Winter Break Champion Tipper – The Secret of his Success

Artem is a 46 year-old physicist from Yerevan in Armenia. A soccer fan who now works and lives in the town of Deajeon in South Korea, Artem has been an avid and passionate fan of the game since childhood and has followed the top European leagues for as long as he can remember.

Because South Korean television does not always carry the reports or show the games from the Bundesliga and other European competitions, Artem gets most of his information from the Internet. It seems to be paying off for Artem who, with a winter break score of 129 points, is sitting pretty on the top of the tipper's league table ahead of many players who have the luxury of watching the Bundesliga live. DW-WORLD asks the current pace setter what his secret for success is.

DW-WORLD: What is the secret of your success?

Artem: I can simply guess the results better. I can't give away my secrets or there will be many other people instead of me out in front.

DW: How is it that a soccer fan from Armenia can be the best tipper in a game about the Bundesliga featuring more than 3,000 players?

Artem: I have been interested in soccer since my childhood. I have followed many of the soccer leagues in Europe and I know the German national team quite well. However, I've been living in South Korea now for over a year and it's a lot more difficult to find out about the games here than in Armenia.

DW: Do you have any special ways to prepare before the games?

Artem: No, I have no special preparations.

DW: Are there any teams with which you have more success than others?

Artem: In the first half of the season, I have guessed many of the right results featuring Hamburg and Hanover but I have also had a few successes with teams such as Bayern Munich and Stuttgart.

DW: Do you have any advice for those players who have picked up very few points in the betting game?

Artem: I have no advice which can help these people.

DW: Do you tip as part of a team or do you play alone?

Artem: I play alone but I have also had many offers to join a team.

DW: What is your main motivation? To win the prize or is it simply sporting ambition, to be better than the others?

Artem: Sporting ambition and the desire to be first.

DW: Does it irritate you to receive mails from your fellow competitors?

Artem: I do not communicate often in these mails. Mostly I get questions about my strategies which I do not talk about, as I mentioned before. Maybe I will reveal some secrets at the end of the season if I win.

DW: What would make the Kick-Off Tip game even better, in your opinion? Is there anything which the game lacks?

Artem: I think everything runs very well in the game. Maybe I think that because I am out in front.