#3 verGe Gaming
Roster: paradox, cannon, juan, n0it, Helix

After a less than desirable finish at CPL Summer where verGe only won the opening match, the team went through several roster changes, bringing in cannoN, Helix, and n0it. Not long after, season three of CAL was starting up and verGe had been demoted from Main to Open after paradox was found to have cheated in a match. This would turn into a disaster for all opponents that ran into verGe's climb to the top and verGe would go on to have a perfect season as well as claim the championship in November.

It was the month of October that brought verGe into the spotlight of the Source community. Seeded ninth out of the twelve teams in attendance, verGe did not have an easy road ahead of them at the DigitalLife tournament. However, verGe then went on to beat eGe, PowersGaming in overtime, TFS, Check-Six in best of three, and then PowersGaming again in best of three for the title. This win would make the verGe name known across the community and would be a major factor in being invited to join the top teams in CEVO Pro and CAL Invite. With the roster for EverLAN mirroring that of DigitalLife and all online play inbetween then and now, verGe has the chemistry and the teamwork and now its just a matter of execution. The win in New York along with verGe's CEVO performance propelled the team to the number three seed, so look out for this team late in the tournament.

#4 Upper
Roster: Haqshot, Green, Cadaviar, Sc0tti, Shad

Upper is another name with a good amount of history to it, especially involving PowersGaming. At CPL Summer with Haqshot and Shad on that lineup, Upper finished a close second right behind PowersGaming. After merging with the WEW organization for a short while, the team would meet up with PG again at the Lanfest 2k5 event. This time with Haqshot and Cadaviar on that lineup along with mOE currently of PG, they would defeat PG from the upper bracket in a 16 to 14 nailbiter from the championship. The following months would bring numerous roster changes including members leaving Upper to join PG and then reforming Upper after CAL Season 3. The Upper name has been around for quite some time and the team is looking to etch their name into another place in Source history this weekend at perhaps the biggest tournament yet.

Under the leadership of Haqshot, look for this team to come out strong. The team has been staying relatively low-key in its preparation for the event, but do not let that be an indication as to how well they are going to. Unfortunately, verteran Phil "Ph1l" Mah will not be in attendance due to other commitments and Upper will definitely be missing his presence. However, with the experience Haqshot, Cadaviar, and Shad bring from big matches in the past along with the number four seed, Upper is a team not to be underestimated.

#5 Hyper!
Roster: DirtySecreT, Sphere, Jd, Shredder, Tuned, Solrak

After falling to Upper in the third round of the upper bracket and mTw the following round at CPL Summer, Hyper! went through a couple roster changes while keeping the core of Sphere, DirtySecret, and Jd together. This would eventually to the present roster with Shredder, Tuned, and Solrak being the most recent additions. In CAL Invite Season 3, Hyper! went into the playoffs with a tough schedule but never let that get to them. They would go on to take down #3 EZ5 and narrowly lose to #2 Borderline 16 to 14.

Ever since CEVO announced it would be hosting a Source division, Hyper! has certainly stepped it up. Numerous teams GotFrag spoke with have complimented on how well Hyper! has been performing as of late in scrims and matches and their current record of 4-1 reflects that. Despite not having any top accomplishments to their name yet, Hyper!'s recent performance was enough to slate them in the fourth spot in GotFrag's North American Rankings. After DirtySecret's run-in with the CAL AC admins last season, look for him and the rest of Hyper! wanting to show they are indeed a top team.