London Mint
HenryG, url, hughsy, ritch, Haz

A lot has been made of the roster shifts that they have had of late and where this team would normally be right up there at any other time, they come into this I-series as reigning champions, yet not expected to come close to repeating that feat. Their best player at what was seen as a disappointing Infinity Gaming LAN performance – despite reaching the final – the one bright spark was the performance of James “wilzooo” Wilson. Of course, they won’t have him to rely on this event as he has defected – although I’m told temporarily – to Birmingham Salvo. Under the captaincy of Henry “HenryG” Greer anything is possible and with Richard “ritch” Gibbs wanting to lay to rest the ghost of a horrible outing – by his own high standards - at IG5, they will have some fire in their bellies. Picking up Eric “Haz” Holm is no bad move either. When they last used him, back in the days of 4kings, it was when ritch dropped out of The Experience and Eric was a revelation, slotting seamlessly into the team and was one of their best players that event. It’s obvious, despite the fact that he plays for Stockholm Magnetik, that he can work with these players. Dark horses then the reigning champions, a good showing vital with the UK CGS drafts in the near future.


Team Ebuyer
Hudzg, beta, callisto, tiLs, crazycat

A team that might just be hitting form at the right time, taking both London Mint and Reason to overtime at the Infinity Gaming LAN, ebuyer could be on course for a strong finish. Ollie “crazcat” Netherton is starting to show what he is capable of, making the shortlist for MVP at IG5 and winning over people that will still unconvinced of his ability to play against the best after making his comeback. However, for me, the big turning point in their fortunes has been the progress of Jack “callisto” Mason, a player who made the move from 1.6 to Source late and had been, by his own admission, struggling to find his feet. His tireless work has paid off and after disappointing I-series results with TLR and xciteuk he will want to make this a LAN to remember. All sounds good, but the one question mark over the team is their mental toughness. Emotions ran high after losing to London Mint, as has been well documented, and their ability to win out matches against gritty opponents has yet to be proven in a LAN setting. They need to get a scalp early on and keep confidence high if they’re to keep things running smoothly. If that happens they could genuinely surprise a few people.


Birmingham Salvo
mangiacapra, pt/ady, red, RattlesnK, wilzoo

A lot of people see the other CGS UK franchise as the big hope for British success at this event. As they have shown they can beat anyone. Alas, their chances of succeeding are hampered by the fact that they will effectively be taking a mix team to the event. A highly talented and experienced mix team, but a mix none the less. This is if they attend at all of course. I recently spoke with some of their players and it is still up in the air whether they will attend or not, so if they do decide to be there how that will impact on their preparations must also be a consideration. A shame for those hoping to see Sam “RattlesnK” Gawn - touted as being the best UK player after his showing out in Los Angeles for the CGS World Final – in action if they do not attend, but I don’t think the other teams there won’t mind too much. Also a shame for James “wilzooo” Wilson who continues to show why he is so highly regarded amongst players, managers and fans alike. If they do attend they come in as dark horses, but their full strength team would have seen them major players.


Team CoolerMaster
pez, kofk, l@terz, speed, nayden

Some people unfairly make running jokes about this group of players but they are all capable and have a lot of LAN experience. They were impressive at IG5, pushing a lot of the bigger name teams to the wire and almost causing an upset against London Mint. In Matt “L@terz” Carrier they have one of the great unsung heroes of the UK scene, a player who helped push TLR to fourth spot at the previous event with his solid all round game. A lot will depend on confidence as there are players in the team, such as James “Pez” Perrott, who can go to pieces when the pressure is on and you can’t judge whether they’re going to drop bombs or have a nightmare. Still, the signs are good for this team and they really could surprise a few people at this tournament and could be a real dark horse with a kind draw and a bit of fortune.


TLR
jai, debaser, quiver, techno, Farley

The ultimate dark horse of the last event, The Last Resort finished fourth and totally defied their seeding along the way. What happened afterwards, with the team suddenly jumping ship to H2k only to collapse within a few weeks of doing so, made their original achievement fade into distant memory. This time around it would be even more of a shock if they could repeat the feat as they are a relatively inexperienced line-up in terms of big LANs, with Craig “Farley” Farley probably being their most experienced player having competed at CGS with Infused Gaming. One thing in their favour is TLR teams do not have a history of poor finishes at i-series, the team always making or exceeding their seed. They will be looking to build on a solid showing at Infinity Gaming and have an opportunity here to cement their reputation as one of the better UK sides if they can get a few decent results under their belt.


Final Thoughts

I won’t go on to make any predictions about i-series – they are the downfall of many a pundit and it is more luck than insight when they are right. If anyone knows anything about the i-series event historically it is that there is always one surprise package and one team that crashes and burns for no reason. I have the misfortune to know about the crashing and burning bit first hand. What I can say is the top five teams will be made up of some combination of the above, but it will totally depend on the breaks… All it takes is you to play a strong team on your weakest map in one match and your whole tournament is transformed. It’s what makes it so great and with the teams we have in attendance this will be the most impressive, competitive and exciting i-series to date.


This weekend, GotFrag will be live on-site in Newbury to provide up to the minute match scores and updates along with SourceTVs, interviews, photo galleries, Dr. Gonz0 blogs and much more!