Ever since rejoining infused back in November, I knew that we would have the backing and support of a great organisation, even with a mediocre outing at i36 (where we lost to FragMasters Toxic and Four-Kings). 9th/12th is where we finished, and although not a massive disappointment, we were let down by a lack of preparation. On the fly calling didn’t benefit our terrorist sides. We knew in the back of our minds that finishing higher than our seed was a long shot, and we’d really have to bring our “A-game” if we were to beat our seed. Our first big game was against FragMasters Toxic, in which we played inferno. Starting CT we locked down comprehensively taking a 12-3 lead. Going in confident to the terrorist side should have been enough for us, but we suffered. A lack of strategies was the main culprit here and we lost the game 16-14, which may be viewed as a decent result, but it was a very winnable game. The game was there for us to lose, and that’s exactly what happened.

After the bitter disappointment of losing the toxic game, we went into the Four-Kings game with nothing to lose. An unfamiliar map, de_tuscan presented us with yet another predicament. No strategy was our undoing and again, even though going ahead, we went off the boil quickly. Going 9-0 up on a fairly terrorist sided map, by anyone’s standards is a very winnable game. Confidence arose, but was slapped back in our faces when we started to make errors that lose games. And lose it, we did. Another easily winnable game, not going in our favour. What’s the common denominator here? Preparation and initiative. We were rapidly becoming just another team, having games at the scruff of the neck, but losing that invention and sparkle that some teams can somehow pull out of a hat. And with that, we felt that changes were needed.

Farley was the first to go from the roster, losing the passion to play the game. He was a good, solid player, who could lighten up games with his screams. With 4 left in the line-up, talks were needed, and it was decided that Mincherz and Exume were to part ways, heading in their own directions. With only myself and Aaron left in the line-up we knew what we needed: Moving away from same old roster shuffles. We wanted something new, something that would lead us onward and upward from our previous, fairly dim aspirations. Deathrow was the first to join us, a young, talented and hugely motivational player. Suffering with doubts of his old team and with his own personally ability, we snapped him up quickly.

Having the core of the line-up now sorted, we decided to look for a duo, rather than two individuals. Going about it this way would mean less time for gelling, and more time for headshotting. With the scene being fairly stable at the time, we found it hard finding the right players. Some were good enough in matches, but didn’t possess the wow factor that really stuck out to us. We found them eventually, and we couldn’t have picked a better duo. Having played with each other for well over a year, and playing at the top of the scene for a large chunk of that time, we picked up deathdisco and Carrel. What made this an easier choice for us was that we had already played with deathdisco at PCgamer. He brought a new dynamic to us as a caller, with precise on the fly calling. Finishing a respectful 7/8th and nearly knocking out Reason-Gaming in the process, the chance of playing with him again was something we couldn’t give up.

So here we are with our new lineup: myself (raii) ace deathrow Carrel and deathdisco. Having found a new found will to win in this game (which is a hard thing to come across at my age) we fully believe we can fulfil the great name of infused in ways that it hasn’t been before.

We’ve started really well as a team, learning new tricks from each other, communicating as if we’ve been a team for years. We’ve racked up impressive results in the infused cup specifically, where we knocked out heavily favoured redpoint and mosq comfortably. We will now be going on to play SNOGARD dragons in the semi-finals, and with the current form we’re in, we can definitely beat them.

Scheduled for the 21st of June, we will of course bring you sourceTV ip’s, match previews and reports. We will be attending The-Experience in Denmark along with i37 in Newbury during August.

You guys at infused give us a reason, to walk the fire, and we look forward to representing your name with pride.