Article by Bryan "DrDogg" Dawson, Senior Writer TheCGS.com


LOS ANGELES, California -- The inaugural Championship Gaming Series World Final is nearly upon us. All of the competing teams have landed safely at LAX and have made themselves a home away from home at the Oakwood Apartments in Marina del Rey. For some teams, like the Rio Sinistro, the close living quarters are exponentially important in building chemistry.

While the North American teams had the advantage of a full season under their belts, the Latin American teams are heading into the World Final with only one official match of experience. Rio General Manager Paulo Velloso believes that while living together the team will have enough time to gel and become a single unit.

“It will be so important to be together during these two weeks of preparation prior to the tournament. My team is based half in Brazil and half in Mexico. The players don’t know each other and we will only have these two weeks to form a bond. But I’m confident I have quality players and they will overcome this and will work very well together,” said Velloso.

While several of the GMs consider some games to hold more importance than others, Velloso believes that in order to be successful at the World Final you need a team that’s strong in every division. While many believe that PGR was the single most important factor in leading the Chicago Chimera to a Region 1 title, Rio will take a different approach at the World Final.

“I think the team to win must be very strong in all disciplines compared to the attending teams,” explained Velloso. “You don’t need to be the best in all the games but you need to be VERY strong. For example, in Region 1 we know that LA Complexity is the best Counter Strike team but is not strong in DoA4. At the time of the combine we lost to Mexico City Furia with just one point difference and that was because of DoA4, that our players were not well prepared. We were better in Counter Strike, in PGR and were strong in FIFA. But their squad was strong in those three games compared to us and better than us in DoA4. I can say that now we are strong in all games and will be stronger at the date of the finals.”

Rio’s Counter-Strike squad (formerly known as Made in Brazil) has made a name for themselves on a worldwide scale. There are some who believe that they are the best CS:S team attending the World Final. While there have been some cases of a Counter-Strike squad dominating and giving their team a decisive lead, the Sinistro are humble as they head into the World Final. They’re relatively new to Source and while they hope to do well, they understand that it may be a challenging road to victory.

Velloso commented on his Counter-Strike squad saying, “I expect close matches although I believe Sinistro’s Counter Strike squad is the best in the competition. The rules applied to Source are giving a great advantage for the defensive side and this neutralizes big ratio differences.”

Raphael “cogu” Camargo, the Sinistro’s Counter-Strike team captain, added his expectations stating, “I can’t say anything for sure... we just made the move to Source. It’s a great game, but we aren’t in top form yet. We are practicing to get there, but for this tournament it will be hard to win by a large point margin, but you never know.”

The Sinistro Counter-Strike squad will be working hard leading up to the World Final to be as prepared as possible, but they are not the only division from Rio that’s working hard. At the Latin American Live Qualifier, the Rio DOA players lost by a large margin to the two Mexico City Furia DOA players. It was clear that this was a weak spot for the team, but Paulo drafted them with a unique purpose in mind. Jorge Alberto “SnaKejorge” Zavala Gudino and Barrera Gallegos “Yo Succubus” Alma Adriana are husband and wife, allowing them to get in more practice hours than other DOA pairs in the CGS.

Looking back at the qualifier, Velloso recalls the situation with his DOA team, “I’m confident in my players. At the time of the Draft I know they were not well prepared but they have potential and as husband and wife, they have the necessary condition to take all the time possible to practice and become strong at the Final. I’m sure they will not allow anyone to post that big point ratio again.”

On the other side of the coin, the Rio PGR duo defeated the Furia 8-1, earning the full seven point advantage and putting them back into the match after their losses in DOA. The PGR competition will be fierce at the World Final, with many of the fastest racers in the World converging on Los Angeles. Luis Alberto “LAVU” Vazquez Uribe, of the Rio racing team, shared his thoughts on the upcoming competition compared to the Latin American qualifier. “I expect a higher level [of competition] but I’m sure we can take first and second place against most teams in the World Final. I hope we can make it against Birmingham and that we prove it again against Singapore.”

FIFA is considered to be a strong title for the Latin American teams as a passion for soccer is integrated into their culture. A blow out win in FIFA could easily turn the tables on any match at the World Final. However, both Velloso and the Rio FIFA player, David Ernesto “Davisso” Pineda Garcia, feel that FIFA will not hold a bigger role in the World Final than it did during the Live Qualifier or any of the other CGS competitions thus far.

Discussing the topic of Latin America’s passion for soccer, Velloso explained, “I don’t think the passion for soccer will make difference in the importance of FIFA in the Final. Like the other games it is not expected to have high score differences, although in PGR it is possible. For me FIFA is as important as all the other games.”

Garcia noted, “I think that every point in this competition is a great achievement, and like every other game, it’s worth the maximum effort. I think that FIFA can be the difference between winning and losing a match, no matter what region are you playing with or for, just as all the other games. I’m sure I’ll do well in the finals and we’ll be victorious as a team.”

So while Rio may be the underdog as the number two seed from Latin America, they feel confident that they have an equal chance to take the World Final by storm. Velloso and his team have been preparing for the upcoming competition since the conclusion of the Latin American Live Qualifier. When the time comes, they will be ready with all pistons firing at full force. Their first opponent is Birmingham, and Rio is ready to send the Redcoats packing on their way to a CGS World Championship.



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