"It was in my hands."

Last night's second Semi-Final match, Birmingham Salvo versus Carolina Core went into Dead or Alive 4 Male with Carolina needing a miracle. At 20-15 down Ryan "Offbeat Ninja" Ward would have to win by a blowout score to just take the game into overtime. In his way would be Mingzhi "Messy" Deng, a player whose recent form has inconsistent.

Both players looked visibly shaken going into the match, Deng sat down on the bench holding his hands together in a silent prayer, while Ward prefferred to pace on the spot, restless, wanting the match to start. He got off to a dream start, winning the first round with ease. Deng would come close in the second and fourth rounds, but it would be no use as Ward would continune to string together impressive combos, using Ein [Messy was using Gen Fu] to his maximum potential. Before the game Marc Mangiacapra had screamed to Ward, "No pressure Offbeat", now he and the rest of the Salvo bench were silent, many of the players holding their hands behind their head, wondering if it was all real.

The 5-0 came, Carolina suddenly allowed to believe the impossible, in an overtime round I'd pick Ward over Deng 9 times out of 10. Counter-Strike: Source overtime can be random, so can Dead or Alive 4, the dominator for the last five rounds turned into the dominated in the blink of an eye, it was over, Salvo had won.

Cadred spoke with Ryan "Offbeat Ninja" Ward straight after the game.

Condolences on your loss, you won your game 5-1, how does it feel?

To be honest with you I'd have rather have won my game and lost the match, 5-2 or something, than lose it in overtime. It's such a crappy feeling because technically it was in my hands. In the last round, everything that could have gone wrong, did.

What was going through your head just before the overtime?

After the first couple of rounds, I pretty much knew I had it. Going into OT [overtime] I thought I had it as well, I thought I had blocked a move, when it in fact stunned me. Ok, that was fine, I was trying to recover than I accidentally jumped, that cost me the round. I couldn't attribute it to nerves or anything, it just happened to happen that round.

Ryan "Offbeat Ninja" Ward paces on the spot before the match deciding game. Photo; Max Silver- Cadred.org

Were you nervous going into the game needing the 5-0 just to have a shot at overtime?

To be honest with you I was a little nervous; I knew I could do it if I played on point, but I was still nervous. It's quite a feat to 5-0 someone.

Are you proud that you won your respective game?

Mixed feelings, I'm glad I won, but at the same time I would rather have lost the franchise match by losing a round in the normal play. To bring it to the end, that's a cruel way to lose.

This season you've been usurped to the number one title by your rival Manny "Master" Rodriguez, can you get back your title next year by continuing this form?

For sure, definitely. Unfortunately I had a rut this year, which lasted from WCG to this season, I've finally found my game and I'll be shooting for number one again.