The World Series of Video Games Intel Summer Championships Counter-Strike grand finals match takes place between upper bracket winners Alternate Attax and consolation champions Complexity. The two teams have overcome a series of world class competitors and look to cap off impressive runs at the ISC $40,000 richer. The task will be all the more difficult for Complexity as the team will need to win two consecutive matches (on de_inferno and de_dust2 respectively) against Alternate Attax to claim the prize. With Complexity's only loss of the tournament coming to the Germans of Attax, the possibility of winning the event is all the more difficult.

The first match is set to begin at 12:30 P.M. CST. For more information check out the following links: Finals Melee | Event Brackets.

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A Closer Look at Alternate Attax

Alternate Attax's Roster:

Tim “silver” Hochgrebe (GS)
Jan “moon” Stolle (GS)
David “CHEF-KOCH” Nagel (GS)
Navid “Kapio” Javadi (GS)
Manuel “TiXo” Makohl (GS)

Alternate Attax's Path to the Grand Finals:

aTTax > ya0 2.0 16-0 on de_dust2
aTTax > confederacy 16-4 on de_nuke
aTTax > Catch-Gamer 16-14 on de_inferno
aTTax > fnatic 16-13 on de_train
aTTax > mouz 16-13 on de_dust2
aTTax > coL 16-2 on de_nuke

Rounds Won: 96
Rounds Lost: 46
Record: 6-0-0

Analysis:

Despite having a few close matches, Alternate Attax has dominated this tournament by winning the upper bracket finals. The Germans have had an incredibly difficult path including facing (and defeating) 4 of the world's top 10 teams in a row (according to GotFrag's World Rankings), including a 16-2 blowout over Complexity on day 3.

Alternate Attax's 3 Keys to Victory:

1) Play to win the tournament on the first map. All too often I see teams playing incredibly passive on the first map of a "best of three" or in this case a "consolation winner win two" series. DON'T DO THAT. To counter Complexity's impressive de_inferno strategies, Alternate Attax will need to stick what has been working for them and continue playing an extremely aggressive defense. Always put the pressure on your opponents, don't let them put the pressure on you.

2) Continue to have a well balanced offense. No player from Alternate Attax has particularly stolen the show. Instead the team has meshed well together, using each player effectively rather than have one man dominate the match. This is something Complexity will need to work on should they wish to have a chance to win.

3) Don't get cocky. Round 15 of Alternate Attax's match vs. Complexity saw the Germans using para's and going for knife kills. Had Complexity made an impressive rally and won the match, the Germans would have had that round to thank for potentially costing them more then $20,000.

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A Closer Look at Complexity

Complexity's Roster:

Corey “tr1p” Dodd (GS)
Matt “Warden” Dickens (GS)
Danny “fRoD” Montaner (GS)
Justin “sunman” Summy (GS)
Tyler “Storm” Wood (GS)

Complexity's Path to the Grand Finals:

col > S.U.B.L. 16-5 on de_dust2
coL > npu 16-10 on de_nuke
coL > fzer0 16-3 on de_inferno
coL > noa 16-14 on de_train
coL > g3x 16-5 on de_dust2
coL < aTTax 2-16 on de_nuke
coL > fnatic 16-10 on de_train

Rounds Won: 98
Rounds Lost: 63
Record: 6-1-0

Analysis:

Complexity's vice this tournament has been de_nuke. The team has played de_nuke twice and suffered an incredible one half beating at the hands of npu's hasse's strong defensive play, and a big loss in the upper bracket finals to Alternate Attax. With de_nuke out of the finals rotation Complexity should have no problem bringing their A game to the grand finals match. However that poses a more important question: is Complexity's A game enough to defeat Alternate Attax twice in a row? Whatever the answer may be Complexity will have to do more than rely on heroics from Warden (see the Fnatic match) to get them out of a jam.

Complexity's 3 Keys to Victory:

1) Complexity's Frod has been among the most dominating (and consistent) players at this event. I believe the first key to victory is to get Frod started early and keep him hot. When Frod is on he is able to cut off entire halves of the map on defense, and control the pace of the match on offense via his ability to pick off the opposition.

2) Avoid the slow start, it seems every big match Complexity is having to fight back down 5 rounds during the first half. Against a skilled team like Alternate Attax, a 5 round advantage might be too much to overcome.

3) Play with the intensity Warden had during the upper bracket finals match. At the end of every round Warden was screaming, clapping, and being encouraging! His demeanor kept the spirits of Complexity high no matter what the situation was. If he (and the team) can continue that tomorrow, the Americans should put up an amazing fight.