Interstate 95Jacob "flashback" Carter
Vince "fr3aK" DeCarlo
Doug "jacoBson!" Jacobson
Mike "CuZ" Nang
Ian "pyrite" Thomas

While I95 ended the CEVO Pro season with a 9-7 record, they are entering the post season with the fourth seed. The team has some talented and experienced players on it, many of whom have played on the same team at one point or another. When CuZ left MoB a few weeks ago, I95 was quick to scarf him up and solidify their lineup.

With such a new lineup, they have not attended any LANs together as of yet. That being said, all of their players are time tested and can perform when needed. They will need this to fill in the holes that their teamwork will undoubtedly have.

Strengths:

Individual experience. I95's players have been here before, and know what they need to do in order to get a top place finish.

Weaknesses:

While most of their players have been on past teams together, this is a new team. Also they recently added "CuZ" to the team, so their chemistry and teamwork won't be as strong as some of the other teams in attendance.

Prediction:

Top five. It is also not unreasonable to see I95 break out and have an even better finish.



Glimpse of Reality
Bryan "buskey" Buskey
Chris "vehemeNs" Kim
Hyunggun "Zola" Kim
Trevor "p0s" Randolph
Gino "gwhatkey" Wuttke

After taking a spell off, GR has returned with a few of their past members. Participating in CEVO Main, they ended the regular season in 13th place after a 9 - 7 record. With p0s, qwhatkey, and vehemens returning from the old lineup, the core of GR is solid. They have been back long enough that they should have been able to incorporate their new players into their old system.

Strengths:

Although GR is only recently getting back into the scene, their lineup is tried and true, and they work extremely well together. In addition, all of their players have the ability to step up their game when they need to.

Weaknesses:

Tendency to bait. It seems like sometimes they can become rattled and delay when entering sites, which leads to their rushes being picked apart.

Prediction:

Bottom eight. I just don't think GR has put in the time and effort to get back to where they once were.



team to beat

David "lawjeek" Cook
Mark "scoutz" Herrero
Mike "fr00z" Kamfiroozie
Kevin "Rowley" Harski
Travis "Revenge" Osbourne

Outside of local Cali LANs or CEVO Main competition, many have not heard of ttb. After spending a few season in CEVO Main, they have finally picked up their game, finishing in third place this season with a 12 - 4 record. While previous season would have been easier for ttb, this is their best result to date, despite some of the bigger named teams who missed out on Pro participating in the league.

With so many seasons under their belts with nearly the same lineup, ttb has plenty of chemistry and teamwork. The only question that remains is will their skills be able to match up with some of the best players in North America?

Strengths:

ttb's greatest asset is how their team is built. With the location of all of their members in the San Diego area, the team's chemistry is strong. They are all friends out of game, and regularly see one another making it easy to maintain relatively the same lineup for nearly a year and a half.

Weaknesses:

The main weakness for ttb is going to be their inexperience against top teams. While they have been in CEVO Main for three seasons, they haven't faced very strong competition until this season. With half of the teams coming from the Pro division, ttb is going to be in for a change of pace.

Prediction:

Depending on how things lineup, ttb will probably be sent to the lower bracket early on. However, it is not going to be impossible for them to upset nearly any of the teams in this competition. They should be looking to use this event to spring board them into the upper echelon of North American CS.