Venom vs. OPTX Playoff Match Preview!

Posted by: bootman

CGS Region 1 Season 2

Dallas Venom

24

San Francisco OPTX

22

CSS:

Venom

(10)

OPTX

(8)

Forza:

CHA0S

(0)

miximup

(1)

Forza:

MuffinMan

(4)

SACKAMO

(2)

DOA M:

Master

(4)

NinjaCW

(5)

DOA F:

Phoenix

(5)

Vanessa

(3)

FIFA:

Barmoa

(1)

Stermy

(3)

Match Overview

In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas Venom will be playing against the San Francisco OPTX. Dallas was able to take hold of the second seed over the OPTX with their head to head record being 2-1 over the OPTX. In reality though, did it really matter which team had 2nd seed or 3rd seed? Not really, we would have seen the same match either way. Dallas was off to a rough start of the season holding an 0-2 record, but have been dominant ever since. The OPTX has had their ups and downs, but is the only team other then 3D to actually give Venom a loss.

As mentioned above, Dallas started the season 0-2 taking very close losses to both 3D and San Francisco, where they only lost by one point. Since the start of the season, Dallas has beaten every team in the league consistently except for the #1 ranked 3D thus far. With a very strong Dead or Alive team of Master in first place and Phoenix in second place in their respective divisions, it has been a huge asset to Dallas. Let's not forget about the Venom's #1 ranked source squad though. They started the season with a 1-3 record, and since then have gone undefeated in their last eight matches, and also hold the highest point differential in Counter-Strike: Source. Their Forza team and FIFA player have been a bit disappointing, but have really made the points when it counted in matches, and we're all still expecting to see them emerge as the top players we know they can be.

San Francisco has had their ups and down this season, but have ended on a fairly high note. The OPTX came up big in the last match of the season beating the Chimera and sending them home without a chance at the playoffs. At the start of the season we saw Vanessa being the backbone of their team, up until her loss against Phoenix. Since then we have seen her continue to be a winning player on the team, but her matches are becoming much closer than they have ever been for. To counter-act the smaller point differential that Vanessa has had as of late, the OPTX's rookie DoA Male and Counter-Strike: Source team have been making up the points just fine.

It is always a close match when these two teams play one another. One thing you can always count on between these two teams is for something shocking to happen sometime during the match.

Dead or Alive 4

Men: Manny “Master” Rodriguez (11-1) vs. Chris “NinjaCW” Harris (6-6)

As you may have heard, Master was shooting to be the first DoA male to have a flawless season, and he did an exceptional job of this until the very last match of the season in which he lost to OffbeatNinja by a 5-2 score. With that loss, he is now tied with Vanessa at a +33 point differential, which is extremely well when it comes to Dead or Alive. NinjaCW has had a very good year as well for being a rookie. NinjaCW was holding the 2nd place spot in the league for most of the season until his most recent loss to BlackMamba in the final match.

After Master's loss, you know it must have crushed him that his goal was shattered in the last match of the season. Because of this, Master has hit the practice room twice as hard, and he will be out for blood for the rest of the season, and also praying that he will have another shot at OffbeatNinja. With that being said, don't be surprised to see a blowout victory from Master over this newcomer NinjaCW tonight.

bootman: 5-2 Master
weenus: 5-2 Master

Women: Michelle “Phoenix” Pleet (8-4) vs. Vanessa “Vanessa” Arteaga (11-1)

This is going to be the match of the night right here folks. Everyone will be watching this match. From audience members, to the international franchises, to people that just found out about the CGS. The last time the two vixens played each other, it was a shocking moment in history. It was an underdog story of Phoenix who missed out on season one, and was brought into season two and was looked up to as the first one that was going to be able to take down Vanessa after nearly two undefeated seasons, and that's exactly what she did. Since Vanessa's loss to Phoenix, she really hasn't looked like the same player that we have watched the passed two seasons. Prior to the match, nobody in the league had scored more than three points on Vanessa. Following her loss to Phoenix, both coolsvilla and the last placed belle were able to get 3 rounds, and Carolina's Mystik was able to have a game point situation against Vanessa, but losing it 5-4.

It is very hard to predict the outcome to this match due to the circumstances. Phoenix dropped the match following her win over to Vanessa 0-5, but has won out since, and as mentioned before Vanessa hasn't looked in her normal state. This match is really going to be a toss up and the winner will be whoever makes the least amount of mistakes tonight. If you don't have DirecTV, you might want to buy it just for this rematch tonight.

bootman: 5-4 Vanessa
weenus: 5-3 Vanessa

FIFA 08

Bardia “Barmoa” Moayedi (3-9) vs. Alessandro “Stermy” Avallone (8-4)

From being tied for 4th/5th place last season, to being second ranked this season, Stermy has proved that he is one of the few all around gamers out there that can master whatever he touches. He opened the season with a huge win over KreeganBG and closed it by defeating the #1 ranked Eafra. Barmoa has had a very rough season needless to say. As being one of the only rookies drafted into the CGS for FIFA, he sits at the bottom of the rankings with a 3-9 record. Barmoa is able to keep it close with every match he plays, but he is going to need that little extra drive if he hopes to take down stermy tonight.

bootman: 1-0 Stermy
weenus: 2-0 Stermy

Counter-Strike: Source

Venom (9-3) vs. OPTX (4-8)

The Venom are on an eight game winning streak, and their most recent win over the Carolina Core secured them the spot to represent the U.S.A. in the individual world final. In all three of their losses, they were extremely close matches. With two matches going into overtime, and their only 10-8 loss coming from their opponents tonight, the OPTX. With an overall +36 point differential, the Venom look to continue their hot streak tonight against the OPTX.

For most of the season, the OPTX's Source team has been the downfall of the team, and most of their losses usually occurred due to a big loss in the game. At the end of the season though, these guys have really picked it up. It started with their clutch win over coL to win the franchise match, and they carried it on to have a win over Chicago that took them out of the playoffs. The OPTX are still sitting at the bottom with a 4-8 record, but if they're able to get one of their strong maps, there's a slight chance we may see an upset in this match.

bootman: 12-6 Venom
weenus: 11-7 Venom

Forza Motorsport 2

For most of the season, these two racing squads were tied for 4th/5th place. It wasn't until a very clutch win over the #1 Carolina Core that the Venom duo was able to secure their rank as #4 in the league. Venom is currently 2-1 over the OPTX racing team, and their only loss was a bit controversial if any of you read the match recap. These two teams are very evenly matched, and it should be a very close race. Throughout the season, it seems as though the Venom racing team really only steps up when there is a lot resting on their shoulders. For their sake, hopefully they can show their full potential and pull out a big win over San Francisco tonight.

bootman: 5-2 Venom
1st: MuffinMan
2nd: miximup
3rd: CHA0S
4th: SACKAMO
weenus: 4-3 Venom
1st: MuffinMan
2nd: miximup
3rd: SACKAMO
4th: CHA0S

bootman's overall prediction: 26-16 Venom
weenus' overall prediction: 23-19 Venom

Stay tuned to DirecTV's channel 101 or TheCGS.com for live match updates tonight at 10 PM EST!