Jul
04

Jason Lake: I just failed as a manager

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Jason Lake is a familiar face to professional and casual Counter-Strike players alike. Lake founded his Counter-Strike team, Complexity, in 2003 after a career in real estate law. The team achieved great heights under his leadership through winning multiple championships. As a result, Complexity quickly became a popular team with a fervent online following. Their fame eventually led them to become one of the six North American franchises of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS).

The second season of the CGS did not go well for the Los Angeles-based team. Complexity finished the season in last place with a sobering 2-10 record. GGL sat down with Jason Lake after his team’s last match of the season to discuss where Complexity went wrong and his role in the franchise.

GGL: You recently moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles. How is the transition going for you?

Jason Lake: The last nine weeks of my life have been incredibly difficult. We had a 9,000 square foot house in Atlanta that we had to pack up ourselves. That took weeks to do. Then I drove across the country with my two dogs and cat. I had to fly back to Atlanta for a meeting, and then fly back to L.A. The moving truck showed up, dropped off our boxes, and then I came down to the CGS. So I’ve been in L.A. for around a month and I haven’t even lived in my house. The move is a positive thing. We’re really excited about it for Complexity and for my family, but it’s been a really difficult few months, especially considering our 2-10 record.

GGL: Was the decision to move to Los Angeles primarily based on the CGS?

JL: My wife is originally from L.A. and since the day we were married she has always wanted to come back. When I sold Complexity to the CGS, one of my requirements was that we’d become the L.A. Complexity. I always hoped and dreamed that I could move out of law and do this full time. Real estate started taking a downturn, so I took a gamble based on making my wife happy and moved to the west coast to run the L.A. Complexity. After going 2-10, I’d be lying if I wasn’t questioning myself and thinking it was a mistake. But I’m a long-term thinker and despite how horrible this summer was, I still believe in my heart it was the right move for my family and me. We’re going to try to make the most of it. Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jul
03

Championship Gaming Series 7-2-08: North American semi-finals

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3D.NY vs Carolina Core

Forza 2 opened Wednesday night’s North American semi-finals.  Carolina’s racer, General E Live, quickly took the lead that he would maintain for the rest of the race.  His first place finish was followed by New York’s team, ComeBackDan and Dark Storm, coming in second and third respectively.  Carolina now held a small 4-3 lead.  By comparison, the Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female match was much more one-sided. Mystik began the assault on New York’s Coolsvilla immediately and didn’t let up until she had won a comfortable 5-0 lead for Carolina.

As has been the pattern with FIFA 08 this season, neither player scored a goal going into the second half. However things changed dramatically from there, as Carolina’s Anomaly was the first to get on the board. WiZaKor then responded with a goal of his own.  Aomaly scored a final point, winning the match, 2-1.

With Carolina in the lead, 11-4, New York really needed their Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) team to shine for any hope at achieving the franchise win. Unfortunately for New York, Carolina won the first half on de_inferno, 6-3.  New York came back 5-4 in the second half,  but ultimately could not win enough points to prevent Carolina’s win.

Even with a perfect 5-0 run in DOA4 male, there was no way New York could earn enough points to counter Carolina’s nine point lead.  Hypothetically if this situation were not the case, the outcome of the match may very well have placed victory in Carolina’s hands regardless.  OffbeatNinja soundly defeated New York’s Cheppelle, 5-1.  This 26-13 win is huge accomplishment for Carolina, and an equally disheartening loss for New York.  It is the second time in a row that the first place franchise has suffered defeat by a last place team.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
3D.NY 1 0 1 3 8 13 10-3
Carolina Core 5 5 2 4 10 26 5-8

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jul
01

Championship Gaming Series June 30: Complexity defeats 3D.NY

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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.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
Dallas Venom 2 5 3 4 10 24 9-3
Carolina Core 5 4 2 3 8 22 4-8

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
30

Championship Gaming Series 6-29-08: CompLexity ends losing streak

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Dallas Venom vs. Chicago Chimera

A rather uneventful Forza 2 race opened Sunday’s first franchise competition. Chicago’s team of crack racers, Jason X and Ch0mpr, almost immediately sped into first and second place respectively. Dallas’s players, Muffinman and Chaos, made a few futile attempts to knock Ch0mpr out of his second place position. Ultimately they were unable stop Chicago from finishing in first and second place. These standings gave the Windy City franchise an early 6-1 lead.

Next up was a Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female bout between Phoenix and Kasumi Chan. Using Gen Fu, Phoenix schooled Kasumi Chan, 5-2, on the Seaside Market stage. This win allowed Dallas to close the score to within two points, 8-6. Undefeated DOA4 male powerhouse Master then pushed Dallas over the top with his 5-2 defeat of Black Mamba. Dallas was now winning, 11-10, after this pair of DOA4 victories.

With two games left, it seemed Counter-Strike: Source would be the remedy to this near deadlock. Dallas was first up as the counter-terrorists on the de_nuke stage. After the first half, Dallas led by a dramatic 7-2 margin. While the side playing counter-terrorists typically holds the advantage, this phenomenon seemingly did not apply to Chicago in the second half. As a result, Dallas won 5-3 as the terrorists. The overall CS:S score pushed Dallas to a whopping 24-15 lead. Even with the FIFA 08 game in the hopper, Dallas had effectively won the franchise match.

Despite their foreseeable loss, Chicago’s player Eafra managed to win FIFA 08, 2-0, over Dallas’s Barmoa. This win brought the overall score to 24-17 in Dallas’s favor. Chicago’s loss makes it extremely unlikely that the 2007 champs will regain their prestigious status in the second season.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
Dallas Venom 5 5 0 1 13 24 8-3
Chicago Chimera
 2 2 2 6 5 17 4-7

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
30

Spotlight interview: OPTX’s Kat Hunter

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Fans of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) will know Kat Hunter as the general manager of the San Francisco Optx. These same aficionados may be less aware of her career outside of the CGS. Most notably she was a member of the all-female gaming squad, the Frag Dolls. She has also produced game related content for AT&T Blue Room and served as a webmaster for Game Daily. She became involved in the video game community after a career in advertising.

Kat Hunter spoke with GGL recently at the CGS players’ village in Los Angeles. She covered a variety of topics including her team’s status, the management process, and the state of professional gaming.

GGL: Describe what it’s like managing your team on a daily basis. What sort of schedules and routines do you put the players through or ask them to undergo?

Kat Hunter: Every day is something completely different. You have to take into account what happened the day before and the day before that and where your players are mentally, emotionally, and physically. As a general rule, I wake up around 10 AM and start working with the other general managers on setting up our practice schedule for the Counter-Strike players. We set up the practice schedules amongst ourselves for at least Counter-Strike and then watch them practice. We also go into the consult rooms and watch our Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) players. Then we’re off to the matches at night. We usually get there about two hours before the matches start. We play and then come back and deal with the aftermath. We finish off our day with a team meeting at 11 pm. Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
29

Championship Gaming Series 6-28-08: European regional championship!

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London Mint vs. Stockholm Magnetik

The night’s opening competition would determine the European region’s third place finisher. London got off to a early start in this regard as its player Strobe beat Stockholm’s Miss, 5-2, in Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female. The following FIFA 08 match was even more one-sided. London’s ChrisyB scored his first goal on Istvan roughly half-way into the first half. ChrisyB followed this up with another goal in the second. Istvan was unable to make up the point differential, resulting in ChrisyB’s 2-0 win.

Stockholm trailed by five points, 2-7, going into the Counter-Strike Source (CS:S) match. The Nordic team was first up as the counter-terrorists on the map de_tuscan. London squeaked into an early lead with a score of 5-4 at the end of the first half. Stockholm likewise led 5-4 at the end of their tenure as the terrorists. This 9-9 tie resulted in an overtime round. With pistols blazing, London broke the stalemate and won the match, 10-9.

With two games remaining, London led by a margin of 17-11. Paddaman and SkatanMilla traded rounds in DOA4 male until the former gave London a 5-4 win. This brought the overall score to 22-15. Even with a perfect run in Forza 2, Stockholm would lose by two points. To add insult to injury, Stockholm’s iBrYce only placed second in the race while its other player MadneSS came in fourth. Meanwhile London’s NT 101 and Stune placed first and third respectively. This 5-2 victory brought the overall score to 27-17 with London victorious.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
London Mint 5 5 2 5 10 27 1-1
Stockholm Magnetik 4 2 0 2 9 17 0-2

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
28

Championship Gaming Series 6-27-08: UK and European Regional Finals

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Birmingham Salvo vs. London Mint

The night’s opening Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female match featured a bout between two real-life sisters, Birmingham’s Sarah Lou and London’s Strobe. Sarah Lou’s liberal use of Kasumi’s agility prevented Strobe from landing many hits. As a result Sarah Lou decimated her older sister, 5-0.

London needed to score some serious points in FIFA 08 to catch up with is rival. Unfortunately for London, its player ChrisyB embarrassingly shot the ball into his own goal. This gave Birmingham’s Bazza the first point of the match. Bazza followed this by earning a point of his own making late in the first half. London finally got on the board with a goal late in he second. However ChrisyB was unable to score the tying point, resulting in a 2-1 win for Bazza.

Birmingham now held a sizable 7-1 point advantage going into Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S). London’s CS:S team needed to perform remarkably well for the franchise to remain competitive. This did not come to pass as Birmingham’s counter-terrorists annihilated London the first half, 7-2. Birmingham then replicated their 7-2 score in the second, bringing the final CS:S score to 14-4.

This brought the overall score to a whopping 21-5 in Birmingham’s favor. Even with perfect scores in the remaining two games, there was no way London could make up its huge point deficit. Ironically enough it was at this point that London really began to shine. The intense DOA4 male match pitted London’s Padaman against Birmingham’s Messy on the Kyoto in Bloom Stage. The match was close, as both rivals were tied 3-3 going into the seventh round. Padaman won the next two rounds, winning the match, 5-3.

The final Forza 2 match was even more frantic. Birmingham’s Daveyskills acquired an early lead over the other three racers. London’s Stune and NT 101 knocked Daveyskills into third. However Daveyskills managed to make it to second by the end of the race. Stune finished first, Daveyskills second, and Birmingham’s second racer Picaso brought up third. London won the race 4-3, but lost the overall match by a devastating 27-14.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
Birmingham Salvo 3 5 2 3 14 27 1-0
London Mint 5 0 1 4 4 14 0-1

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
26

Championship Gaming Series 6-25-08: 3D.NY takes on Chicago,

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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.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
3D.NY 2 5 1 2 12 22 10-1
Chicago Chimera 5 1 2 5 6 19 4-6

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
24

Complexity winless in CGS with three matches to go

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While 3D.NY continues to stride atop the Championship Gaming Series standings, the feel-bad story of the year has to be LA Complexity’s winless season so far.

Some interesting facts about this season’s Complexity team:

1) coL’s general manager, Jason Lake, moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles prior to the start of the season. His family came with him, too. One can only imagine what’s going through his head right now.

Here, let’s try: “Where’s my gun?”

All kidding aside, this has to be heartbreaking for Lake, who stayed loyal to his Season 1 squad wherever he could, and moved cross-country to boot.

2) After a year of derision for being among the worst players in the league, Megan “Belle” Cedar, LA’s female Dead or Alive 4 player, is…one of the worst players in the league. She’s gotten some points together for the squad, but has an 0-9 record. Is it time to give up the ghost?

I’m not trying to pile on Belle, but at some point, you just have to accept that certain players aren’t made for certain games. For example, if I tried to play Call of Duty 4 competitively, all I would do is Jerry Rice grenades from across the map with my mouth, thereby disappointing my team. That’s why I don’t play it. Continued…

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Mahmood Ali
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Jun
21

Championship Gaming Series Season 2: Friday, June 20 report

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3D.NY vs. Dallas Venom

Friday’s competition began with a FIFA 08 match between Dallas’s Barmoa and New York’s WiZaKor. Both players remained tied in the first half until WiZaKor scored an extra goal. Additional points eluded the players in the second half. As a result WiZaKor walked away with a 2-1 victory.

Initially it looked like New York would follow its FIFA 08 win with a victory in Forza 2. Dark Storm rocketed into the lead on the first lap. The race nevertheless stayed close. Dallas’s team eventually knocked Dark Storm out of the lead. This vehicular trauma caused the New York racer to finish fourth. Fortunately for New York, its other racer ComeBackDan sped into first place. Ultimately New York came out two points ahead, 4-2   New York’s winning streak would continue in Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female as Coolsvilla soundly defeated Phoenix, 5-0 on the DWA Coliseum stage.

These victories culiminated into New York’s 11-4 overall lead going into Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S). Dallas would need a extremely strong showing to have a shot at victory. This desire came to frutition as Dallas overwhelmed New York in the first half as the counter-terrorists, winning 7-2. Dallas barely lost the second half as the terrorists, 5-4. Nevertheless Dallas won the match with its overall score of 11-7.Despite Dallas’s CS:S comeback, New York still held the lead, 19-14, going into DOA4 male. Dallas’s undefeated player Master needed to score 5-0 to tie the game. Cheppelle ended these hopes by beating Master in the first round. Master went on to beat Cheppelle, 5-2, but New York won the overall match, 20-19.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
3D.NY 2 5 2 4 7 20 8-1
Dallas Venom 5 0 1 2 11 19 6-3

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
19

Championship Gaming Series: Optx takes on 3D.NY, Chimera attack Complexity

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San Francisco Optx vs. 3D.NY

The night opened on a positive note for San Francisco. Vanessa made up for her startling loss on Monday by defeating New York’s Coolsvilla, 5-3, in Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) female. San Francisco continued this good fortune by achieving a 5-4 lead after the first half of Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S). The team did not fair as well as the counter-terrorists in the second half. Despite their best efforts New York won the CS:S match, 11-7.

San Francisco needed three points to regain the overall lead. Stermy put his franchise on the way with a goal in the first half of FIFA 08. New York’s WiZaKor responded by tying the score with his own goal in the second. Neither player scored for the rest of the game, thereby throwing the match into overtime. WiZaKor won the game, 4-2, after scoring three points during the shoot-out compared to Stermy’s one.

With only four points seperating the franchises, it was still anyone’s game going into DOA4 male. San Francisco’s NinjaCW and New York’s Cheppelle faced off in the Seaside Market stage. The players tied the game, 1-1, going into the third round. NinjaCW defeated Cheppelle in the next four rounds and won the match, 5-1.

The two franchises were tied, 19-19, with only Forza 2 remaining. The racers seemingly changed places with every lap. New York’s ComeBackDan and Dark Storm managed to smash their way into first and second respectively in time to cross the finish line. The resulting score gave New York its seventh win, 25-20. San Francisco now drops to fourth place behind Carolina.

Franchise DOA4 Male DOA4 Female FIFA 08 Forza 2 CS:S Overall Record
San Francisco Optx 5 5 2 1 7 20 4-5
3D.NY 1 3 4 6 11 25 7-1

Continued…

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David Taylor
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Jun
17

Championship Gaming Series: DirecTV premiere

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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…

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David Taylor
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