake?

I treat Quake as a seasonal job. I always approach it as seriously as possible and do what I have to do as well as possible. But I do not build my life around Quake. I know that you can make big money in gaming but not big enough to commit to it fully and ignore the other areas of your life.

You missed the chance to defend the ESWC title in San Jose. Was it a big disappointment for you?

After the Masters of Paris and GameGune in Spain I had no urge to play Quake. I preferred to spend all August in my city resting and enjoying the good summer weather, meeting friends, going to the beach, swimming, playing football and going to the gym, clubbing every other night. The ESWC Grand Final was not a great disappointment. I think that it would have been difficult to win the tournament with my level of motivation before the event.

What is your motivation and your goal for Athens?

You need to set your goals as high as possible and believe that you can achieve them. But I personally prefer the realistic approach and know that this time winning the event will be extremely difficult for me. The minimum that I want to achieve is to place high enough to win prize money.

Is Cypher unstoppable?

I think no one is unstoppable. Everything depends on the players. Many of them overrate the winners of various tournaments and they lose their games before the match even starts.

What do you need to do to beat Cypher, then? In terms of gameplay, your battle plan and so on.

To defeat Cypher you have to be well-prepared above anything else. This will give you the confidence you needs. You cannot overrate Cypher too much, try to play your own game and not allow him to impose his style of play on the game. You need to pick the right times to fight. I will say no more because he is my team mate.

Who will challenge the Belarussian for the title?

I think there are a few players. Those are Cooller, rapha and toxic. Those are the players whose styles I think could be difficult for Cypher to beat but the players whose names I did not name definitely have a chance to beat him too.

You know toxic and how to beat toxic better than anyone. What can we expect of him in Athens?

I think toxic has excellent natural features that he needs to have to win in Quake 3. Everything depends on his attitude. If he trains as hard and cares as much as in Quake 4, then he will dominate at Quake 3 as well. He can be just as unstoppable as in Quake 4.

You have Jibo in your group. Do you expect to go through from first or second place?

Second place. I think I am not prepared enough in order to place first and I think that I will get into my groove after group play.

Cypher said that Jibo will not win a big event. Do you agree with this?

It is difficult to talk about it. I think that any player on a professional level can win tournaments. Cypher himself took a very long time to win his first event.

Is it possible that ESWC Athens will be your last tournament?

I think that it is very likely. I need to focus on many other things right now. I think there will be fewer opportunities to go to events.