The Swedish WCG was SK Gaming's first major test after Marcus 'zet' Sundström joined. SK topped the world's most difficult WCG qualifier after the most epic final possible. The third map against Lag Blank took sixty-five rounds until a winner was found!

The World Cyber Games 2008 Grand Final will be SK's third WCG and RobbaN's second. A Swedish team is always a favourite for gold in Counter-Strike, but SK Gaming's true potential is not known yet. October's tour around events in the US, Canada and the United Arab Emirates should verify it.

In the interview, RobbaN talks about the final against Blank, zet's addition and more. Enjoy.

Was the deciding match in WCG Sweden the craziest one you have played in?

This final against Lag Blank was easily one of the craziest games I've been in and the longest by far!

The first map was de_dust 2 which was their choice. We had nice control of that map and we had a really nice T-side. We ended up winning 16-9. The next map was de_nuke, our choice (lol). We took four rounds or something. Blank had the money control all the time. When we took a round they took it back and we had to eco or buy famas. We never really got into that map.

The last map was de_train. We faced Blank on train in the group stage of the WCG tournament and won 16-7. This time it got a bit harder :P After full time it was 15-15 and we ended up playing six overtimes! We hadn't eaten anything that day and with almost no sleep the days before event we were really tired, so it was really nice to get out of that game as winners.

What goes through a player's head during a match with six overtimes?

At one moment we were in a three against four situation as T that we needed to win. If we had lost that round, Blank would have won the entire game. I was dead in that round so I was nervous like shit. Anyway, the guys managed to win that round and we got an extra chance to win again. I felt that if we would win that round we would win the game. I didn't really feel the tiredness until after the game.

After we won we could breathe out! We went for some nice food and just chilled, walle and tentpole went home by car while me, zet and allen had to stay until next day to catch our flight early morning.

Have you ever played in similar matches?

I played in a few great matches in my lifetime. I remember when I played with Begrip in the World eSports Games season II against Pentagram [now Meet Your Makers]. We turned that game around in a really crazy way. The other one is the Swedish WCG qualifier final against SK Gaming when I played in NiP. We had a 2-13 half as T on de_train in the deciding map of the best of three. We turned it around and took 14 rounds as CT and got the WCG spot.



After finishing first in WCG Sweden and second in DreamHack, can you say you are the best Swedish CS team?

It's so hard to say. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, you can't win every tournament. At this DreamHack we saw the other two Swedish teams, Blank and EvilZone playing great, too. So I don't know, I hope too see them play against some foreign teams as well. But I think we deserved to win the trip to the World Cyber Games Grand Final in Cologne so I guess I see us as the number one team in Sweden right now.

Was it a surprise for you that Fnatic did not make it to the final in both tournaments?

Yes and no. We practiced some against the Swedish teams before we went to DreamHack and I knew they had the skill to beat either us or Fnatic, but I still think Fnatic lost on their own mistakes. So did we in the final against EvilZone. Of course they played well, though, and I won't take that away from them.

How would you rate zet's performance last weekend?

Zet fits perfectly into our team and I think he did a great job. But of course he needs some more time to fit into our game and all the tactics until he can go 100%.

Is this team better with him than it was with Abdi?

It is really hard to say. I guess we will see after all the tournaments in October!

What qualities does zet bring into the team?

I think zet is an complete player. He is smart, has great aim and communicates perfectly. Also, he is a really funny guy outside the game. He fits into our team perfectly.

You have a new player on SK - did the strats and how you execute them change?

Yes, true, we have changed our style and a lot of tactics. We also changed a few positions as CT and were still trying to find what's best for us. We had some problems on a few sides at DreamHack, which is normal when you have a new player and new positions. It takes some time to get used to it.

How long does this team need to fully "click"?

I think we have what it takes to win a major international tournament right now. But how much time it will take us to fully "click" is too hard to answer. I guess time will tell.

What do you expect out of the tournaments in October?

We are going to Extreme Masters in Los Angeles, Montreal and Dubai. I just want to win. I haven't won a tournament for way too long now!