The biggest Quake tournament in the series’ history came to a dramatic conclusion at QuakeCon 2017 in Dallas, Texas. With a prize pool of $1 million, the Quake World Championships saw pros from all over the world taking to the Quake Champions Arenas for their share of the glory. The championships were split into two prongs – Duel mode and Sacrifice mode – and when the dust from the final matches cleared, it could easily be said one player rose above the rest, taking home the grand prize as a solo player in Duel, as well as part of a team in Sacrifice. 19-year-old Nikita “clawz” Marchinsky was that player, and he and the rest of Team 2Z – made up of clawz, Kyle “Silencep” Mooren, Dmytro “Xron” Sakharuk and Alexander “Latrommi” Dolgov – will go down in the Quake record books for their achievements.
For their efforts in Sacrifice, Team 2Z walked away with a cool $300,000 after taking down Team NOTOFAST, a squad of legendary Quake players that includes noctis, fazz, stermy and toxjq. Clawz then went on to defeat 2005 esports Player of the Year, Sander “Vo0” Kaasjager, and claim the $100,000 Duel Grand Prize. Before the Quake World Championships, clawz had only won $200 in tournaments.
Clawz’ final Duel match against Quake veteran Vo0:
embed://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBwiLJWwU
Team 2Z’s final Sacrifice match against Team NOTOFAST:
We sat down with clawz and the rest of Team 2Z to discuss their victory and get some advice for other young players hoping to go pro.
How does it feel now that you guys are the best Quake Champions players in the world?
Xron: We really can’t say anything more than that it feels amazing and we are super happy about it.
The second-to-last match you guys had, you lost a really close round to NOTOFAST. What did you guys tell yourselves for that last match where you completely dominated? What did you guys communicate to each other?
Xron: We were pretty calm. We realized we had made a mistake but we needed to move on and we just played our game.
Did you guys have a mentor for Quake or anyone who really got you into the game?
Clawz: I have my uncle who showed me the game and taught me to play. He’s my mentor.
Latrommi: I have my father, who taught me the game. My mother also plays. I’ve been around Quake since childhood. I started playing when I was like 6 or 7 years old.
Silencep: I taught myself how to play.
Xron: Same. I just wanted to try a new game and it was Quake.
You guys are all so young. What advice would you give to other young players that are just picking up Quake Champions?
Clawz: My advice is to never get pissed off.
Xron: Don’t get pissed off and never give up. If you want to be the best you’re going to lose a lot in the process. Don’t let it get to you.
So now you guys have won the Quake World Championships, the biggest tournament Quake has ever had. What’s next? Are you doing all the tournaments?
Clawz: We hope so.
Xron: I think next is DreamHack in Sweden.
And maybe, Clawz, in Sweden it can be you and Vo0 [Sander “Vo0” Kaasjager] again, sort of on his home turf.
Clawz: It’s going to be just as easy, man.
Quake Champions is now in Early Access on Steam and Bethesda.net. Players can buy the Champions Pack, which includes all current and future Champions, a bundle of Reliquaries (loot boxes), and an exclusive skin for Ranger, for a special early adopter price of $29.99.
For more on Quake Champions, check out these features and videos:
Quake Champions Is Now in Early Access
Quake Champions – Get into the Arena
Quake Champions – BJ Blazkowicz, New Maps, New Weapon & More
Quake Champions – Introducing Duel Mode
Quake Champions – Sorlag Champion Trailer