#6 - Sway Gaming - (8-8)



Eligible roster, as listed by CEVO:
Brandon "b`" Rasheed
Casey "casey" Marks
Daniel "destro" Schwartz
Nick "wop" Ortolani
Amrit "amr" M
Chad "HERO" Holstein
Aaron "AssGoblin" Stack
jason "phaser" haddox
Jeff "jmitchell" Mitchell

Daniel "destro" Schwartz's answers to rk's questions:

1. What have you been doing in the down time between the end of the season and now? What have you been doing to prepare for the playoffs?
Eating, sleeping, and Left 4 Dead. It's been kind of nice of a break from TF2, actually. Between the CGS Pro-Am season and CEVO, 3 nights of matches per week was pretty hectic so it feels good to put TF2 aside for a little bit. To be honest, we haven't been doing much in preparation for the playoffs. We would mess around in a server from time to time just so we can stay fresh for the upcoming playoffs. Hard to find scrims with decent teams during the 'off-season', anyways.

2. Has it been tough to get motivated for these playoffs? Do you feel like the team is ready to go?
It's definitely been tough. With the downfall of the CGS which seemed a little bit promising for the TF2 world anyways, kind of tough to see where the future of this game lies. We are all hoping that other major leagues picks the game up and force teams to scrim more often and new teams to emerge, but realistically I don't see that happening and that makes it hard for teams to want to play. In my opinion, CEVO needs to revert back to the pay-to-play system to bring in better prizes or just straight up cash prizes; I don't think people really care too much about Fatal1ty ram (which by the way probably won't even work in most peoples systems). I feel that we are ready for the playoffs, even with the long break we and every other team has had.

3. How well do you think you guys will do?
I hate making predictions, so I'll just say we'll go as far as we'll go.

4. Any shoutouts? Comments? Compliments on rk's haircut?
I'd like to give a shoutout to all the staff over at Sway Gaming (except Ian), dummy (smallest D in the galaxy), and my teammates whom I love so dearly (if the does for-can it, the?). No comment on rk's haircut.

Preseason Prediction:
Sway Gaming remains a bit of an x-factor for me - the talent of this team is undeniable, be it of the players themselves or the team's incredibly strong teamwork, but I really wonder how far they can go. There aren't really any big-name show stoppers on this roster (aside from some pretty wicked Trickjumps), but rather a collection of dudes who kow the game through-and-through, knowing what to do and when to do it in almost any situation thrown at them. My mind keeps going back to that cp_gravelpit match against Devastation, where Sway managed to hold A by systemically shutting down every attack Dev could muster. If Sway continues to play within themselves, working together as a complete unit, they might just turn some heads this season and climb that ladder a few notches.

Playoff Prediction:
Much like they were in the beginning of the season, Sway remains an unknown variable to struggle with. They can be so good when they choose to be, but are so bloody inconsistent overall that I just can't make up from down with em. Along with x6 & eMg, I think motivation will be a big buzz-killer for these guys - I just can't see them getting all that pumped for a shot at some RAM, and by that token I don't think they'll lose much sleep over these playoffs. Whether it's a win against x6 or a win in the lower bracket, I can't help but think that'll be all for these guys.

Predicted placing: 5th-6th