When GotFrag released the most recent set of CS World Rankings in early November, many were accepting of Pentagram’s first place rank due to their strong performances, which led to victories, at two prominent LANs: WSVG UK and WCG 2006. However, a disappointing finish and lackluster play at the WSVG Finals last weekend led to questions about Pentagram’s true strength as a team and their ability to perform consistently like the number one team in the world.

Since this CPL event falls just a week after the WSVG Finals, many have looked to this tournament as a sign as to where Pentagram really stands in the Counter-Strike world. If they were to fall out of the tournament early, people would come to the conclusion that their wins were just a fluke. If they played well and went deep, then perhaps the WSVG Finals was just an unexpected bump in the road.

Put in a group with three other American teams in the first round of play, Pentagram cruised with complete ease through each of them, including known US team Mug N Mouse. The team finished with a staggering ratio of 81 rounds won to only 9 lost. In the second round of group action, Pentagram faced two international teams in Project_kr and g3x, along with another American team in United 5. They were able to defeat each of the non-US teams 17 to 13 and 29 to 1 respectively, but were handed their first defeat of the tournament by u5, 13 to 17. Fortunately for Pentagram though, they were still able to grab the top seed of the group.

With the arrival of the third day of competition and the start of the Single Elimination bracket came the match ups that everyone was waiting for. As Bo3’s are widely recognized as the best test of a team’s skill over another, every competitor would need to play at their highest level in order to advance in the tournament. This would be an opportunity for the members of Pentagram to showcase their abilities and redeem their previous performance.

To get one step closer to the championship, Pentagram had to get by Pandemic in the opening round. This proved to not be a problem, as Poles swiftly defeated the Americans in two straight maps, 16 to 7 and 16 to 4. Pentagram then moved on to face another JMC, another American team. They continued their strong play with an easy 16 to 6 victory on Train. The second map was Mill, which was strategically picked my JMC, and did indeed pose a more difficult challenge. However, Pentagram’s skill and teamwork brought them an overtime win, 19 to 15.

Just four teams remained at that point in the tournament, and Pentagram was just one match away from securing their spot in the Grand Finals. If they could do so, a guaranteed second place finish would surely quiet every naysayer. But to accomplish this, they needed to overcome Fnatic, a team that has been playing well and would not be a pushover.

Curious to see how Pentagram would perform in their hardest test of the tournament, I sat behind them to witness their play firsthand.