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As part of our WCG pre-coverage we now have an interview ready with cArn from fnatic, the team to beat in 2009.

fnatic kicked off 2009 with two player changes, and have never looked back, taking home one major title after the other, only one title remains to make the year complete and prove once and for all 2009 belong to no one but them, WCG 2009.

The road to the WCG final will however require them to progress from the group, and potentially go up against wildcards such as mTw and h2k, so we sat down with cArn to get his perspective before the action starts.

Your group for WCG 2009 consists of wNv.cn, FireGamers, DINC and Executioners. How do you see this group progress?

I consider ourselves as the group´s favorite but we have to watch out for the other teams. To be honest, every match played in bo1 format is tough against teams with good aim. With the experience of playing terrible in the two past group stages, IEM Chengdu and Dubai, we will be focused and use all our energy to qualify for the playoff. We know that if we get into a playoff where bo3 is played, few can beat us, I can´t remember a tournament where we got eliminated in an early playoff stage.

Looking a bit on your recent group stage record, it is no secret that you have had rough times getting through before. Is it going to be any different this time?

That’s right, but on the other hand we have always made our way, progressing to a playoff, we have no disasters behind us but some stressful situation having to rely on other teams to qualify for the playoff. As I said before, we will have to go in with 100% of our energy in the group stage, if we play on our normal level they won´t beat us.

You skipped IEF 2009 in order to prepare for World Cyber Games 2009, fresh off from your victory at Global Challenge Dubai. How have your preparations for this competition been?

They have been really well, we enjoyed some days off upon arrival. The fact was that I had been on the road for one month during the two IEM stops and it was really nice to get home to my home meeting some friends and family. We played 1 week, 10 hours daily during our bootcamp at GeT_RiGht’s place in Stockholm.

Playing in China and paired with a Chinese team, do you see wNv.cn being a bigger threat as you play them in China? Would playing them any other place on Earth make any difference?

I wouldn´t say so, there is a misconception that Chinese teams can only perform within China but I´m not willing to agree on that. The fact is the only time you see Chinese teams play against international teams is in China, except E-stars and some events back in the days. I’m sure they would do as good as the rest of us, travelling to foreign countries and compete, if they had the opportunity.

The only advantage I can see they having, playing in China, is that they are used to the environment and food.

FireGamers and wNv.cn are the highest mountains you have to climb in your group. Playing them de_train and de_nuke respectively, what do you see fnatic able to execute, in order to defeat them?

Of course teams got their strongest and worst map, and in this case I think the map pairing turned out decent. It´s hard to know what to expect from an Asian respective a South American team since we barely never play them.

I do think we got the best lineup in the world with loads of experience so even if they have surprises against us, I’m sure we will adapt.

World Cyber Games 2009 will see a return of the Danish Vikings mTw to the international events. What do you expect of the team, they have a title to defend after all.

That´s right, I´ve sort of missed them out there this year. They are really nice guys though I never met the new guy but I´m sure they have picked up the old mTw spirit they had with MJE and whimp.
mTw is on my top3 list for this tournament and I´m looking forward to an epic clash, hopefully in a grand final.

The event will also see a return of a longtime rival. H2k Gaming qualified in front of SK Gaming and are now with Abdisamad SpawN Mohamed. How do you see your countrymen’s chances in WCG 2009?

Looking at their lineup alone, they do indeed look strong, but they are hard to predict since I don’t know what to expect from them in terms of tactics and how much practice they have had going into the tournament.

Taking a look at the knockout stages, a first place in your group will pair you with Group E winners in the round of 16, a matchup most likely between esq.wind and k23. Could you put some words on this matchup?

This time I won´t predict our predicaments in a possible playoff. Let us focusing beating our group first and we do the talk afterwards.

Should mTw and fnatic finish top of their groups, then you have a chance of face each other in the Grand Final. Would mTw be the team you want to face in a possible Grand Final, to battle out who gets to claim the title?

Any team that makes their way to a final deserves to be there, obviously. I don’t really care who it is but of course it would be an awesome feeling to steal the WCG title in front of them, in a grand final, and add up our 6th title this year.

You have earlier been calling that a retirement could be coming up in your end. How are you looking at the future, in terms of when a possible retirement could be called in?

I did mention its likely to happen, but to be honest, this was a bit enlarged and written up by the community.
The future of me as a player is not certain. I still feel the passion and hunger to win and I think I’m in a better shape than ever. There are a lot of young players coming up with their raw skill and reflexes so it’s fair to say it’s getting harder for older players like myself to keep up.

Claiming the World Cyber Games 2009 title, one of the few titles you still do not hold, would it put a more clear decision in your book, in regards of retiring?

God knows how my feeling is after the WCG. There are still many tournaments left in 2009 to be played and hopefully won.

And World Cyber Games would be on top of your list of events to win?

Hard to tell but one amongst them for sure!

You are off to Chengdu Sunday and we wish you best of luck (lycka till). Any last prayers, hexes or spells to be casted? The last word is yours.

I’m just hoping for a safe flight and a great event from WCG this time, WCG 2007 was a bit disappointing to be honest. Many thanks to Fnatic organization for always believing in us together with our sponsors MSI, Steelseries, Bigfoot networks and UGame.net. Feel free to visit www.fnatic.com for more information, demos and galleries from our adventure in Chengdu.

Stay tuned to HLTV.org for more WCG pre-coverage, and of course complete coverage on the Grand Finals.