Preview 5-6: DINC and Loaded
Loaded comes into the ESEA playoffs tied with three other teams with a 10-6 record. They are marked as the sixth seed due to having fewer rounds won than the other two teams. The team was known last season as DINC, the team that upset EG and went on to play close matches against coL, before losing to them in the grand finals.
The team has gone through a few changes this season, including multiple organizational hops and a roster change. Midway through the season they had a key roster change when they brought in Scott "evolution" Cavellero, a player who has played at the top of the US scene for a while now. Cavellero was the only roster change that the team sustained this season, leading them to having one of the most stable rosters throughout ESEA-I. This is a big improvement for them as they were forced to make multiple changes last season, but were still able to be highly successful.
Loaded has had overall success this season, despite ending 10-6 and in the last seed. They were able to take an early, narrow, win over compLexity, but they had a rough time against the rest of the teams that will be present at the LAN finals. They ended up trading maps with Excello, the 2nd seed going into the playoffs, and arguably their biggest win the whole season. The biggest shock to the team was probably the 16-7 beating that EG laid on them in their final match of the regular season. If they are able to bounce back from this, they have a strong chance of succeeding. The team will have to open up the LAN Finals against 9StorM, a team seeded third in the tournament. Loaded has more experience when it comes to the better of the two teams, and it will prove to be a good match-up. The winner will go on to face Excello in the second round, something Loaded will want to do, seeing how they beat them late in the season.
Loaded.CS Finals Roster:
Kyle "flowsicK" Mendez
Anthony "djibouti" Manosca
Scott "Evolution" Cavellero
David "Xp3" Garrido
Paul "Adrenaline" Baker
Season Record: 10-6
Seed: 6th
Expected Finish: I think these guys will do very well, but not quite as well as last year. There are other teams that are able to beat them and I think that will happen. They still have the ability to upset some teams, just like last season. They should get at least fourth place.
Interview with Anthony "djibouti" Manosca:
You guys are coming into the playoffs as the last seed, but managed to place 2nd in the last finals. Do you think you are in a good position to repeat, or take first this year?
I definitely think that we are in a good position. Last season we came into the finals with a last second change and it turned out very well. This season we have had our five for a while and have practiced pretty hard, including a week long bootcamp. It should pay off well for us in the end.
You guys added Scott "Evolution" Cavellro midway through the season, what has he done to boost your teams performace?
Scott is one of the most experienced players int he game. He has been around for so long and played at so many events, and even been on a lot of teams. He knows what will work and wont work in the end.
To start off the Finals, you guys are to play 9Storm. How have you guys prepared to start off this tournament, and for the rest of the tournament?
We are going to be doing a bootcamp a week before the playoffs and start to get our chemistry down and fix the problems that we've had throughout our matches/scrims.
DINC/ex-Pandemic will be coming into the playoffs after a bit of a change. During the season they found a home in Team Pandemic, an organization that was known for its CS Teams. At the very end of the season, Team Pandemic shut down and they were left looking for a new sponsor and a way to get their team to the ESEA Finals. They found that organization in DINC, the very same organization that picked up Loaded last season and helped lead them to a second place finish.
DINC first made their name this season when fans saw the return of Mikey "method" So. This instantly made them a team to watch and many were excited for his return. The team also includes Travis "tuBBy" Bechtol, the ringer who played for Team EG in the WCG US and Grand Finals. Wrapping up the newer roster at the beginning of the season is Mason "mason" Dickens, brother of Matt "Warden" Dickens.
DINC started off the season with three losses out of the first four matches. It seemed that they might be a lost cause until they brought in Garret "Grt" Bambrough when Dustin "dizzaman" Dilyerd was no longer able to play. Bambrough was able to lead the team to nine victories out of the next twelve matches. This included a five match win streak where the team dominated every opponent that they faced. The team has a bit of work to do for the LAN Playoffs as their losses that were in the second part of the season came from coL and Excello. In those losses the team never featured their full starting lineup. If they want to do something in this tournament, they will have to be able to beat these teams on LAN, something that is very possible for this group of guys at full force. They will face off against coL in their first match of the finale. This will be their true test to see how they might do during this tournament. If they win, they will go on to face EG in the next round.
DINC.CS Finals Roster:
Mason "mason" Dickens
Garett "Grt" Bambrough
Travis "tuBBy" Bechtol
Mikey "Method" So
Alex "millipede" Abbott
Season Record: 10-6
Seed: 5th
Expected Finish: I expect this group of guys to show up and shock some people. If they are in full force and practice for this event, it is very likely that they could be the second consecutive DINC team to show up and upset some teams. With them facing coL in their first match, they need to make a statement from the very beginning. If they do this, they could very well be slotted to take a top three spot.
Interview with Alex "millipede" Abbott:
You guys are coming into the playoffs with an organization change. The last time DINC sent a team to the playoffs, they shocked everyone beating EG and placing second. Has the organization change affected your practicing and how have you prepared for the Finals?
The organization change came last minute, that being said we have been more focused on just getting to the LAN. We really have not practiced to much because we have been trying to get there. But we will hopefully do well and give it everything we've got.
Every since you guys have added GRT to the roster, he has been vital to your success, how has he changed your team for the good and what benefit do you get from him coming into the finals?
Ya, GRT is very outspoken and is a good team player. He is our caller, so we obviously have done better with him. We get an experienced player on LAN for sure, and the loud ass he is will defiantly energize us im sure.
You guys must face coL as your first opponent going into the Finals, do you think this is a plus or a negative for you guys as a team trying to upset a few teams?
I think complexity is a very good team, and we would have rather played 9storm then Excello, but it doesnt work out the way you always want. So, we are just going to play and have fun and try and upset them.
The team has gone through a few changes this season, including multiple organizational hops and a roster change. Midway through the season they had a key roster change when they brought in Scott "evolution" Cavellero, a player who has played at the top of the US scene for a while now. Cavellero was the only roster change that the team sustained this season, leading them to having one of the most stable rosters throughout ESEA-I. This is a big improvement for them as they were forced to make multiple changes last season, but were still able to be highly successful.
Loaded has had overall success this season, despite ending 10-6 and in the last seed. They were able to take an early, narrow, win over compLexity, but they had a rough time against the rest of the teams that will be present at the LAN finals. They ended up trading maps with Excello, the 2nd seed going into the playoffs, and arguably their biggest win the whole season. The biggest shock to the team was probably the 16-7 beating that EG laid on them in their final match of the regular season. If they are able to bounce back from this, they have a strong chance of succeeding. The team will have to open up the LAN Finals against 9StorM, a team seeded third in the tournament. Loaded has more experience when it comes to the better of the two teams, and it will prove to be a good match-up. The winner will go on to face Excello in the second round, something Loaded will want to do, seeing how they beat them late in the season.
Loaded.CS Finals Roster:
Kyle "flowsicK" Mendez Anthony "djibouti" Manosca Scott "Evolution" Cavellero David "Xp3" Garrido Paul "Adrenaline" BakerSeason Record: 10-6
Seed: 6th
Expected Finish: I think these guys will do very well, but not quite as well as last year. There are other teams that are able to beat them and I think that will happen. They still have the ability to upset some teams, just like last season. They should get at least fourth place.
Interview with Anthony "djibouti" Manosca:
You guys are coming into the playoffs as the last seed, but managed to place 2nd in the last finals. Do you think you are in a good position to repeat, or take first this year?
I definitely think that we are in a good position. Last season we came into the finals with a last second change and it turned out very well. This season we have had our five for a while and have practiced pretty hard, including a week long bootcamp. It should pay off well for us in the end.
You guys added Scott "Evolution" Cavellro midway through the season, what has he done to boost your teams performace?
Scott is one of the most experienced players int he game. He has been around for so long and played at so many events, and even been on a lot of teams. He knows what will work and wont work in the end.
To start off the Finals, you guys are to play 9Storm. How have you guys prepared to start off this tournament, and for the rest of the tournament?
We are going to be doing a bootcamp a week before the playoffs and start to get our chemistry down and fix the problems that we've had throughout our matches/scrims.
DINC/ex-Pandemic will be coming into the playoffs after a bit of a change. During the season they found a home in Team Pandemic, an organization that was known for its CS Teams. At the very end of the season, Team Pandemic shut down and they were left looking for a new sponsor and a way to get their team to the ESEA Finals. They found that organization in DINC, the very same organization that picked up Loaded last season and helped lead them to a second place finish.
DINC first made their name this season when fans saw the return of Mikey "method" So. This instantly made them a team to watch and many were excited for his return. The team also includes Travis "tuBBy" Bechtol, the ringer who played for Team EG in the WCG US and Grand Finals. Wrapping up the newer roster at the beginning of the season is Mason "mason" Dickens, brother of Matt "Warden" Dickens.
DINC started off the season with three losses out of the first four matches. It seemed that they might be a lost cause until they brought in Garret "Grt" Bambrough when Dustin "dizzaman" Dilyerd was no longer able to play. Bambrough was able to lead the team to nine victories out of the next twelve matches. This included a five match win streak where the team dominated every opponent that they faced. The team has a bit of work to do for the LAN Playoffs as their losses that were in the second part of the season came from coL and Excello. In those losses the team never featured their full starting lineup. If they want to do something in this tournament, they will have to be able to beat these teams on LAN, something that is very possible for this group of guys at full force. They will face off against coL in their first match of the finale. This will be their true test to see how they might do during this tournament. If they win, they will go on to face EG in the next round.
DINC.CS Finals Roster:
Mason "mason" Dickens Garett "Grt" Bambrough Travis "tuBBy" Bechtol Mikey "Method" So Alex "millipede" AbbottSeason Record: 10-6
Seed: 5th
Expected Finish: I expect this group of guys to show up and shock some people. If they are in full force and practice for this event, it is very likely that they could be the second consecutive DINC team to show up and upset some teams. With them facing coL in their first match, they need to make a statement from the very beginning. If they do this, they could very well be slotted to take a top three spot.
Interview with Alex "millipede" Abbott:
You guys are coming into the playoffs with an organization change. The last time DINC sent a team to the playoffs, they shocked everyone beating EG and placing second. Has the organization change affected your practicing and how have you prepared for the Finals?
The organization change came last minute, that being said we have been more focused on just getting to the LAN. We really have not practiced to much because we have been trying to get there. But we will hopefully do well and give it everything we've got.
Every since you guys have added GRT to the roster, he has been vital to your success, how has he changed your team for the good and what benefit do you get from him coming into the finals?
Ya, GRT is very outspoken and is a good team player. He is our caller, so we obviously have done better with him. We get an experienced player on LAN for sure, and the loud ass he is will defiantly energize us im sure.
You guys must face coL as your first opponent going into the Finals, do you think this is a plus or a negative for you guys as a team trying to upset a few teams?
I think complexity is a very good team, and we would have rather played 9storm then Excello, but it doesnt work out the way you always want. So, we are just going to play and have fun and try and upset them.
Lets go Loaded! Woot!
