Hallo Steffan! Wie ist für dich die Gruppenphase beim ESWC 2010 verlaufen?

Steffan: The group stage was actually not really surprising, at first Niklas was the only player that I knew from my group, the other two players FBzero (China) and LordLi (Myanmar) were unknown to me. After I saw their lap times which were not close to mine I only concentrated on the match against Niklas which was also the first match on my schedule.

The first map I played against Niklas was Brands hatch, I started first but made a mistake and Niklas could pass early on in the race, I tried to get back but for some reason I wasn´t really stable on the bumps and made a few mistakes more and Niklas won the race.

Second map was the Nordschleife, I started second and after following Niklas for almost have of the lap he made a small mistake and I could pass, after this I didn´t give the lead out of hand and drove to the finish.

Third map: Laguna Seca. On Laguna Seca I started second again. Because Niklas closed the door I went to the outside but we collided. Result was that my car came into the sand and Niklas disappeared. After getting out of the sand I started the chase and drove back to Niklas, nevertheless I didn’t saw a chance to pass him which let me in second place at the end of the race.

At the end I was not unsatisfied, I knew that I lost to Niklas but in my opinion apart from the mistakes my overall pace was quite well. I knew that I had to improve my stableness on the bumps. Therefore I practiced at the end of the day to improve it.

After the match against in Niklas I knew that the chance was big that I would get second in the group, when I played against FBzero (China) and LordLi (Myanmar) this was a fact.

Gab es irgendwelche Überraschungen oder Besonderheiten im Fahrerfeld?

Steffan: I was really surprised by the pace of naEim (Iran). I did not know him before and never saw him playing. Especially on Autopolis his times were close to mine. Because he was nervous while playing that was his strongest enemy to get further in the tournament in my opinion. Other surprises for me where Speed (Brazil) and Lecho (Poland) , I expected Speed to be a lot faster and Lecho slower.

Wie fandest du das Seeding für das Upper-Bracket?

Steffan: I was very surprised by the seeding in the bracket. Because I ended second in my group I thought that I would face Husky in the semi final instead of Lecho. I don’t know why the ESWC used this tree, but I think it was not a disadvantage for me.

Wie ist für dich die Final-Runde verlaufen?

Steffan: The final round against Husky was surrounded by one big thing which is explained at the end. In the first race we played Brand hatch, because I practiced a lot to get more stable I was confident about my pace and stableness there. I followed Husky until the start/finish straight in the second lap. I saw an opportunity there to pass him but he closed the door and smacked my car into the barrier. After this my car was uncontrollable and I crashed. I reset the car fast but I knew the distance would be too big for one lap. Husky won this.

The second race took place at Autopolis, I started first and blocked the inside in the first corner. Husky hit me at the back of the car but this did not affect it. I could drive away while he went into the gravel. After this I was 4-5 seconds in the lead and decided to take it easy and get the win on this track.

The last track was Laguna Seca, I started second again and knew it would be hard to pass Husky on this track because there are not a lot corners where it is possible. When we started I immediately followed his trace. In the first corner we both braked on time and because of lag I gave him a very, very small touch. I immediately saw the opportunity to take the inside and I passed Husky. This gave me a big relief. After the pass I won the race easy with +5 sec.

The big problem came after the match. Husky complained about the fact that I gave him a very small touch in the first corner. In my opinion the action was totally legal because in every where players overtook each other they touched. Eventually the admins took an hour to decide if the action was legal or not. Finally the move was declared legal.

Was sagst du zur Situation mit dem Verbot der Fanatec Lenkräder kurz vor dem Event?

Steffan: I think this was a very good decision from the ESWC, they showed with this decision that they care about fair play. Not only did the fanatic wheel forced the shift bug it also had an higher grip level then the other wheels. I really didn’t understand why Husky bought this wheel. He knew that Niklas and I used the Microsoft wheel and at first he played with the Microsoft wheel as well. I guess he wanted an unfair advantage against us.

Bist du mit deiner Abschlussplatzierung beim ESWC 2010 zufrieden?

Steffan: Of course I am very happy with my result at the ESWC. Being world champion was always my goal when I started playing Need for Speed. I was a few times close at the WCG 2006, 2007, 2008 (3rd, 2nd 3rd) but I finally did it! This was really a relief for me.

Wie waren deine Eindrücke von der ESWC. War es ein gutes Event oder eher das Gegenteil?

Steffan: I think the ESWC really organized this event well. Disney is a very nice accommodation for a gaming tournament. Beside the accommodation they constantly supplied bottles with water which were used a lot because of the high temperatures. The only troubles we had were in the beginning of the tournament where the Xboxes did not function like they should. If this not happened it would have been flawless.

Was für Events stehen als nächstes auf dem Programm oder wie sieht die Zukunft für dich im Racing-Bereich aus?

Steffan: At this moment I have no events to look forward to. I hope some events will be announced quickly. In the future I hope that I will win more big tournaments, be part of Team-Alternate and stay playing Need for Speed for a long time.

Danke für das Interview Steffan!