Pavel “Pavel” Fomkin — From Early Days to Quake Live Moscow LAN
Below is the English translation of an interview with Pavel “Pavel” Fomkin, conducted shortly before the Quake Live Moscow LAN, which took place on March 1–2, 2025. In this conversation, Pavel talks about the origins of his nickname, his early years in gaming, his experiences at major LAN tournaments such as DreamHack and QuakeCon and his time in different Quake teams. He shares insights into his playstyle, preparation for competitions, and views on online versus offline formats. Beyond esports, Pavel discusses his work, achievements in powerlifting, family life, and thoughts on the future of Quake.
❗ Once again: this interview was recorded on February 20, 2025. Keep that in mind while reading.
Annkapa (Interviewer): Well, hello everyone! It’s been a while since we’ve had an episode of “Razgovorchiki” — our casual chat-and-interview show. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous — I haven’t streamed in a long time, but it’s really nice to be back. Today we have a guest who many in the Quake community know and fear — Pavel Fomkin, better known as Pavel. A professional Quake Live and Duel player, someone whose very presence can cause a mild panic even among the most experienced opponents. But we know that deep down, he’s a sweetheart. Hi, Pasha!
Pavel: Hi everyone!
Annkapa: Let’s start with the most obvious — your nickname. It’s unusual (laughs), and honestly, I know you used to have a different one. Tell us how it appeared and why it changed?
Pavel: If you’re talking about my old nickname — “kook” — well, that’s simple… and at the same time, it’s going to remain a mystery. No one knows why I chose it, and I’d like to keep it that way. The story is trivial and silly, so I don’t want to share it.
Annkapa: So it’s better not to approach Pavel with that question.
Pavel: Exactly.
Annkapa: But will you tell us about the actual nickname change?
Pavel: That story is a bit more fun. This was in Quake Live — either in the browser version or some other one. To play, you needed a paid account. At the time, I was in a team called IP (Incredible Panic), guys from Europe. They were apparently paying $70 a month for Premium, but it turned out they weren’t doing it quite honestly — they were using stolen credit cards. One day, I launched the game and saw: “You are banned.” I messaged everyone — “Why? What happened?” In the end, it turned out the team got shut down for these shenanigans.
The account with the nickname “kook” was banned, so I had to create a new one. I sat there thinking about what to write… and ended up with nothing better than “Pavel”. At that time, the Virtus.pro team was popular, where players used the “First Name Last Name” format. I decided — let it just be my first name, without the last. And that’s how Pavel stuck.
Annkapa: How old were you when you first started playing video games? And how long had you been playing by the time you had to change your nickname?
Pavel: I can’t remember exactly, but probably since around 2002–2003. At first, I just watched demos, including from CPL tournaments and tried playing myself here and there. So, it’s been over twenty years now.
Annkapa: So you started as a teenager. Was Quake your first computer game?
Pavel: Of course not. Like everyone else, we went to computer clubs and played whatever was popular — Max Payne, Counter Strike, anything we could find. A friend introduced me to Quake. At first, I wasn’t hooked, but the first discipline I started taking seriously was Counter Strike.
Annkapa: And how long did you play it?
Pavel: For quite a while. We had a team, won local tournaments, and even went to qualifiers for WCG in Nizhny Novgorod. But overall, it was all on a regional level.
Annkapa: Why did you leave Counter Strike?
Pavel: Team games with five people are always hard. Someone can’t make it, someone’s life changes… Keeping a roster together was always a problem. In Quake, you don’t depend on anyone: you just sit down, play, and it’s all on you. Gradually, I started putting more time into Quake, saw results and got hooked.
Annkapa: Which version of Quake did you start with, and which one do you like the most?
Pavel: I started with Quake 3. In general, I liked all versions of Quake up to and including Quake Live — Quake 3 itself, Quake Live and various mods. I didn’t really play Quake 4 or Quake 2 at all.
Annkapa: How about Diabotical?
Pavel: It’s a great game — smooth gameplay, solid shooting. Timing is a bit faster than in Quake 3, but overall it feels very similar.
Annkapa: And Quake Champions?
Pavel: It’s not a bad game, but it didn’t hook me. I think that’s because I didn’t play it much and missed the era when it was at its peak.
Annkapa: What about Blood Run? I saw you even played in the qualifiers.
Pavel: Fun game. I’d play it if there were tournaments. Nothing bad to say about it.
Annkapa: So, what attracts you to games is the tournament scene?
Pavel: Yes. That’s the kind of person I am — if I do something, I take it seriously, almost at a professional level. I don’t like wasting time for nothing.
Annkapa: So “just playing in the evening” isn’t your thing?
Pavel: No. I don’t play anything except Quake.
Annkapa: Why not?
Pavel: Since then, nothing else has really captured me. Quake is perfect for competition — you don’t have to stay in shape year-round, you can prepare for specific tournaments. That suits me completely.
Annkapa: So you don’t train year-round?
Pavel: Exactly. Tournaments aren’t constant, and it doesn’t take me much time to get into shape. There’s no point in staying at peak all year. The main thing is that there’s some activity — tournaments, prize money, even if small. That’s enough for me. I prepare for specific events, and the rest of the time I do other things.
Annkapa: You said you don’t stay in shape year-round — you prepare for specific events. How did that start? When did you first decide it was time to go to an offline event?
Pavel: Same as everyone: I wanted to test myself. Online is one thing, offline is completely different — adrenaline and excitement.
Annkapa: And what was your first tournament?
Pavel: The very first one was local, either in my hometown or in Kirov. There were so many that I can’t remember exactly which one came first.
Annkapa: And the most significant ones?
Pavel: The European LANs. Above all — DreamHack: my first trip to Europe, the summer DH 2012 in Jönköping. The city has about 100,000 residents, but around a hundred hotels; it’s not just a tournament but a festival — huge halls, a sea of people, thousands of PCs. Many come for the atmosphere, not just for a specific game. The only downside — from Stockholm, it’s about a five-hour bus ride.
Annkapa: What else stands out?
Pavel: Six months later we returned for the winter DH — this time with a rental car. Cooke rented the car, I had the driver’s license; we drove from Stockholm as a trio — me, evil and cooke. The road was long but fun, full of jokes and conversation. That’s where I met Slava “fire_bot” — he really helped as a translator because I barely knew English at the time. I spent a lot of time with Slava, and once I even went somewhere with Av3k — I think we even had a beer together.
Annkapa: Do you remember anything from the games themselves?
Pavel: Yes, I was up 2–0 in maps against Cypher but ended up losing 2–3.
Annkapa: How would you compare DreamHack and QuakeCon?
Pavel: They give different impressions. DreamHack is about scale and the festival atmosphere. QuakeCon stood out to me for its strange team scoring system (duel + TDM + CTF combined), which meant I didn’t play duel at all — I only played team modes, which I hadn’t really practiced. Too bad, I wanted a proper duel bracket.
Annkapa: And how did you like Europe, Sweden in general?
Pavel: It was fine, nothing special. Everything is different, but I’m used to Russia. Jönköping is clean, quiet, the people are friendly. For them, DreamHack is an ordinary event — visitors don’t surprise anyone.
Annkapa: Was there a tournament after which you felt you started playing better, believed in yourself more?
Pavel: No, there was no sudden jump like that.
Annkapa: And a tournament after which, on the contrary, you felt down, like you “broke”?
Pavel: Losses are always frustrating. Especially when you understand exactly what you did wrong but can’t change it anymore. That’s the most irritating part. But there weren’t any tournaments that truly “broke” me.
Annkapa: After DreamHack, your next big trip was to QuakeCon. What were your emotions when you realized you were going to America?
Pavel: Honestly, it’s hard to remember now. It’s been maybe 20 years… well, okay, about 10. The emotions have faded, but back then it was cool — a different country, a different world. Everything was different from home. The people were different — everyone smiling, talkative. That was unusual for me.
Annkapa: What surprised you the most?
Pavel: Mostly everyday stuff. It’s almost impossible to find a normal place to get soup or something homemade. It’s all fast food — McDonald’s, Burger King, and local equivalents. But the food in grocery stores is expensive. Back home, it’s the opposite: buying in stores is cheaper than eating fast food.
Annkapa: Let’s talk about the tournament itself.
Pavel: This was probably the strangest QuakeCon I could have attended. The organizers made a team format: each team had to play duels, TDM, and CTF, and the results went into a combined table. From our team, one player played duels — that was Cooller, but he wasn’t in his best form at the time. I’m not saying I would have done better, but as a result, I didn’t get into the duel bracket at all.
Annkapa: And what did you play then?
Pavel: CTF, which I had almost never played before, and TDM, where we did decently. But a lot depended on the duels, and in that match Cooller played against toxjq. If he had won, we would have made the prize spots, but it didn’t happen (actually, Cooller won the match against toxjq but lost against DaHanG).
Annkapa: How do you feel about CTF as a discipline?
Pavel: If you play with a team where everyone knows their role, it’s great. But in pick-up games or with random players — it’s complete nonsense.
Annkapa: How was the trip itself?
Pavel: Fun, but with some adventures. On the way back, I was flying alone — the team took different flights. The route was long: from Dallas to Atlanta, then to the Netherlands, and from there to Moscow. In Dallas, I had a layover. While waiting for my flight to Atlanta, I sat on a bench and decided to “close my eyes for a minute”. I woke up two hours later — the plane had already left.
I went to the check-in desk, explained the situation. The staff took me to a service room, pulled up the security cameras, and we started looking for the moment. We found the footage: I’m sitting calmly, then leaning back, closing my eyes… and not moving anymore. We laughed, but I still needed to change my ticket. At first, they said they’d put me on the same route exactly 24 hours later, but with a $500 surcharge.
I was ready to pay and asked, “Who should I give the money to?” — and then they suddenly said, “Never mind, no need to pay. Go to the hotel and get some rest”. So I spent the night in a hotel and returned to the airport the next day. In Atlanta, during the layover, I didn’t even think about sleeping — I stayed awake until boarding. After Moscow, I had another twelve hours on the train to get home. In total, the trip took almost three days.
Annkapa: Which teams did you play for before joining 102?
Pavel: There were several tags. I played for Incredible Panic, Empire… For example, with Empire we went to a tournament in Kyiv. There were some other teams too, but I can’t even remember them all — it was a long time ago.
Annkapa: And how did you end up in 102?
Pavel: Simple: we were already playing 4v4, Cooke noticed me and said he wanted to form a team, and offered me to join. There were no salaries, but he promised to help with trips to LANs — and he kept his word.
Annkapa: What was the lineup at the start?
Pavel: The first lineup was me, starosta, lexaaa, and I think Latrommi. Over time the roster changed, but the core remained.
Annkapa: How was the atmosphere in the team?
Pavel: Fine. We had different personalities in the team — for example, Cooller and cooke could argue, but I tried to smooth things over and find compromises. The main thing was that everyone was a strong player and a professional.
Annkapa: Tell us, what do you do for work in real life?
Pavel: My father and I have our own small business — a small dairy production plant. We’ve been doing this for ten years now: processing, packaging, a bit of distribution. But it’s a very tough business, especially if you start from scratch. Constant investments, loans, competitors. One month you break even, the next you’re in the red — and so it goes year after year.
Annkapa: How long have you been into sports?
Pavel: I started going to the gym back in university — I wanted to set goals and meet standards. I found a good coach, you could say one of Russia’s elite in powerlifting. He competed and won at world tournaments, and I started training with him.
Annkapa: What exactly did you train in?
Pavel: Powerlifting. It’s three basic lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. Competitions are based on these exercises. Even without competition goals, it’s still a solid foundation that works all muscle groups.
Annkapa: What are your achievements?
Pavel: In bench press, I met the standard and reached the level of Master of Sports. I compete in the 110 kg weight class, I weigh around 107. With doping control, I have the Master of Sports certificate — I achieved the standard two years ago.
Annkapa: Do you have a next goal?
Pavel: Yes, to become an International Master of Sports in the same category with doping control. In my weight class, that requires benching 192 kg. There was also a figure of 167 kg — that’s the Master of Sports standard in my weight.
Annkapa: Any upcoming competitions?
Pavel: On Saturday. I plan to bench 180 kg. At my last competition, my max was 175. These are local meets, the prizes aren’t great, and even if I hit the standard, it won’t be officially awarded. I’m going there to challenge myself and try to add 5 kg.
Annkapa: How do you structure your training?
Pavel: I go to the gym three times a week, sometimes four. I have a coach, and a ready-made plan in my phone — I just open it and follow it, no improvisation. Year after year, I see progress.
Annkapa: Is there doping control?
Pavel: Yes, definitely. I don’t use banned substances — I want to reach my max naturally. From the allowed ones — creatine and similar supplements.
Annkapa: And how about your diet?
Pavel: I focus on carbs to lift heavy — 80% of my diet is rice or pasta. Any meat — chicken, pork, beef. I don’t divide food into “healthy” and “unhealthy”; on weekends I can eat without restrictions. You don’t need to be “shredded” — you can’t lift that much weight in that condition.
Annkapa: Do you still squat and deadlift now?
Pavel: I haven’t done a one-rep squat in a long time — right now my goal is bench. My working weights used to be: deadlift 200×4, squat 230×2.
Annkapa: Tell us a bit about your family.
Pavel: I have a wife and a daughter. My daughter is eight years old. My wife and I have known each other for many years, and from the very beginning she accepted my hobbies as they are. She’s mostly the one taking care of our child, especially when I’m at work or at tournaments. She always supports me — even if I’m away from home for several days — and understands that it’s important to me.
Annkapa: Is your daughter interested in your games?
Pavel: Not really. She plays on her phone and tablet, so computer games aren’t that interesting to her yet. Sometimes she’ll come over and see what I’m doing, but it doesn’t hold her attention for long.
Annkapa: What does she do in her free time?
Pavel: Swimming. She even has training sessions on weekends, so she doesn’t have much free time.
Annkapa: And otherwise, how do you spend time together?
Pavel: Usual family stuff — walking, going places, spending time together. When we can, we go out as a family to take a break from work and training.
Annkapa: Which tournament format do you prefer — online or offline?
Pavel: Definitely offline. When all your opponents are in the same hall, when you can meet in person, talk, and see their reactions — it’s a completely different feeling compared to sitting at home in front of a monitor. Online doesn’t have that atmosphere, and playing with ping is harder.
Annkapa: What kind of emotions do offline tournaments give you? You’ve just come back from Yekaterinburg — what did you take away from it?
Pavel: It was a great trip. One of the last truly great LANs. I liked everything — the city, the games, the people. I met a lot of old and new friends. It was my first time in Yekaterinburg, and overall, I had a blast.
Annkapa: Why did you decide to go?
Pavel: I just wanted to kick… Ash’s and AGENT’s asses.
Annkapa: And how did you feel after the tournament results?
Pavel: I felt really bad. (AGENT and ash won the TDM 2v2 tournament — editor’s note)
Annkapa: Now you’re preparing for the Moscow LAN. What changes have you made in preparation, what mistakes have you fixed?
Pavel: We’ve been putting in more time and started playing earlier. But the last couple of weeks were tough — I’ve had very intense powerlifting training, and in the evenings my brain just doesn’t work, so it’s hard to play. I’m planning to compete in powerlifting on Saturday, and after that, the week will be packed with Quake. We’ve already played a lot before — since January.
Annkapa: How do you rate your chances in 2×2? Who are the most dangerous opponents besides ASH and AGENT?
Pavel: cas and cherepoff — they play well. rell and danches — if they practiced more, they could do really well: rell understands what to do, danches hits his shots. They’re just lazy, need to play more. Drebin and RoumanianCham — Drebin is a machine. They can beat you on certain maps. Nitrino and st0n3 are also strong.
Annkapa: Your 2×2 partner is Latrommi. He sometimes tilts. How much does that get in the way?
Pavel: It happens. But we’ve been playing together for a long time, and we’re friends in real life, so I understand how he acts in those situations. I try to support him so he doesn’t tilt further, and we can get back into the game quickly.
Annkapa: Who else have you played with in pairs or in a team, besides Latrommi?
Pavel: There was a period when 421 and I played TDM. We did well — beating strong TDM players like noctis and zyv. At other times I played with Cooller, but not for long — nothing serious came out of it.
Annkapa: Let’s talk about duels. What led to your skill growth? At what moment and why, do you think? Were there any problems that limited your progress?
Pavel: (laughs) I’ll skip that question. That’s complete nonsense. Where did you get the idea that I’m a “great player”? I never said that.
Annkapa: Then how would you describe your playstyle?
Pavel: Ash once called it “battle rat”. That’s pretty accurate. I often put things off “for later,” try to drag the game out. I like running away, hiding. If I have a lead in frags, I won’t push forward — I’d rather sit tight. Sometimes that backfires, but that’s my style.
Annkapa: Which opponents are easier for you, and which are harder?
Pavel: It’s harder against those who outshoot me. If I have to choose, say, between Ash or AGENT, I’d rather play AGENT — I can read his game and mine better. But “one-button” players who just rush to shoot — they’re unpleasant. It’s easier with those who shoot worse.
Annkapa: How do you rate your chances in duels at the upcoming LAN?
Pavel: I’m not aiming for top 1. I’d like to make the top 3. The competition is tough: Cypher is back, AGENT is in good shape, Nitrino too… We’ll see how the bracket looks.
Annkapa: Does in-game negativity or chat trash talk get to you?
Pavel: It usually makes me smile. I’ve been through that many times. If a person’s just being unpleasant, it’s hard to take offense.
Annkapa: Do you try to throw opponents off mentally yourself?
Pavel: Of course. You always need to do that — in-game. I try my best, using whatever works. And I know how and with whom to do what.
Annkapa: What gear are you playing on now?
Pavel: Mouse — Razer Viper Mini. Two mousepads, both Razer — I swap them out, still haven’t decided which is better. Headphones — some Chinese brand, I don’t even remember the name, but they were recommended as good ones. I’m not obsessed with gear, but I do upgrade because technology moves forward — you can’t really play well on old mice anymore. If something breaks, I replace it. On friends’ advice, I bought these headphones, a mousepad, and a monitor.
Annkapa: Are your control settings standard?
Pavel: Yes, standard.
Annkapa: And what’s the bind “Seryoga never misses”?
Pavel: That’s from the old TDM days when we had a team called “Kremlin”: komp0t, me, starosta and Seryoga — his nickname was Bravo. Before the game, he’d say into voice chat: “Seryoga never misses”, so I made a bind to type that phrase into the in-game chat. It’s been around for about ten years now. It’s not related to evil — just a warm little meme from the past.
Annkapa: Are there players whose game you admire?
Pavel: Of course. Toxjq, Cypher, Cooller, fox, fazz… In general, I’ve always liked the style of the Swedish players, and I tried to imitate them. Each of them had their own approach, and at different times I tried to adopt the best parts.
Annkapa: Have you ever felt jealous of any players?
Pavel: No, I never felt jealousy. It was more of a motivation — I wanted to catch up to strong players, become better. To watch them and realize that I could play like that too, or even better.
Annkapa: What do you think the future holds for Quake?
Pavel: Quake will never die.
Annkapa: And what do you personally want from Quake?
Pavel: More tournaments and more players.
Annkapa: Do games and tournaments still bring you the same enjoyment?
Pavel: Yes, they still do. The LAN in Yekaterinburg really impressed me — it was great.
Annkapa: Do you plan to keep playing?
Pavel: Of course. If there are tournaments — I’ll play; if not — I won’t. My approach is simple: I don’t spend time on things that don’t bring any benefit.
❗ Once again: this interview was recorded on February 20, 2025. Keep that in mind while reading.
Introduction and Nickname Story
Annkapa (Interviewer): Well, hello everyone! It’s been a while since we’ve had an episode of “Razgovorchiki” — our casual chat-and-interview show. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous — I haven’t streamed in a long time, but it’s really nice to be back. Today we have a guest who many in the Quake community know and fear — Pavel Fomkin, better known as Pavel. A professional Quake Live and Duel player, someone whose very presence can cause a mild panic even among the most experienced opponents. But we know that deep down, he’s a sweetheart. Hi, Pasha!
Pavel: Hi everyone!
Annkapa: Let’s start with the most obvious — your nickname. It’s unusual (laughs), and honestly, I know you used to have a different one. Tell us how it appeared and why it changed?
Pavel: If you’re talking about my old nickname — “kook” — well, that’s simple… and at the same time, it’s going to remain a mystery. No one knows why I chose it, and I’d like to keep it that way. The story is trivial and silly, so I don’t want to share it.
Annkapa: So it’s better not to approach Pavel with that question.
Pavel: Exactly.
Annkapa: But will you tell us about the actual nickname change?
Pavel: That story is a bit more fun. This was in Quake Live — either in the browser version or some other one. To play, you needed a paid account. At the time, I was in a team called IP (Incredible Panic), guys from Europe. They were apparently paying $70 a month for Premium, but it turned out they weren’t doing it quite honestly — they were using stolen credit cards. One day, I launched the game and saw: “You are banned.” I messaged everyone — “Why? What happened?” In the end, it turned out the team got shut down for these shenanigans.
The account with the nickname “kook” was banned, so I had to create a new one. I sat there thinking about what to write… and ended up with nothing better than “Pavel”. At that time, the Virtus.pro team was popular, where players used the “First Name Last Name” format. I decided — let it just be my first name, without the last. And that’s how Pavel stuck.
Early Games and the Transition to Quake
Annkapa: How old were you when you first started playing video games? And how long had you been playing by the time you had to change your nickname?
Pavel: I can’t remember exactly, but probably since around 2002–2003. At first, I just watched demos, including from CPL tournaments and tried playing myself here and there. So, it’s been over twenty years now.
Annkapa: So you started as a teenager. Was Quake your first computer game?
Pavel: Of course not. Like everyone else, we went to computer clubs and played whatever was popular — Max Payne, Counter Strike, anything we could find. A friend introduced me to Quake. At first, I wasn’t hooked, but the first discipline I started taking seriously was Counter Strike.
Annkapa: And how long did you play it?
Pavel: For quite a while. We had a team, won local tournaments, and even went to qualifiers for WCG in Nizhny Novgorod. But overall, it was all on a regional level.
Annkapa: Why did you leave Counter Strike?
Pavel: Team games with five people are always hard. Someone can’t make it, someone’s life changes… Keeping a roster together was always a problem. In Quake, you don’t depend on anyone: you just sit down, play, and it’s all on you. Gradually, I started putting more time into Quake, saw results and got hooked.
Favorite Versions of Quake and Approach to Gaming
Annkapa: Which version of Quake did you start with, and which one do you like the most?
Pavel: I started with Quake 3. In general, I liked all versions of Quake up to and including Quake Live — Quake 3 itself, Quake Live and various mods. I didn’t really play Quake 4 or Quake 2 at all.
Annkapa: How about Diabotical?
Pavel: It’s a great game — smooth gameplay, solid shooting. Timing is a bit faster than in Quake 3, but overall it feels very similar.
Annkapa: And Quake Champions?
Pavel: It’s not a bad game, but it didn’t hook me. I think that’s because I didn’t play it much and missed the era when it was at its peak.
Annkapa: What about Blood Run? I saw you even played in the qualifiers.
Pavel: Fun game. I’d play it if there were tournaments. Nothing bad to say about it.
Annkapa: So, what attracts you to games is the tournament scene?
Pavel: Yes. That’s the kind of person I am — if I do something, I take it seriously, almost at a professional level. I don’t like wasting time for nothing.
Annkapa: So “just playing in the evening” isn’t your thing?
Pavel: No. I don’t play anything except Quake.
Annkapa: Why not?
Pavel: Since then, nothing else has really captured me. Quake is perfect for competition — you don’t have to stay in shape year-round, you can prepare for specific tournaments. That suits me completely.
Annkapa: So you don’t train year-round?
Pavel: Exactly. Tournaments aren’t constant, and it doesn’t take me much time to get into shape. There’s no point in staying at peak all year. The main thing is that there’s some activity — tournaments, prize money, even if small. That’s enough for me. I prepare for specific events, and the rest of the time I do other things.
First Tournaments, DreamHack, and QuakeCon
Annkapa: You said you don’t stay in shape year-round — you prepare for specific events. How did that start? When did you first decide it was time to go to an offline event?
Pavel: Same as everyone: I wanted to test myself. Online is one thing, offline is completely different — adrenaline and excitement.
Annkapa: And what was your first tournament?
Pavel: The very first one was local, either in my hometown or in Kirov. There were so many that I can’t remember exactly which one came first.
Annkapa: And the most significant ones?
Pavel: The European LANs. Above all — DreamHack: my first trip to Europe, the summer DH 2012 in Jönköping. The city has about 100,000 residents, but around a hundred hotels; it’s not just a tournament but a festival — huge halls, a sea of people, thousands of PCs. Many come for the atmosphere, not just for a specific game. The only downside — from Stockholm, it’s about a five-hour bus ride.
Annkapa: What else stands out?
Pavel: Six months later we returned for the winter DH — this time with a rental car. Cooke rented the car, I had the driver’s license; we drove from Stockholm as a trio — me, evil and cooke. The road was long but fun, full of jokes and conversation. That’s where I met Slava “fire_bot” — he really helped as a translator because I barely knew English at the time. I spent a lot of time with Slava, and once I even went somewhere with Av3k — I think we even had a beer together.
Annkapa: Do you remember anything from the games themselves?
Pavel: Yes, I was up 2–0 in maps against Cypher but ended up losing 2–3.
Annkapa: How would you compare DreamHack and QuakeCon?
Pavel: They give different impressions. DreamHack is about scale and the festival atmosphere. QuakeCon stood out to me for its strange team scoring system (duel + TDM + CTF combined), which meant I didn’t play duel at all — I only played team modes, which I hadn’t really practiced. Too bad, I wanted a proper duel bracket.
Annkapa: And how did you like Europe, Sweden in general?
Pavel: It was fine, nothing special. Everything is different, but I’m used to Russia. Jönköping is clean, quiet, the people are friendly. For them, DreamHack is an ordinary event — visitors don’t surprise anyone.
Annkapa: Was there a tournament after which you felt you started playing better, believed in yourself more?
Pavel: No, there was no sudden jump like that.
Annkapa: And a tournament after which, on the contrary, you felt down, like you “broke”?
Pavel: Losses are always frustrating. Especially when you understand exactly what you did wrong but can’t change it anymore. That’s the most irritating part. But there weren’t any tournaments that truly “broke” me.
Annkapa: After DreamHack, your next big trip was to QuakeCon. What were your emotions when you realized you were going to America?
Pavel: Honestly, it’s hard to remember now. It’s been maybe 20 years… well, okay, about 10. The emotions have faded, but back then it was cool — a different country, a different world. Everything was different from home. The people were different — everyone smiling, talkative. That was unusual for me.
Annkapa: What surprised you the most?
Pavel: Mostly everyday stuff. It’s almost impossible to find a normal place to get soup or something homemade. It’s all fast food — McDonald’s, Burger King, and local equivalents. But the food in grocery stores is expensive. Back home, it’s the opposite: buying in stores is cheaper than eating fast food.
Annkapa: Let’s talk about the tournament itself.
Pavel: This was probably the strangest QuakeCon I could have attended. The organizers made a team format: each team had to play duels, TDM, and CTF, and the results went into a combined table. From our team, one player played duels — that was Cooller, but he wasn’t in his best form at the time. I’m not saying I would have done better, but as a result, I didn’t get into the duel bracket at all.
Annkapa: And what did you play then?
Pavel: CTF, which I had almost never played before, and TDM, where we did decently. But a lot depended on the duels, and in that match Cooller played against toxjq. If he had won, we would have made the prize spots, but it didn’t happen (actually, Cooller won the match against toxjq but lost against DaHanG).
Annkapa: How do you feel about CTF as a discipline?
Pavel: If you play with a team where everyone knows their role, it’s great. But in pick-up games or with random players — it’s complete nonsense.
Annkapa: How was the trip itself?
Pavel: Fun, but with some adventures. On the way back, I was flying alone — the team took different flights. The route was long: from Dallas to Atlanta, then to the Netherlands, and from there to Moscow. In Dallas, I had a layover. While waiting for my flight to Atlanta, I sat on a bench and decided to “close my eyes for a minute”. I woke up two hours later — the plane had already left.
I went to the check-in desk, explained the situation. The staff took me to a service room, pulled up the security cameras, and we started looking for the moment. We found the footage: I’m sitting calmly, then leaning back, closing my eyes… and not moving anymore. We laughed, but I still needed to change my ticket. At first, they said they’d put me on the same route exactly 24 hours later, but with a $500 surcharge.
I was ready to pay and asked, “Who should I give the money to?” — and then they suddenly said, “Never mind, no need to pay. Go to the hotel and get some rest”. So I spent the night in a hotel and returned to the airport the next day. In Atlanta, during the layover, I didn’t even think about sleeping — I stayed awake until boarding. After Moscow, I had another twelve hours on the train to get home. In total, the trip took almost three days.
Teams and Joining 102
Annkapa: Which teams did you play for before joining 102?
Pavel: There were several tags. I played for Incredible Panic, Empire… For example, with Empire we went to a tournament in Kyiv. There were some other teams too, but I can’t even remember them all — it was a long time ago.
Annkapa: And how did you end up in 102?
Pavel: Simple: we were already playing 4v4, Cooke noticed me and said he wanted to form a team, and offered me to join. There were no salaries, but he promised to help with trips to LANs — and he kept his word.
Annkapa: What was the lineup at the start?
Pavel: The first lineup was me, starosta, lexaaa, and I think Latrommi. Over time the roster changed, but the core remained.
Annkapa: How was the atmosphere in the team?
Pavel: Fine. We had different personalities in the team — for example, Cooller and cooke could argue, but I tried to smooth things over and find compromises. The main thing was that everyone was a strong player and a professional.
Work, Sports and Powerlifting Achievements
Annkapa: Tell us, what do you do for work in real life?
Pavel: My father and I have our own small business — a small dairy production plant. We’ve been doing this for ten years now: processing, packaging, a bit of distribution. But it’s a very tough business, especially if you start from scratch. Constant investments, loans, competitors. One month you break even, the next you’re in the red — and so it goes year after year.
Annkapa: How long have you been into sports?
Pavel: I started going to the gym back in university — I wanted to set goals and meet standards. I found a good coach, you could say one of Russia’s elite in powerlifting. He competed and won at world tournaments, and I started training with him.
Annkapa: What exactly did you train in?
Pavel: Powerlifting. It’s three basic lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. Competitions are based on these exercises. Even without competition goals, it’s still a solid foundation that works all muscle groups.
Annkapa: What are your achievements?
Pavel: In bench press, I met the standard and reached the level of Master of Sports. I compete in the 110 kg weight class, I weigh around 107. With doping control, I have the Master of Sports certificate — I achieved the standard two years ago.
Annkapa: Do you have a next goal?
Pavel: Yes, to become an International Master of Sports in the same category with doping control. In my weight class, that requires benching 192 kg. There was also a figure of 167 kg — that’s the Master of Sports standard in my weight.
Annkapa: Any upcoming competitions?
Pavel: On Saturday. I plan to bench 180 kg. At my last competition, my max was 175. These are local meets, the prizes aren’t great, and even if I hit the standard, it won’t be officially awarded. I’m going there to challenge myself and try to add 5 kg.
Annkapa: How do you structure your training?
Pavel: I go to the gym three times a week, sometimes four. I have a coach, and a ready-made plan in my phone — I just open it and follow it, no improvisation. Year after year, I see progress.
Annkapa: Is there doping control?
Pavel: Yes, definitely. I don’t use banned substances — I want to reach my max naturally. From the allowed ones — creatine and similar supplements.
Annkapa: And how about your diet?
Pavel: I focus on carbs to lift heavy — 80% of my diet is rice or pasta. Any meat — chicken, pork, beef. I don’t divide food into “healthy” and “unhealthy”; on weekends I can eat without restrictions. You don’t need to be “shredded” — you can’t lift that much weight in that condition.
Annkapa: Do you still squat and deadlift now?
Pavel: I haven’t done a one-rep squat in a long time — right now my goal is bench. My working weights used to be: deadlift 200×4, squat 230×2.
Family
Annkapa: Tell us a bit about your family.
Pavel: I have a wife and a daughter. My daughter is eight years old. My wife and I have known each other for many years, and from the very beginning she accepted my hobbies as they are. She’s mostly the one taking care of our child, especially when I’m at work or at tournaments. She always supports me — even if I’m away from home for several days — and understands that it’s important to me.
Annkapa: Is your daughter interested in your games?
Pavel: Not really. She plays on her phone and tablet, so computer games aren’t that interesting to her yet. Sometimes she’ll come over and see what I’m doing, but it doesn’t hold her attention for long.
Annkapa: What does she do in her free time?
Pavel: Swimming. She even has training sessions on weekends, so she doesn’t have much free time.
Annkapa: And otherwise, how do you spend time together?
Pavel: Usual family stuff — walking, going places, spending time together. When we can, we go out as a family to take a break from work and training.
Attitude Toward Tournaments and Competition Formats
Annkapa: Which tournament format do you prefer — online or offline?
Pavel: Definitely offline. When all your opponents are in the same hall, when you can meet in person, talk, and see their reactions — it’s a completely different feeling compared to sitting at home in front of a monitor. Online doesn’t have that atmosphere, and playing with ping is harder.
Annkapa: What kind of emotions do offline tournaments give you? You’ve just come back from Yekaterinburg — what did you take away from it?
Pavel: It was a great trip. One of the last truly great LANs. I liked everything — the city, the games, the people. I met a lot of old and new friends. It was my first time in Yekaterinburg, and overall, I had a blast.
Annkapa: Why did you decide to go?
Pavel: I just wanted to kick… Ash’s and AGENT’s asses.
Annkapa: And how did you feel after the tournament results?
Pavel: I felt really bad. (AGENT and ash won the TDM 2v2 tournament — editor’s note)
Annkapa: Now you’re preparing for the Moscow LAN. What changes have you made in preparation, what mistakes have you fixed?
Pavel: We’ve been putting in more time and started playing earlier. But the last couple of weeks were tough — I’ve had very intense powerlifting training, and in the evenings my brain just doesn’t work, so it’s hard to play. I’m planning to compete in powerlifting on Saturday, and after that, the week will be packed with Quake. We’ve already played a lot before — since January.
Annkapa: How do you rate your chances in 2×2? Who are the most dangerous opponents besides ASH and AGENT?
Pavel: cas and cherepoff — they play well. rell and danches — if they practiced more, they could do really well: rell understands what to do, danches hits his shots. They’re just lazy, need to play more. Drebin and RoumanianCham — Drebin is a machine. They can beat you on certain maps. Nitrino and st0n3 are also strong.
Annkapa: Your 2×2 partner is Latrommi. He sometimes tilts. How much does that get in the way?
Pavel: It happens. But we’ve been playing together for a long time, and we’re friends in real life, so I understand how he acts in those situations. I try to support him so he doesn’t tilt further, and we can get back into the game quickly.
Annkapa: Who else have you played with in pairs or in a team, besides Latrommi?
Pavel: There was a period when 421 and I played TDM. We did well — beating strong TDM players like noctis and zyv. At other times I played with Cooller, but not for long — nothing serious came out of it.
Duels and Playstyle
Annkapa: Let’s talk about duels. What led to your skill growth? At what moment and why, do you think? Were there any problems that limited your progress?
Pavel: (laughs) I’ll skip that question. That’s complete nonsense. Where did you get the idea that I’m a “great player”? I never said that.
Annkapa: Then how would you describe your playstyle?
Pavel: Ash once called it “battle rat”. That’s pretty accurate. I often put things off “for later,” try to drag the game out. I like running away, hiding. If I have a lead in frags, I won’t push forward — I’d rather sit tight. Sometimes that backfires, but that’s my style.
Annkapa: Which opponents are easier for you, and which are harder?
Pavel: It’s harder against those who outshoot me. If I have to choose, say, between Ash or AGENT, I’d rather play AGENT — I can read his game and mine better. But “one-button” players who just rush to shoot — they’re unpleasant. It’s easier with those who shoot worse.
Annkapa: How do you rate your chances in duels at the upcoming LAN?
Pavel: I’m not aiming for top 1. I’d like to make the top 3. The competition is tough: Cypher is back, AGENT is in good shape, Nitrino too… We’ll see how the bracket looks.
Annkapa: Does in-game negativity or chat trash talk get to you?
Pavel: It usually makes me smile. I’ve been through that many times. If a person’s just being unpleasant, it’s hard to take offense.
Annkapa: Do you try to throw opponents off mentally yourself?
Pavel: Of course. You always need to do that — in-game. I try my best, using whatever works. And I know how and with whom to do what.
Gear and Settings
Annkapa: What gear are you playing on now?
Pavel: Mouse — Razer Viper Mini. Two mousepads, both Razer — I swap them out, still haven’t decided which is better. Headphones — some Chinese brand, I don’t even remember the name, but they were recommended as good ones. I’m not obsessed with gear, but I do upgrade because technology moves forward — you can’t really play well on old mice anymore. If something breaks, I replace it. On friends’ advice, I bought these headphones, a mousepad, and a monitor.
Annkapa: Are your control settings standard?
Pavel: Yes, standard.
Annkapa: And what’s the bind “Seryoga never misses”?
Pavel: That’s from the old TDM days when we had a team called “Kremlin”: komp0t, me, starosta and Seryoga — his nickname was Bravo. Before the game, he’d say into voice chat: “Seryoga never misses”, so I made a bind to type that phrase into the in-game chat. It’s been around for about ten years now. It’s not related to evil — just a warm little meme from the past.
Players He Respects
Annkapa: Are there players whose game you admire?
Pavel: Of course. Toxjq, Cypher, Cooller, fox, fazz… In general, I’ve always liked the style of the Swedish players, and I tried to imitate them. Each of them had their own approach, and at different times I tried to adopt the best parts.
Annkapa: Have you ever felt jealous of any players?
Pavel: No, I never felt jealousy. It was more of a motivation — I wanted to catch up to strong players, become better. To watch them and realize that I could play like that too, or even better.
The Future of Quake and Personal Plans
Annkapa: What do you think the future holds for Quake?
Pavel: Quake will never die.
Annkapa: And what do you personally want from Quake?
Pavel: More tournaments and more players.
Annkapa: Do games and tournaments still bring you the same enjoyment?
Pavel: Yes, they still do. The LAN in Yekaterinburg really impressed me — it was great.
Annkapa: Do you plan to keep playing?
Pavel: Of course. If there are tournaments — I’ll play; if not — I won’t. My approach is simple: I don’t spend time on things that don’t bring any benefit.