[EGL7] Groups Preview

As the weekend of EGL7 finally draws near, anticipation has started to pick up as many of the last minute details regarding the event are confirmed. Seedings have been discussed and have finally been completed, bringing with them the almost religious uproar that occurs prior to almost every LAN event. With seeds being one of the more important factors in any tournament it will always be a test for those who are constructing them to finely balance seeds in a manner which ensures the tournament is as fair as it can be.

Moving on from the seeding issue, we have also found out the four groups into which all of our PS3 teams will be placed. Unfortunately due to the number of teams that are confirmed to attend it does mean that one group has 4 teams as opposed to the other 3 groups only having the 3. These group stages should not be treated as the be-all and end-all, instead acting as an at-LAN seeding tournament with all of the teams involved progressing into the double elimination tournament structure. All teams will therefore have the chance to fight their way through and claim the grand prize.

EUeSports have provided a short summary of each of the groups below, as well as some brief statements from those who will be playing at the event on both their opinions on the groups and their thoughts on how they will progress in the knockout stages.

Group A

RoughNeX - Unearthly, Kn1bber, Jacko, Lewis
Enigma- LivNew, Element, ASPX, Djani
CsC-Recovery – ReC-Stotty, LethalSlayer, ReC-Virus, Xiety
CsC – HamiltonX, CsC-Dan, Meatball, Daypitbull

We’ve come to expect that any team lead by Daniel ‘Unearthly’ Baker will be the top seeded team as yet again his RoughNeX squad top the seeds. Coming off the back of yet another EGL win there should be no doubt that Unearthly and co will be doing everything in their power to succeed once again. A one game blip online against Skitlite and a pre-LAN loss to TEC may however be a sign of things to come, as everything good must eventually come to an end.

The second seeded team in this group, Enigma, are a team boasting a roster of which the majority have yet to make an appearance at LAN with only ASPX having previously been to an event on the Xbox 360. Whilst the team do appear to be a well-oiled unit online this does not always translate to success offline, as we have all saw at previous events what can happen if people falter under the pressure. If Enigma can perform on the day they will surely be a team to watch.

Group A concludes by throwing up an inter-org grudge match of sorts, with both CsC-Recovery and CsC being placed in the same group. The CsC-recovery team should be hoping to prove victorious over the lesser competitively experienced CsC squad who only have HamiltonX with previous LAN experience. This may be LethalSlayer and company’s best chance yet to gain a solid final placement after having a couple of fairly lackluster finishes previously. CsC-Recovery appear to have played together a fair amount which should help them, especially considering the level to which MW3 is based on criteria other than out and out skill.

Group A Comments

RoughNeX Team Captain Unearthly had this to say:

Enigma player Element commented:

ReC-Virus from CsC-Recovery had this to say about Group A:

CsC team captain and Organisation owner CsC-Dan offered up his views:

Norbreck Castle, where our teams will be hoping to have their name in lights.

Group B

Skitlite – Micha, McKeown, Explicit, Acid
Infested – Wilzo, Cookie, Shizzle, Nexy
Horizon – Horizon-Pocket, Horizon-Unreal, Horizon-Slaya, Horizon-Addz

Group B on paper offers up at the very least two teams who will feel they have a great chance of winning this tournament, Skitlite and Infested. With 3 out of 4 of their team having finished 2nd at EGL5 under the Org Nova, Skitlite will be hoping to go one step further at this weekend’s EGL. Their new pickup Acid is himself no stranger to LAN events having previously played in two highly rated ApeX and Foreign squads.

Similarly, Infested also boast experience in their ranks with none larger in this field than Wilzo who has consistently made an appearance, and placed highly, at events. He’s joined by Nexy, another LAN veteran who has also teamed with Wilzo before to great effect. With Shizzle and Cookie coming over from the 360 side of things they will be hoping to provide the last piece of a puzzle to a team who should finish the tournament amongst the front runners

This group is rounded off with Horizon, who are a team which has appeared to keep itself in the background in terms of making themselves known. Addz and Slaya have both competed at previous events although have yet to finish in the upper echelons of the tournament. They will surely be hoping that this will be their event to really make their mark.

Group B Comments

Skitlite player Explicit said:

Team Infested's Wilzo offered up his views on his group:

Horizon-Slayer had this to say:

All of our teams will be hoping that they'll be on the road to success at EGL7.

Group C

Vital Gaming - SHKZ, Galaxy, FrenZz, Dodge
TEC - HUGZ, Josh, STYLEZ, Keane
SAS - SteWhizz, Sammi, VipeZ, Banxy


Group C is similar to Group B in that two of the teams that will progress from this group should have high hopes of an upper tier finish. Vital Gaming are a combination of two members of Audio, Galaxy and Frenzz, who finished 5th at EGL5 and two members from the pre-LAN Infensus team, SHKZ and Dodge who decided to jump ship a few weeks before LAN. The previous placements of the members of this team should hold them in good stead for an attack in the knockout stages, it only remains to be seen if the relatively short timespan that this team has been together will prove a hindrance.

TEC are without doubt one of the stronger teams that are heading to Blackpool on paper, having a multiple LAN winner in Josh alongside HUGZ, Keane and STYLEZ who have all placed well at previous events including a 3rd place at Reflex for STYLEZ in his inaugural event and a 2nd place for HUGZ at EGL4. The one major problem that would seem to be holding this team back is a lack of playtime compared to most of the other teams attending. With HUGZ openly stating his displeasure at having to play MW3 and the rest of the team struggling to play much together as a unit it may be that it is not skill that will prove the end for this team, but playtime.

EGL’s SAS may not live up to their namesakes at this event, having been placed in a tough group. They’ll need to use all of their specially honed skills if they are to defeat the other two teams in Group C who appear as though they will have too much for SteWhizz and his gang of soldiers. Nothing can be ruled out at LAN however, and with Banxy and VipeZ in the team you cannot rule out an upset happening as both players have performed at previous EGL’s. It is never beyond anyone to pull off a win and if SAS manage to perform strongly in this group then you never know what will happen.

Group C Comments

Vital Gaming's Dodge said:

TEC team captain HUGZ:

SAS team captain SteWhizz commented:

Just some of the many delights our players will experience over the coming weekend.

Group D

Infensus - Starry, Ash, Reckz, Steek
CsC.RyS - Endless, Predator, Storer, Ghost
eQ.Havok - Kriz, Fierce, Jordanlies, Swet


The player that it seems almost everyone loves to hate, Starry, will be trying to lead a fresh charge at a top 3 placing after previous success with both Infensus and RyS. He brings with him two familiar faces in the forms of Reckz and Ash, both also having tasted different measures of success; 3rd at ECL2 for Reckz and a 2nd place at EGL5 for Ash. The lure of 1st place will surely be on the minds of this team, especially considering the dedication both Starry and Ash have put into MW3. Steek provides a bit of an unknown quantity to the team, having never competed at an EGL before, a factor Starry will no doubt be hoping the unpredictability of will give a boost to their title seeking plans if he performs well.

CsC.RyS are a recently formed addition to the EGL7 team line-up, though in no manner are they new additions to EGL. Each member has previously competed at an EGL event, with both Endless and Ghost finishing 3rd at ECL3. Predator is no stranger to LAN himself, having competed on both 360 and PS3 including an online LAN win at PS3’s EGL4. Storer has always been a player who has shown promise yet has been held back by a lack of maturity given his relatively young age; if this has been curbed then we should be seeing a team who will most certainly still be in the challenge come Sunday.

eQ.Havok are another team who have formed only recently, coming off the back of a couple of team attempts by Kriz not working out. This team is full of the unknown with the majority never having been to an EGL before and Kriz only competing on 360. He will no doubt be wishing to ensure that his move from 360 was the right one and that he can at the very least gain a respectable finish. The lack of LAN experience has never been a stopping point for teams and I’m sure Fierce, Jordan and Swet will be looking at what Nova were able to do at EGL5 with the knowledge that anything is possible.

Group D Comments

After a tough struggle we finally managed to persuade Infensus Starry to give his succint thoughts on his group:

Ghost from CsC.RyS had this to offer:

eQ.Havok's Kriz had this to say:

Final Thoughts

Whilst the number of teams that are involved at the event is a bit of a disappointment, the one major upside is that the mid to upper tier of teams are all of a similar standard and will be pushing each other to the very limits. This should lend itself to some good matchups and hopefully some surprises along the way as LAN always gives us something different to online in terms of results, such as Nova’s march to 2nd at EGL5 and Savage’s 4th place finish at EGL3. This may well be the event where a team finally knocks RoughNeX off of the top spot as there a number of candidates who it would seem, on the day, should prove more than a challenge for the top seeded team.

We wish every team attending good luck and implore you all to watch the best PS3 teams go head to head in Blackpool. Our stream will be live all weekend, alongside other coverage that we will be providing.

Good article, nice work leigh.

Have edited that for you, I wasn't sure so just copied the team lists from Nick's thread.