- Actually I don't have any personal power. I think I have good timing, aim, moving and tactics in complex and that is my strength. But my morale and nerves are still my minuses. I have to concentrate on main playing moments and control my focus on it. And sometimes I just need a bit of luck. God please give it to me. Thank you.

- Anton "Cooller" Singov

- I, with caution, consider myself number one in North America since I just won the last event. I don't deny rapha may have a better case in this because he won four in a row with deeper fields of talent and that's much harder than what I accomplished. I think honestly we are very close in skill though and a good case can be made for either of us.

compLexity's veteran Quaker has been an elusive figure internationally since QuakeCon but backs up his credentials here with the best qualifying record of the eight players in attendance. Not dropping a map versus gellehsak, kgb and pl4gue earned dkt top spot in his group and allowed him to avoid rapha in the group stages here. Like DaHanG, he'll have one eye on taking down the SK star but the other firmly fixed on a place at the global finals. The latter will be his primary focus though, with a tough group ahead of him before he can shift his attention to more exciting prospects.

Despite starting as the favourite, dkt has too much experience to take group B for granted and will approach each of his games with care. Chance and griffin will be familiar rivals but the unpredictability of his new teammate, vo0, could prove equally challenging. A fifth to eighth place finish at Dreamhack wasn't a disaster for dkt but, on the other hand, didn't exactly cause anyone to sit up and take notice. He'll be looking to make amends for this in Edmonton and will certainly fancy his chances.

Prediction: Should take a global final spot, but only in 3rd overall

LAN form: impressive until the semis as per usual

The great fox bandwagon rolled on in Dubai with another stunning start to an event that ultimately ended in disappointment for the Swede. Victory over rapha in the group stages proved that he has the talent but elimination at the hands of Cypher the following day looked to be all too straightforward for the Belarusian. If there's one thing that fox will have hoped to develop playing alongside new mousesports teammate Cooller it will be the mental side of his game, an attribute you'd have expected to be strong in a player with the Swede's years of experience.

fox's group stage tie with av3k looks set to be a classic, with two diametrically opposed play styles on show. av3k's offensive, risk-taking play could cause problems for the precise and calculating fox, who prefers only to fight at a time and place of his choosing. With the pressure off, you'd expect the mousesports player to hold the advantage but, if his Polish opponent is back in form, fox's efforts on home soil might stutter even earlier than expected.

Prediction: Heart says top two but head suspects he'll drop out a round or two beforehand

Out of shape? Probably. Washed up? Possibly. Still a legend? Definitely.

The only player who was going to keep rapha out of the headlines ahead of this event, Cooller, is now looking to return to Quake with a bang. With multiple CPL, WSVG and ESWC titles to his name, the Russian Quake star could arguably match any achievement he has to date by successfully pulling off this comeback with victory in Dubai. As unlikely as it is, the fans are still dreaming and will be avidly tuned in to ESL-TV for every match he plays.

Realistically though, even making it out of his group would be an achievement for Cooller given his limited practice time. His most recent appearance was in Quake 3 at the ASUS Cup where he lost to Cypher in the finals despite winning the upper bracket. Now with 385 matches on his QuakeLive account in the last three weeks, there can be no saying Cooller hasn't made the best of the time he's had and if there's anyone likely to pull off a win against Spart1e or DaHanG three weeks after installing the game it's got to be him.