(USA) The 8th season of CEVO begins tomorrow as ten teams will get their shot at the prize. The nine week course kicks off tomorrow night and everyone is ready for a chance at $10,000. Instead of the usual sixteen teams, CEVO has selected the top ten from the nation to compete. This will give a bit more challenge to the teams as they go on their quest to the finals.

We have new teams in the mist with lots of raw talent ready to show the world. X3O is on their way to another repeat of championships that nobody has yet to duplicate. Always at their heels is eMazing Gaming. They are also under a new roster that should give the viewers a treat this season.

The only thing that has been a problem with teams in CEVO is inactivity. As Counter-Strike begins to decline, teams start to die after their shot in placement and not making it into CEVO Pro. Even after making it into the division, teams still begin to falter. If players can continue to show their love of the game, as all of us should, we are win for quite a season.

eMazing Gaming

Nazar "steno" Vynnytsky
United States

Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert
United States

Michael "chE" Guevara
United States

Scott "evolution" Cavallero
United States

Kevin "aZn" Wang

Following the KODE5 USA Finals in Las Vegas, the new team will get set for another season of dominance. They acquired some key players over the off season including Kevin "aZn" Wang and Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert. Both have tremendous ability as utility players and can mix with any group they are put with. Wang, being a former CGS competitor last season, has done well for himself after the KODE5 results while he subbed in for the team.

Their third place finish last season wasn't their best effort but can surely change this season. eMg hasn't seen a roster change in quite sometime, other then stand-in's for events. The loss of their two core players can hurt the team in some areas due to well known chemistry throughout the years.

After the new additions, hopefully the team can prepare a bit better for events coming up such as CEVO and the KODE5 Grand Finals. The nine week course is the only thing in their way at this point. Currently capable of beating anyone in their path, they will need to kick things into gear to ensure a top placing.

Strengths: Experience. Most of these guys have been playing together for a long time and have grown on each other more then you think. Three of the current players have been on the same team through their WCG USA Finals win last year and with the new pickups, they should acquire even better chemistry.

Weaknesses: Even before the move, eMg hardly practiced as often as they should of. Now with their new team, nothing will help more then practice. There have been times when they've fell just short and who's to say a little extra practice could of helped.

Recent Results: 1st KODE5 USA Finals, 3rd CEVO Pro Season 7, 1st WCG USA 2007, 1st Dust-Off Championship 2007, 2nd CEVO Pro Season 6, 4th WCG Finals 2007

Prediction: Finals. Although last seasons performance was shy of the finals, this new team seems to fit the agenda of a top placing. Their last chance at finals was against Turmoil in Season 6 and you can bet they will want another shot at it again this season.

X3O

Matt "PaTyoJoN" Iantosca
United States

Derrick "impulsive" Truong
United States

Ediz "goodfornothing" Basol
United States

Dan "mehLer" Mehler
United States

Shaun "hostile" Catron

Defending champions, Turmoil, are now under a few flag as they set course for Season 8. We will see America's Ringer, Shaun "hostile" Catron, step in the line-up since Gilbert's quick departure days before the KODE5 USA Finals to the eMazing Gaming organization. Catron will look to keep his seat in the line-up to get that much closer to the grand prize.

X3O made a valiant effort at the KODE5 USA Finals taking second place after losing to eMazing Gaming in a best-of-three series (2-1). Considering they had a fill-in for the event, they still managed to give eMg a run for their money. Ranked #2 in the GotFrag North American Rankings, you can not sell this team short just yet as they are dedicated to chasing that extra inch.

Their performance last season improved since the last time in CEVO playoffs with their ability to coast through them. Since their loss of Gilbert, they will have to get Catron up to speed as the season is around the corner. He will bring back a lot more oriented chemistry with the team having played with them for longer then Gilbert.

Strengths: Consistency. The team has yet to lose a sanctioned match since last seasons win in CEVO. After the pick up of Catron, this should only help their case into another championship. Their chemistry is great and they need to capture and stabilize it for a guaranteed win this season.

Weaknesses: Good teams to practice against. X3O probably has 3-4 teams they like to practice against to provide some sort of competition but that kind of gets old as the teams will get to see how they play. With the scene declining slowly, it makes it difficult to up their game against the lower tier teams.

Recent Results: 1st CPL Winter 2007, 1st CEVO Pro Season 7, 1st CEVO Pro Season 5, 1st KODE5 USA Regional Qualifiers, 3rd WCG USA 2007, 4th CEVO Pro Season 6

Prediction: Finals. Defending champions will most likely see the finals again this year without Gilbert in the lineup. Catron brings just as much experience and ability as Gilbert did and should ensure them a good placing in the end.

Continued (1/5) »

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Counter-Strike: CEVO Pro Season 8 Preview

eMazing Gaming

X3O

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