GGL Wire

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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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…