With just one day to go before the CS:S LAN finals, Dr. Gonzo takes a look at the teams that finished 2nd and 3rd in the online season in the second part of our preview to the EPS UK LAN Finals.

On Saturday all eyes will be on London's Congress Centre as the top 4 finishers from the online part of the EPS season will go head to head angling for their share of the £30,000 prize pot. The winning team at the event will pick up a cheque to the amount of £5,000 while another £3,400 will be distributed between the remaining teams. Amongst the contenders for that prize will be the following two teams, Crack Clan and Fragmasters Toxic, who placed second and third respectively.

Crack Clan

Richard "ritch" Gibbs
Erik "HaZ" Holm
Thomas "beta" Hanna
Lewis "Hughsy" Hughes
Jim "Mx" Smale

Rankings

Clan Details	Played	Wins	Losses	Draws	For	Against	Earnings	POINTS
Crack Clan	8	6	1	1	115	83	£650	19

In what will be the last obligatory appearance for the mighty mix team they come in as prepared as anyone they are likely to face over the course of the event. It is perhaps also a tad ironic that the team all too often referred to as a mix is the one team coming here with the same line-up it started the competition with. Their form during the online part of the league is very solid, losing only to Dignitas and getting a draw against TLR, a result in itself that would be disappointing if they hadn’t battled back from 12-3 down to secure it.

And those fight-backs are becoming characteristic of the team, most recently in the form of their battling defeat against Reason in the UKeSA finals. Given that the other teams here are just starting out it as good an opportunity as they are likely to have to come out as victors this time. Of course, that will largely depend on how hardcore the other teams have been in the build up for this event. Certainly no-one is going to be underestimating Crack Clan’s ability after their UKeSA performance, not that a line-up containing that combination of players should be underestimated by anyone in the first place.

It will be interesting to see if Jim “Mx” Smale can carry his form from UKeSA into this event. Many thought he was the MVP at the event and were surprised when that award went elsewhere. The impact he had in both matches was huge and his playing well could be a deciding factor in how far Crack Clan go this time around. I definitely think he will be the player to watch for this team coming into this event.

With rumours circulating that most of the squad are likely to retire, from Source at least if not competitive gaming entirely, it perhaps would be fitting if they ended their time with a victory, something that has eluded them so far for reasons that are difficult to comprehend.

Fragmasters TOXIC

Luke "KritikaL" Green
James "Pez" Perrot
Callum "sulphhh" Buckley
George "hudzG" Hoskins

Rankings

Clan Details	Played	Wins	Losses	Draws	For	Against	Earnings	POINTS
FM. TOXIC	8	5	2	1	117	77	£550	16

Another side playing with a team that bares little resemblance to the squad that will be entered into next season’s competition, and they will be playing with three players no longer in the line-up and a merc. The last component of that particular cocktail is James “Pez” Perrot, on loan from TCM, playing for them in what is seen as a favour by some, or a trial for a permanent move by others. At the time of going to print they are not even sure who their fifth is going to be. Regardless of what the future holds, it is fair to say that expectations won’t be too high from their manager Darren “yakkkkkk” Ball given the circumstances.

Their league form was good coming into the event although what will be worrying for them is they haven’t beaten any of the other teams in attendance the first time round, losing to Crack Clan and Dignitas and managing a draw with TLR. Whether they will be able to improve on those results will be largely dictated by individual factors and personal reasoning. Luke “Kritikal” Green will also want to use the time to get “match-fit” for the big Summer LANs on the horizon, his Dignitas team wanting to get back to winning ways and soon.

What this means for the team is anyone’s guess. They must be coming into the event as underdogs based on their lack of practice, but they have shown before that when people write them off they can pull something special out the bag. So, while I don’t expect them to win their game, I do expect them to make a good fist of it at least. Although each player is a player to watch given the individual stories unfolding within the squad, I’ll nominate Callum “sulphh” Buckley. He’s the one, when all is said and done, that will have to be focused on building the team up for next season and he’ll want to start by showing he belongs in the same company as some of the other names competing this weekend.