GGL Wire

Dallas Venom vs. Carolina Core

Yesterday’s set of franchise matches continued with the pattern of surprises that began with Sunday’s competitions.  Notably, OffbeatNinja beat Master, 5-2, in the opening Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) male match.  OffbeatNinja’s win brings an end to Master’s undefeated second season record (now at 11-1).

Next up was a FIFA 08 match between Dallas’s Barmoa and Carolina’s Anomaly.  The score held at 0-0 until Anomaly made a goal in the second half.  Barmoa responded by again tying the game with a goal of his own.  Neither player could break this 1-1 tie.  As a result the match went to a shoot-out with Barmoa emerging victorious, 3-2.

Carolina still lead Dallas, 7-5, going into DOA4 female.  Phoenix and Mystik played out a furious battle on Gambler’s Paraside.  A few car hits and bruised knuckles later and both players were tied, 3-3.  The score remained close for the rest of the game with Phoenix eventually winning by one point, 5-4.  Her victory brought Dallas within two points of overtaking Carolina’s 11-10 lead.

Dallas absolutely dominated as counter-terrorists during the first half of Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S). As a result, the Texas team scored a decisive 8-1 victory.  However Carolina came back during its turn as the counter-terrorists and nearly matched Dallas’s score, achieving 7-2, in the second half.  Nevertheless Dallas still won the CS:S match, 10-8.

For the first time Dallas held the lead, 20-19.  However a strong showing in Forza 2 could still put Carolina over the top.  The race featured a notable number of collisions and pile-ups. Eventually Dallas’s Muffinman managed to limp into first place, followed by Carolina’s General E Live and Phantom in second and third.  This 4-3 win for Dallas led the franchise to victory with a slim 24-22 margin.

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3D.NY vs. Chicago Chimera

Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) male opened the night’s first franchise competition. Cheppelle is arguably New York’s weakest link, as he holds a losing record for the current season (2-8). Nevertheless, he came out fighting and won the first round. Black Mamba responded with a devastating reprisal by winning the subsequent four rounds. Cheppelle brought home another win in the fifth, but Black Mamba won the match with a final point in the sixth. His victory gave Chicago an early 5-2 lead.

Forza 2 would determine whether Chicago could expand on its lead. ComeBackDan initially led the pack until a massive collision involving all four racers allowed Chicago’s Ch0mpr to zoom ahead. ComeBackDan would follow Ch0mpr for the rest of the race, but was unable to retake first place. The New York racer finished second while Chicago’s Jason-X came in third.

Chicago possessed a hefty 10-4 lead over New York going into FIFA 08. Chicago’s player Eafra scored goals late in the first and second halves. It looked like WiZaKor would remain pointless, until he finally got on the board with mere moments remaining in the second half. Despite this, Eafra still claimed a narrow 2-1 victory. Chicago now lead New York, 12-5.

Thing started turning around for New York as Coolsvilla soundly defeated Kasumi Chan, 5-1, in DOA4 female. This brought New York within striking distance of Chicago, 10-13. This meant it was anyone’s match going into Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S). Chicago was first up as the terrorists on the map de_season. New York narrowly won the first half, 5-4, closing the overall score to 17-15. The east coast team continued winning and tied the game up 19-19 after the sixth round of the second half. New York won the next three rounds, finally gaining the lead in overall points and claiming victory with 22-19. This narrow defeat is no doubt disheartening for Chicago, as it is now even harder for the franchise to reclaim its champion status.

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Monday’s matches were the first of the season broadcast live on DirecTV Channel 101. The night’s events were accompanied by news that G4 will broadcast four 90-minute Championship Gaming Series (CGS) matches starting with the North American Final on July 16. The remaining three broadcasts will feature the World Final Quarterfinals (July 19), World Final Semifinals (July 26), and the 2008 World Final (August 2).

The first franchse competition pitted the San Francisco Optx (tied in third place with the Carolina Core) against the Dallas Venom (currently second place behind New York). The next contest marked yet another re-match between the Carolina Core and the Chicago Chimera. The latter franchise arguably came into the match with the most to prove. Although Chicago won the North American and World Championships in 2007, it is currently ranked fifth in the series. Furthermore the franchise has lost both of this season’s matches against Carolina.

Dallas Venom vs. San Francisco Optx

The event opened with a Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) male match between Dallas’s Master and San Francisco’s NinjaCW on the Crash Club stage. The two fiercely fought and wound up tied at the end of the fourth round. Master won the subsequent three rounds, thereby giving Dallas an early 5-2 lead and solidifying his undefeated status.

This put San Francisco in the precarious spot of needing four points to take the lead. This would not be easy given their tough opponent. Nevertheless things started turning around when San Francisco’s FIFA 08 player Stermy won, 1-0, against Barmoa in the night’s opening soccer game. Miximup and Sackamonjaro then gave San Francisco the lead by finishing the opening Forza 2 race in first and third respectively. This 5-2 victory put San Francisco one point ahead of Dallas, 8-7. Continued…

3D.NY vs. Chicago Chimera

The night began with a Forza 2 race on the Diamondback course. Chicago’s Jason-X and New York’s Dark Storm did their best to knock one another out of competition for first place. After several collisions, Jason-X pulled ahead in the last lap to finish first. New York’s racers finished in second and third, thus bringing the score to 4-3 in Chicago’s favor.

The point totals remained fairly consistent in the next two games. Black Mamba and Cheppelle were tied going into the seventh round of Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) male. Cheppelle won the subsequent two rounds, giving him his first win of the season and pushing New York ahead by one point. WiZaKor expanded on this lead slightly with a 4-3 victory in FIFA 08. The soccer match marked Chicago player Eafra’s first defeat of the season.

Although New York led by two points going into Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S), it was clearly still anyone’s match. New York’s team had an added incentive to do well. The franchise lost its undefeated status on Wednesday night largely due to a crushing CS:S defeat by the Carolina Core. In tonight’s match, both teams ended up scoring 5-4 in their respective turns as the counter-terrorists (CTs). Chicago won the tie-breaker round, giving it a close 10-9 victory.

Chicago needed a mere two-point advantage in DOA4 female to win the franchise match. Chicago’s player Kasumi Chan tied the overall score by winning the match, 5-4. However New York’s Coolsvilla came back and won the tie-breaker round. In doing so she handed her franchise a narrow, one-point victory.

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