CoD4 Third Division Top Performers Part Three

Part Three of our Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) Third Division Top Performers series shows us what the top teams of Group C are up to in the Telkom Do Gaming Online League 2010.

You can also read Part Two here and Part One here.

Group C

[DF]Dark Nemesis

[DF]DN has been around for quite some time now. The team was established around January 2009. In October last year Richard “Overide” Tichauer took over the team as captain from Gerhard 'Virus' Oosthuizen. The team as it stands now has been together for five months.

Tichauer says that they have gone into their first league matches over confident and have learned a great lesson from this.

“We underestimated the teams we would be playing, so we went into it way too cocky and didn’t do so great. We’ve now sorted that out and we are playing better again,” he says.

With a great amount of dedication and determination to progress in the league, they aim to put in a two hour practice session every night. These sessions are split into one hourly intervals, where in the first they have a practice amongst themselves regarding strategies etc. and in the second they test these out in a friendly match.

They also work in an hour practice before every league match.

According to Tichauer, [DF]DN entered the league to better their reputation amongst the Cod4 online community and show everyone that they are likeable and have the ability to be successful.

ill:Retribution

Illuminati’s ill:Retribution is literally not a young team. They consist of mature players who are all above the age of 20.

Their youngest player, Evan 'DeMoN' Tideswell, is 21 years of age and the oldest players, Roelof 'Snake_Doctor_ZA' Faurie and Ferdi 'Buzz' Faurie, are 34 years of age (they are twin brothers).

Although their current team only started shortly before the league, their three core players have been playing together for two to three years.

Snake_Doctor_ZA, captain and manager of the team, says the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming Online League 2010 has been most enjoyable thus far and that it is impressive how organised it is this year.

The team does not practice at all and only spend ten minutes preparing for a league match.

“We like to keep it loose and unpredictable, so to surprise our opponents. There are no set strategies or lines to run. We mostly just go out to have fun,” Snake_Doctor_ZA says.

“It is not about winning or losing, what is important to us is that we just get to play,” he adds.

They have been playing in the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League for quite some time. This year they entered the League for one reason only - and that is to have as much fun as they can.

=STFU=Alpha Squadron

Tied up in second place with ill:Retribution, Alpha Squadron has been playing as a team for just over two months.

Having won most of their games comfortably so far, Ryan “Tybolt” Burger, captain of the team, still describes their games as close but great games and feels that his team pulls through the matches well.

“Every week we have a practice session as a team and as a clan. We also have a practice session before every league match that we play,” he says.

To prepare for their league matches, JP “$c()p3” Barnard, manager and sniper of the team, constructs strategies for the team according to the strengths of each team member. They then practice these strategies together. They also practice their grenade strategies quite relentlessly.

Burger has been intrigued by the tremendous impact that the Telkom Do Gaming Leagues have had on the community and has been attracted to entering it ever since he heard of it.

“I have always wanted to enter the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League ever since I heard about it from other players. So I put together a team that I thought would work well and so far it has exceeded my expectations.

“We also wanted to get better known among other clans and so the league was the best chance to do that,” he says.

UbS|Feuer Krieger

Another UbS team steps out on the competitive CoD4 scene with hopes of achieving great success and advancing to a higher division this year.

Having started in December 2009, Feuer Krieger are a fairly new team. The individual members of the team, however, are not new to CoD4 at all.

Johan ‘tinykey” Swart, captain and manager of the team, has seemingly been a part of the competitive CoD4 community for the better part of two years.

He says that the majority of the teams that they have gone against in the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming Online League 2010 consist of many newcomers and that this has made their experience a lot of fun this year.

They have three team practices a week and make use of pick-ups and open servers to keep improving their individual skills.

To prepare for league matches, the team looks to their fellow UbS teams to assist them in warming up and also play on ProMod TDM (Team Death Match) servers.

The team as a whole wanted to continue their experience and take advantage of the learning opportunities in the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League; needless to say, this is the reason they entered this year.

The Dràkon’s

Freshly ground Blood and Brutality’s The Dràkon’s only got started a mere two months ago (January 2010).

Rikus “HaZaRd” Stemmet, captain of the team, says that he has had his sights set on entering the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League ever since he had been informed of it in 2009.

The team has one formal practice amongst themselves each week and plays on average three friendly matches a week, although the number of friendly matches played in a week has exceeded this in the past quite substantially.

To prepare for league matches, Stemmet rounds up his team before the match and they all join an open server to warm up and make sure they have their calling down to perfection.

With a positive outlook on the league, Stemmet comments about their games played thus far.

“We played four very tough games in the first four weeks of the competition and it's been one hell of a ride.

eS||Killers

Since 15 January 2010 eS||Killers has been toughing it out in Third Division.

Being quite new to competitive CoD4, Kristopher “Sarge” Cope, team captain, says that the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League has been quite a learning experience.

He feels that his team has the ability to perform better in their league matches, but tight schedules, younger players’ dedication to their school work and bad Internet connections make it harder for them to practice as much as they would like to and improve their skills.

Even with these difficulties, the team tries to get in at least three practices weekly and play as many friendly matches as they can to improve their strategic game, as well as gain confidence for the league matches ahead.

According to Cope, participating in the CoD4 Do Gaming League is not about winning or building up a reputation, but rather about learning and growth.

“We as a team felt we could gain a whole lot of experience from playing in the league and improve on our team work,” Cope says.

Progress is under way

Group C teams of Third Division may all be participating in the CoD4 Telkom Do Gaming League for a number of different reasons. But one thing is for sure, when a team has determined its goals and set its sights on achieving it they are sure to progress.

Whether it is in personal skill or team work, or advancing to higher divisions, it is seemingly clear that the Telkom Do Gaming Leagues are not only here to provide a playground for competitive gamers, but a learning experience that every gamer is sure to cherish.

Don’t forget to read previous additions of this series.

Read Part One.
Read Part Two.