Just three games remain in the CGS Regular season for the San Francisco OptX (4-5), and you know that GM Kat Hunter would love for her squad to win all of those remaining games to solidify their playoff spot. As it stands, they have World Champion Chicago (also 4-5) breathing down their necks, and they face a tough opponent tomorrow in third-place Carolina. The games will be tight, the tension practically palpable. Will San Francisco return to .500? Rebound predicts the match as such:

Dead or Alive 4 Male:

NinjaCW (5-4) vs. Offbeat Ninja (5-3)

Our first Dead or Alive rematch is a “Battle of the Ninjas,” as surprising Optx rookie NinjaCW takes on Mr. CGS, Offbeat Ninja. They're separated by a mere half-game in the standings, and while few could hope to catch Master, Offbeat Ninja is still showing that he's one of the dominant players in this league. NinjaCW, meanwhile, continues to impress independent critics and other DoA players alike, bulling his way through some of the toughest competition he's had to play in recent memory. With both players on their A Game, both teams expect nothing else than an epic match up. So who ends up taking it in the end? Here's the skinny:

NinjaCW > Offbeat Ninja 5-4

Dead or Alive 4 Female:

Vanessa (8-1) vs. Mystik (5-3)

Even with her upset loss versus Venom's Phoenix, Vanessa still has THE best career record of any CGS competitor, ever: 21-1. She's still in first place, and it's still a safe bet to predict her defeating any player she sees, Phoenix included. Tomorrow she faces Mystik, considered by many to be a top-3 DoA Female and (until Phoenix came along), a player who's skill could take down Vanessa. However, now that Vanessa actually has a loss on her record, she's all the stronger for it. Once again, I'm placing my bets on the “safe” pick:

Vanessa > Mystik 5-3

FIFA 08:

stermy^ (6-3) vs. anomaly (3-5)

Core's Anomaly and OptX's stermy^ lock horns once again in FIFA. Stermy^ has bounced back from a 4-8 record last year to sit in second place with a strong 6-3 record. After going undefeated in the CGS World Finals for Chicago, Anomaly has had his share of victories and losses, and currently sits in 4th place with a 3-5 record. Due to the unusually high number of FIFA matches that go to penalty kicks, however, anything can happen in a well-played FIFA game, so look for stermy^ to attack hard to get an early goal, and do everything in his power to prevent the now commonplace overtime:

stermy^ > Anomaly 1-0

CSS:

Optx.CSS (2-7) vs. Core.CSS (4-4)

Right now, OptX.css can't even end the season at .500. While they were able to mute the impact of CSS in their last match with an 11-7 loss to top-ranked 3DNY, the squad as a whole has been performing far below their capabilities, and Kat Hunter's expectations. Tomorrow they face 3rd-place Carolina, who after a hot start to their season, have cooled off to an even 4-4 record. The map with be de_inferno which, like de_dust2, is a strong map for San Francisco. However, unless they can duplicate the performance that garnered them an 11-7 victory the last time these two teams met, expect Carolina to add another black eye to San Fran's ugly CSS record:

Core.css > OptX.css 10-8

Forza 2:

Forza 2: SACAKMONJARO/Miximup (4-5) vs. General E Live/Phantom (6-2)

Finally, SACKAMONJARO and Miximup take on General E Live and Phantom in Forza 2. Carolina is currently the top-ranked Forza team, with an impressive 6-2 record. Among their wins this season was a closely fought 4-3 victory over the OptX rookie duo. As I wrote in the first OptX-Core prediction, Sack and Miximup have very good teamwork, but if Carolina gets one race around the crashing that's sure to mark the start of the race, then they can pretty much outrun either OptX racer. Look for it to happen again tomorrow:

General E Live/Phantom > SACKAMONJARO/Miximup 4-3

"There can be only one!"

San Francisco makes it back to .500 with a rail-thin 22-21 victory over Carolina. 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! Happy fragging, and GO OPTX!!!