CEVO CS 1.6 Predictions

By Jimbo "Suicidal" Robinson
Over the past week or so, I have had things going on in my life that prevented me from writing the week 8.1 predictions, and then we had Hurricane Gustav plow through my area and that prevented me from writing up the week 8.2 predictions. All that has passed however, and I'm anxious to get back to work bringing you these exciting selections.

A lot of the matches from week 8 has been postponed due to the Hurricane that recently ripped through most of the Southern States. I for one, felt some of the outer bands and was lucky to come away without any damages, I only hope that others had a minimum amount of damage or loss. With that being said, lets get down to business.

Team x3o(15-2) vs. Frag Dominant(9-8)

This match was played last night, with x3o continuing their current winning streak that is sitting at 10 straight. With the solid gameplay and teamwork they have showed over the passed few weeks, they have rocketed into first place in the CEVO standings.

Paragon of Virtue(10-6) vs. MoB.Gaming(12-4)

This next match has the potential to be one of the best matches we will have seen at the end of the season. Paragon of Virtue has rolled off 5 wins in their last 6 matches; three of those wins have come against teams such as: compLexity, EG.usa, and Frag Dominant. MoB.Gaming has had a different story, after their 8-game winning streak earlier in the season, they have lost three of their last five.

Paragon of Virtue will win if.... They have been playing lights out in the passed few weeks and will need another solid showing if they want to win this match. In their earlier meeting in week 3 on nuke, MoB.Gaming took that match so POV will be looking for a bit of revenge, and with the right gameplan, they very well can make that a reality.

MoB.Gaming will win if.... At one point in the season, MoB was sitting atop of the CEVO-P standings. Since then they have dropped down to second place; behind team x3o with this very Paragon of Virtue team close behind. MoB.Gaming is still a very talented team, who has had a solid starting five for the season. They will need to take advantage of any mistakes POV may make if they want to derail this hot team.

And the winner is.... It's going to be interesting to see which of these teams takes the inituative against the other team on a map like de_russka. The team that is able to expose any kind of weakness in their opponent, will be able to get the advantage and take this match. That team is going to be MoB.Gaming. MoB.Gaming wins this match 16-13.

.50 Calibre(2-14) vs. Mug N Mouse(6-10)

.50 Calibre is currently sitting at the bottom of the CEVO-P standings with good reason, they have lost their last 10 matches; the last two of them being forfeit losses. I wonder if they have given up on the season. If this league didn't have x3o in it, Mug N Mouse would easily be the hottest team right now. After they started the season 1-10, they have reeled off five straight wins, and two of them against MoB.Gaming and Frag Dominant.

.50 Calibre will win if.... Losing 10 straight games is something that is going to be hard to fix for any team. They have not had any success so far this season and it will basically take a miracle for them make the playoffs. After forfeiting the last two matches, I only hope that they haven't quit on each other. They will need to overcome alot of obstacles to win this one.

Mug N Mouse will win if.... MNM has won two very huge matches against MoB.Gaming and Frag Dominant to put them in position to have a shot at the playoffs. They have tons of momentum and confidence heading into this match and I see no way they can lose this match.

And the winner is.... Mug N Mouse, hands down should win this match without any trouble. They have played very well over these last few matches and I look for them to continue to roll winning their 6th straight. Mug N Mouse wins this match 16-6.

Ferocity(6-10) vs. compLexity(9-7)

Coming into this match, compLexity has seemed to be playing better over the last few matches. After their loss to Devastation back in week 7, compLexity has reeled off three wins in a row with a victories last week against EG.usa and Ruins. Ferocity has lost three of their last four matches, with their only win coming against a weak Devastation team in their last match. These two teams met earlier in the season on de_nuke, with compLexity coming out on top.

Ferocity will win if.... They are going to have to figure out how to play out of this current funk there in. They haven't played very well in their last 10 matches; losing six of them. They will have to come out and play better than mediocre to beat a team like compLexity, especially with they way coL has seemed to play as of late.

compLexity will win if.... We all know they coL has been up and down all season, but I truly believe they could be in position to turn that around. They are only 50% in their last six matches, with losses coming to Paragon of Virtue and devastation; but over their last three (which resulted in wins) they seemed to play better as a unit, especially in week 8 when they were able to turn in a win against EG.usa. If they continue the way they have played, and stay away from that "going through the motion" game play, they should be fine here.

And the winner is.... compLexity played very well against Ruins last week, and even better against EG.usa; this match is going to be played on de_russka tho, which compLexity has showed problems on these "newer" types maps this season. Lucky enough they are playing Ferocity and j1n so they should have no problem taking this match. compLexity will win this match 16-9.

EG.usa(10-6) vs. Ruins(5-11)

In this next matchup, we could quite possibly see a blowout before this one even begins; but this is CEVO-P. Last match we saw yet another starting 5 out of EG.usa with what seems to be the return of Scott "evolution" Cavallero. Last week we saw EG receive a forfeit win from .50 Calibre and then taking a loss from compLexity. Ruins on the other hand, has been struggling. In their last 8 matches, they have won only "one" match; that coming in form of a very close match against Devastation.

EG.usa will win if.... It's no secret that EG.usa has had roster issues throughout this season, but they are still a group of very talented players. Every match they play in, they have the ability to take over and win that match. They need to come out and play crisp, not making any mistakes and try and get on the same page; if they do this, they will win.

Ruins will win if.... For those who follow the CS scene in depth, know that this team has not had what you would call a "successful" season so far. They are quite frankly going to have to play the perfrct match and going to have to pull out all the stops if they want to win this match.

And the winner is.... Its going to take a lot out of team Ruins to win this match. I don't think they will be well enough prepared and just not going to play that perfect game they are going to need. Even with all of the Roster changes so far this season, EG.usa is still the better team. EG.usa will win this match 16-8.

j1n(7-9) vs. Devastation(6-10)

Very quietly j1n has had a pretty solid three weeks, winning 5 of their 8 scheduled matches. One of the wins is from a forfeit from MoB.Gaming and they beat Paragon of Virtue on de_train. Devastation has won 4 of their last 8 matches, with wins coming against compLexity and Paragon of Virtue.

j1n will win if.... They have played pretty well in their last few matches, and will be looking to add a forth straight loss to the Devastation record. They will need to come out and play a complete game, with little errors if they want to do this. The entire team needs to play smart, and refrain from costing their team any rounds.

Devastation will win if.... With a tough remaining schedule, Devastation needs to get the wins will they can. There going to need to focus extra hard this week so they can lock down some victories before they start playing some of the top-ranked teams in the league. They will need to play mistake-free if they want to knock j1n off.

And the winner is.... Both teams have played fairly well lately, and both teams very much so need a win here to keep pace with the playoff race. I look for this to be a semi-decently close match to the end, where j1n takes pace and secures another victory. j1n will win this match 16-11.

That is it for the first half of week 9 as we approach the end of the season and enter the playoffs. Over these last few weeks when things begin to get tight, we should see some very solid matches. I want to wish the entire league the best of luck, and have fun.