With the largest spectacle in UK & European CSS looming on the horizon, the whole scene has once again shifted accordingly and the great soap opera begins anew. For those of you who have not been following it closely, either due to it all changing too fast or your own weary apathy in the face of it all, this should bring you up to speed with all the stories that are going on under the surface and will be filling forum space all too soon as the inevitable occurs.

Guns 4 Hire have probably the most riding on the CGS combine out of all the other teams in attendance. A side made up of the few players who realistically have any chance of being drafted outside of those already playing with the CGS franchises at the event itself, but one that has failed given its pedigree. After the controversial defeat against London Mint at Infinity Gaming 5 - controversial not just because of the illegal defuse that prompted the decision for an overtime replay after G4H had won the match, but also because of the fists that went flying when the defeat was confirmed - they had a respectable 5th finish at the most competitive i-series to date. London Mint were to be their nemesis there as well, giving out a humiliating trouncing that prompted roster changes. Tom "beta" Hanna, having already been effectively ousted from the London line-up and made a scapegoat for some of their poor performances, especially has a point to prove against his former team and has stamped his authority on the roster. Jack "Callisto" Mason was the most high profile casualty of the fallout from i33, finding himself being blamed despite strong performances in both LANs they attended under the Guns 4 Hire name and then replaced by Frank "Frankstah" Rini.

Despite this change the team fared not much better online... The ED Spring Invite saw a win over the now disbanded Reason Gaming roster that was again steeped in controversy with cries of more illegal defusing antics, but the next round saw a demoralising defeat to the French side known as "Nameless" - which now of course represent Emulate. Following this the side went largely inactive, prompting George "HudzG" Hoskins to leave and start playing with the London Mint. A positive move for him - George is a player who has made no secret of his desire to play in the CGS and where better for him to be assessed than right under the nose of his prospective team mates? - but a move that left Guns 4 Hire without their most recognised fragger. They replaced him with Luke "Kritikal" Green, a player with an established reputation in 1.6 (although what it is established for varies depending on who you speak to) and someone who also has their eye on the draft. It hasn't proved to be a missing part of the jigsaw for them though as the line-up didn't live up to expectations once again at LAN79.

The long and the short is right now all five of the players that make up this roster have the potential and desire to be drafted, but collectively their commitment as a team can certainly be called in to question. Guns 4 Hire doesn't just apply to the organisations the side has looked to entice to sponsor them, but it is also a true appraisal of the more mercenary aspect of each player in the side ahead of the potential draft. Ollie "crazycat" Netherton is also rumoured to be strongly fancied by London Mint, with Frankstah also having been highly praised by the already drafted players since he made the move over to CSS from 1.6 and WoW. Luke Green of course has ties to Dignitas and Michael "ODEE" O'Dell, something that may make him a tempting prospect for Salvo if other draft picks don't go their way. Nathaniel “tiLs” Tilsley may be down the pecking order but could still be in with a shout given the way he handled himself at the last combine. The irony in it all is the person in Guns 4 Hire with the least chance of being drafted is the player who has already been part of a CGS franchise and Tom “beta” Hanna may well be close to throwing in the towel if this event doesn’t go his way. Hard to believe given that he is one of the hardest working players in the UK right now, but for him at least getting drafted seemed to be something of a poisoned chalice.

The signs are not good for the long term future of Guns 4 Hire and I would imagine that whatever happens this team won’t last long after the dust has settled. A shame given the concentrated efforts of their manager, John “Chilli” Day, who took a lot of heat after their acrimonious split from ebuyer and has put his money and time into a side that now simply consists of players lacking long term motivation. Even at the time of writing this there are some rumours circulating that the team might not make it down to the combine, but surely that would be unthinkable at this late stage. Once the draft pick has been made this team will fold faster than Superman on laundry day, but the individuals who make up the side will no doubt all find themselves in decent teams after the UK scene rebuilds itself in the wake of CGS.

Speaking of teams folding it is a shame, although perhaps no real surprise, to see that the first seasons second place team for both draft competitions, Zboard, will not be putting a team together for CGS this time around. Typically it is difficult to gauge what lasts longer, a Zboard roster or a wine gum, but most thought that a similar roster would have been flung together in time to compete. The reasons behind their decision not to enter are perhaps too numerous to mention, but Ben “ben0” Balcombe – the team captain and controller of the sponsorship - never seemed to rekindle his interest in the game after being cruelly denied a draft despite his longstanding history and success in the game. When this is coupled with the weird love / hate relationship he has with the player who has been in every Zboard line-up, Kyle “fataL” Mardel, it was always going to be a rocky road when they announced they would be reforming. After another split I think this time both players could be out the game for good, hanging up their mouses and calling time on an impressive set of intertwined careers. The real tragedy as I see it is that there will be no David “JaFro” Davison present for the TV cameras. Not only is he ones of God’s most beautiful creations, but he has also been recognized as the Welsh e-sports personality of the year for five years running, prompting plans to build a bronze statue to him in the town centre of his native Llanelli. A LAN event just isn’t the same without him there, peddling his trademark brand of psychological warfare.

Even though the CSS climate has changed significantly that they would have found it difficult if not impossible to match the success of last season, Zboard are one of those teams that continue to surprise, putting together glorified mixes that seem to pull out the goods against top opposition. Whatever the reasons for them not being picked up last time around – perhaps it is down to their predilection for re-enacting the Royal Rumble when they are left alone in hotel rooms – it would have been good to see them back. It wasn’t that long ago that they were partying with Sky TV staff and being touted for something big, jokes being made about whether people in America would understand the stilted Scottish accent of John “Gandofini” Johnston who had made the crossover from Auxilia, the long standing UK rivals to Zboard back in the day. There won’t be any sign of them either despite their appearance at i-series; the average Auxilia line-up dissolves faster than a Berocca. Time moves fast in any e-sports scene, but three months feels like a whole lifetime in the up and down world of Source.

Infused, who finished 4th overall at the previous proceedings, will be back this time with arguably a stronger roster and retaining two of the key players that represented them in the first season, Simon “vpr” Carter and the already mentioned Jack “Callisto” Mason. Having put in some good performances at i-series, a notable win against fnatic amongst them, this side will be looking to galvanise its reputation as one of the better UK squads, without any expectations of being drafted at all. With Adam “shivers” Marsden, John “Friza” Reilly and Tom “tom” Horth, the latter returning from a brief stint playing COD4, making up the rest of the team it probably represents the rest of the “desirables” outside of the big two UK teams and Guns 4 Hire. The team being free from such distractions as “will I / we get drafted?” could cause a few upsets and have a say in who shines at the tournament. Birmingham Salvo paid them a huge compliment saying they were the best UK side they played at the last Multiplay event prior to their participation in the final against London Mint. With an arguably stronger squad now it’s possible they could get the edge over teams they have struggled against in the past, especially if driven by certain individual scores to settle.