<img src="/images/wcg2006/wcg_esr_q4_preview4B_fatal1.png">

Q4 GGL World Ranking : 15
Q4 Prize Money : $6,650

Results

2006 Quakecon : 9th-12th
2006 Intel Summer : 4th
2006 WSVG Kentucky : 4th
2006 The Warfactory LANetarium : 2nd

The man whose face adorns graphics card boxes, who’s gaming handle is plastered all over Sound cards and gaming mice and even has his own range of shoes. Ok, maybe not shoes. He is instantly recognisable to almost every gamer on the planet and many more besides in the mainstream and he is the only gamer to have successfully marketed himself in such a way that he is accepted as a genuine, bonafide modern day star.

Despite his previous success, 2006 hasn’t worked out all that well so far in comparison, but let’s not forget that until we reached last years mid point at CPL Summer, it was much the same story and we all know how 2005 ended for John. That said, he doesn’t seem to have taken to Quake 4 as well as his army of fans would have liked. He hasn’t truly threatened the established early runners (toxic and cooller) and is even over shadowed by his stable mate, Stermy. You can never count him out though and whatever the game, he will find those special reserves to make up the difference, peak at the right moment and deliver a match winning or indeed tournament winning display.

No one has more experience of pressure over the last few years than John, but perhaps the edge has been taken off him this year with much more work going on around his ever growing business empire. Although it is sure to earn him hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps this is one of the reasons that it may be the beginning of the end for him (at least in terms of his tournament play). It sounds almost ridiculous that at 23 years of age, he is now one of the older players on the scene with those behind him hungry to take his place, even move past him and take up the mantle of World Champion. Toxic and cooller certainly seem out of his reach right now and with Stermy, Ztrider, av3k and Cypher all playing well, it could be a tall order to see John winning a tournament this year.

There is however, no question, about who can rise to the challenge most, when it comes to the crunch. If WCG should include a player who is perhaps not considered Top 8 material right now, it could be this one, only you can decide.