1 Give me 10 words describing who you are:

Macler

Im the calmest and quietest man in the quakeworld community

Zero

i'm the one and only delay master, who got a PhD in triggering enemies

TiMMi

Prefer to know what I talk about before I speak.

Peppe

I am Peppe, certified loudmouth


2 Observations on Teams: What have been your general impressions of the teams that made it to the finals? Have you noticed any particular strategies that have been pivotal to their success?

Macler
I think milton with the much stronger lineup than last cup is getting stronger from game to game , but still its not allstar team like commando but not they are very strong even on kenyas becouse Andeh is very foreign player, hes the top schulz player atm, he can play agressive and smart back securing, Bennett looks very solid before final and probably favorite after crushing SD. fs is not without a chance, on tb3 they have a super strong squad, almost an all-star team, they may not be very active, but experience, cohesion and a very balanced squad with two offensive players and two reasonable players responsible for the back will allow them to put up an equal fight with the favorite. Kenya probably for bennet, tb3 for FS, the decisive clash will probably take place at dm2.

Zero
I had a chance to play both teams either in the tournament or in pracs. FS got a solid lineup and even without pracs they probably have the best invividuals so its no surprise that they made it to the finals. On the other hand we got Milton, who did a solid move by recruiting Andeh whos definitely an underrated player in the scene.

TiMMi
FS seems to have been resting their way to the final. I dont think they would have been there with the mappool of EQL#2. Their engine runs on tb3 knowledge, and it has been enough to bring them to the final. The contender is as expected Bennett. Nice to see them perform just as well without Nitram and XantoM. Havent seen too much of them to notice anything particular.

Peppe
FS was a wild signup(thanks wimpeh) and I had no hopes on them learning maps and winning by pure tb3 skills to beat both slackers and polonez. Happy to see them play but I'm afraid if you whisper their name they will disappear again, only to awake for a LAN.
Bennett/Commandeh I feel like they have a 70% chance to win it. The individual improvements from Andeh cannot be underestimated and he's added to a rock solid lineup of Henu, Diki and Milton. I expected nothing less than a spot in the finals. This will be a great match I'm sure.



3 Surprise Elements: Were there any surprising elements or unexpected turns in this tournament that stood out to you?

Macler
bennett's easy victory over SD was a surprise for me, SD had been looking very good in recent weeks, it looked like they had a good chance against bennett, maybe they had a bad day, it's hard to say, milton and the team played a really solid competition. Polonez's attitude against FS was probably also a surprise for everyone, hardly anyone gave us a chance before the match, especially on tb3 where only dm3 was quite one-sided, but in our defense I will remind you that FS had a full start and the first half of the match was dominated. dm2 was very balanced, we lacked experience which paid off while in FS, e1m2 and dm2 could have just as easily fallen to us. However, at the schloss, our win was a show of strength, because even here no one gave us a chance because in the last games at the schloss, FS was crushing subsequent teams in works and officials. There were probably no major surprises in the quarterfinals, apart from maybe individual maps.

Zero
SR getting knocked out! 😄 but other than that Polaks giving a 5 map thriller vs FS was definitely a surprise to me, they were so close to making it through. Big respect to the vodka guys!

TiMMi
Not too many, but I would highlight tSQ's dm2 vs Bennett as a great performance, and also Suddendeaths comeback from their losses in EQL#2. Reducing the playerpool and praccing alot sure has helped them. (Written before bronze game is finished :> )

Peppe
Yeah, Goodfellas performing excellent in div2 and the lack of map whine about aztec after more than a few minutes on it. It got so quiet?



4 Performance Predictions: Based on what you’ve seen, who do you predict will win the finals and why?

Macler
lets move here part from point 2 : " Kenya probably for bennet, tb3 for FS, the decisive clash will probably take place at dm2."
Kenya probably for bennet, tb3 for FS, the decisive clash will probably take place at dm2. 3:2 for FS!
Milton's finals losing streak will likely be extended

Zero
I think Miltons team will win it 3-1 . They are just too strong on kenya which is kind of a handicap to most teams.

TiMMi
I predict Bennett to dominate Schloss, tb3 to be fairly even and Milton winning Aztec by himself. So 3-1 to Bennett maybe.

Peppe
I'll give it to Bennett, FS will take dm3 and e1m2.



5 Map Dynamics: How do you think the map selections have influenced the outcomes of the matches in this tournament?

Macler
aztec was surprisingly often chosen even by teams that would go to hell for tb3, they happened to finally win matches in Kenya, so maybe they will slowly start to convince themselves that new does not mean bad, especially since schloss is already played in almost every match, very a spectacular map and most teams have fun playing on it, it's nice to see that something has changed in this regard, good job admins!

Zero
well bringing in kenya maps always have an influence on the outcomes, but i dont think it was the deciding factor. Generally the better teams went through. no issue with that

TiMMi
I think the tb5 format compared to tb7 has had a bigger impact than the actual maps. Its basically been about who is strongest on schloss(cause nobody is good on aztec), while tb7 was about being good on kenya in general.

Peppe
Not a lot, still dominated by tb3 and Schloss should be known by all at this point.


6 Player Spotlight: Are there any players in the finals whose performance has really impressed you? What sets them apart?

Macler
Obviously, when Milton is having a good day, nothing can stop him (only I can, but I'm not in the final 😉
However, we have other legends in the final, such as Reppie, who almost single-handedly defeated us on e1m2 in the semi-final, and Wimp, who is a great tactician and reacts very well to what is happening on the map, causing havoc for the enemy. Razor, a man who can stay alive like no other, and Andeh, currently one of the best all-around players in QW, can make the difference in the fina

Zero
I have been a fan of some polaks, but Iron (irn) has been super solid as well as Andeh in Miltons team.

TiMMi
I would say Andeh has been a nice fit into the Commando crew, his performance on schloss has been quite impressive.

Peppe
Andeh has done a lot of work and his performance in both 4on4 and duels is a really cool thing to see.
I would also like to highlight Reppie, he is a force of nature not to be dismissed.


7 Team Preparation: From your perspective, what kind of preparation do you think is necessary for a team to succeed in a tournament like this?

Macler
all eql cup editions were enriched with new maps that changed the balance of power on the stage, if someone didn't take the time to learn them, they had little chance of getting far. Experience with tb3 alone is no longer enough to be in the top 3, which is great because teams that do not have 5,000 matches on tb3 can finally compete with the best on an equal level and even beat them. The scene has become very lively, new players have appeared and, encouraged by the new maps, they are also learning tb3 in the meantime and are not discouraged so quickly. It was also important to understand the opponent's results in sparring matches in order to choose the appropriate order of maps, with bo5 this is of great importance.

Zero
I would love to say you need to practice a lot and it will bring you results but Slackers situation showed you thats not necessarily the case, lol. Just dont play pracs and bring in the best players!

TiMMi
Not much different from other tournaments, but since its 1 unknown map, its obvious that you get the most out of focusing on playing that one.

Peppe
Milton said it best: practice, practice, practice.
But to elaborate, more teams could do short matches on maps, set up scenarios and try to do the dm2 take back practice, or schloss enemy pent avoidance training etc.
Every prac game is played like an official, not giving yourself the exact situation to actually repeat and refine. That could actually be beneficial for all teams.


8 Future Participation: Waiting for the finals, has your approach or preparation for future tournaments changed in any way?

Macler
I think that we, as Polonez, are gaining experience from tournament to tournament, we focus on analyzing matches on tb3, we put a lot of emphasis on learning and mastering in Kenya, where we are a threat to everyone, after all, we have only been playing together for a few months, we are constantly developing and we already have some successes, the plan for the next season is total domination on both Kenya and TB3.


Zero
nope, never. just play a lot and when you lose blame the others on your roster!!

TiMMi
Our preperation on aztec was just too poor. It is hard when no other teams want to play it, but we should have done more 2v2's on it. The first few weeks before the matches started someone always said "Dont ruin the evening", so we didnt get to play the map more than once before our first match, and we lost vs FS purely on aiming skills. Cant apply any tactics when you dont know the way to quad.

Peppe
I'm not sure, the whole summer break thing is not really a thing for me so hopefully I'll be able to improve my 4on4 skills before the autumn EQL season comes around.
If nothing happens, there is always the superior game mode, duels 😉



9 Advice for Finalists: If you could give one piece of advice to the teams in the finals, what would it be?

Macler
For Bennett, don't play so seriously, it's just a game, it's supposed to be fun, not a fight on the front with the occupier 🙂 For FS, more sparring before the final and in the final, play more offensively than with us, there must be respect, but you are better at playing a more courageous game 🙂

Zero
Ruin will ruin your life!

TiMMi
I actually dont have any particular advice. I guess it would be for FS to prac more ahead of the final, but now its maybe too late. 🙂 TBC

Peppe
Keep your calm, and don't let that one death define the rest of the map.



10 Personal Reflections: Reflecting on your own performance in this tournament, what are the key learnings you’re taking away?

Macler
we trained a little too little before the tournament, we had a short break, minor mistakes in the matches with FS and SD resulted in the defeat, maybe our performance on the day, overall we are happy because at this tournament there were all the elite and only one Kenya, so no one could convince us this time that we can't tb3. Although in the last eql cup we only lost two tb3. Recently, I've been trying to change my crazy playing style to a more conservative one, I respect weapons and follow Milton's teachings not to rely on respawns and not to provide RL to the opponent.

Zero
Reflections? I should maybe stop playing bad!

TiMMi
Quite average, nothing stands out really. I've noticed that getting enough sleep and having enough energy before sitting down to play quake has quite an impact on game sense and teamplay performance. Shouldnt really come as a surprise, but I've atleast tried to pay more attention to it lately.

Peppe
I barely play, so not really.


11 Future of the Tournament: How do you see this tournament evolving in the future? Are there any changes or improvements you would like to see in the next iteration?

Macler
despite everything, we had more fun in the previous eql cup where there were more maps, it would be nice if the next edition had a group form and tb4 + 3 kenya (phantom, rocka, stronghold)

Zero
I actually would like to see a new map instead of Aztec. Schloss is fine (thats a huge thing come from a classic tb3er). Other than that its a great gournament! Big up for Hto!

TiMMi
I think we are on a good path here with the EQL cups. I would probably prefer a group round if there was no LB-playoff, since you would get 2 games if you lost first, but with LB everyone get 4 games. That seems to be a nice format, especially when you are testing out new maps.

Peppe
More maps, 7 atleast with 10 solid to be in rotation. We're not there yet but I think we can be.
Everyone should have fun and that's what's most important.
Fair divs are hard but I think Hooraytio does a good job of engaging everyone to play and being in touch with the scenes wants.
Other than that, not really. I think there are players out there playing for the competition and some just for the fun, both are valid and let's try to meet somewhere where we all can enjoy it.
See you on the servers! 😘



As the EQL Cup 3 draws to a close, the insights from Div1 players like Macler, Zero, TiMMi, and Peppe have added depth to our understanding of the tournament's dynamics. Keep an eye out for the upcoming finals!