(3) X3O

Ryan "NineSpot" Bell
Tarik "rockyte" Elkhatib
James "Jame^s" O'Connor
Jeff "hero" Mettetal
David "savi0r" Park


CEVO Season Statistics
Record: 7-4
Rounds Won: 182
Rounds Lost: 150
CPI: .53184

Without a doubt, there has been some dramatic changes to the x3o team. The first hurdle x3o hit was the release of the three players who are now only allowed to play this weekend instead of the intended new roster. Jame^s, hero, and savi0r are planning to compete this weekend with their old lineup one last time. Ironic as it is, the team will either end it with a bang or just end it.

All issues aside, the team managed a 2:1 win/loss ratio which was good. They also placed third, the highest it's ever been in their professional division career. Just when x3o's statistics start to show a sign of life, it begins to fall apart and swing closely to a new beginning.

Not many knew till recently that you are now using the old line-up for the playoffs. After releasing these players from the team, would you say there's some ironic tension between you guys?

Ryan "NineSpot" Bell: Obviously it’s hard to disband a team and then turn around and get back together with them. That is to be expected. That being said, we are here for one reason, to win. We are too focused on that to really pay attention to any of that extra-curricular stuff.

It's hard to say what your teams' game plan is because of all the distractions. Seeing how you have to put all differences aside to try and make a team effort, how will you act accordingly to get your team in the right mind set?

We have proven to each other that each of us has the drive to win. We trust each other and that alone puts us into the right mind set. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into this lineup and that kind of chemistry doesn’t go away that fast. We feel we relied a little too much on strategy in the past and now we’re going to focus more on our unique individual skill in the upcoming matches and just go out there and have fun.

I think I speak for some people who wondered why Jame^s was removed from the team. He brought a great deal of experience that could have only been benefited. What was your reason to not bring him on your new journey?

To become a successful team, each player must fit into a certain role. You can have an all-star lineup with five incredible individual fraggers and they will still lose to a squad that works better as a team. Jame^s is known for being a remarkable in-game leader and I attest to that 100 percent. He is top-notch and whatever team he lands with is going to be lucky. However, when the opportunity came to pick up 3 world class players (da bears, cbz, and sunman) with tons of experience, Jame^s simply didn’t fit into the new lineup.

Where do you see yourselves placing at the end of the event? Any team you wish to play?

Online is a bit more random, but if we can put aside our differences I see us placing high. We have absolutely no pressure on us and we can just have fun and play some good ol` Counter-Strike. I know I play my best when I’m just playing for the fun.

It’s always interesting battling against eMg. They’re a great bunch of guys but they’ve had our number as of late and it would be nice to change that around.

Turmoil | Check Six | X3O | eMazing Gaming | Backfire | West Coast Rockers