The Multiplay i32 event sits uncomfortably between the resentment of knowing that it has stolen or soiled the prestige of the Toronto event, but knowing that the event, sponsored by Intel to the sweet sound of $20,000, wipes away much of the bad blood for the Quake players.
Previous Winners
i29 – mTw forever
i30 – Srs'av3k
i31 – Dignitas\GaRpY
With no Fojji, Cooller, Griffin, LoSt-CaUzE, Nomadic, or RazerJ in attendance, the overall competitiveness of the event was left strangely underwhelming, but with the likes of av3k, Cypher, DaHanG and toxjq playing, this was a minor and unimportant oversight.
It was clear very quickly that toxjq and av3k despite the prolonged break, were a class above the rest of the players. In the first game of the tournament, toxjq clashed against fnatic- 2GD, who had been out of Quake longer than most. After some quite irresistible railgun work, which at times clocked over 70% accuracy, 77% at his height, toxjq made short work of the former UK number one.
Without the safety of an easy bracket, DaHanG failed to emulate Toronto and was beaten throughly and confidently by Cypher, who remains one of the most stable players in Quake 4's short history. Subdued by the glow of av3k, neither player has quite made it to the next level and truly challenged toxjq for the crown of Quake.
The first match up between the two giants finished with av3k being narrowly sent to the loser bracket by only two frags on the deciding map, Phrantic. So it's with some irony that Phrantic would also be the fifth and final map in the grand final. Surprisingly, av3k exploded out of the block and put toxjq under the cosh, leading 10-4 after five minutes.
Despite pulling out the shot of the tournament, with three mid air rocket shots, av3k couldn't stop the inevitability of the toxinator pulling back. Finishing the match up 25-18 and also gathering the highest number of frags in the tournament by one, toxjq also secured himself a high spec PC from Intel at the expense of DaHanG.
Grand Final
toxjq [3 : 2] Srs'av3k
M2 Monsoon [14 : 26] - vod
M3 Placebo Effect [25 : 4] - vod
M4 Torment [16 : 22] - vod
M5 Phrantic [25 : 18] - vod
1st. toxjq $5500
2nd. Srs'av3k $3500
3rd. fnatic- Cypher $2500
4th. EG DaHanG $2000
5th. EG Chance $1500
6th. PURRI $1250
7th. Dignitas\HELL $1000
8th. Naani $750
9-12th. hoorai.cYmoZz $500
9-12th. [R] dozo $500
9-12th. Dignitas\GaRpY $500
9-12th. fnatic-2GD $500
With no events and the likelihood that ESWC picks Unreal Tournament 3 next year, i32 seems a one off, but then again, prospects after Toronto looked as bleak. Toxjq remains unbeaten in all but a handful of competitive events he has entered, truly dominant, truly professional, totally under appreciated.