Greatest Gamer of all Time: Round 2, Game 4

Polosatiy

Name: Roman Tarasenko
Clan(s): 4z, Cyberfight 58

PROFILE

Roman 'Polosatiy' Tarasenko may not be as revered as his illustrious opponent here but he remains the true gamer's choice. In an on-going career spanning over six years 'Polos' never shied away from competition, participating in almost 90 LAN tournaments and winning a remarkable 35.

Arguably the best Quake 2 player in his ultra-competitive homeland, he went from tasting victory in the first FFA competition to winning most of the later duel tournaments and leading the number one clan. Polos also became renowned for his trick-jumping prowess, releasing a demo pack which became part of Q2 folklore. With the release of Quake 3, he and his clan dominated many of the early tournaments whilst remaining the best Russian Q2 side and placing highly in 1v1. What is more, he won the main Russian UT duel tournament in the same year, again underlining his multi-gaming credentials.

Nor was he without success on the international scene. He led Russia to victory in Q3 over Sweden at the BWEC in 2000 with some stellar performances in what was one of the most dramatic and prestigious tournaments in gaming history. At CPL Cologne in the same year he beat Lakerman to take second place behind fatal1ty and then led 4z to second place at EC2, beating the Allstars in the process. With Quake 3 at its peak, these performances confirmed Polos as one of the all-time greats. He continued to succeed in Russian tournaments against formidable opposition until late 2002 when he turned his attention to UT2k3. His first real success came at PG Challenge in 2003, coming second in UT2k3 and winning Quake 3 whilst also competing in Warcraft 3.

But Polos is more than just a consistent player and leader. He's the true father of Russian Quake and the touchstone of the 'Russian style' that strongly influences how the game is played to this day. He invented the now archetypal keyboard-on-lap, high fov, high sens, hit and run game that players like Cooller employ today. He also finds time to run a major esports site, conducting countless interviews and reports. It's rumoured that in friendlies at events he covers, he still beats Cooller regularly. He's a legend in his own right: other players may be great, but only Polos is rulez.
Mr. Pac-Man

Name: Billy Mitchell
Clan(s): N/A

PROFILE


When asked about how he did it, Billy said:
I understand the behavior of the ghosts and am able to manipulate the ghosts into any corner of the board I choose. This allows me to clear the screen with no patterns. This was a more difficult method for the initial 18 screens. I chose to do it this way because I wanted to demonstrate the depths of my abilities. I wanted to raise the bar higher - to a level that no one else could match.

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