GGL Wire

After nearly two months of competition, only four teams remained out of the original sixteen international franchises. These four teams would be further whittled down to a mere two based upon the results of Monday’s pair of semi-final matches. The two victorious teams will go on to compete against one another in the season two World Championship Final on July 28.

San Francisco Optx vs. Berlin Allianz

Vanessa showed why she is the woman to beat in Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female by dominating Berlin’s Liefje, 5-1, on the DWA Coliseum. Berlin responded with a victory in FIFA 08. Its player Manyna made three goals to Stermy’s one in the first half. This 3-1 point differential would last through the second half, resulting in a win for Manyna.

Despite some interference by Berlin’s YggdrasiL, San Francisco’s Miximup maintained the lead for most of the Forza 2 race. YggdrasiL and his companion FinPro had pushed San Francisco’s other racer, Sackamonjaro, into fourth by the third lap. Miximup finished first with Yggdrasil and FinPro in second and third. The overall score was now 10-7 with San Francisco still in the lead.

The DOA4 male match followed a similar pattern to the earlier bout between their female counterparts. San Francisco’s NinjaCW came out swinging and by the time the dust cleared, he had picked up a 5-1 victory over THE_TACTICAL on the Temple on the Mountain.

The score was now 15-8 with only Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) left to help Berlin take the lead. San Francisco played the first half as the terrorists, and won by a healthy 6-3 margin over Berlin. Changing to the terrorist side didn’t help Berlin as San Francisco maintained their dominant position and replicated their earlier 6-3 score as the counter-terrorists. As a result, San Francisco won both Counter-Strike and the overall match. Kat Hunter’s west coast franchise now moves to the World Final for the first time in its existence.

Carolina Core vs. Birmingham Salvo

FIFA 08 opened to the night’s second semi-final match. The game remained at 0-0 until Anomaly finally scored a point in the second half. Birmingham’s Bazza was unable to tie the game, resulting in an early 1-0 lead for Carolina.

Next up was CS:S on the map, de_dust2. Carolina played the first half as the counter-terrorists, but was unable to keep Birmingham’s terrorists from winning the half, 5-4. Carolina faired little better as the terrorists and ended the second half, 3-6 under Birmingham. With its 11-7 Counter-Strike victory, Birmingham now took the overall lead, 11-8.

Mark Dolven expressed in an interview with GGL that he was most nervous about the DOA4 female match against Birmingham. The match was certainly close, as Dolven’s player Mystik and Birmingham’s SarahLou traded rounds until they were tied 4-4. Much to Dolven’s relief, Mystik won the ninth round and the overall match, 5-4. Carolina’s victory narrowed the overall score to 15-13 with Birmingham still in the lead.

In Forza 2, Birmingham’s Picaso took an early lead that he would maintain for the rest of the race. His teammate, Daveyskills, followed him in second until General E Live knocked him into third. This allowed Carolina’s Phantom to move into second. The race finished with Picaso in first, Phantom in second, and Daveyskills in third. This 5-2 victory for Birmingham brought the score to 20-15 going into the final match of the night, DOA4 male.

The semi-final match concluded with arguably the most dramatic fight of the season between DOA4 male players OffbeatNinja and Messy on Gambler’s Paradise. OffbeatNinja needed a perfect 5-0 score to tie the match. The pressure was on and both players looked visibly nervous. Believe it or not, OffbeatNinja pulled off the seemingly impossible and tied the game with five straight wins. With the overall score now tied, 20-20, the match defaulted into a sixth overtime round. Whoever won this round would lead their respective team to the World Final to face San Francisco. In a huge upset for Carolina, Messy came back from five straight losses and won the sixth round. As a result, Birmingham won the game 21-20 and paved their way into history as the first European team to make it to the World Final.