25/09/2026
Alex Yee and Matt Hauser — rivals by necessity, friends by choice.
Racing friends feels like an advantage. Maybe it’s an illusion of knowing the tells — the body language, the strengths, and the flaws. Recognizing the subtle cues of difficulty or an imminent attack. To each other, they are the known quantity.
Danger of complacency comes with that knowledge. Switch off to the ones you know. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Perhaps it’s that the people you race hardest are the people you respect most. The ones you prove yourself against. Alex and Matt trained together to be faster, knowing that inevitably one of them must be slower. That’s the conflict of friendship in sport — trying to beat the person you also want to see succeed.
“I think if you’re training by yourself too often, and you’re not getting challenged other than in your own mind, I think it gives you a false sense of security. So, it’s good to get challenged every once in a while.” — Matt Hauser.
At the WTCS Finals in Pontevedra, Matt Hauser could take the overall title — again. Alex Yee can’t take the title, but he could influence the overall rankings. If the race unfolds in a certain way, he could either deny or grant Matt that joy.
This is healthy competition and an exciting finale.