compLexity grabs first victory of 2008

The Los Angeles compLexity are mired in a slump no more.

Their misery was put aside Sunday as they defeated the Carolina Core, 22-20.

Arguably the biggest highlight of the match was when Megan "Belle" Ceder scored her first C.G.S win, defeating Katherine Gunn, 5-3 in a "Dead or Alive 4" contest.

Ceder (1-10) was in the worst funk the league had seen, losing every match in 2007 and the first 10 of 2008 before pulling out a win against the Antelope Valley native.

Ceder went ahead 2-0 before Gunn stormed back to tie it at 2-2. Ceder then won three of the next four rounds to end the drought.

The communities at DOA Central and compLexity Gaming both showed their support for Ceder by showering her with notes of praise and congratulations.

It was obvious that she had improved this year from 2007, as she scored more rounds against opponents. There were some matches in which she was a hit or two away from doing more damage on the scoreboard, but she couldn't.

From there, Los Angeles' "Counter-Strike Source" squad scored an 11-7 win to add padding to the franchise's overall tally. Despite wins in the final two races by Carolina (Forza Motorsport 2 and Dead or Alive 4), enough had been done on Los Angeles' part.

While Los Angeles celebrates, Carolina waits with baited breath. The Core are 4-7, as is the Chicago Chimera. Last year, these two teams were the finalists in the Region 1 championship and World Final team tournament. One of them is not going to make this year's playoffs.

If the season ended today, Carolina is in because of the point-differential tie-breaker (plus-19 to Chicago's minus-30).

Carolina controls its own destiny. A win against Dallas on Monday night, and they're in the playoffs. If they don't win, then Chicago can sneak into the playoffs with a win over San Francisco.