SEARCH LANDODGER

CAL Predictions: Season 9, Week 4.1

It’s slim pickings this week. I don’t know what happened, but when I look down at the seven scheduled matches, there are only two or three that seem vaguely exciting. This must be how Mike Rowe feels about new...

CAL Predictions: Season 9, Week 3-2

I’ve been catching up on some demos recently; I had a pretty big backlog. I try to watch matches live, but things always come up – work, playing Portal, disposing of dead bodies, that kind of thing. I even had...

CAL Predictions: Season 9, Week 3-1

Let’s see how my preseason thoughts are doing. Going into the action, I liked GameFrog, eGe, LucK as possible title contenders. They’re a combined 4-6. I didn’t consider ajnin a top team, and wondered how they’d do without n1x1n. They’re...

Buy a SourceTV Ticket

The CPL didn’t have SourceTV. The XFX regional qualifiers didn’t have SourceTV. DigitalLife didn’t have SourceTV. I hope you’ve noticed the trend, because I’m out of examples. On the other hand, three examples are enough: too many fans didn’t get...

CAL Predictions: Season 9 Week 1-1

I planned to write a separate entry for this introduction, but the season snuck up on me so I might as well combine it with the predictions. I’m going to make a few changes in the coverage for this season....

WSVG Cancelled: Good or Bad Sign?

It seems counter-intuitive to call the closure of the WSVG a good sign for eSports. It was the second-biggest league (for PC gamers). Now their events and prize money have been taken away from the collective pool, and that...

Sneak Peek: CAL-I Finals

CAL-I Finals Preview As you probably know, the CAL-I Finals are being played here, and the match(es) will start in a little bit. I’m not sure where I fall on this one. On one hand, Eximius beat Turmoil (Turflowdev) handily...

The Communal Experience

It’s hard to pinpoint the biggest problem in eSports. Is it the lack of one game to market? Maybe it’s a general lack of interest in the general population. What about all the immaturity and shady “sponsors”? That’s got...

CAL Predictions: Season 9 PT, Round 3

CAL Predictions: Season 9 PT, Round 3 [Note: This introduction was written before the bracket was altered. This is the updated bracket, but I’m leaving the article intact because I think the point remains the same, even though the specific...

CAL Predictions: Season 9 PT, Round 2

No big intro today. It’s late, I’m tired, hungry, irritable, and I think my aura changed from its normal effervescent blue to a deathly shade of black about two hours ago. To top it off, I slacked off most of...

CAL Predictions: Season 9 PT, Round 1

(Post Publish Note: I completely forgot that the matches were twelve-round halves instead of fifteen. I’ll leave them published as-is, but I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Also, here’s a direct link to the PT bracket.) Before we...

PT Coverage Starts Tomorrow

The bracket is updated to include the last two teams, and I wanted to get the predictions out tonight but my energy is fading like Les Stroud on the fourth day of eating nothing but air. I’ll release those early tomorrow,...

Money is not the Solution

I love money. You probably do, too, unless you’re worried about obesity-related deaths among wallets. What’s not to love? It’s green. It smells nice. It lets me acquire other nice-smelling things, like a girlfriend. And, unlike a girlfriend, it’s never...

CSP: Small Step for eSports, Giant Leap for CS ... Maybe

It’s time for LANDodger’s semi-regular “questions for Promod which never get answered”. We have one of these every time a big CSP update (read: every CSP update, even if it’s crappy alpha maps) is released. The 1.6 community works...

Season 9 CAL Changes

We’ve been trained to think that making a wrong decision is inherently bad, and sometimes that’s true. It’s also true that making a wrong decision is sometimes better than making no decision at all, which usually ends up being...

CAL Playoffs: Round 1 Preds, Team Previews

Playoffs??! Don’t talk about playoffs, you kiddin’ me!? Playoffs!?! (That, along with the Allen Iverson “practice” rant, never gets old.) If practice makes perfect, and perfection is impossible, is practice impractical? Wait a minute ... we talkin' 'bout practice!? Well, we...

Wim Barelds Interview

There were so many great things I could name this interview: "Wimsical Interview", "Interview on a Wim", "Getting to know TheUnknownFactor". It definitely appealed to my love of puns and wordplay, but instead I went with the same boring format...

CAL Predictions: Week 6-2

Usually, at this point we could talk about which teams will be in the playoffs, and which are out of contention. The only problem is there’s such a backlog of games to play, I think EXTREMITY could come back from...

CAL Predictions: Week 6-1

Is it too late to predict recKoning to beat Cyber Phenom 16-14, and Mug ‘N Mouse to beat x6 by the same score? The results page says “yes”. I say, you’re only as late as you feel. And I’m feelin’ early,...

Quick CAL Update

I released the information for the Season 8 Playoffs and Season 9 Placement Tournament earlier, but there are a couple small corrections to make. First, I mentioned there would be a third-place runoff to determine the winner of the eMg...

eMg Preds: Round 6, Part I

I was perusing through my IRC channel, which has swelled to ten idlers and is bursting with excitement and conversation, and I came across LooseCannon from LucK saying, “mike getting lazy on hisss preddsss =p”. My first thought was concern for...

Similarities in Boxing, eSports?

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a post comparing the action in boxing to eSports, like people do with football. Personally, I think most comparisons to the NFL are far too ambitious. It’s like comparing your current girlfriend to a...

eMg Predictions: Round 5

eMg Predictions: Round 5 This round scares me to death. There’s a decent chance for an 0-4 prediction apocalypse. I wish I could outsource these predictions to India, or at the very least hire some schlub to take the fall for me. Anybody? Anybody? ...

CAL Season 8 Update

The CPL is using Source.  The CPL is using Source?  The CPL is using Source!  I think that sums up the community reaction very nicely: a combination of fact, surprise, and excitement. If you’re the guy who makes up the CAL...

eMg Predictions: Round 4

Taking a quick look back, my record from the first three rounds was 70-25. Add in the 13-3 record from last week, and we’re at 83-28. For anybody that’s not a mathematical genius, that works to a winning percentage of 74.8%. We’re...

eMg Predictions: Round 3

Tonight, as I started the predictions, I was very happy. For the first time during the eMg tournament, the list of teams was less than a page long. There’s extra white stuff on Page 1 after the last matchup. This brought a joy...

eMg: Round 2

eMg Predictions: Round 2 Just for fun, I went back to see how I did for the first round of predictions. I ended up going 46-17, which was better than I expected. Math wizards will realize that adds up to 63 matches,...

eMg Predictions, Part III

The deed is finished! If you missed Part I or Part II, don't fret, I've got your back. One last note before we begin. I want to stress that you should take these predictions in the spirit in which they're...

eMg Predictions, Part II

Round Two … FIGHT! IN1HIT vs. Second Nature – Unintended consequence of the eMg tournament: you can see which players are active on any team. I’m flipping back and forth between the eMg rosters, and the regular CAL rosters for each...

eMg Predictions, Part I

LANDodger’s List of Things You’ll Need Before Reading or Writing 64 Predictions: 1) A case of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage. We want to get through this alert, not drunk. 2) A bathroom stop before attempting to conquer the mountain. Either...

CAL-I Stats

After a long wait, we've got the CAL-I stats page up. Thanks to x6-Misty and CAL|Shawn for being the driving forces behind this project. I can't say enough about all the work they put into it, and I'm just happy...

Shifting Focus

The CAL season is taking a little break while the eMazing Tournament (CAL forums) runs its course, so we’re having a little shift in focus at LD, too.  I’ll be covering the tournament while it goes on, but the...

CAL Predictions: Week 4-2

Notes before the predictions: EXTREMITY died since the last round of predictions, and Riot Squad isn’t scheduled due to some roster complications. They should be back on their feet soon, but the schedule is being altered so Check-Six is playing itsamassacre...

CAL Predictions: Week 4-1

CAL Predictions: Week 4-1 We’re going to have a new feature here at LANDodger: I’m going to pick one match to be predicted by the community at large. I won’t do it this week since the predictions are already published, but we’ll...

CAL Predictions: Week 3-2

As always, clerical issues first: snowmen, the team previously know as fever, is now the team previously known as snowmen. They’ve joined the Mug ‘N Mouse organization, adopting their third name this season. Somebody should host a pool for their next...

CAL Predictions: Week 3-1

A few quick notes before we get to the predictions.  Sorry about the lack of predictions for Week 2-2, things got a little busy around here with the CGS action and “real” work.  Visual Gaming disbanded, and they’ve been...

CAL-ac|Parkhill Interview

Let’s fire up the Way Back machine for a second, and head back to the article I wrote when the AC Client was released. You don’t have to read the article, but a portion of it got me in some hot...

CAL Predictions: Week 2-1

A few quick notes before we get to the predictions. A few teams are at the CGS combine, which means if you’re interested in watching their matches, they won’t be happening tomorrow. The teams are: Devastation, Hyper, LucK, PK, and Check-Six. PK...

eMazing Gaming Tournament

This is what happens when a league gets an anti-cheat client! You can afford to run a tournament with prizes and not attract hackers like you offered money for the best pub score on a server without VAC on it. I’m...

CAL|Shawn Interview

We have a new installment in my ongoing quest to interview every CAL admin the league has ever had. At this pace, I should finish around the same time the NHL gets popular. Or the Cubs get good. Or people like Barry...

CAL Predictions: Week 1-2

What’s up with only five matches from the first date being played? I know we all have busy schedules filled by dates with supermodels, fights with Chuck & Chuck (Liddell and Norris), and tryouts for the Olympics, but aren’t CAL...

Changes for CEVO?

Part of the problem with titles is they don’t get room for qualifiers. It’s a headline, and it should capture the gist of what’s written in the ensuing article. Usually it doesn’t matter, but I think it needs to be explained...

CAL Predictions: Week 1-1

Season 8 is upon us! Sorry for the late posting, I’ve been traveling the last couple days so my schedule has been a little hectic. In the future I’ll be releasing predictions the day before each round: Tuesday and Saturday. So again,...

CAL Season 8 PT Round 3

Before I get to the predictions, there are officially four more teams in CAL-Invite now. So congratulations to: Luck, Visual Gaming, The Real Untouchables, and Hyper for making the cut by winning the first two matches. I’m looking forward to seeing...

Placement Tournament Tag Team

Just a small update on CAL’s Season 8 Placement Tournament: pure.gaming dropped out after their first round loss to Nous Sommes Francophones. Instead of giving a team in the lower bracket a forfeit win, CAL decided to move Riot Squad into...

CAL Season 8 PT Preds -- Round 2

Upper Bracket It’samassacre vs. Luck – Luck lusted after a victory against eNvy, and they came into the match with a lot of wrath built up from last season’s playoff loss. They were playing for pride, and they didn’t let sloth...

CAL Season 8 PT Predictions

The first round of the CAL Season 8 Placement Tournament will start in just a couple days, and with that in mind it’s time to start the coverage. And by coverage, I mean predictions that have about a fifty-fifty chance...

CAL Placement Tournament

Everybody was so happy about the CAL placement tournament, but the honeymoon ended as soon as the actual list of teams was released. It’s not unexpected, if you invite X teams into the tournament, the X + 1 ranked team is...

CAL Ban Standardization

I suggest you take notice of CAL's new suspension policies. It's comprehensive, clear, and if you pay attention you might have the good fortune of evading the banhammer.

CAL Anti-Cheat: Enemy Down

A long-awaited day is finally here, and CAL continues their quest to bring back the professional teams and build community support with the latest news that their AC client is ready.

Playoffs With No Payoff

If you blinked, you probably missed the CEVO playoffs. Not really, it would have been a two day blink, but you get the point. They were over too fast, and it hurts teams and fans.

CAL|Gancorz Interview

He's overseen change, but doesn't take bribes. He's CAL|Gancorz, the CS:S Game Manager for CAL, and he was kind enough to answer some questions for LD.

CAL|Daniel Interview

Mr. Colbert does an interview every night, and it's time for my second in two days. If you've ever wondered about CAL-QC, wonder no more. CAL|Daniel's interview is here.

CAL|Barry Interview

I had a chance to ask CAL|Barry some questions about the CPL, CAL, and his experiences as an admin. Find the answers inside, along with some obscure Futurama references.

Old Dog > New Tricks

CAL announced some huge changes today, but they're trying to change more than just their colors. They want to bring back the competition, and LD is on the scene.

The Decline of EFG

EFG might not need one of these quite yet, but it's getting close. They lost another good player, and the CGS events are looming just over the horizon.

Put me in, Coach: The Next Step?

Who are these guys with ties and clipboards? They're coaches, of course, but you won't find any of them in an eSports organization. Maybe it's time for that to change.

Write on Schedules

In eSports, rescheduled matches have become as common as Rex Grossman turnovers (sigh). Most of the time it doesn’t matter; not many people care if a CAL-M match gets changed without warning. But the “professional” leagues need to get a...

Shut Yo Mouth (Talkin' 'bout Maps)

If I told you five years ago that we'd have six viable maps for competitive Counter-Strike in 2007, you would’ve looked at me like I was a Cylon (or a Power Ranger, whatever was cool then).  CS was the most...