With the recent addition of cbz, da_bears, and sunman, and this being the new team’s first LAN event, how have you guys been preparing?

During the past several weeks we have been practicing online as well as bootcamping at X3O LAN center for almost 8-12 hours a day. The in game chemistry between the players is there with much room for growth. Our team just needs to get focused and we can succeed.

What is your team’s mind set coming into this event? Do you guys feel confident about winning the US finals?

I would say our team is very confident, and know that we CAN win the tournament. However, we won’t be completely blown away if we lose. It really comes down to who wants it the most. A lot of these teams are hungry and will not be taken lightly.

Since the whole change of roster and the drop of Jame^s, savi0r, and hero, would you say that there is “bad blood” between you guys?

I wouldn’t say there is any “bad blood” between us, at least on my end. The thing that people need to realize is that the chemistry between the members was not there. During LANs such as the Dust-Off Tournament, arguments in between rounds amongst the members severely hurt the teams performance. Quite frankly, I can’t force people to play with James. Don’t get me wrong, I have a tremendous amount of respect for James. He is a very experienced and accomplished CS player, but he just didn’t fit the team.

How do you feel about Genesis6? Are you worried about how your team will perform against them since their addition of Jame^s to the roster?

To be honest, I feel that Genesis6 will be one of our easier matches. It’s more about us knowing how he plays than him knowing how we play. Since our roster change, during bootcamps and online practice, we have developed some strats that no one will see coming.

Win or lose, what are x3os’ plans in the upcoming months?

X3O has a lot of exciting plans coming up. After WCG we intend to start the transition into Source. It's not about selling out or which game is better; excluding the recent addition of 1.6 to Winter CPL, the amount of of events for 1.6 has seriously declined in the US. With organizers like Digital Life, NewEgg LanFest, BUY.com LAN and the CGS all using source next year, there will be more opportunities for the team to succeed. We are still deciding whether or not to play the upcoming CPL Winter event in 1.6 or Source.

Do you think X3O will be able to make a smooth transition into source?

Honestly, I think we will make an even better source team than 1.6, especially with Erik and Justin winning CGS Source with Chicago Chimera. They will be able to help the rest of the team ease their way into Source.

Well as I said before, thanks for taking the time to speak with me. Anything else you would like to say to the community?

I just wanted to take a moment to thank the community. Many of you have supported us, and will continue to support us by visiting the gaming center, attending our events, idling our IRC channel, and visiting our website. I know that in the past 6 months there have been a lot of new faces on the roster – however they have all been for the best. I hope that X3O exceeds all of your expectations this weekend, and that the U.S. can really embrace us internationally. I also wanted to quickly say that our sponsors Dust-Off, NationVoice, and Velocity-Servers have gone above and beyond what was required to support X3O. They are top notch companies, and I would highly recommend them to all of our fans.