Article By Chris "bootman" Boutte
Artwork by AZTK

This article came to me when I was doing a lot of thinking after the Acon 5 USA finals just last week. After our disappointing loss to team Complexity in the finals, the team and I met HeatoN and Walle and had a little talk with them. I have been doing this for a long time, but when I talked to HeatoN, I heard something that was very upsetting. We were talking about CPL Brazil and when asked whether or not NiP would be in attendance, he giggled and said, "Why would we go if we're just going to lose?" Now, he made a good point right after that they have been playing poorly and need to fix quite a few things before they even plan on going to another international event.

Basically, I don't think any teams are looking at the big picture when it comes to the scene now days. It is no longer, "What place will we get when SK.swe takes first?" It is now, "What team is going to pull off an upset on a big name and possibly take this event?"

Teams are too pampered and treated like gods that are undefeatable. Where would 3D be had they given up after not even taking top two at ESWC USA in 2004? Well they wouldn't be the WCG Champions, I can tell you that much.

Counter-Strike is no longer one top team dominating a country or even every international event. Ever since the money change and new weapons were added in 1.6, there has been a shift in the balance of power. Teams fail to realize that. My job is to scout out teams and analyze them, but some people fail to realize my view on the game. I am always asked my opinion on who I think is the top team in the world or who the top players are. I have never answered this question, because that's not it. In my eyes, there are about 10 teams in the world that SHOULD place top 10 every single event and any of them are going to take that event depending on how they play that day.

Basically, it all boils down to the old "Any Given Sunday" saying. Any of the top teams out there have their chance to shine and take out top teams. Also, on any given day one of these top teams can be upset. It's not really an upset, it was just you getting out played.

These factors are why I am a firm believer in the two things a team needs for success. The first is having a large diversity of tactics. This way you never get too comfortable with one playing style. It may work on 99 out of 100 teams, but when you face that one team that has a unique playing style, and you have never practiced a counter-strategy for their tactics, you are then stuck in a bind and forced to make your team try new things on the fly. Sometimes this works, but often it doesn't or it is not even attempted. The other is scouting reports. If you use these scouting reports as a bible, you will lose. I've seen it happen. If you use them as a basis for keys on how the other team is playing and saying, "If this player is here, they are most likely doing this tactic". You are then narrowing down what the other team is doing and you can then force them out of position.