The start of the WCG US Finals is just a few days away. This weekend, the top teams from the United States will face off for the chance to represent the country at the WCG Global Finals later this year in Leipzig, Germany. Along with some heavy bragging rights, competitors are looking to get their piece of the $26,000 in prize money offered.

The seeding and grouping for this event was done extremely well. Both groups are stacked up perfectly, and no one has a clear cut ride into the bracket stage. While the format of best of three group play is not all that conducive for upsets, the fact remains that just about all of the teams in attendance have the ability to contend with one another. We are truly looking at an "Any Given Sunday" situation here.

With the top position in the US changing between each week, and MoB most recently snatching it from x3o and EG falling off a bit more, this event will be the definitive argument settler. The winner of this event, is the best team in the United States.


50cal - synikaL, keef, sfX, mxd, demos
Evil Geniuses - steno, n0thing, chE, Nepo-, hostile
MoB Gaming - StrikeR, thoMz, perez, Lim, evolution
Mug N' Mouse - punkvillE, happa, tuBBy, siyxx, bzrk
Team 34 - nolimit, thetoy, twizzy, thrice, tigerz

Group Favorite: Evil Geniuses
Showdown of the Group: EG vs. MoB
Predicted Group Winner: MoB Gaming
Predicted Second Advancer: Evil Geniuses
Most likely to Cause an upset: 50 cal
Dark horse: Mug N' Mouse

WCG US starts off with a bang. Group one features MoB and EG, two of the current top dogs in the scene. EG sent MoB to the lower bracket in the first round of the CEVO-P playoffs following a triple overtime showdown. MoB answered by battling back in that tournament, defeating EG on their way to winning the whole thing.

Aside from the MoB/EG rivalry going on in this group, you also have a few other teams fighting to break through. 50cal made it to a third place finish in the third Revival Tour event. Their two losses there, came from their matches against EG and MoB. They should be looking for some redemption after coming oh so close.

Mug N' Mouse also participated in GRT #3. They came out strong, sending EG.ca packing. However, they fell flat against EG.us in the following round, winning only two rounds. This brings us to the final competitor from Group 1, Team 34. Most recently 34 played at the ESWC finals. While they had high hopes entering the event, their group consisted of MYM.pgs and Pro100, and they only managed to come away with four rounds total. Both of these teams will have their work cut out for them in this group.



Frag Dominant - momper, strucky, kth, iNERTiA, p0s
Guardians - m4gic, i0nZ, aZn, Vincent, cbz
NFC - adrenaline, morgan, kris, cooper, deacon
Paragon of Virtue - hero, dRew, mkpro, savi0r, NineSpot
x3o - PaTyoJoN, impulsive, mehLer, ben, goodfornothing

Group Favorite: x3o
Showdown of the Group: x3o vs. PoV
Predicted Group Winner: x3o
Predicted Second Advancer: PoV
Most likely to Cause an upset: Guardians
Dark horse: Frag Dominant

While this group appears to be the easier of the two, the way PoV has been playing lately is going to keep teams from counting their chickens. PoV just placed third in the CEVO Pro Playoffs, with wins over fellow group competitors FD and x3o. They might just be able to leave this group with the top seed.

To give x3o a bit more credit, they were using a ringer; as goodfornothing was unable to play. They used NFC's adrenaline, who is no slouch himself. Despite having a skilled fill in, no one will dispute the impact of using a substitution. With PoV just pulling out the win against them at 16-13, who knows how different things will be this time around. This is going to be a chance for PoV to silence some critics and for x3o to try and redeem themselves.

The other teams in the group are all very capable of providing some upsets. The Guardians have been floating underneath the radar in the big scheme of things. They have been raging on teams in CEVO-main, and their team has some international experience under their belts. NFC is a westy pug featuring some talented players including morgan, and the aforementioned adrenaline.

Rounding out the group is Frag Dominant. Although they were looking as if they could become one of the next top teams in the nation, they have fallen short lately. While they lost only one round before making the GRT #3 double elimination bracket, they were bagelled by 50cal. Their play in the CEVO-Pro playoffs was dismal at best, winning only seven rounds in total. To their credit, they have recently made a roster change, and are still adjusting. This team has so much potential, it just seems as if they are still figuring out how to fit all the pieces together.


Galleries: Day 1a | Day 1b | Day 2a | Day 2b | Day 2c | Day 2d

Counter-Strike: Extreme Masters Day 2 CS Melee | Extreme Masters Day 1 CS Melee | WCG Day 1 CS Melee | Viewer's Guide | Cogu discusses all things MiBR | WCG USA, EM Prediction Contest | Ninespot reflects on Day 1 | x3o gives fnatic an early test | Five with punkvillE | Zonic on mTw's early exit | sfX on taking down MoB | savi0r: Looking forward to E4All | WCG CS Group Preview

StarCraft: WCG StarCraft Melee | WCG Day 1 SC Recap | Five with NonY | G5 talks about NonY and Day 2 | StarCraft in the U.S: Why care? | WCG Starcraft Preview

World of Warcraft: Extreme Masters Day 1 WoW Melee | Extreme Masters WoW Preview | Five with Sp0h