You've essentially dissapeared off the face of the eSports map for the last 6 months, aside from a cameo at the Extreme Masters in March. What have you spent your time doing in the last six months?

ESL.Carmac: Next to moving to Cologne where the Turtle Entertainment HQ is (it sounds simpler than it is), I have mostly been doing background work on my projects. That is what the quiet months were about. In the coming months you should start seeing the fruit of our work.

You should keep tabs on my Twitter account (ESLmichal) if you want to know what's going on with me and the Intel Extreme Masters! I got a driving license quite recently as well. Passed in my first attempt, but I'm still really the worst driver ever!

At EM Global Finals you acted as an interviewer and a make-shift cheque deliverer, will your role be similar at the upcoming Extreme Masters, are you the new public face of the ESL?

ESL.Carmac: I might still appear as an interviewer. I enjoy it and I think the players can still tolerate me. To answer the final part of your question, though... The public face of ESL are its champions and its champions only. Yeah, okay, some esports fans will recognise me, but I do not embody what the Intel Extreme Masters is, what it stands for.

Players like GeT_RiGhT, overjoyed, smiling, still shivering from the adrenaline of winning the Global Finals, holding the trophy they worked so hard for... Those are the faces of our events. The champion embodies what the ESL is. Not a guy in the suit.

Why do you think you were a good choice for ESL? What insight can you give that they can not obtain from their other 180+ staff members?

ESL.Carmac: You're putting me in a tough spot. If I say I'm better than the other employees, the whole company will hate me. If I say I'm not, I risk getting fired! But here goes:

I bring craze, drive and creative frenzy to ESL!!! I would bet has something to do with an outsider's view and a broad knowledge of esports. A different view is the best bet. But I'm also an asshole and I have learnt not to take no for an answer. I've noticed it's very important when working on a project like the Intel Extreme Masters.

But surely won't working in a company like the ESL tame that which makes you unique, in particular your no bullshit I'm an asshole mentality? You're now one of many cogs in a big machine, are you not in danger of becoming institutionalised?

ESL.Carmac: I don't think I will be just another brick in the wall. Nothing will tame my asshole mentality, but don't you think it would be a bit naive to expect me to express my more controversial views openly?

Yes, I am in danger of becoming institutionalised, but there's a devil that sits on my shoulder and constantly asks me to act and try to come up with new things. So while some may see my switch to ESL as the end a stream of some cool things coming from me... you need to realise that I now have the power to make REALLY cool things happen. I am now scarier than ever. I have a huge machine behind me.

So can we take that as meaning you had a big hand in the new season of the Extreme Masters? Is that what you've been busy plotting in your cave in Poland?

ESL.Carmac: My home in Poland was not a cave. Granted, it would have been one if it hadn't been for my girlfriend Iza, but I will still take offence! Yes, I've had some influence in what the Intel Extreme Masters season will look like, what do you think I was hired for? Together with my partner Jens Allerdissen and the people from Intel we put blood, sweat and tears into making the fourth season as magnificent as possible.

Having said that, the Intel Extreme Masters is not the only thing I am working on. There are two other projects which could blow your mind... if they become real.

Does one of these incredible projects involve Sasha Tsapaev taking over ESL? Do you have any plans to feature him at ESL events?

ESL.Carmac: My friend who plays Sasha Tsapaev is going to have a baby in a few months, so we were not able to make any long term plans regarding ST. Plus, I am not really sure that in a takeover scenario Jens Hilgers and Ralf Reichert (the two most important people in Turtle Entertainment) could deliver as good a performance as BDS as humbled and humiliated former moguls!

Going back to EM are there plans to bring the Extreme Masters to new regions as was the case with EM Dubai last year?

ESL.Carmac: We would really like that... Right now the Intel Extreme Masters will consist of a few Global Challenges, three Continental Championships and a World Championship in 2010.

I cannot announce the locations just yet, but there is one region that we would like to really activate. I cannot say more because our commitment to this region depends on a few factors we need to deal with, but as a hint I can say the girls are really sporty there. The details on the season's locations and dates will be released at a later stage.

ESL have gone with QuakeLive in a "slightly lower key" event , can we intepret that as meaning there are only two major titles at the Extreme Masters WoW and CS?

ESL.Carmac: We were not able to hold a professional QuakeLive event due to the limitations that we are currently facing, that is being unable to host LAN servers for the game. We are working on resolving all of that and once we know that we are able to hold events with the quality worthy of a World Championship event, then we will make the decision on QuakeLive. This is a slightly more complex issue than it may appear.

Quakelive still has some issues, such as spectators getting kicked during tournaments as we saw in the QuakeLive invitational, no multiview demos and no ingame TV such as HLTV (so viewers have to rely on a stream from the players' PCs). Is ESL not concerned these issues could damage the integrity of the Extreme Masters event? Are you in talks with ID software about fixing these issues?

ESL.Carmac: Multiview demos are still more of a luxury, not a standard, so I would not worry too much about this. I also think that the ESL TV Invitational has proven that watching QuakeLive on a stream can be much more fun than normal GTV. We can offer an amazingly high standard of commentary for QuakeLive as well as a high quality video stream for events. The coverage of potential QuakeLive events is honestly the least of my worries.

The same goes for id Software. As far as I know, they have a very good idea of what the game needs to be in order to look absolutely perfect at a spectator event.

You've joined ESL at the end of one season of the EM and before the commencement of the other. What advice did you give them about their previous season that will now see fruition in the new season?

ESL.Carmac: I think that not only we, but esports in general needs to put more focus on the players. They are heroes for many people all over the world and we need to really put focus on that fact. The mainstream public needs to be convinced that gaming is indeed a sport, but that is not enough.

Every sport needs its heroes and we need to build a world where the outsiders will instantly understand that the dude in the oversized headphones is not a geek but a champion, a superstar and a true badass. Whoever's on that Intel Extreme Masters stage should be proud and whoever is not should be jealous. That is what we are working towards.

How do you plan to achieve that? Introducing a real podium like at WCG? Could you give us some examples?

ESL.Carmac: It's an amalgamation of a ton of little things that all add up to create a special feeling. We're talking about an emotion here, something inside the heads of the people. It's not exactly the same as building a stage for a final.

I think it's about showing the players' feelings, their desire to win, their sacrifices, how much the trophy means to them. It's also about building the players' image, how we present them - as heroes, as great warriors, as champions. Fans will need to think "Damn, I would like to be the guy in this promo, it must be so cool to be him!"

One of the ways to do it is to produce content around your sport that will promote the players, the sport and the league. That's the extra that the Intel Extreme Masters hasn't had in abundance so far.