Posted by: Aaron Lockard on September 18, 2006 6:21:39 PM
The 2006 WCG US Final drew to a close on Sunday in Las Vegas with
thirteen gamers left standing.
Together they form Team USA and will
travel to Monza, Italy in October to defend its title of Grand Champion
“ earned in Singapore, 2005 “ against 700 of the world's elite gamers
from 70 countries at the highly touted 2006 World Cyber Games Grand
Final.
Team 3D won their fifth consecutive US title for
Counter-Strike (PC) in dramatic fashion, fending off United 5 in
overtime to claim the gold and a chance for their third world title in
Italy.
Manny "Master" Rodriguez dropped Daniel "King" Roberson
with little trouble to claim the honor of best Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox
360) player in America. DOA4 is quickly becoming a spectator favorite
here in the US and Manny is aiming to take down the heavily favored
Japanese team in Italy.
In FIFA 06 (PC), Isidro "novushaim"
Sifuentes upset two-time US champion Matija "Jevrej" Biljeskovic by an
aggregate score of 8 to 3, winning the best of three matches in the
final round.
Russ "Ir0nClad" Watson returns to the WCG Grand
Final for the first time since 2003 when he competed for Team USA in
WarCraft. Franklin has taken up Warhammer: 40,000 (PC) and dropped
Steven "Bluewolf" Andersen in the final of that title match.
A
naturalized Korean will give the Korean nationals a run for their money
in StarCraft (PC), as Geunhwa "lastgosu" Ralph upset Sean "Day" Plott
in the StarCraft final. His work will still be cut out for him as
StarCraft is the national sport of Korea.
Franklin "nilknarf"
Pearsall took the gold in WarCraft III (PC) while Wesley "TTR Ch0mpr"
Cwiklo will represent the US in Project Gotham Racing 3 on the Xbox 360.
Kamran "omegaelite" Siddiqui took the gold for Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PC) on Saturday evening.
"Stay
focused," offered T.J. Lavin of MTV fame to Team USA during the award
ceremony. "Don't let the other players get under your skin. You can
talk smack after you win."
In his closing comments, HS Kim, CEO
of International Cyber Marketing (ICM) “ the global organizers behind
the World Cyber Games - emphasized the important role Team USA will
have at the 2006 Grand Final.
"There are high expectations from
Team USA," said Mr. Kim. "Not only are you defending your Grand
Champion status, but with the Grand Final coming to Seattle in 2007 you
will be looked upon as emissaries for e-Sports."
Michael Arzt,
general manager of ICM USA, thanked all participant of the 2006 WCG
season and urged Team USA to, "show the world again that the best
gamers are based here in the US."
Winners from the US Final in the six PC and two Xbox 360 games include:
Counter-Strike: Team 3D
- Dave "Moto" Geffon, 24, of Austin, Texas
- Ronald "Rambo" Kim of Dallas, Texas
- Josh "Dominator" Sievers of Polk City, Iowa
- Salvatore "Volcano" Garozzo of Eastchester, New York
- Mike "Method" So of Los Angeles, CA
Warhammer 40k: Russ "Ir0nclad" Watson of Wylie, TX
WarCraft III: Franklin "nilknarf" Pearsall of Kenmore, WA
StarCraft: Geunhwa "lastgosu" Ralph of Palisades Park, NJ
FIFA 06: Isidro "novushaim" Sifuentes of Houston, TX
Need for Speed: Most Wanted: Kamran "omegaelite" Siddiqui of Orlando, FL
Project Gotham Racing 3: Wesley "TTR Ch0mpr" Cwiklo Camarillo, CA