4sg: Hey boys, thanks for taking some time out to fulfill an interview request for the fanboys and the many who are probably asking "who are you guys?"

First up, Name, Age, Time playing Quake and specifically Quake Live?



Ventz: Hi i'm Peter Kidson, 23, and I played Quake 3 for about 4 years and Quake Live now for about 2 and a half years



zlr: Timothy Shey, 23. I've been playing quake 3 technically since 1999, but didn't really get into online games until the early 2000's and I've been in Quake Live since the beta.

4sg: What was your initial reaction to seeing you were accepted into the Intel® QUAKE LIVE Duel Invitational Masters tournament?

V: Very excited after all the preparation put towards going to America and then the possibility we might not get an invite

z: Couldn't believe it really, after having announced that it was only 16 players I knew ventz and I wouldn't get in over some of the other players. After I found out there was a frantic scrambling for the best price on flights :)

4sg: How much practice or training have you been putting in each day/week and for how long? Are there any areas you are trying to improve in?

V: Lately most days probably 4 hours+, and I've been trying to work on map control and getting comfortable with toxic

z: I've been trying to do about 2-3 hours a day for a couple months now, with a couple days off here and there, it's the most I've ever practiced. I think a major difference between us and the overseas players is aim so I've been focusing on trying to get my aim as good as I can.

4sg: What do you think about the 5 map pool for the competition, do you feel comfortable on the new maps? Do you like the new map pool better then the old?

V: I would prefer to see ztn in there but i'm pretty happy overall with the list and I quite like how toxic plays. But still a lot of my favourite maps in the pool

z: It's good and bad I think. It gives you more chance to practice each map, but the maps are mostly rail dominated. If you don't have a good rail you won't do so well with this map pool. I prefer this map pool to others that have been used, I'm not a big fan of t4 or battleforged.

4sg: Who would you say has helped you most develop your Quake Live skills?


Dan and Ventz having an intimate discussion

V: I think being able to practice with clan mate dandaking has helped quite a bit, and I have learnt a lot from his recent exp. overseas

z: My good friend Elusive (ql name elusive_) who sometimes LAN's with me. Since the CG Acer LAN in sydney 2009, he's been talking over my wins/losses and pointing out what he thinks I should change in my game style. And he was right on all his points! I've changed a lot about my game since that LAN for the better.

4sg: Have you followed any Quakecons over the years of playing? Does it mean anything to you to finally compete in one?

V: Yeah I've watched quite a few in my time, have followed players like Cooller and Zero4 for a lot of events back in Quake3 so it's cool to get a chance to play against them. Yeah definitely I've been playing for a long time and as I said watched all of the pros play for years so it's really good to be able to go and experience such a big event, hopefully more to come!

z: I've been following Quakecon since the early 2000's and loved watching Cooller, czm and zero4. I've always wanted to play with these guys since I first saw their demos and watched it on GTV. It means a lot to me as I've been trying to compete overseas since Quake 4 came out but have never been able to get into any sponsored teams

4sg: Who is your favorite international player? And who are you most looking forward to meeting?

V: I like the more interesting players, Cooller i've been a fan of for a while so it'll be nice to watch him play. Most of the big names don't speak english very well so i'm not sure who will have a lot to say! Dan tells me av3k is a nice dude so it'll be good to talk to him and people like czm who are a wealth of knowledge on the game. I'm pretty keen to have a chat with whoever is interested so we'll see :)

z: In terms of how they play the game my favourite is rapha. I love how he thinks about the game and manages to come back from losing 2 maps in a row against the best players in the world. I wish I could have that much determination and guts. But generally cooller is my favourite. His games were the most exciting for me back in the day and still are, so I'm looking forward to meeting cooller the most.

4sg: The groups have just been announced, thoughts on your group and your fellow Australian comrade's?


A few of the Australian competitors having a banter

V: Our groups have some tough names but I'm sure Cooller and Rapha are high on Zlr's / my list of players we'd like to have a game with so whatever happens I'm pretty happy with how it turns out. Will be a good chance to see how we do against international players, not sure what is going to happen really!

z: I knew I would get a tough group, so I'm not surprised or disappointed that it's going to be extremely hard to make it through. I'm happy I get to play against rapha, that's one of the things I've been hoping to do for a long time.

4sg: What goals have you set yourself to get out of or achieve in the competition?

V: I'll just be happy to play some big names and play as well as I can, that said I would love to make finals

z: I want to be able to play my absolute best at the event, as I don't often get to a point where 100% of my thought processes are concentrated on the game and everything is flowing. If I can achieve this I know I will do well. I've never been happy with always just missing out on 1st placings here in Australia for the last 3 years, I've always had the mindset of 1st place or nothing. But I think in this case I would be extremely happy with a 2nd or 3rd place :)

4sg: Are you much interested to compete in the TDM tournament if some players join you?

V: Very interested in TDM. Have been trying to contact anyone I can over the last week that looks like they aren't in a team yet via esreality / quakelive. I've played TDM since I first started with Quake and am very keen to get a chance to compete

z: I love playing TDM and would jump at the chance to play with ventz and two others. Who knows maybe we could upset some of the other teams already accepted :)

4sg: Thanks for your time guys, and all of Australia and New Zealand wish you the best of luck in the tournament. Any final words or comments?


Ventz 2nd place at Reloaded 2011, $1000

V: Just some quick thanks I guess, cheers to Mindfreak firstly for sending me to play, all of the Australian Quake community who has helped out with donations, much appreciated. And of course 4SG for all the work they're done for Quake here in Aus. We have a lot of players here that are very interested in playing and would love to get involved in more international comps for duel as well as TDM/CTF so hopefully we can keep seeing competitions like Quakecon in the future!


zlr 3rd place at Reloaded 2011, $500

z: I would just like to say thank you to the people who have given me a lot of encouragement, and thank you to Elusive for helping me improve my game. Everyone at Vox Eminor have been extremely supportive of me the whole time and have shown a lot of faith in me. I'm extremely proud to be representing the team.

We're lucky to have such a dedicated and long lasting Quake community in Australia where a lot of people have put their time, effort and money into 4SG. I hope I can do Australia proud.