The loss of both Monkey Kong and souLjah left a huge gap in the team that needed to be filled; and Gamerthon was where the new DOA4 and CSS players would be found. With a huge turnout to Australia’s biggest gaming event, Sydney Underground General Manager Ben “Racs” Thomas had his work cut out for him. He would not only need to draft two new players, he would also to decide whether to replace or re-draft members from the existing team.

For a majority of the team they felt their places were safe, with Azad “topguN” Orami clearly pointing out that “being the best player in Australia it would be a big mistake to not re-draft me.”

This was felt throughout the Underground camp except in one player, Brett “Tegs” Bednarski. With an underperformance towards the end of the 2007 season, Tegs began to doubt his chances in being given a second chance. “I played well in Pan-Asia and at the World Finals, but ever since then I’ve dropped off in skill and confidence. I’ll be very lucky to be given the chance once again to prove my worth in the UnderGround team.”

And as Gamerthon drew to a close, Ben had to make his decision on who would stay, who would go, and who the new players would be. As he stood in front of a crowd of anxious players, he informed them that he would not be changing out any of the current line-up. The new players however, would be Eileen “Eileen” Bell and Chad “Spunj” Burchill.

To Brett this was a big surprise, as he would in fact see out another season with the UnderGround team. “I cannot thank my team and my GM enough. I wanted this so badly it wasn’t funny. My emotions cannot be explained.”

The surprise of being drafted was also felt by Spunj, the new addition to the CSS team. “I was not expecting it at all coming over for the AINC national event.” Despite this, he was quick to accept the position stating that “an opportunity like China is what I need to shine and it will only bring out the best in me as a player. Personally I believe I will shine within my personal game and within the team. With a lot of hard work from all the players we will be able to place top two in China, and make every back home proud!”

Among all the surprises, Daniel “Berzerk” Chlebowczyk - re-drafted as the DOA male player - was extremely happy with his General Managers decisions. “Ben is really coming into his own as a GM, all the players can rely on him and like all of us now he’s had time in the job he’s got experience behind him.”

When asked about the addition of the new players, he pointed out that although only recently meeting Spunj, “he seems like an energetic and vocal player that will be a great fit with the CSS team.”

However the new CSS player wasn’t his focus in the lead up to China. Determined to dominate in DOA overall like his Forza 2 teammates had the previous year, he has focused on improving the new DOA women’s player. “Eileen is a great addition to the team, a real character and set to get lots of respect for her play. She is a very competitive player, really focused on perfecting her game. It’s been great to see her skill level increase and she’s shown she mix it up so well with established, strong players.”

Upon hearing Berzerks’ compliments, Bell stated that “Gamerthon was my first offline tournament for Dead or Alive 4”. This didn’t seem to faze her though, and she was quick to admit this. “I am no stranger to competitive gaming, as I have participated in many counter-strike source competitions both online and offline.”

For the new UnderGround line-up, their first hurdle is coming up in a few weeks where they will compete at the Pan-Asian Championships in Wuhan, China.

FIFA 08’

Harry “haroutig10” Atachparian

DOA4

Daniel “Berzerk” Chlebowczyk
Eileen “Eileen” Bell

Forza Motorpsort 2

James “Cam” Davey
Dale “MORPO” Baker

CSS

Scott “Boomser” Bednarski
Brett “Tegs” Bednarski
Azad “topguN” Orami
Oliver “Huk_!!!” Johnson-Barrett
Chad “Spunj” Burchill