Tonight's matches have all been completed, aside from a few forfeit wins and reschedules. You can find the scores below, and for more in-depth analysis, click the read full item link. Tonight I went 8-4 with my predictions, with 1 tie; there are still several matches that need to be played.
Playboy > TAU 13-11 - Upset of the night
e7 = iwa 15-15 - Tie game
d|s > [rs] 14-10
ExS > dx 13-11
zEx > Pinnacle 16-8
CK3 > RJ45 17-7
Eminence > RC 17-7
DoP > TSG 20-4
SYB > 187 22-2
gX > TuF 18-6
WEW > osx 22-2
sW vs TEC - Rescheduled for Wednesday
SB vs 1st - Reschedule for Tuesday
TSO vs Rival - Rescheduled
3D > Solid 24-0 - Forfeit
TAF > 2c 24-0 - Forfeit[break]Match Result: 3D > Solid 24-0
Seems my prediction about Solid not having all their starters rang true, as they forfeited tonight's match to 3D. Hopefully we'll see Solid return to action this Thursday with enough players.
Match Result: ExS > dx 13-11
While I was correct in predicting the victor, it appears that dx managed to hold a much closer game than expected in their first CAL-invite match. dx came out quickly on top first half, winning 9 rounds out of 12. The second half, however, ExS came back and won 10, putting the win in their favor 13-11.
Match Result: zEx > Pinnacle 16-8
zEx was able to soundly defeat Pinnacle tonight, although it wasn't quit the stomping I predicted. The first half zEx dominated 9-3, and the second half Pinnacle seemed to mount a comeback and almost tie zEx 7-5. Despite the resistance second half, for Pinnacle it was "too little, too late".
Match Result: e7 = iwa 15-15
This match really surprised me, as my predictions called for e7 to wipe the floor with iwa. Whatever the case, it looked to be true first half as e7 had their mop out and beat them 10-2. Second half put iwa into a frenzy and they returned to do their own janitorial work on e7 10-2, sending the match into overtime. Overtime ended up the same, with each half tying, so it was called a draw at 15-15. I managed to speak to one of e7's starters, e7-enigma, and here are his comments:
e7|enigma-1H: "we came out strong as CT, but t, we had no strats. this is a very ct sided map; then it didnt work for us in OT D:"
This match was one of the surprises of the night, as iwa managed to return from their recent string of losses, despite their takedown of Pinnacle 20-4 in a makeup match.
Match Result: Playboy > TAU 13-11
It appears I spoke too soon, as lower-rated CAL-invite clan Playboy pulled it together tonight to defeat the Texas Area Untouchables. I managed to pull a statement from playboy starter sosinki - here's what he had to say:
[PLAYBOY]-Sosinski: "We played really well, everyone did, we blew a couple of rounds. We didn't scrim once, but we played fire @ a qualifier last week, so we were somewhat prepared. Right now we have alot of momentum, playin in lan tournies helps alot, we just all pulled together an played well. Also, shoutout to randy moss 1998 roy."
Indeed, Playboy has really shown improvement over last season, and with their CPL Autoberth win last week, they seem to be on a roll.
Match Result: TAF > 2c 24-0
As quoted by TAF leader Neglia: "forfeit.. CPL|chrism and CAL|Sidd over looked situation and declared 2c unable to play the match". More on this as the news comes in.
Match Result: D|S > [rs] 14-10
The new Darkside managed to defeat last season's runner-ups, but not by too large of a gap. My prediction called for a [riot-squad] victory with a 14-10 score, but darkside managed to pull themselves together to take the win. First half darkside dominated 11 to 1, not giving [rs] any breathing space, but second half [rs] returned with their own attack, taking 9 rounds to d|s's 3. Still, that was all darkside needed to take the win. Darkside starter Hays had this to comment:
D|S-Hays[: "We had no doubt we could compete with them. We prepared the day before for about 3 - 4 hours, tau gave us a few ideas and helped us develop our game emensly. Judic (formerly of retired cal-i clan Kapitol) came back to the team and started leading us again."
Match Result: Eminence > RC 17-7
Well, looks like I finally called a match correctly, with the exact score..go sublyme! Surprisingly, first half RC put up a nice fight tying e 6-6, but the second half when e took CT side it was nothing short of domination 11 to 1. In the end, e took the win 17-7, leaving the new-to-CALi Reality Check at a 0-1 record.
Match Result: CK3 > RJ45 17-7
CK3 really worked harder than I expected this match, not giving RJ45 much room to move at all, winning first half 9-3 and second half 8-4. Whether it's the fact that CK3 has 5 times the experience as RJ45, or that RJ45 is still getting their feet wet in the CAL-i pool, CK3 ruled over this match both halves.
Match Result: DoP > TSG 20-4
Tonight DoP stomped Team Stomping Grounds, despite their upset loss to TSG in the preseason. I was curious as to how they felt going into this match, given that they had lost to TSG previously, so I got this quote from Fontana:
DoP|Fontana: "We had alot of confidence going in to this match, we played this match at our regional qualifier and won 13-0..TSG is a great bunch of guys but we were VERY prepared for this match."
Match Result: SYB > 187 22-2
For the second time of the night one of my predictions has come close to being exactly right, as west-coast monsters SYB wasted no time plowing through 187. Each half was won 11-1, so while 187 DID put up some offense, it still ended with a (predicted) SYB victory.
Match Result: gX > TuF 18-6
Gamers X had the all-important CT side first in this match, and proved domination with 11-1. Second half TuF got in position for CT, but gX still proved too powerful and won 7-5. Despite nearly tying CT half, TuF ended up losing.
Match Result: WEW > osx 22-2
WEW really proved themself this match by taking out osx 22-2. My prediction said osx would take this win 18-6; I was off just a bit. My prediction was based on the fact that WEW was losing to clans such as D|2; little did I know, but upon D|2's breakup, their leader Brown joined up with WEW and played this match. Whatever the case, WEW mounted an insane offense and defense and dropped osx without batting a sweat. In other news, osx has renamed themselves to neg, or nocturnal e gamers, based on their sponsor. Seems to be a lot of that lately.
And now for my final wrapup...
Clan On The Rise: Playboy. After recently winning a CPL autoberth and upsetting powerhouse TAU tonight 13-11, it's clear that the clan of 4 brothers and a fat white guy is on it's way up.
Clan Falling:[riot-squad]. After taking 2nd place in CAL-invite last season, everyone felt that this season would be [rs]'s chance to shine. That hasn't been the case, however, as several of their starters (Chameleon of X3 and Trigga) left to join gamers-X. After predicting an [rs] win tonight, I was a little taken back when D|S picked up the victory. Whatever the case, [rs] needs to pull it's act together quick and get themselves back in position to take the top spot.
Come visit CS-Nation everyday for the latest cs news, esports and otherwise. Thursday spiffman will be handling coverage but I'll still have my predictions in tow - thanks for putting up with my coverage, and I appreciate the positive feedback. If anyone has anything they want to say (comments, feedback, etc), feel free to drop me an email - sublyme@counter-strike.net. Have a good night!
Playboy > TAU 13-11 - Upset of the night
e7 = iwa 15-15 - Tie game
d|s > [rs] 14-10
ExS > dx 13-11
zEx > Pinnacle 16-8
CK3 > RJ45 17-7
Eminence > RC 17-7
DoP > TSG 20-4
SYB > 187 22-2
gX > TuF 18-6
WEW > osx 22-2
sW vs TEC - Rescheduled for Wednesday
SB vs 1st - Reschedule for Tuesday
TSO vs Rival - Rescheduled
3D > Solid 24-0 - Forfeit
TAF > 2c 24-0 - Forfeit[break]Match Result: 3D > Solid 24-0
Seems my prediction about Solid not having all their starters rang true, as they forfeited tonight's match to 3D. Hopefully we'll see Solid return to action this Thursday with enough players.
Match Result: ExS > dx 13-11
While I was correct in predicting the victor, it appears that dx managed to hold a much closer game than expected in their first CAL-invite match. dx came out quickly on top first half, winning 9 rounds out of 12. The second half, however, ExS came back and won 10, putting the win in their favor 13-11.
Match Result: zEx > Pinnacle 16-8
zEx was able to soundly defeat Pinnacle tonight, although it wasn't quit the stomping I predicted. The first half zEx dominated 9-3, and the second half Pinnacle seemed to mount a comeback and almost tie zEx 7-5. Despite the resistance second half, for Pinnacle it was "too little, too late".
Match Result: e7 = iwa 15-15
This match really surprised me, as my predictions called for e7 to wipe the floor with iwa. Whatever the case, it looked to be true first half as e7 had their mop out and beat them 10-2. Second half put iwa into a frenzy and they returned to do their own janitorial work on e7 10-2, sending the match into overtime. Overtime ended up the same, with each half tying, so it was called a draw at 15-15. I managed to speak to one of e7's starters, e7-enigma, and here are his comments:
e7|enigma-1H: "we came out strong as CT, but t, we had no strats. this is a very ct sided map; then it didnt work for us in OT D:"
This match was one of the surprises of the night, as iwa managed to return from their recent string of losses, despite their takedown of Pinnacle 20-4 in a makeup match.
Match Result: Playboy > TAU 13-11
It appears I spoke too soon, as lower-rated CAL-invite clan Playboy pulled it together tonight to defeat the Texas Area Untouchables. I managed to pull a statement from playboy starter sosinki - here's what he had to say:
[PLAYBOY]-Sosinski: "We played really well, everyone did, we blew a couple of rounds. We didn't scrim once, but we played fire @ a qualifier last week, so we were somewhat prepared. Right now we have alot of momentum, playin in lan tournies helps alot, we just all pulled together an played well. Also, shoutout to randy moss 1998 roy."
Indeed, Playboy has really shown improvement over last season, and with their CPL Autoberth win last week, they seem to be on a roll.
Match Result: TAF > 2c 24-0
As quoted by TAF leader Neglia: "forfeit.. CPL|chrism and CAL|Sidd over looked situation and declared 2c unable to play the match". More on this as the news comes in.
Match Result: D|S > [rs] 14-10
The new Darkside managed to defeat last season's runner-ups, but not by too large of a gap. My prediction called for a [riot-squad] victory with a 14-10 score, but darkside managed to pull themselves together to take the win. First half darkside dominated 11 to 1, not giving [rs] any breathing space, but second half [rs] returned with their own attack, taking 9 rounds to d|s's 3. Still, that was all darkside needed to take the win. Darkside starter Hays had this to comment:
D|S-Hays[: "We had no doubt we could compete with them. We prepared the day before for about 3 - 4 hours, tau gave us a few ideas and helped us develop our game emensly. Judic (formerly of retired cal-i clan Kapitol) came back to the team and started leading us again."
Match Result: Eminence > RC 17-7
Well, looks like I finally called a match correctly, with the exact score..go sublyme! Surprisingly, first half RC put up a nice fight tying e 6-6, but the second half when e took CT side it was nothing short of domination 11 to 1. In the end, e took the win 17-7, leaving the new-to-CALi Reality Check at a 0-1 record.
Match Result: CK3 > RJ45 17-7
CK3 really worked harder than I expected this match, not giving RJ45 much room to move at all, winning first half 9-3 and second half 8-4. Whether it's the fact that CK3 has 5 times the experience as RJ45, or that RJ45 is still getting their feet wet in the CAL-i pool, CK3 ruled over this match both halves.
Match Result: DoP > TSG 20-4
Tonight DoP stomped Team Stomping Grounds, despite their upset loss to TSG in the preseason. I was curious as to how they felt going into this match, given that they had lost to TSG previously, so I got this quote from Fontana:
DoP|Fontana: "We had alot of confidence going in to this match, we played this match at our regional qualifier and won 13-0..TSG is a great bunch of guys but we were VERY prepared for this match."
Match Result: SYB > 187 22-2
For the second time of the night one of my predictions has come close to being exactly right, as west-coast monsters SYB wasted no time plowing through 187. Each half was won 11-1, so while 187 DID put up some offense, it still ended with a (predicted) SYB victory.
Match Result: gX > TuF 18-6
Gamers X had the all-important CT side first in this match, and proved domination with 11-1. Second half TuF got in position for CT, but gX still proved too powerful and won 7-5. Despite nearly tying CT half, TuF ended up losing.
Match Result: WEW > osx 22-2
WEW really proved themself this match by taking out osx 22-2. My prediction said osx would take this win 18-6; I was off just a bit. My prediction was based on the fact that WEW was losing to clans such as D|2; little did I know, but upon D|2's breakup, their leader Brown joined up with WEW and played this match. Whatever the case, WEW mounted an insane offense and defense and dropped osx without batting a sweat. In other news, osx has renamed themselves to neg, or nocturnal e gamers, based on their sponsor. Seems to be a lot of that lately.
And now for my final wrapup...
Clan On The Rise: Playboy. After recently winning a CPL autoberth and upsetting powerhouse TAU tonight 13-11, it's clear that the clan of 4 brothers and a fat white guy is on it's way up.
Clan Falling:[riot-squad]. After taking 2nd place in CAL-invite last season, everyone felt that this season would be [rs]'s chance to shine. That hasn't been the case, however, as several of their starters (Chameleon of X3 and Trigga) left to join gamers-X. After predicting an [rs] win tonight, I was a little taken back when D|S picked up the victory. Whatever the case, [rs] needs to pull it's act together quick and get themselves back in position to take the top spot.
Come visit CS-Nation everyday for the latest cs news, esports and otherwise. Thursday spiffman will be handling coverage but I'll still have my predictions in tow - thanks for putting up with my coverage, and I appreciate the positive feedback. If anyone has anything they want to say (comments, feedback, etc), feel free to drop me an email - sublyme@counter-strike.net. Have a good night!
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