5. Midway Moves On

There are probably no words that can really appreciate all that Trevor "Midway" Schmidt brought to eSports and the community, but we can surely try.

The man that essentially began it all, and that became synonymous with GotFrag finally parted ways officially with his creation in October; delivering the news was President of GotFrag, Lee Chen.

With tremendous foresight, Midway looked far beyond the foreseeable landscape to help shape and shift eSports into something we could all contribute to and be apart of. Whether it be pioneering rule changes, or new journalistic ventures and ideas, Midway will easily go down as one of the few original builders of our beloved sport.

His departure from GotFrag is both sad and invigorating; while eSports loses one of its founders and sources of stability, it is a passing of the torch and a point of evolution for all the future dealings of our community.

4. mTw's Year

eSports, in its relatively short history, has never really enjoyed performances by teams that could be classified as dominating, or that could go towards establishing themselves as a dynasty, seemingly a byproduct of the sport; the instance of SK being an arguable exception.

When the former NoA joined up with mTw at the end of 2007, domination and dynasty were words very far from anyone's mind. They were a capable team, and flashes of prominence could be seen from their past as NoA, but the year of 2008 could not really have been predicted.

The year began slowly for the team, obtaining a 5-6 placing at SEC 2008, which was ultimately won by fnatic. The team was able to rebound, taking a SLAP LIVE event, and the KODE5 2007 Finals shortly thereafter. The team went on to win three more tournaments, those being the ESWC Masters, World eSports Masters, and WCG 2008.

Over the course of international tournaments in 2008, they finished with five first place finishes, as well as a second, third, and fourth place. Two more tournaments rounded out a total of ten top ten finishes, second only to fnatic for 2008 (11). And in the end, they walked away with over $130,000 in prize money for the year.

The building of a dynasty could be upon us, and 2009 could be the start of such a run.

3. EG Snatches Complexity

The community has been in a frenzy over the last two months of the year, and rightly so; as the formation and movement of teams and players have kept many people on their toes, speculation for the coming year has been rampant.

No such story is as big as the splash Alex Garfield and EG made on December 13th, signing four Complexity members to its new EG.usa squad. Joining EG.usa was to be Danny "fRod" Montaner, Matt "Warden" Dickens, Tyler "Storm" Wood, and Corey "hanes" Hanes, with Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert staying on from the previous squad. Such a move is almost unprecedented in eSports, and the chatter that followed was immense.

Immediately, fans and community members alike were stacking up 2009 as a year for Counter-Strike 1.6, already comparing teams and predicting many other rosters. Jason Lake, on the other hand, fueled a new discussion with his reaction and official statements regarding the move made by Alex Garfield of EG.

In one fell swoop, EG dismissed their own team, acquired another, and left one of the giants of our sport in disarray. The reach and magnitude of this story has it fall in at #3.

2. The CGS Shutdown

The Championship Gaming Series arrives at #2 on the list, with their announcement on November 18th, of a complete shutdown of their league.

This outcome was predicted by many, but the abruptness and real magnitude that this event covered were a little much for people to anticipate. Not only did eSports lose an event, but the many people involved at the CGS, including staff and players, lost their jobs almost instantly.

Analyzing the reason behind the shutdown took place everywhere in the community, with a large portion of fans hanging on to the assertion that it was all in the games. Others mentioned the format, the production, and a host of other explanations.

Little is able to justify all the emotion a player or staff member felt on discovering what had happened. That the prospect of their job, passion and income was now erased. For some, a contingency was not made and they were to quickly make their arrangements for the future.

Despite the large personal setback for the personnel of the CGS, many feel eSports as a whole was dealt a blow. Not only was income and a complete event lost, but the resulting shutdown also could theoretically put a bad taste in the mouth of any company wishing to support the gaming sector.

In the end, with the exception of the CXG, eSports has never before seen such utter failure after the tremendous hype served by the CGS. The scope of this story is so great, that despite it coming in at #2, it also supplies the #1 story of 2008.

1. eSports Resurrected

The #1 story of 2008 is not a published story in the traditional sense, but is the state of affairs as we further move into 2009, with a resurrection of eSports.

Leading up and contributing to this story are all the events of 2008, including some of the top ten; the coming MLG bottle promotion, the CPL's new found purpose, EG's roster moves, the loss of nVidia to ESWC, and the CGS shutdown.

eSports was started on the passion and natural inclination for excellence in our hobby, and we've arrived here through those means, but by far less of those factors than in the past. This year will showcase truly, what it means to be a part of eSports.

Players and staff of the CGS are now able to rekindle their desire to focus their efforts on one goal, and eSports as a whole will be revitalized, not with division but with collaboration. New teams and organizations are forming, a new collective mindset has been bestowed on the community, and the refocusing on what we really need is occurring.

One thing 2008 left us with is the most influential and stimulating prospect of all, and that is hope.