GotFrag eSports

week 2:1 - de_cbble - written by Britney Spears & SurfDevil
Cal-Main Pacific Holla, its dzl back for another season of CAL-M coverage. Just wanted to give you some heads up on a few things. One, because of the large ammount of teams in CAL-M, we will only be covering the top 4 teams in each division. Also, I've brought on board SurfDevil this season. SurfDevil is covering Delta and Omega while I cover Gamma and Theta. I usually don't like such early predicitions, especially in consideration of the fact that we're dealing with cbble and results from prodigy but whatever, we'll make do. Best of luck to all the teams in main this season as always. - #dzl

Cal-Main Pacific Division: Delta has some good talent within its ranks, but they are going to have it fairly easy until interdivisional play begins. A couple teams will standout as the season progresses (NEG, SiK, and maybe tsd) but it'll take some preparation to play against the other divisions.

NEG versus Transcendence	NEG [2-0-0] vs Transcendence [1-1-0] Prediction: NEG > Transcendence 16-14 Standouts: none this week NEG hasn't been tested too hard yet but week 2 is going to show a lot of people where they stand this season. Later in the week they have to play SiK but first they will need to step up to Transcendence. tsd bounced back after losing to 2g0d with a win versus a very weak eP. They will need to step it up even more against NEG to show everyone that they are a contender for playoffs. Both teams need this win to prove that they do in fact belong so expect for an awesome match and if possible get on the HLTV.

Cursed versus IXCAFE`CMC	Cursed [1-1-0] vs IXCAFE`CMC [1-1-0] Prediction: IXCAFE`CMC > Cursed 19-11 Standouts: none this week Cursed is coming off a blowout win over resilience and an upset in most minds versus Chance. CMC on the other hand put Chance down relatively easy and then lost big to Aeon. Now, CMC and Cursed come together. Cursed has completely changed their lineup from derive, gangster, horror, essj, and vthugz to betrayal, evO, appleyard, Ethereal, and Nova. Along with that they are facing a lot of heat right now regarding the possibility of cheating. This recent change could easily account for the loss to Chance. If Cursed spends the week working on their chemistry and practicing their strats they could upset CMC. I don't think this match will have a huge effect on either team but they obviously need to prepare and work to get the win.

Aeon versus Chance	Aeon [1-1-0] vs Chance [1-1-0] Prediction: Aeon > Chance 18-12 Standouts: none this week Aeon is definitely a strong team that should be prepared for by Chance. Chance just picked up a merger with Live for some sort of sponsorship and the players they picked up could be very beneficial to their team. Aeon lost to a very solid NEG and then bounced back versus CMC with a strong performance. Chance lost to CMC but was able to squeak by Cursed. Aeon shouldn't have any problems with Chance but cobble is a map all about timing. Locking down the B rush and rotating quickly back to cover A is going to be the key. This match-up may just be one you want to put on your list to watch.

Cal-Main Pacific Division: Gamma The big name to me in Gamma this season is Desert Elite. Other teams who could make an impact this season in this division are ParadisePings, Ethereal, S7, surrealz (what happened week one here?). Should be a fun division to watch.

Alpha Klan versus Ethereal	Alpha Klan [2-0-0] vs Ethereal [2-0-0] Prediction: Ethereal > Alpha Klan 20-10 Standouts: fknrambo (ak) \| Flakk (ethereal) Alpha Klan currently sits on top of gamma by a total of one round. This team has a history of being not so great. Two back to back seasons with no playoffs. I don't see any major roster revisions, but, I do see they took out a strong Sinister7 (good offseason pickups) on Prodigy in OT. Ethereal on the other hand has a completely new lineup to my eyes. Nothing like last season (Break, Error?). A matter of fact I don't reconize ANY of these players from last seasons Ethereal so I can't really say much about them. They dominated surealz (who I have high hopes for this season) and they dominated upper as well. I know there are a lot of over the wire claims on this one. Anyways, I expect Ethereal to take this one by a long shot. AK, prove to me you're the real deal this season and I'll give you more credit. One week of prodigy isn't going to cut it.

Quiet Storm versus ParadisePings	Quiet Storm [2-0-0] vs ParadisePings [1-1-0] Prediction: Quiet Storm > ParadisePings 16-14 Standouts: EsKeR, prizefighter (qs) \| kakashi` (pp) During the offseason PP lost two big players for them in CONNOR and hot and based off their first match I thought these guys were really gonna struggle in main getting beat by a good DE 22-8. Week 2 they bounced back with the biggest blow out yet this season with a 28-2 win over Gamepit. Quiet Storm didn't do much impact last season and this season they've started off strong with two back to back wins. I think this current PP will be their biggest challenge yet. I'm going to go with QS on this one but not by much.

Desert Elite versus upper	Desert Elite [2-0-0] vs upper [1-1-0] Prediction: Desert Elite > upper 17-13 Standouts: snubf1ghter, porter, M1 (d.elite) \| cadaviar, surfdevil (upper) Desert Elite is the latest big name to come out of Arizona since CAL-P team deLusional, err.. I MEAN AZDD! Woops!!!! Earning their way from bottom up I've heard nothing but really great things about this team. Anytime I see a team with MurderOne pop up on the roster I know that the team will be well organized. They took down ParadisePings with ease (22-8) and then got the FW over a.es. They haven't been really tested yet, and if they're as good as the hype, they won't be tested in week2 either. Upper is a team that was screwed six ways from Sunday last season. Consistantly getting dealt the bad card every hand. They managed to make it through and they're back for another season of main. To my knowledge, this team isn't any more strict on their play than they were last season and d.elite (if they are as strong as people claim) should walk away with this one.

Cal-Main Pacific Division: Omega is going to be an interesting week. Of the two divisions with undefeated top four teams, it is the one in which the top four are scheduled to play each other. I don't particular like stacking the top teams against each other so early, but in this case I think it's going to weed out the big boys from the small.

NetFragz versus Deadly Forces	NetFragz [2-0-0] vs Deadly Forces [2-0-0] Prediction: Deadly Forces > NetFragz 17-13 Standouts: none this week Deadly Forces is playing extremely solid right now with two very dominating performances versus GS and pD. Don't count NetFragz out as they are playing fairly well too with wins over r3 and enzo. This should be NetFragz best season thus far in their team's history but it's going to be thwarted this week by D4. D4 is, if not the top team, within striking distance of the championship. I thought they would be put to the test last week but easily stepped over the competition. NF has the chance to be the first team to put a dent in D4 and show everyone that they are here for the championship. It's still early in the season so anything can happen.

Faux versus Arsenal	Faux [2-0-0] vs Arsenal [2-0-0] Prediction: Faux > Arsenal 18-12 Standouts: none this week Though both these teams are undefeated right now, I don't think they will be around to have any large part of playoffs. They have both had pretty easy schedules so far and this week is only going to help separate one of them from the top of the division. Faux (Darklan) played rMe and r3 with no real problems overtaking them. Arsenal had a little bit of trouble finishing off MFD after (in my mind) a surprisingly weak performance versus RNC. Faux is a lan team and that's going to help with the overall teamplay that is needed for cobble but I think they are still looking for a permanent 5th starter. ASNL is having their own roster problems right now though as they have been picking up and dropping players left and right for the past two weeks or so. ASNL is solid but I think Faux will be able to overtake them on cobble right now.

Cal-Main Pacific Division: Theta I expect this division to be a battle between conceptual death and kM all season long. Can't Agree should be a favorite but it seems this first week was an uphill battle for them and they just couldn't pull through. Next Level is said to be great, and 187 could turn heads too.

versatile versus conceptual death	versatile [1-1-0] vs conceptual death [2-0-0] Prediction: conceptual death > versatile 20-10 Standouts: None at the moment (unfamiliar with rosters) CDeath came out of preseason with two huge wins, completely blowing out both opponents. I've heard nothing but strong things about this team. Some over the wire claims even -- but we'll have to see. Versatile is a return team to CAL-M from last season. Struggled a bit in the first week with a 1-1 record. I expect to see this new moveup CD go 3-0 this week if everything I hear is true.

Kurrupted Mindz versus Next Level	Kurrupted Mindz [2-0-0] vs Next Level [2-0-0] Prediction: Kurrupted Mindz > Next Level 16-14 Standouts: pr3d, marciano (KM) \| trippa (nLevel) Last season kM was one of my picks to go all the way and inactivity killed the dream there. This team has tons of talent, just needs to practice and get their team work down to really be successful. And so far they're off with a great start. Next Level is a return team from CAL-M last season. Last season they didn't make playoffs but they're off strong this season with a 2-0 record and according to them they're going to win CAL-M this season. A lot of talk from these players on the forums -- lets see if they are as good as they hype. I expect kM to take this, but any larger gap than a 16-14 loss and nLevel may not be what they have hyped themselves up to be; the best team in CAL-M.

YDFeSports versus 187	YDFeSports [2-0-0] vs 187 [1-1-0] Prediction: 187 > YDFeSports 17-13 Standouts: None at the moment (YDFeSports) \| techwarrior, blizzard (187) This is probably the most equal match going on in cal-m this week. YDFeSports, a new move up, started off their season well with a win over PIG (cal-o finalists or winners, can't recall) and then followed it up with a win over CAL-IM champs Can't Agree. 187 is also a new move up who had a win over reset with ease then a not horrible loss to kM who is probably the strongest team in their division. I know what 187 is capable and if they've put in the time they should take this match.

Counter-Strike: CAL-Main Week 2:1 Predictions

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