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CEVO Season 5 is just getting under way, teams are dusting off their shoulders from recent action in ESEA, and yet the excitement I hear from people about the upcoming season is undeniable.  CEVO-P features a mix of established veterans, rising powers, and newly formed all star teams as a result from the off season roster toss up.

*Update on EG's Status at the bottom*

The stories I could tell involving CEVO and its history with TF2 would require you to take a college class just to keep it all straight, but one thing I'm confident in is that this upcoming Season will, with a little bit of luck, keep us talking throughout the weeks.  One of these teams, probably not Kculture (sorry but it doesn't look like they're going to pay in time), will join the ranks with teams like The Doctors, Pandemic, and Complexity, as the cream of the crop in CEVO P.  Diving right into Week 1 Badlands matchups let's take a look at each team to gain a bit of insight for what to expect:


Mindbomb (iQ.) vs. Our World Now (.Owns)

Mindbomb - With the absence of the former Pandemic squad from CEVO-P, this team is shaping up to be my favorite dark horse of the division, and perhaps all of CEVO.  Looking at this newly formed roster it's easy to tell these guys mean business. With big names and longstanding relationships this team is a modern mix of recently departed EG player Syckness, iDemise reunions, and a pinch of Fragga repping Europe.  Syckness will look to bounce back after departing from EG while Dummy will have to carry his big time play from the ESEA Lan over in this opening week to secure a win.  No doubt this team has tasted the big time games, played the championship caliber competition, and wants at it again.

Our World Now - After a disastrous regular season and a pleasantly entertaining performance at the ESEA finals oPlaiD saw his team in Blight splinter in different directions.  After just one look over their roster this team has a solid line up of recognizable names, but only a few of them actually have extensive experience at the highest levels.  No one is a slacker but look for the pressure to be on oPlaiD to lead this team and take control when the going gets rough. Smaka, Platinum, Sequel, and Boogie^ all have extensive and impressive resume's that not even the best can afford to over look. They are surely prepping for the upcoming season like mad dogs on a mission, and knowing them, their up for it!

Match Result: I can't help but root for Mindbomb in this one, both teams are newly formed and looking to mesh their chemistry as best as possible but the star power and past relationships make me think Mindbomb will walk away with a win from this one.      

compLexity (coL.) vs. Kculture.usa (-k7)

compLexity - I shouldn't even have to introduce this team to most of you guys.  Complexity is bar none the most respected TF2 squad around, at least on this side of the Atlantic.  The heart of this squad has been around for what seems like forever and their long list of TF2 titles speaks for itself. Roster wise Carnage and Enigma are the most feared scout pair in the world and I hear Relic keeps his equalizer polished so that he can 3-pick-cap-last on Badlands again...just for fun. Add on that Seagull apparently decided to hop from Blight to EG, and now Complexity in less than a month, how much more could this team ask for? Oh yea, and they have that guy, Solid Snake.  Seriously though, if anyone thinks these guys have some sort of handicap on them, ask around ETF2L if any Euro's (where you at 4K :P) are confident they can beat 'em.

Kculture - Im not going to really give a snippet on these guys, mostly because it looks as if they're not paying up in time for the season. A team that was supposed to have been formed by high level players from other games may just fall victim to an early exit.

Match Result: Regardless of whether or not Kculture shows up, this is Complexities game barring god's wrath or coL.'s lack of practice.


Team Evil Geniuses (EG.) vs. eMazing Gaming (eMg.)

Team EG - These guys have been one of the most consistent TF2 teams to date, for better or worse.  As far as regular season play goes they are immaculate, always on their game, always serious, and always lethal.  After the season ends its all bets are off as EG has managed to fall short the coveted championship two years running.  As a result of their performance at ESEA Finals, the team is in the process of adjusting their roster.  The fact that their roster seems at best questionable gives me reason for concern in determining their fate. Destro, Cyzer, and Ruwin are all ready to go, but beyond that only Reptile and Predz are listed as of April 7th 5:00pm est and both are not ready.  If EG can roster up and Destro can get things under control look for them to be the same old center fold threat, if not then, as said before - all bets are off.

eMazing Gaming - This team reminds me of the little engine that could.  Except this time these guys are the real deal and are dying to prove themselves amongst the elite.  After topping the ESEA O division, beating out that huge community down in the next section, expect for them to make a dent in some of the more established teams records.  The squad, Enoryt, B4nny, Raf, Move, Yz50, and Mackey, have been beating out teams together for quite some time and their ambition for competition has landed them in a position to do what Dynamic and MoB couldn't, last through it all.

Match Result: I'm going to cheat a little here by saying, "if" EG can get their roster readied and sport a respectable lineup then it's their game to loose, if not, I think eMg has a decent shot at coming out with a win.


Area 51 ([51]) vs. Apocalypse Gaming (AG.)

Area 51 - For anyone whose followed this team over the past several months, it has been an absolute pleasure seeing them go from all but out to running the tables on anyone and competing right up there with the best of the best.  Stamjally is one of my favorite TF players to watch, his ability to stay alive and continually wreak havoc blows my mind almost every game.  Bloodsire is a vocal force in the community and his presence in game is just as noticeable, all the while Ducky, Cbear, and Fastfire each have the potential to swing a game in 51's favor.  I'll admit I still prefer to call these guys Muscle Milk as that's the name I associate with their season defining turnaround but now that they have a gracious sponsor the sky's the limit.  On the main maps, Area 51 tends to struggle against the heavy weights, but come custom maps, there isn't a team in the league I'd bet money on against this crew.

AG - This team is easily my pick as the general communities representative among the best.  I say that because there isn't a team out there that I think does more directly for the community then these guys.  Sigma has personally been taking time off from his weekends to help a few of my communities teams (major thanks!) YouMustRecover will tell you how great you did even when he roflstomps on your face, and their farm system of baby teams only strengthens their efforts.  As far as their skill  goes, there's no doubt they can hang with the big boy's... whether they can beat them is the real question.  The core of this team, like eMazing has stuck together for an extremely long time and because of that their game sense is drool worthy.  They were my pick to win the Open playoffs for ESEA (right behind VG... let's not talk about them though) and like eMazing they went deep into the bracket.  Behind Sigma's strong understanding of the game and YouMustRecover's killer pipes AG should be just as potent and dangerous as eMg.

Match Result:  Area 51 should take this game fairly easily if only because of their experience.  Expect AG to take a round or two but past that I can't imagine an upset.


Aside from the EG roster confusion and the Kculture (most likely) no shows, this upcoming season of CEVO-P looks to me to have everything needed for an exciting show.  New teams with big names, big names with new teams, fresh faces from new places.... enough corny word games, this season should be AWESOME!  What's in store for the season? - Who knows!  The only thing I feel comfortable saying at this point is that I believe it's still Complexities title to loose, and the absence of Fragile's crew from the season is deeply saddening.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming season for CEVO-P?  Whose your favorite to win in the end and which team is your dark horse?

*** UPDATE ***

Right as I'm about to post this article I talked with coL.pyyyour, Phelon, and EG.destro and got a bit of news regarding CEVO-P and the roster conundrum.  As it turns out Seagull is indeed on compLexity as was basically already accepted, Phelon and Yaug rejoined EG's lineup, and EG has decided they will not participate in CEVO-P Season 5.  To the best of my knowledge that leaves 6 viable teams assuming all of them are committed, fighting for the CEVO-P crown.  I'll leave my article untouched regardless of this info if only because I took the time to write it ;)