Team Rival (http:www.team-rival.net) has gone against all predictions for the Summer CPL and has finally got the monkey off of its back. For a few CPL’s now Rival has come into the tournament very hot, but always ended up finishing well below their expectation. As of 11:15pm CST, Rival is officially the highest placing US team.

After some great play in the winner’s bracket, beating Punto CL and TAU, Rival fell to Team DiE (5th place finish here at CPL) on de_train. Since dropping to the Loser’s Bracket, Rival has played like a team possessed. Beating NoA in overtime on de_dust2 was a very exciting match to watch. The entire crowd was into it in the BYOC area and the large TV screen for watching HLTV next to the press area. You could hear the screams from people, cheering both teams on as each kill was closely watched. Crowds of media people and players alike were standing around watching both teams.

Rival faced their first European test in the form of Germany’s mousesports on de_cpl_mill. Traditionally an American map, Rival was out of the gate fast, picking up a lead of 9-3 on Terrorist side. With some great pistol round play all tournament long, Rival made quick work of mouz on CT side, securing a 13-3 win. Mouz would later claim seventh place over g3x. Rival was banging on all cylinders by now, having huge momentum as they would go on to face ESWC champions, Denmark’s Titans on de_nuke.

Rival has played very well on nuke in the past few months, beating 3D at ESWC USA and many other top teams recently. They would have to play the Titans, who looked almost unbeatable early on in the tournament. Rival got emotional every round, picking themselves when losing rounds. They played solid both halves picking up the victory over a daunting opponent. Momentum was now in Rival’s favor for the rest of the tournament. From underdogs to favorites in a few matches, Rival has proved they can beat anyone in the world.

Going down 5-7 at halftime after some great performances from D-Skyline, Rival used a pistol most often called the “runaround”, trying to get CT’s out of position by running around the map. Superb individual play by medias, picking up three kills on catwalk, got Rival on the right foot for the half. Dust2 is one of Rival’s strongest map and it certainly showed here by not letting D-Skyline pick up any momentum. Clutch play from everyone got Rival the chance to move on and play SK on de_cpl_mill.

Rival has confirmed people’s thoughts going into the CPL as America’s number one team. Everyone has shown great teamwork and communication with each other. All of Rival has come through when counted upon to turn out huge performances. Rival has finally arrived on the international counter-strike community.

Rival’s Road out of the BYOC kingdom

First Round : de_dust2 over Prescription Death
Second Round : de_inferno over Punto CL
Third Round : de_nuke over TAU
Fourth Round : de_train loss to DiE
Fifth Round : de_dust2 over NoA
Sixth Round : de_cpl_mill over Mouz
Seventh Round : de_nuke over Titans

Eighth Round : de_dust2 over D-Skyline
Ninth Round : PENDING

Also to be noted is the great tournament played by Team DiE. Two American teams in the top 5 hasn’t been seen in a long while. Congratulate both teams on their success.