CPC pre-coverage pt.1 › Mashed's and Hellgoat's ET analysis

Mashed:

The road to CPC2 is well underway, as those whom have earned the right to compete there will already know as they begin picking up the pace towards competition. Many are going to enjoy the game and so on yet the game would be more enjoyable by winning and grasping a hold of the prizes that await those teams who simply on the day, are better. So who are those teams?

Group A

The Last ResortTeam Northern Darkness, dmize these guys have been around, yet they have left their mark in every place they went. Reaching the finals of Clanbase's Eurocup 13 shed some light onto the team as Northern Darkness where despit their best efforts they could not topple to powerhouses of the team that is now known as Dignitas. Yet still they took their chances and came into the first Crossfire LAN as team dmize where they fell just short of the podium in 4th place. Skip forward sometime to Eurocup 14, the guys were back now as a new team with some lineup changes known as aMenti where once again they gave their best efforts to reach the bronze medal, but they crave more. Skip a month or two ahead you reach Impact's ET Masters where the group stages were absolutely dominated by them as they did not drop one round and toppled the hype of Impact Gaming giving them a new chip on their shoulder as they go into CPC2 as the favorites for the group.. But who makes up the team that is ever so hungry for success?

The first player is aCozZ, the young Croatian who plays what could be argued is the most important class of the game being the rifle/engineer combination. Like all he has good days and bad days, yet with the rifle in his hands he is a fundamental member to the team whom always ensures the job is done. Secondly we see dAv1d who has been around the block more than a couple of times. The frontliner for the team as a medic takes full advantage of the aiming ability he has honed in the past few years and provides the support where it's needed, the vital revives and the rush sprees when they are called for. The other Belgian in the team though is always pretty capable of stealing dAv1d's frags, denying him of his personal glory yet ensuring the team receives what it deserves, many call him a hacker yet nonetheless mAus is one who never fails to make an impact on the game at hand. Clown people say is moreover the black sheep in the team whom we don't often see something fancy from, yet this Latvian gentleman is always the man for the job, no matter what is needed Clown will take it without question and ensure the job is done. Winghaven, simply put he is the wildcard and his effectiveness with the weapon we know as the panzerfaust has made him famous, simply there is no antidote for the poison that is this young Barcelonian, simply him being on the opposite side of the gridiron to you is enough to make you realize death and fullspawn is upon you by the press of a button, yet of course the man is also a very capable fieldops among other classes but it is the panzerfaust that delivers the crushing blow to the opposition that makes him so effective. The team however due to the realm of education sees it's medicine man Marv unable to be in the lineup for the event, after some time of searching TLR came in with a player who undoubtedly could fill the place of the Czech in the form of a oldskooler who comes back to the top level, it's Doktor, his history itself is enough to tell you about him as a player, being chosen for the team speaks of his ability and undoubtedly the team feel that the Pole, even though as a replacement, will fill the missing piece of the puzzle to the team's success.[/hide]

Vicious and Evil team4i A team which has come a long way now and has gained valuable experience on the way to it's already experienced members. Eurocup 14 for them was a short lived as the prospect of the playoffs only just slipped away from their grasp. Yet in time they bounced back and have successfully made their way into Impact's ET Masters tournament playoffs where they see themselves in the loser bracket after falling to Impact, yet simply the ex-one4one side have faced a lot of trouble in their road up to CPC2 with the losses of members Razz and Squall whom at the last minute decided they couldn't make it leaving the dream for the VAE side pretty much in tatters, yet the determination of the reminiscence have pulled some strings and now they approach the event in form with a slightly different lineup.

Firstly is Sheep whom leads the team into combat, he has made numerous appearances on behalf of his country in the Nationscup and has continued to use his experience and ability to communicate has made him a valuable asset to the team, playing as the engineer role also helps him understand how to attack the objective which in time he has perfected which could be said is why 4i are here today. Equally important is Iron the rifle of the team, he has vast amounts of experience and shows it, not only does he have the ability to slip through and get the plant down but can wield the rifle and clash with the best simply putting in a great nade when needed to decimate a attack from the opposition and prevent them from victory, CPC2 is simply another step on the ladder for the Fin who's time has come to shine. When you talk about the Finnish ET community you think of players like Mystic, Raveneye and generally Parodia, yet under the breath of those stars is Lepari, the ex Incomplete star made his way into the team and immediately showed his effectiveness in putting pressure on the defenses and severely slowing down attacks which gives the team enough time to get back into shape and positions, for engineers in front of him they have the confidence knowing that if Lepari is behind you, you're pretty much going to be alright, which will be much needed when the time arises. A member of the online Swiss guard it could be said which vegi will proudly honour like he has done for his country in nationscup he will also play for the team he has remained loyal to, another of the rising stars CPC2 is just another moment for him to shine, some would say he is underated, which I'd agree, vegi is someone definitely to keep your eye on. Losing 2 members of a team is devastating, yet even more so when a event like CPC2 is on the horizon, yet much like TLR VAE-4i have found their replacements to suit there needs in the form of a ever apparenty Decem whom despite many criticize still makes himself seen in the game by pulling out a frag when it's needed and getting things done much like Bull whom like doctor of TLR will use his experience from the times of rA to benefit the team in whatever ways possible. [/hide]

Morrigu A team which once again makes itself heard on the airwaves of competitive ET is Morrigu who walk into this as proverbial underdogs along the big names of other teams participating, just fresh out the box the new Morrigu side played it's cards in Impact's ET Masters where, though picking off much needed rounds, they failed to progress to the playoff tree yet still achieved a Eurocup XV invite. CPC2 will provide them with further experience leading up to the Clanbase events. They walk into CPC2 with a team which has names which ring bells, yet can they pull this off? [/hide]

FearFactory X-Fi A all out Polish side of FearFactory X-Fi walk into the event with the fact that in the realm of the online they are 'unhittable laggers' , yet reminiscents of the Poznan Gaming Arena LAN where they claimed 1st place with a indefinite victory over ZeroPoint, the Poles showed their effectiveness in LAN there that they can play with the best, online they can do the same yet being at a LAN for the poles gives them a certain more degree of probability to win and to demonstrate their skills. They go in with a suitable all polish line up with the following:

Wrobel and Rico have been with the team since it's time back as the Warriors of Wolfenstein and have gained much experience and a helluva lot of frags along the way, they will make full advantage of the experience and ability they has as great teamplayers who can always provide the frags when needed to save the game. S4rna, the player who provided FearFactory X-Fi with the victory over NETRunners with the final stab to Kot in the kniferound goes into this with the same goal in mind to take down all in front of him, utilizing his abilities as a medic will be a valuable asset to the team. smieszek is a new member for the FearFactory side, not much has been seen of him but we must realize to be in FearFactory he must be a talented player, CPC2 will be a theatre for us to watch his show. With the departure of Krisek's rifle asset to FearFactory they have found the perfect replacement in the form of nrs who happened to merc for team pi back at PGA and certainly showed how effective of a rifle he was, from that and his other online experiences allowed him a chance to shine for FearFactory at CPC2, will he take the opportunity to do so and catapult the poles to the podium? Possibly the most known member in the playing lineup is Wiesiek who constantly game in and game out shows his aiming skill despite 'lag' and so on, yet he is a great medic also and provides the much needed revives to keep the team going into combat, he could certainly be the difference maker in their games. To top it off Thoro himself will be on hand as FF's manager, he apparently will be on hand to keep things going, just keep him away from the girls! [/hide]

Group A PredictionFirst of all and I'm sure nobody will argue with me that The Last Resort will take a firm first place in the group, without dropping a single round to any of the teams, the biggest threat to them however is in the form of either FearFactory of VAE-4i who may take a round yet I see this as unlikely. Second place I believe will be going to FearFactory X-Fi who have maintained the same lineup for sometime now, they have proved devastating on LAN before and they shall do again. VAE-4i will only narrowly miss out on 2nd place but still come in at a convincing 3rd despite their efforts, yet the handicap of having 2 new players so close to the event will limit their capabilities, yet maybe they could defy the odds as Decem and Bull are perfectly suited replacements. Without a shadow of doubt in my mind I believe Morrigu will come last after not being very impressive during the recent competitions this will be another stage for them where they will try their hardest, maybe take a map from FF and vae-4i but still despite their efforts come 4th in the group.[/hide]

GroupB

Clan ALIS Not much is known so much about ALIS yet we have heard of a few of their members yet they seem to be at CPC2 more for the fun of playing the game rather than winning. They walk into the tournament with faces suche as Arachon along with Maverick and Ronner who were both present at CPC1 and prominent members of the Crossfire community.[/hide]

OCTENse A team which has been under much controversy concerning it's invite to a qualifier for Eurocup, yet they did lose both maps to Insignia Cadre restoring the balance to the people's opinions. Now they go into the event after the drop of NETRunners and coming in to take their place was a late addition, yet they are a team who will give it all at a event like this to play against such other skilled teams. They go into this with brothers Worm and Alvo. Worm is the captain of the team whom uses his experience from teams such as PstarZ to benefit his team, always making himself heard on comms to ensure the team follows suit. His brother Alvo wields the rifle and has shown effectiveness with it when it has been needed. Much like any rifle being able to put one of those riflenades inside a group and incinerate anything close which is always a valuable piece of firepower on the team. The brothers will show their effectiveness when working together right there and then. We also see the creator of the Crossfire 3.0 site tala on the team as well whose skills are almost as good as his webdesign abilities, the ability for him to cut enemies down from behind and simply appear out of no where to get the frag gives this team a edge in objective runs yet tala's aim here may be flawed against the much stronger teams. We also see Vicious and Evil manager Swine come into the team to lend a helping hand along with Viax to provide support both as the medic and fieldops combination which will prove deadly in combat, yet once again going up against much stronger teams will prove a problem for OCTENse. Last but not least NxM will be joining the team in order to play at the event, maybe he could be the much needed difference maker for the team?[/hide]

k1ck eSports All the way from Antartica the Pingwins are back with a vengeance, the ex Ultimate Quest side come back now charging the frontline for K1ck eSports where they take off where they left off. Heading the team is the veteran of ET Lightning who has shown his ability in his many ex-teams and in the Nationscup for The Netherlands. His ability to predict the movement of the enemy then relay it for his team gives them the play of being able to keep 1 step ahead of their foes. Bullvox comes into the team to replace Lion from his inactivity and so far so good for the Dutchman, he has showed his effectiveness with the rifle yet must now push himself even further at this tournament in order to benefit the team. There is not so much which keep Gunner , Zerender , Abort and Chaoz whom are all players that are simply devastating as a unit, they are ones with a lot of experience under their belt and fit perfectly into the team. Relying on great communication and teamwork boosted by each of their individual attribute skills with the smg and light weapons gives Pingwins the ability to put enough pressure on the objective to break through and get the job done. A team wich as the capability of going far, yet will they manage to do so? [/hide]

Dignitas The mighty powerhouse we know as Dignitas walk into the LAN clearly as the favourites with a massive amount of success under their belts after the time at Idle.ee. Winners of the past 2 Eurocups, victors of the past Crossfire LAN and most recently the SHG Open LAN back in Feburary. Yet skip back to November for Poznan Gaming Arena 2006, where was the team then? Nowhere? This to many was the result of the 5v5 format and Idle without Night. Last time showed the team cursed by the loss of it's eyes and ears leader of Night, yet this time around they go into this with the 6v6 format that they are so effective at. Thye lineup with the always prominent lineup who won Eurocup 14. First up is the Deustch duo of Urtier and Senji. The best fieldops and medic of 2006, their aiming ability is unquestionable and along with their experience it is no wonder that they received their respectable awards. The ability for Senji to drive the mighty warmachine like a battering ram to them pick them up to once again push upon a defence is why the team's attacks are so effective, backing it up with a multiikill airstrike that Urtier can pull out of the hat also ensures that a victory will occur. Reload was brought in to replace the team's loss of Tekoa and so far he has proved a worthy replacement always ensuring his combine harvester like motion just rolls over a team, coming from every direction with his smg to constantly hassle a opposition, this rabid reload is a animal in game that you wish to take out of the equation asap! r3vers is considered one of the greatest rifles in Enemy Territory having played at quakecon numerous times both for and against the team he now belongs to, he uses his experiences and skill with the rifle to ensure the opposition is knocked and stays down which he has proved very effective at. Jakacz is the possessor of possibly the hardest name to pronounce in ET along with being such a underated player. He is the multiplexer of the team who can simply do pretty much anything whether it be medic fieldops or heaven forbid the covert ops. He is always there to back the team up and provide that vital cover fire for the objective to be completed, Came 4th with dMize in the first Crossfire LAN and CPC2 will be sure to be another platform for the young Slovenian to demonstrate his abilities. Last but not least for the team is a old face making a comeback to replace night, it is the Irishman Sol who comes back to the team with the goal of first place in his mind, being a member of the team before gives him good first hand knowledge of how the team does it's stuff and will allow him to fit in very nicely, yet will he be suitable enough to replace a player like Night? Only time shall tell.[/hide]

Group B prediction Without a shadow of a doubt the favourite here for the number 1 place is of course Dignitas who walk into the event with a barrel full of achievements under their belt and a dominating lineup to match. K1ck eSports will take a convincing second place with their experience of top level gameplay which OCTENse and ALIS simply do not have. 3rd place will belong to the Octensians whom have been together for serious play a lot longer than the team who will come 4th in ALIS. The teams here certainly wish the likes of Urtier&co. weren't in their group![/hide]

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Hellgoat:

Group A:

TLR: A really great team. In my opinion the second best in Europe currently.
Really impressed in the ET Masters WB final. However, without their allstar
Marv they might be slightly weakened. Doktor is a great player, but a lineup
change is always a lineup change. One of my favorites for the honorable
title of 1st place, quite capable of beating Dignitas without Night.

VAE: Before the LAN I would have these guys as favorites for causing an
upset. Really strong individually and they've managed to get a good thing
going with their teamplay. However, everyone knows the departure of two of
their best players is a hard blow to take. I haven't really seen them play
with their new lineup yet. To sum it up... I think they're still capable of
causing some upset if they work hard. Really hard.

FF.Org: To be honest these guys have pretty much dodged my radar lately(my
totally uberpro radar normally) and I've failed to see many praccs or games
with them. I saw their qualifier game against esVka where they actually
struggled to win. However... And this is a big however, FF.Org have proved
to be extremely strong at LANs, perhaps due to their decreased lag, just
look at the previous CPC.

Morrigu: Impressed in their ET Masters game versus Impact. However, now
they've dropped allstar player mize AKA Mr. 50% accuracy. I can't help but
to think this has seriously weakened their team and to be honest I have a
hard time seeing these guys achieve anything on this LAN.

Group prediction: TLR will come out on top. It'll just happen, whether
people like it or not. As previously mentioned, a while ago I would've put
VAE after them without hesitation but now I'm not so sure. I think FF.Org vs
VAE will be really interesting and could go either way and will be decided
by an individual performing extraordinarily good rather than the team.
I can't really see Morrigu doing anything to break this order.

Group B:

Dignitas: Ohhh... Will this be another idle.funteam as teKoa put it the last
team this team went down without Night? IMO the PGA LAN qualies suggested
that the Dignitas players aren't that much without Night. Marionettes if you
will. Would TLR lose that easily without aCozZ? Impact without Xpaz? It'll
be interesting to see for sure. They still are some of the best players in
the world, without a doubt, it will just come down to how well the team has
adjusted to taking orders from someone who isn't a gaming genious.

K1ck eSports: A strong lineup and a stable one. The teams' core has competed
in the last 3 EuroCups, a feat very few of today's teams can boast with.
They've performed well lately, better than I expected. Most of their lineup
has still to prove their worth on LAN though, so it'll be interesting to see
how this team does. However, they couldn't have been given as easier group
to get adjusted to it in. Nobody expects them to beat Dignitas, and the
other teams are well... Not Dignitas.

OCTEnse: The second team to slip into the competition by chance. 1 second or
so too late to do it the first time but seized the opportunity when it came.
Perhaps their game versus ALIS will be interesting in the sense that they
might be on the same skill-level.

ALIS: My babehs. A team of really nice guys and probably the team that'll
spend most money on beer. Actually there was some talk in their private
channel to just drop their place on the LAN and use the entrance fee to buy
beaverege for instead. This however won't help them the least on the LAN.
Some of their players played in T&F last CPC and performed waaaay over
expectations, but I just.. Can't see it happening again.

Group prediction: You might think, judging from what I've just written, that
predicting this group is easy. I beg to differ. On LANs anything can happen.
Or well... Almost anything. As I said, K1ck's lineup isn't a LAN used one.
But then.. Neither is OCTEnse. ALIS have some experience but they lack raw
skill instead.
Dignitas will win it. Of that there's little doubt. Second place however...
I think it will just come down to who's got a good day. I'll be a chicken
and go for K1ck.

Group C:

zeroPoint: Some thought the addition of feTTe and removal of rapture would
only strengthen the team as feTTe is a superplayer and rapture isn't. This
hasn't been the case however. Could it be because of their communication?
Gifty said feTTe is somewhat fluent in yerman but that they still have to
explain the trickier stuff in english. They've performed a little under
expectations lately in the ET Masters and other events. On the other hand...
They have a lineup who all got tons of LAN experience. They're the team who
beat Idle. IDLE! A favorite for the whole tourney for me.

one.soldier: I haven't seen any of their games. I was going to watch some
showmatch with them on, but the ETTV broadcasters had other more interesting
games obviously. Seeded in Poule 2 only because of their names. But the
names.. Ohhh, the names! Hearing them in a competition again makes my mouth
water. It's going to be amazingly interesting to see how well they do. And
if I may... I think they'll do great. Just great.

Zerobarrier: Mm.. Old cZar. We all know how they did on the last CPC with
roughly the same lineup. Rubbish. To be honest I haven't seen any signs of
them performing differently this time around. Perhaps they've learned by
their misstakes though? Who knows. Not a favorite for me.

el vigorZ: Haven't performed at all. Were seeded in the 4th Poule (the same
as... ALIS) and I think they'll play like it too. They have some names who
will be interesting to see how well they on LAN (*cough* danone*cough*) so
from that perspective I might tune into their ETTV games.

Group prediction: zP will win. one.soldier will be second. I think it's just
that simple. No protecting my back by saying "ON LAN ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!"
this time. I think this group is clear.

Group D:

Impact Gaming: Just a great team. They have the names and it appears they've
got their shit together on other fronts as well. A real favorite for me.
They have guys who can decide a match by playing their A-game alone. And
that's guyS in plural. Awesome, just awesome.
However... (Another however, I should get other words) they also lack LAN
experience. Afaik in their team only teKoa and M1lk[/b] have been to any larger
events. But then.. mystic can't be bad... Can he?

Polar eSports: Have performed so and so lately. BUT THEY FUCKING BEAT IDLE!
OH YEAH! If they find their old owning shape I think they can perform
wonders. Their laggers will be down to 5 ping which is something they might
not be used to, but I think this will only speak to their advantage.
To me this team can really go either way... They might be knocked out in the
group stage and they might excell, win their group and fight for the top
spots. I kinda like them, so I'm going for the latter.

Auxillia: A hard team to place... They've done really good and they've done
not so good. They have names, but no huge names. They've teamplay it seems,
but not awesome. I think this is one of those teams that's well capable of
causing an upset if they play their best but who might not find it. They
also lack real LAN experience. snuble was on sHg, blaze was on last CPC as
well as on sHg and that's all I know. Perhaps blaze can show them the way to
victory though.

KiH: arne sounded confident as usual when I read some interviews with him.
He always does however, and still KiH don't really haven't achieved much
since Quakecon. And now they're not fully swedish either. I wouldn't place
my money on these guys.

Group prediction: Impact will win. KiH won't. I think polar is actually
capable of beating Impact on a good day and WELL capable of taking down
Auxillia. Actually I think Polar's daily shape will be what decides the
faith of this group. If they're good: Impact wins, polar second. If they're
great: Polar wins, Impact second. If they suck: Impact wins and Auxillia
takes second. It'll be interesting to see. As I've said though, I'd put my
money on them doing "good".