Enemy Down

CSS: Community Tournament Preview

Karen, Blaire, Akirah, Maximus, Cyrus and Snuffle give us their predictions for the CSS CT.

Posted by Akirah on Aug 26th 2009 13:06

The action got started last night in the ED.UK CSS Community Tournament with most registered teams getting their first matches in. The CSS community over at ED.UK have been kind enough to give us a heads up on what to expect from the tournament.

Tournament A by Snuffle

Group 1

We have some very familiar names in Group 1 to the community, TP.GfG has many recognisable names in and should be able to take the first or second place in this group. The battle for the other position at the top of the group is a tough choice between the remaining three teams. [eC*K] of course have been around for a very long time and have shown in the past their ability, however I believe #teamc will have enough in them, having been around a long time and good results, they are no pushovers. Don't however count out [ii] of course who while a bit of an unknown quantity in ED have some very respectable achievements and results.

Group 2

This group sees 3 big communities going head to head, we have eC*K bravo team, definately not a "second" team to the first and on equal footing, battling it out against yet another TwistedPlay community, NYM in this case who have had some interesting results. Joining these two are yet another Rasta team with solid results behind them, these 3 teams will definately have some close results and it could go either way. The unknown quantity in this group is uTi, are they able to get into the top two? Anything could happen in this group so keep an eye on it.

Group 3

This group contains some long standing names in the community, tct would be my pick to win this group, with enough skill and experience to see off their opponents. Rasta || and the killer inst battling it out for the second spot, having the last time they played having a very close result. The final team being the Milk Bandits, while a fun sounding name they have been known to produce some good results but won't have enough to see off this competition I feel.

Group 4

Once again another TwistedPlay team here TP.GTG, with good results behind them they are one of my favourites to do well in this group, A recent win over Scossa who are also in this group will make their fixture an interesting one, Scossa will be hoping to right the wrongs of their recent defeat. Imageless are another long standing clan that has stood the tests of time, these will be my tip to take the top two spots with TP.GTG. Stick men doing the splitz are the final team in this group and while their name and tag may be comedic they will put up a challenge, however I feel they will be fighting it out for third with Scossa.

Tournament B

Group 1 by Cyrus

Team Axemic! look to be favourites in this group to progress to the knock-out stages. The team is only a few months old and will be looking to make their first big impression on the ED scene, Joining ED on Jun 2009 they have been fighting there way up the Open Ladder to make it into a top 20 spot with some very comfortable wins under there belt. Swiss team EoE also in this group consists of a mix of experienced CSS and 1.6 players who made a rather good name for themselves playing for teams like eSo, SFTO, diVinity eSports and Efeu which will make them the main competitors within the group. The other two teams in the group are euro team EXLNCE who have only just joined Enemy Down and don't have that much background or history and team Mr Cool IcE one of ED's most active clans who are a mixed bunch that say they are addicted to CSS and only want to give it a go with their own clan. Both teams are fairly new into the ED scene, lets see what tricks team EXLNCE have up there sleeve and if team Mr Cool IcE can just keep there cool.

Group 2

This group is going have some great battles ahead. Intrepid#, a clan founded in November 2008 by friends that joined Enemy Down, were doing rather well in the Ladder but the clan was then close to folding when one of its members left but three standing members decided to keep Intrepid up and running and are now competing in the SGL and the ESL with a group players thats known within the community and can be sure will give us a good show. Team Russian Zone, all ex-members from fm realness, will be looking to make a big impression on the scene with their new clan with some very skilled players and might just provided the other teams with a bit of a shock. Another team in the group is Error-eSports Clan. Formed March 2008 and known as Initially LoVe who merged with Team-Element (ex syntaX) on 1st of February 2009 and are currently one of the top 10 teams in the 2v2 ladder, we might just see an upset in the group. Also in the group is Ministry Of Darkness | Apathy who are part of a well known clan that has been gaming in the UK since 1999. MOD.ap team started in Nov 2008 and in that time have had many achievements and a well recommended clan on Enemy Down. It will be difficult for them to get past the other teams in the group and we will just need to wait and see what they can pull out the bag.

Group 3 by Maximus

A difficult group to predict, lodª are a team who have been around for a long time but with recent roster shuffles can the newly formed team gel and perform under the pressure? Recent results are a mixture and this could lead to a very exciting group. Office Warriors a fairly unknown team and have some very tasty results behind them and for me are the ones to watch. I think OW will feel confident going into this and I don't blame them. We then move onto Nicey, another team that has been on ED awhile. "o"blonk, they're a team not to be taken lightly - I have a feeling these boys just may well pull off a few shocks and upset some people. Last but by no means least we have TainteD BeeF Gaming, a relatively quiet clan on the scene but they will be hoping to muscle in on some of the action giving us a very open group.

Group 4

An interesting group and in my opinion a very evenly skilled group although I think xR.sNg^ will fancy their chances but by no means will the rest sit back and relax. SD:css have been around for a very long time amd they still have most the original lineup and they can also step up the game when needed. dvotion have a lot to play for as they may find themselves marked as a 2v2 team according to the majority of their results so I'm sure they will put everything in to progress and be debranded from the 2v2 tag. We then have Syn.hT who are relatively new in ED and this being their first event will be hoping they can kick start their events adventure off with a flying start.

Tournament C by Akirah

Group 1

4 teams here whose results show that they should be all around the same skill level but one of them will have the edge to push ahead the others. GoC have been around a long time and some recent recruits have certainly bolstered their roster. They're in a confident mood at the moment and they may just be the ones to beat. Narchad have been in good form recently, some changes with how the clan has run have seen them produce better results recently and you wouldn't write them off either. Gear and Gummy face a tough task to dislodge the above two teams but with a bit of practice on the lesser played maps might just see them pull ahead.

Group 2

Again, another group with teams who should in theory have some tight games. Arguably Essex Force have the best chance to get through with some recent solid displays. A clan which has been around for years will only help them in their team work and producing a good run in the tournament. Imagless Deception and TBC-Gaming could also be dark horses to take the top spot with both teams showing their some decent form in recent weeks. If form is anything to by then FF$¹ are really struggling and they'll have to try and come good for this or it might be a tough tournament for them.

Group 3

I see this group throwing up some interesting results between the clans. I'm not entirely sure who to tip for the top spot but I think Insomina would probably be my favourites with Ki and {TC} both providing strong challenges. Although Insomnia are reasonably new, the core roster and some recent recruits sees them have a formidable roster. As I said above though, the experienced teams of Ki and {TC} can't be written off and I imagine they'll battle hard to secure the top two spots. I'm not really sure about about AcG but a recent win against Ki may suggest that they shouldn't be discounted either.

Group 4

I personally think Erratic are down as favourites for topping this group. They have recently reformed and have some solid results behind them both online and at LAN to back themselves. I'm sure they'll be looking for a strong display in their first outing since returning. Snuffle tells me that Cubed Gaming also shouldn't be written off as they have a lot of potential and might just spring an upset. Team.7 and WASDA might find it tough in their group but with maps like Strike and Contra in, they may well be able to pull a few surprises of their own.

Tournament D

Group 1 by Blair Mayne

LaB, nicey, WNx and <<SRS>> make up this group and having had experience of 3 of these teams in matches myself, I can say that this will be a good solid round of matches to get the CSS juices flowing in Enemy Down again.

Lifes a ***** are one of the longest standing CSS teams in ED (although there does seem to have been a mishap with their results page....), and will be pushing to show that experienced old farts can still bring it when they need to. WNx are a very skilled side and would be my pick for the top dogs tbh as they seem to be highly motivated and have some really well thought out tactics and good team dynamics. nicey are the community strain of the SilentBob crew and these guys are what epitomises a community clan as they play the game for the right reasons and have that competitive edge that keeps it interesting too. <<SRS>> seem to be a collection of dark horses as it were and have recently had a major reshuffle in their roster, which seems to have brought some strong results as late. Maybe one to watch out for.

Group 2

Group 2 comprises of MOD.#5*, [:XTX, kk. and PnS. Some familiar names in these rosters and some good friends too. This should be a good group with alot of community spirit being splashed around.

MODs 5Star squad has alot of the decrepid MOD members of old that we have all come to know and love. With names like S@NDM@N and Treb in the running, theres a good bet that there will be some skill and experience being exhibited here. [:XTX are a clan that are very close to my own heart. After a merger with SC@ a couple of months ago TheEvils boys have went from strength to strength and have shown a team or 2 what they are made of. Good luck girls! Kokaine... it would be wrong of me to tell everyone exactly how f**king awesome we are. PnS have got a HUGE roster and this seemingly to my viewing, has lead to a real "hit and miss" legacy in match results. Not a team I'm overly familiar with but hopefully as this event unfolds we will have the opportunity to get acquainted.

Group 3 by Karen

A fairly evenly matched group which should in theory yield some close results, and some decent matches for these teams. Some of the teams appear to have been having issues recently, and not playing to their former levels, but with [CRO] and SOG having played together longer, and having that weight of experience behind them, they could pull it back to gain some good results from this event. I would be betting on one of these 2 teams coming in the top 2 here, twk and THGz could also easily take either of the top 2 spots, but my thoughts are that they may struggle with strike and contra.

Group 4

I think this is going to be an interesting group, 2x are more renowned for their team spirit and sportsmanship than their skills generally (sorry, love you guys ) but I think in this group they may have the upper hand. They have been around the block a few times and although the skill in this group is very evenly spread most of the other teams are more experienced on dust 2 which is nowhere in sight. Both BLOOD and G4F are both relatively new to ED, and TBW.t appear to have been more active in the 2v2 ladder than competitive 5v5. So if 2x keep their heads together, they may not win every match, but they should do quite well, I am crossing my fingers for a top 2 finish for them.

Feel free to check out the forum to see what the community has said about the above predictions. Thanks to Karen, Blaire, Akirah, Maximus, Cyrus and Snuffle for the write-ups!

You can check out all of ED's CSS Events over on ED.UK