Over the past couple of weeks everyone has been glued to thecgs.com engrossed in the excitement that the North American season has created. Moving into the 2nd segment of the North American season we see the venue move to the CGS studio and the commencement of live televised games. The first part of the season has seen some surprises and some easily predicted outcomes, from LA Complexity in a position of no survival to 3D New York being clear leaders on the back of some solid performances across the board. Leading into season 2 the North American GMs had some difficult decisions to make, who to franchise, who to protect and most importantly how to fill the gaps most effectively in the draft.

Carolina Core
Like Complexity Carolina Core settled for limited roster changes going into season two, the big difference here is that unlike complexity Carolina had impressive results in season 1 and the 2007 World Final. On paper the Core are a class team boasting very strong DOA, CSS and FIFA divisions however their performances so far this season have been very erratic. With some huge wins and some unexpected losses Carolina find themselves a long way from the lead. If GM Mark Dolven can get these players all firing for the same match then I have little doubt that the Core of season one will return. However besides the forza duo of Phantom and General E Live the team has suffered from a lack of consistency. Stepping on stage against the Core would be a daunting task, if they all play well they can easily match it with the league’s best. Look for the Carolina Counter-Strike team to be the deciding factor in this teams overall fate, sitting on a 4 – 4 record they will need to be playing a lot more consistently for another World Finals birth and to even go close to backing up sonny’s blog.

Chicago Chimera
Last year’s World Champions have found it a lot harder to win matches during the initial segment of season 2. JasonX and Chomper haven’t provided the same dominant force on the Forza track and sit in the middle of the individual ladder while Black Mamba has yet to show the form that saw him take MVP during last year’s World Final. Ironically the point differential decrease for forza which was originally triggered by JasonX and Chomper’s domination last year has actually helped the Chimera during season 2. There is no doubt that DOA is a critical game with the current scoring system and if Chicago are to creep out of second last they need to see marked improvement in both DOA divisions. Besides the fifa prowess of Eafra Chicago have had little to offer so far this season and I can’t see them being a dominant force come playoffs.

Dallas Venom
After a disappointing season last year Jax was granted the first pick at this year’s draft and decided it was best used on forza, however it is the other divisions that are proving their worth this season. Venom franchise player Master has been the outstanding performer of season 2 and remains the only undefeated player for season 2 in North America. Not only is he winning but he is winning convincingly and hold the biggest point differential with a massive +27 so far this season. Solid support from both the Counter-Strike team and Phoenix sees Dallas sitting pretty in 2nd place and have overshadowed the somewhat disappointing season of the forza division and the number one draft pick Muffinman who sit in 4th place overall with a -5 differential and a 4-4 record.

LA Complexity
Jason Lake’s draft philosophy seemed to be very simple, stick with as many of his old team as possible and hope the experience pays off. It seems that although a successful tactic in the past LA are facing some serious barriers if they wish to finish the season with at least one win. Their only new face, first round draft pick Perfect Legend has yet to unleash his full potential during the competition and with poorer than expected performances from Kreegan and the Counter-Strike team LA seem to be in bad shape. 2008’s most controversial pick Belle has shown marked improvement over her season one performance but has yet to bring home a positive point differential for the team. If Perfect Legend, Kreegan and the Counter-Strike team can all be on fire during the same match LA may post a win this season, however on their current form it looks as though there is more chance of Belle beating Vanessa 5-0. Complexity sit on the bottom of FIFA, Forza 2 and DOA-Female while DOA-Male and Counter-Strike are both sitting in forth, looking at the stats it surprising LA have been able to keep their scores close and avoid huge blowouts.

3D New York
3D sit on top of the table and deserve to be there simply because they know how to win, not by huge margins or blowouts, but under pressure or in tight matches they always seem to pull through. Overall the 3D Counter-Strike and Forza divisions have been supplying the points while DOA are doing a good job at minimizing the damage. I think come finals time if teams like Carolina can get their act together it will be a tough time for 3D as they don’t have much more in reserve, but if confidence and momentum mean anything then you would be silly to write off the 3D team. Franchise player Wickazor has done his best however in a game like FIFA 08 it is very hard to have a substantial impact on the overall franchise score.

SF OPTX
Definitely a team with huge potential the OPTX goes into the TV portion of the season sitting midfield. Stermy has really picked up his game in FIFA 08 and alongside NinjaCW and Vanessa these guys look set to rack up the points. The biggest disappointment for the OPTX so far this year is the poor performance from the Counter-Strike Source team, like the beginning of last season the Counter-Strike Source boys seem to do nothing right. In season 1 the OPTX faced the same problem; poor performances from the Counter-Strike division left them trailing early in the season however last season the Counter-Strike team finished strong with some solid results against stiff competition. For a Counter-Strike team that has been said to hold some of “the most talented individual players in the league” their performance so far has been far from impressive. OPTX are a team with loads of potential if their Counter-Strike squad can overcome the current form slump look for these guys to be knocking on the door come playoffs time. The OPTX Counter-Strike division comes in with the worst overall point differential in the league (at time of writing), Kat must be pulling her hair out with such a promising team under performing.

I think come finals time if they can find themselves on opposite sides of the draw we should see Core and Venom taking the 2 places in the world finals. If OPTX Counter-Strike can get themselves out of their massive form slump then look for them to also be making waves towards the end of the competition. FIFA is proving to be a game where making an impact is very hard, looking at the statistics every players has an average point differential between -0.75 and 0.88 making very little difference when you have franchise scores of 20 or more. This season is all about DOA and Counter-Strike, with 10 points on offer DOA is a game where teams need to maximize their strengths or work very hard on damage control. The remaining matches this season will be very interesting and teams are fast running out of time to find form. Look for regular updates and video releases on www.thecgs.com throughout the televised segment of the North American season.