New Instinct

Str8 Rippin has been talking about changes amongst themselves over the last week and they decided to take more time to think about the situation.  It has just been confirmed that the move has been made and that Elamite Warrior is the newest member of team Instinct and Heinz will be joining Str8 Rippin.

The new squads will be:

Str8 Rippin: Tsquared, Legit, Snipedown & Heinz

Instinct: Roy, Lunchbox, Cloud & Elamite Warrior

The other roster changes that have been confirmed are as follows:

BtH: Demon D, Maniiac, Chig, Tizoxic

Status Quo: Flamesword, Ace, Enable, A Pure Gangster

Heaven and Earth: Killerdrew, Karma, Capt. Anarchy, Ghostayame

We’ll have more insight coming soon!!!!

“Slayer Swap” roster updates 1/18/10

First, let’s bring a little more clarity to the Heinz transaction.  From what I’ve been told the reason Heinz was dropped was  because there was some uncertainty surrounding his future in halo and with tD.  They wanted to secure their future, so they asked him to be clear and he told them he had been contacted by multiple teams. With this and the fact that Hysteria and sK both have shown interest previously in teaming with Neighbor since they all live locally.  This is the side that I have been told, we’ll see if there are any other stories from those involoved.

Let’s look at Carbon now.  With Shockwave’s retirement Carbon started thinking and decided to make some changes.  They dropped Naded and picked up Strongside and Best Man.  As most know Defy and Best Man are close friends as are Strongside and Walshy.  It remains to be seen how they will mesh, but it does have potential.

In other news, Status Quo is now only Ace and Flamesword.  As many of you know Legend left Status Quo shortly after the tournaments was over in Orlando.  Now, Totz has stated that he is a free agent as well.  We will probably see SQ go after one or more of the up and coming young pros.  Possibly APG or someone like that.

Stay tuned we have more big news coming …. I Promise!!

Status Quo

I got to look at some footage for Status Quo and here’s what I came up with.  So without further adeu I give you Status Quo.

Strongside

• Positives: This Strongside need I say more, okay I will.  This guy can go beast at any time.
• Negatives: Needs to make sure he doesn’t go too solo.

Ace

• Positives: Strong Slayer, solid in all skill sets
• Negatives: Young, needs to be a leader

Baby Totz

• Positives: one of the best br’s in the game, he has no real deficiencies in his skills
• Negatives: he needs to continue to mature as a player, still makes “young” decisions

Flamesword

• Positives: Has the potential to be one of the most dominant players when he’s hot
• Negatives: He takes some unnecessary chances, occasionally putting him team at a disadvantage

 

Summary: I think this team will be a surprise even though thay have been hyped.   The reason is that I don’t it’s all hype.  I think they are the real deal.

 Bold Prediction: top 4

SQ 19 -3 over Str8

Str8 Rippin and Status Quo started their weekend LAN up in Chicago at Totz house.  They played two 11 game  series and two more games before calling it a night due to exhaustion. 

Status Quo won both series and both extra games to lead the weekend LAN by a score of 19-3.  SQ won the first 11 game series 8-3 over Str8 Rippin.   They then proceeded to goose egg Str8 beating them 11-0.  SQ also won the final two games before going to bed.

This really leads us to wonder if Triggers Down is more dominant than expected.  If you remember tD beat SQ very bad over the weekend and since then SQ has proceeded to beat Instinct soundly and is leading Str8 19 -3 .  Are we looking at a new 1 & 2 in in Meadowlands by tD and Sq?  I’m not ready to say that yet, but maybe .

Instinct Vs SQ Lan

They actually didn’t play a third day of series due to the fact that the players had to be home for work and school Monday.  The overall score for the weekend was 42-23-1 in favor of Status Quo. 

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This is the latest update from the SQ Vs Instinct LAN.  Last night, SQ 3-0′d Instinct winning 27 out of 33 games.  The finished about 5 am again, but it was quite a rout.   I am very interested to see what happens tonight .  We’l try and get a statement from someone on Instinct.

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We spoke with people up at the SQ and Instinct LAN to get the update for night #1 .  The night got off to a quick start for SQ as they won the first series  7-3-1.  They tied on Lockdown ball as time expired just before Flamesword was able to grab the ball.  The second series was a 6-5  Status Quo victory.  The third series wrapped up aroung 5:30 am and resulted in a 9-2 Instinct win.  

 They will be starting the second day of the Lan this evening and we will be keeping you in the loop as always.   Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they can finish the all three days of the LAN since Ace has actually been pretty sick.

Lan-Man Joe

In this latest Edition of “Heads Up” MLGinsider got to sit down with Joe Pennachio.  The man behind the LANs.  He is the one who hosted the Winter Lan this fall and had greater ambitions and intentions for his upcoming Lans.  His son Anthony (babyTotz) plays for Status Quo.  Here’s our conversation:

Insider: Well, how did you get involved with MLG?

Joe: Through my sons Joe Fries and Totz

Insider: What are your thoughts from a parents stand point about the boys being heavily involved in MLG? 

Joe: I love it.  I am a huge sports fan and I guess I get the same excitement when I whatch them play.  Plus I know they love it as well.

Insider: You really seem to have developed a passion for the sport. It has to be a blast for you to have your youngest, Totz, playing for a pro team in Status Quo.

Joe:  It’s incredible, he has come a long way. He basically started playing Halo 3 never having played Halo 2 at all, and now playing with great players like he is, its not hard to get passionate about it.

Insider: Well … It can’t hurt when you guys have pros coming in an out of your house every weekend for the most part playing at this amazing setup you put together?

Joe: Well, honestly, I actually love doing all I can for everybody that comes thru my door.  All these Halo players come every night believe it or not.  We usually have at least 10 people over on any given weekend night and most of the time at least 6 or so during the week. 

Insider: Wow … That pretty incredible. What you guys are doing is virtually allowing these kids to play other top pros on Lan all the time. I think that will be a huge benefit for MLG.   It should make the season that much more competitive don’t you think?

Joe: Definitely, Final Boss already came over and tonight Triggers down is going to face Status Quo.  Then you have all the mixed lanning we do with many of the regulars like Fearitself, Cloud, Callmegod, Artofwar, Rudy, Stongside, Totz, Joe Fries, Bert, Parma and Bulletz.  I can go on all day but that’s just to name a few.

Insider: You guys are kind of becoming a hub for MLG action. Is it more popular than you expected?

Joe: Yes, I think it really got kicked started when we hosted the Winter Lan. It started with that, and kind of showed what we do at my house on a regular basis. Then when other players and pros saw this I think they loved the basement set up as much as we do. 

Insider: Well … Let’s talk about Totz for a second.   He is apart of one of the up and coming pro teams, Status Quo. It’s got to be absolutely exciting for you going into this next season. 

Joe: I cannot even tell you how excited we are going into this event.  Status Quo has been working incredibly hard, every night sometimes day and night.  I’m so exited to see all the other teams at Meadowlands.  I think the excitement of walking into the doors of this event will be out of this world.  The kids I know are ready to prove themselves.

Insider: Status Quo has caught some flack in the off-season. I know Totz has in particular would you like to speak to that?

Joe: I think its part of the territory, if you cant handle the heat, then get out of the kitchen. I know Totz will be ready. I watch him play every game he plays almost, I sit right behind Totz and Strongside. I think he will surprise a lot of people, and for Strongside he’s the man. 

Insider:  I have a tough question for you.  What about everyone saying that the only reason strongside came to SQ is because you were paying for everything? How do you respond to those people. Or do you? 

Joe: Well,  first of all people who say that don’t know Strongside or I at all. I can say this about Strongside, he is among the most humble, compassionate, and trustworthy guys I know. My Commitment to sponsorship of Status Quo remains the same as always: Airfare, hotel room and meals.

Insider: Gotcha. Well, were gonna play “rapid fire” now … short questions and answers … Team to Beat – Instinct or Str8?

Joe: Instinct (close)

Insider: More underrated – Ace or Heinz?

Joe: Ace, he will have a big year.

Insider: Better hair – Lunchbox or Fearitself?

Joe: Fear has that rock star hair.

Insider: Best at the quick shot basketball?

Joe: Nobody beats me down there.

Insider: Best NBA Jam player?

Joe: Wow, I have to say right now Strongside, but I am starting to play alot more so will see. 

Insider: Air hockey?

Joe: Up for grabs, anyone’s game right now. 

Insider: Bubble hockey?

Joe: I am nobody close.

Insider: Ha ha ha… What is you favorite memory so far being involved with MLG?

Joe: I have loved all the events that I have attended. They put on a great show, but I would have to say the Winter Lan was the best time I have had since being involved with MLG and Halo 3. Great memories. 

Insider: What would you say to any parents hesitant to let their kids get involved in MLG?

Joe: I think it’s a very good community of gamers, not to mention it keeps our kids off the streets, and usually at home with their family.  That’ what I love about it, being at home with family and friends.

Insider: Well, I’m pretty much done.  Before I let you go I have 1 more question … I talked briefly with Flamesword about it in his interview, but what do we have to do to get an invite to these Lans? 

Joe: Tonight Triggers Down, I’m pumped….Then next week Instinct.  BtH in early March, and I am working on a four team Lan in early to mid March. I think the LAN to come to might be the Summer LAN I want to out do the Winter Lan in the summer. I love what you guys are doing at MLGinsider so we should talk about attending these events.

Insider: Awesome, we’d be honored to cover them for you guys.  Well, any shout-outd before I let you go?

Joe: Joe Fries for starting all this. Then Flamesword, Strongside, Ace, Totz, Artofwar, Fearitself, CMG, Rudy, Cloud, Creach, Kidcass, Parma, Bert, Bulletz, Chig, Clutch and all the rest of the players out there, even if you don’t write good stuff about us I still love reading it!!!!!!! Good luck to all in 2009, it’s going to be a good ride!!!!!!! Thanks for the time and the wonderful interview…enjoyed it. 6:14 PM

Insider: Thanks for the interview Joe, I’m glad you had fun.

We want to thank Joe and his family for all that they are doing to help further the sport of Major League Gaming.  We want to that Joe specifically for continually allowing these kids into his home and allowing them to hone their skills for an even better 2009 season.  Thanks Joe and good luck to Status Quo in 2009.

SQ / tD LAN

Final Update:

The final score of the tD Vs SQ LAN  was 82 – 17 in favor of tD.  From various conversation that we had with those in attendance, it was a really a blowout the 1st day.  The 2nd and 3rd days weren’t really a blowout.  A large majority of the games were close, but tD just seemed to has a little too much in each game and pulled most of the close games out. 

I think a large majority of the community may have underestimated the chemistry of the players on tD.  They have some very sick slayers who are playing extremely well together.  What will be really interesting is to see how Instinct does this next weekend against SQ.    I think will really give the community some clarity as to the caliber of teams tD and SQ are.

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The initial update this morning on the tD and SQ LAN is a 19-3 lead from tD. They kicked off gameplay last night around 10:00pm Central time. There were some games that were close, but it appears that there where quite a few blowouts. Here’s a quick blurb from Flamesword on SQ:  

tD is up 19-3 there were about 5 games that were nail bitters that we lost. It’s ok though,  it’s great practice especially facing a team who is blowing out all the top teams online.  It should help us and them a lot.

 

Discuss this Article in the forums here.

Flamesword Interview

In this edition we go “Heads Up” with Flamesword from Status Quo.  We wanted to bring some clarity as to why Strongside joined.  We also wanted to find out what we should  do to get invited to the next LAN…. ha ha.   Seriously though, here is our conversation with the up and coming “Flamesword SQ”. Read more

Status Quo

With all the talk about Strongside going to Status Quo, I figured it was worth taking a look at some of their film.  

babyTotz - GP link: Totz

I really haven’t heard much about Totz other than he throws a good LAN.  After watching his gameplay at the LAN he is a very controlled player, reminding me of Elamite or Roy.  He plays very smart and has solid skill sets.  His sniper is very solid and his BR is one of more steady that I’ve seen on the circuit.

One example is around the 2:00 mark.  If you watch his play on Blue S2 you’ll see he is very precise in what he does; he works the tower almost to perfection, utilizing the cover and the angles from the tower wonderfully.  He minimizes the lift airtime when going onto the tower keeping a low profile.  Also, he utilizes a very well timed crouch to surprise CallMeGod on snipe ramp.

I took notice of his natural reflexes and responses, such as the quick scope on red training ramp around the 3:00 mark.  I think he is a very sound fundamental player with great instinctual decisions.

Flamesword - GP link: Flamesword - 23 kills

Flamesword is a beast.  He is very aggressive, fearless and has a knack for staying alive. This combination is both good and bad:  His aggressiveness, at times, causes him to die when he shouldn’t, but at other times allows him to get the kills other players wouldn’t.

He throws a poor nade to start, but almost out BRs Cloud anyway.  At the 1:40 mark he shows what can happen as a result of his aggressiveness and his steady BR.  He out BRs CallMeGod for the spree after CMG got the first shot.  At the 2:50 mark the aggressiveness pays off again with a triple and then just over three minutes into the game, he’s already on his second spree.  He gets a third spree with the 50th kill, and finishes with 23 kills.

He has the potential to be very deadly. With the skillset he possesses, he reminds me a lot of Naded.  He is very aggressive and that may put him out of place at times, but If he can keep it in check he can be a game changer.

Ace- VoD link: Ace

Ace is the one who will make or break this team.  I think this is a big opportunity for him.  He has exceptional skills, but is not always consistent and seems to lose focus at times.  I would like to see his mental game improve a little bit more by not letting his emotions effect his game so much.  On occasion, he will make a series of poor decisions based on frustration and then make a series of great one when he remains focused.

Strongside- GP : I watched numerous gameplays including Pit king and Amp TS from Vegas vs Instinct

There were two things that stood out to me about Side; the first is that even though he doesn’t get as much credit, his slaying skills are still some of the best on circuit.  The problem I saw when you compare his Meadowlands play (which was his best tournament) to the end of the season (where he seemed to tail-off) is that he wasn’t relaxing.  Anyone who follows the game had seen Side on stage looking like the “Big Chill”.  He play best when he’s relaxed and lets the game come to him.  When he’s still aggressive and confident, he isn’t forcing things like he appeared to do at the end of the season.

I am extremely confident that he will prove this season that he is still one of the best in the game.

This is a squad that will really surprise some people in Meadowlands.  They’re more well rounded than most believe and are in for a year of consistent top eight placings.  Possibly, if things go their way, they have the potential of finishing in the top three once or twice.

Pre Dallas Lan Results

We have the results in on a number of pre-Dallas Lans. We will continue to update this article as we get more numbers, but here is what we have.

Read more