Now, the real season starts. Successes, failures...they are all for this moment, when dreams can come true. Win or go home. And every other sports-related cliché in the book. But it's true. Everyone now is 0-0. And only the next game matter. San Francisco versus Dallas. The winner goes to the North American Finals, and gets a World Finals berth. The loser? Well, it's gets a lot more difficult. Let's see how the match could play out:

Dead or Alive 4 Male:

NinjaCW (6-6; 0-0) vs. Master (11-1; 0-0)

Regular Season: NinjaCW 0-3 Master

Leading off this important franchise match, OptX rookie NinjaCW, ranked third in the season standings, faces off against the top-ranked Master, who maintained a perfect record until his final match of the season against Carolina's Offbeat Ninja. NinjaCW will play as Gen Fu, while Master sticks with the superninja Ryu Haybusa. And the numbers don't lie, NinjaCW, like many, has been victimized by Venom's buzzsaw of a DoA Male. In their three matches, Master has won by margins of 5-1, 5-2, and 5-2. If the OptX hope to beat the Venom when the night is done, they need their rookie to pull something extra special out of his repertoire against Master:

Master > NinjaCW 5-3

FIFA 08:

stermy^ (8-4; 0-0) vs. Barmoa (3-9; 0-0)

Regular Season: stermy^ 3-0 Barmoa

Fifa will be the next game, pitting second-ranked OptX captain stermy^ against Barmoa, who pulled up the rear this season. Like Master, stermy^ is a perfect 3-0 against Barmoa, who will be playing as Brazil, and will need all of his talent as France to keep the franchise score from getting out of control. In their three matches, stermy^ has won 1-0, 4-3, and 1-0, respectively, but he'll need a big margin if Master gets out of control against NinjaCW. But no worries, stermy^ has this one in the bag:

stermy^ > Barmoa 2-0

Forza 2:

SACKAMONJARO/Miximup (4-8; 0-0) vs. Cha0s/Muffinman (5-7; 0-0)

Regular Season: OptX.Forza 1-2 Venom.Forza

The third franchise match will be another chance for the #1 Overall Draft pick Muffinman to pick up his first win on live television. The Dallas duo has failed to live up to the high expectations of their teammates, GM Alex Conroy, and the Venom fans, being only one win higher than the San Francisco duo, who have battled in for every point this season, no matter what their 4-8 record may tell. In fact, despite the marginally better record, San Francisco beats Dallas in a very important stat: point differential, where the OptX hold a -8 to -15 advantage. In their three matches, The OptX have won 5-2, but have also lost by scores of 4-3 and 6-1. Muffin didn't get a win on TV during the season, and he won't get one in the playoffs:

SACKAMONJARO/Miximup > Muffinman/Cha0s 4-3

Dead or Alive 4 Female:

Vanessa (11-1; 0-0) vs. Phoenix (8-4; 0-0)

Regular Season: Vanessa 2-1 Pheonix

No, you don't have to adjust your computer screens. This match does have special meaning, as it will be Vanessa's first chance to one up Venom's Phoenix, after the rookie stunned San Francisco and the CGS by handing Vanessa her very first loss, 5-3. In their other two meetings, Vanessa has won 5-1 and 5-2, and since the lost Vanessa has a 4-0 record, while Phoenix has gone 3-1. San Francisco's World Finals ambitions rest on their Franchise Player's ability to bring her 'A' game, and then some, against the Venom. The rebound fully believes in her, and predicts:

Vanessa > Phoenix 5-3

CSS:

OptX.css (4-8; 0-0) vs. Venom.css (9-3; 0-0)

Career: OptX.css 1-2 Venom.css

There's no reason for OptX.css to not take this match seriously. Going to the World Finals may rest squarely on their shoulders, and unlike other franchise matches, there will be no one following them to pick them up. The 5th ranked OptX squad will face top-ranked Dallas Venom, who are looking to add a Team World Finals trip to their itinerary, which currently holds an Individual World Finals berth. In their previous three matches, Optx have won 10-8, but lost a 10-9 overtime match, and then got rolled 13-5 on TV. In this, quite possibly their most important match, OptX.css HAS to come together, or Dallas will be celebrating at the end of the night:

Venom.css > Optx.css 10-8

Will San Francisco make the playoffs?!

This leaves OptX with another squeaker, as they eliminate Dallas by a 22-21 margin. Stay tuned to #optx on the Gamesurge IRC network, as well as the official San Francisco Optx site, and the Optx groups on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, the Steam Community, and Youtube, for the latest in Optx news, features, and scores! And be sure to watch LIVE on DirecTV channel 101 Wednesday July 2nd, as San Francisco takes on the Dallas Venom in the North American playoffs! Happy fragging, and GO OPTX!!!