It has been some time since I made a post and I apologize for that. Being a financial consultant and with April 15th coming up very quickly, I have been extremely busy. Though that is not an excuse, I wanted to apologize for not making a post sooner or any WCG Blogs of Episode 4 & 5. I have a feeling that people would rather read about the Counter-Strike lineups I have been considering, rather than which ultimate gamer can't dance on a reality show.
If people recall my last post, I mentioned that I was going to travel to a few upcoming LAN Center tournaments to watch some teams and players perform on LAN. The most recent tournament I was able to attend was that of Click N Connect (CNC) in Upland, CA on 4/5/09. Having attended many LAN events and having ran many LAN tournaments, I know exactly how long and excruciating they can be. On the day of the Tournament I decided I would go when there were only four teams left. Mainly because I didn't want to stand around all day during pointless matches, and more importantly, it made my decision easier for those teams that I was considering. If they weren't among the top 4, it pretty much sealed their fate.
Upon my arrival I was able to see the tail end of the POV vs AK1 match on de_train, where POV ended up winning and AK1 would face off against EMG in the lower bracket. While AK1 moved their accessories from the area they were playing at to another area, POV (patyo/heppler/adrenaline/wilson/kris) and IMBA (mikey/albert/supply/frosty/dias) were setting up for Upper Finals on de_dust2. The end result of that match was IMBA winning, which I feel was due to POV's lack of communication on CT side and their inability to re-take back sites together. Halfway through the IMBA vs POV match, the EMG (sui/eng/amico/seijim/jaded) vs AK1 match had started. End result of that was AK1 beating EMG in a close match. Though EMG had great verbal communication, players like Seijim and Jaded who are usually pretty strong, were not hitting their shots, and I think Amico was just discouraged throughout the 2nd half. Sometimes the team can do everything right; whether that is executing strats, communicating among one another, or even adapting to the other teams advances, however, all of that is a lost cause if individual players are not hitting the shots they need to be hitting.
Some might complain and say they were tired, and I completely understand that local LAN tournaments are always a drag, but major events are the same way at times. If players want to compete at that top level, they need to be focused at all times.
After AK1 beat EMG, they got ready to play POV on de_tuscan. I am not going to say too much about this map because I wasn't familiar with the map. Along with me not knowing, it was obvious that some players on both teams didn't know either. I think heppler went 0-6 or 8 on CT side. I was informed that de_tuscan is a CEVO league map and if players weren't on teams competing in CEVO, they would have no idea the areas of the map. However, the map was somewhat similar to a cpl_mill with some different routes, but nonetheless confusing.
At this point, IMBA was getting back in their seats and getting ready to face off against POV on de_inferno. The match started off with IMBA on T side and POV defending on CT side. They were somewhat close in the beginning and then POV started falling apart. Once again the awful lack of communication on CT side was horrific. Myself and EMG|Sui sat behind POV and at one point I did not hear a single one of the POV players talking to one another, except maybe for Patyo yelling something along the lines of "what the hell are you guys doing, do you even know where you are?" I am not sure if Wilson was the strat caller or Kris, but neither one of them was calling anything, and in all honesty I really thought Adrenaline was mute or had some sort of speaking challenge until he finally said "4 coming B".
The half ended and it was in favor of IMBA 12 - 3. I have seen many comebacks during my time in gaming, but I did not think that POV had a chance in hell to make it up on T side. They couldn't even communicate on CT side, let alone a side that required even more communication. Both teams sat back down after a quick break and POV started off strong, rolling IMBA. It is safe to say that Adrenaline and Patyo single handily carried POV to a 13-2 win on T side. Adrenaline's awp was on fire and Patyo was consistent the entire match. But what still astonished me was the fact that they didn't really communicate all that much on T side either. Only a few times when they were all pumped up after some huge rounds by Adrenaline or Patyo. I think Adrenaline was in this "kill anything that moves" mode and really showcased his awping skills.
I am not sure what happened to IMBA on T side, but I think it was the lack of practicing with one another. They were a pug, but still, all they needed was 4 rounds. With the talent that they had on that lineup, I am quite shocked they got destroyed.
After a 30 minute break, the decision is made to play the second finals match on de_tuscan, and that pretty much sealed the deal for POV. IMBA, being a pug, really didn't have much of a chance. Though they did put up a fight, just raw aim is not going to help on that map. Strats are a necessity on de_tuscan and IMBA was not prepared for it.
After watching EMG, POV, and IMBA closely, there are some good talent on each of those teams. Unfortunately, each team as a whole needs a lot of work. I am going to talk to a few individuals from each of those teams and see what can happen, but I have a certain lineup in mind that would dominate both online and especially on LAN, if the right people can come together. That and if the lineup could have a strong in-game leader.
On a side note, it has been quite some time since I attended a local LAN tournament, so it was really nice running into some familiar faces. The sad part of it is that a lot of those people really haven't changed. It was discouraging to see some of the talent doing the same shit, like smoking weed before matches or just not being professional. I understand it was a local LAN and I really shouldn't expect people to be different, but with so many people pming me, wanting me to pick them up, knowing the professionalism and dedication I am looking for; you would think they would change a little bit?
With that said, I am glad I was able to see some players play on LAN and now I have a rough idea on what I would consider a strong west coast lineup. But before people get too excited or mad that I already made my decision, there are still a couple more events I need to follow up on and teams/players to consider.
That's it for now. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting.
I would like to know out of IMBA, POV, & EMG, what 5 players do you think would be the best lineup? I would really like to compare to the one I have in mind!
Until next time...
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