As the fourth week of the Championship Gaming Series Pro-Am kicks into high gear, we can take a look back and see that things have gone fairly well for most teams thus far. Most of the favored teams are in the top of the divisions and for the most part, the players seem to be having a great time and enjoying the competition. The Pro-Am has brought together CGS professional gamers and amateur teams, hopeful to one day emerge as CGS pros.

Not all of the CGS pros represented in the league are strictly Counter-Strike players. As we reported earlier, Kevin "SACKAMONJARO" Uribe is part of team DGF Inc., which includes various other CGS pros such as Michelle “Phoenix” Pleet, Chris “NinjaCW” Harris and Dan “ComeBackDan” Otto. After three weeks of play, the team has a record of 1-2, but things are still looking up.

“The Pro-Am has been a little bit rough for us, but we expected this from the start,” explained SACKAMONJARO. “We currently stand with a 1-2 record (10-0L, 10-8L, 10-1W). We lost our first two matches including getting rolled by a very good Jackson 5 team. The third week was a bit better for us. We enjoy the Tuscan map and we won by a landslide, but it was expected since the other team didn't even have the map downloaded, and they only had four members show up. To be honest, I didn't expect a win until a few weeks later, so it's great that we won our first on the third week! I think we've done better than we expected.”

Sackamonjaro is proving that his skills extend far beyond the racetrack.

Teams have a little bit of leeway during the initial part of the Pro-Am. Once the end of the season nears and the playoffs are in sight, each game will become more and more important. For now, a 1-2 record for DGF Inc. is okay. It doesn’t have much of an impact on their playoff chances, but the team will need to start turning up the heat in the coming weeks if they want to be in playoff contention. They’ve had a minor issue or two, but they’re working through their problems and becoming better players in the process.

“We're doing okay [in the Pro-Am], although we've been rotating a fifth. Jared, who was supposed to be our fifth, hasn't been able to play, so it's great to have guys such as ComeBackDan and Switch Blade step up.” SACKAMONJARO continued, discussing the playoffs, “As for the playoffs, I haven't really looked into them, and it doesn't look likely for us making it, but who knows, lightning might keep striking! Each week we've gotten better, and we lost on our two most familiar maps. It will be interesting to see how we do on Nuke and Season since we haven't practiced those maps too often, especially Season.”

On the other side of the professional competitors, the LOS ANGELES COMPLEXITY have be working double time as the team is competing in both CS 1.6 and Source. COMPLEXITY is a world-class team, and sometimes playing against amateur competition can cause players to ease up on their training and actually lose some of their hard-earned skills. So far this hasn’t been the case for Jason Lake’s crew as they are having fun with the Pro-Am.

“For the most part it’s a great experience when any team can get the chance to play the pros,” said Lake. “Sometimes I worry that our squad will take these teams too lightly, but it’s all in good fun so I don’t worry about it too much.”

The first few weeks have been good to COMPLEXITY as they continue to show why they’re almost always the team to beat. However, COMPELXITY is one of the few teams that has taken on the difficult task of playing both Counter-Strike games in the Pro-Am. Luckily the CGS has a well-organized league, but it’s still no easy task for the COMPLEXITY players.

“The league is very professionally run and besides a couple bad eggs in the Amateur community, the league has been a very good forum of practice for us,” stated Matt "Warden" Dickens. “Playing both games at a top three level in North America can sometimes lead to losses because the tempo of both games varies so much. In Source you have a fast-paced round time which forces the T's to act quickly, whereas in 1.6 you can control the flow of the match on Terrorist side and go as fast or slow as you like. It really does take a scrim or two to get back into the rhythm of each game.”

Many of the Counter-Strike: Source players in the CGS come from a 1.6 background and COMPLEXITY is no different. The chance to return to their roots is a welcome change and something that seems to be having a positive impact on the team. Being a professional gamer means you get paid to play, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while you’re working.

Jason Lake looks on as his Source team competes.

“It’s been a challenge [playing 1.6 and Source], but the majority of our time has gone into 1.6,” explained Lake. “The guys enjoy playing the game that originally made them famous so I think it’s been a welcomed break. Soon we’ll be turning our focus exclusively to CS:S and I think it’ll dramatically improve our current status in the game.”

Looking ahead to the playoffs, COMPLEXITY knows when it’s time to make that run and raise your game to the next level. Playing in the Pro-Am doesn’t change that aspect of competitive play. When it comes time for the team to buckle down for the playoff run, they’ll be ready to bring the pain to any challengers.

“We are always practicing hard to bring home any championship for the LA Complexity community,” said Warden. “We try to always put ourselves in a position to win a championship for our organization. You can definitely count on seeing our gameplay, as well as strats, pick up come playoff time.”

So far it looks like everyone is having a great time in the Pro-Am, while still maintaining a constant state of competitive readiness. Between DGF Inc. and COMPLEXITY, at opposite ends of the spectrum, they share a common goal -- improve, have fun, and hopefully make it into the playoffs. We’ll see how each team handles the Pro-Am as the league continues for the coming weeks.