The BIRMINGHAM SALVO have done what many would have assumed near impossible. They have defied the odds and shattered speculation of unbalanced regions within the Championship Gaming Series. While the CGS is the first ever gaming league of its kind, and the only league to ever take a page from professional sports, it’s still young and has a few growing pains to go through. One of these is the fact that only the US teams compete in a true season. None of the other regions compare in the number of games played and the preparation that the US teams receive as they journey toward the World Final.

Daveyskills and Picaso hug after their MVP-winning victory.

Despite this adversity, the SALVO not only climbed to the top of the UK and EU teams, but defeated two teams from the US on their way to an incredibly unprecedented CGS World Championship. It started with a win over the MEXICO CITY FURIA in the first round of the World Final. The SALVO were heavily favored to win the match, with a strong DOA team being the only chance for the FURIA to pull out a win. SALVO won both DOA matches, virtually locking in the win, despite a 12-6 loss by their highly touted Counter-Strike squad. The following match against the CAROLINA CORE came down to DOAM, where Ryan “Offbeat Ninja” Ward defeated Mingzhi "MESSY" Deng 5-0 to force a single overtime round. It was here that MESSY finally showed up to the World Final and played at the level many felt he was always capable of. He won the overtime round and sent the SALVO directly to the championship match against the SAN FRANCISCO OPTX.

Going into the final match of the 2008 CGS season, the SALVO were far and away the underdogs. Very few people expected the UK team to defeat a North American team and claim the title, but General Manager, Michael "ODEE" O'Dell, knew better. He had confidence in his team as they rose to the challenge that was presented before them.

"It was vital that we started off well in FORZA. If we got 5-2 or 6-1, I was pretty certain that we would’ve gone on and won. If it’d been 4-3 it would’ve been a hell of a lot tougher, and if we had lost then SF would’ve probably steamrolled us, I would think," explained ODEE. "They’re a really, really good team. They’re not a crap team. And if I ever had another team I’d want San Francisco, that’s for sure. It was two good teams -- two passionate teams -- two happy teams. That’s a big difference."

FORZA Motorsport 2 was the first game of the evening. The SALVO racing duo has been undefeated since the 2007 World Final and ODEE was counting on David "Daveyskills" Kelly and Dean "Picaso" Sutton to give the team an early lead. The eventual World Final MVPs would do just that, as they deflected several takeout attempts by the OPTX. Their confidence alone was enough to allow them to win the race with a 5-2 margin, setting the pace for the rest of the match.

"We knew that [the OPTX] DOA was incredible, so we knew we had to make up for the points that we were going to lose in DOA because it was bad apple with Vanessa and Ninja," said Daveyskills. "It was just incredible to get the 5-2. It was awesome."

After the SALVO win, the two were awarded the World Final MVP for their excellent performance over the course of not one, but two World Finals.

"People were saying that we were up for nomination and we kind of had an idea that we were, because we've won 5-2 and 6-1 [during the World Final]. We knew if our team won that we’d have a very good chance at getting it. I was still surprised. It’s just incredible," stated Daveyskills. Picaso then added, "We knew we had a chance [at the MVP], but after the race we thought, 'if we win this franchise match then we’re definitely up there.'"

The 5-2 FORZA win set the stage for Michael "Bazza" Barrett to further extend the SALVO lead against Alessandro "Stermy" Avallone. He was quick to score two goals on Stermy before the Italian partially closed the gap with a goal of his own. Bazza had struggled a bit during the World Final, but he took his previous performances to heart and buckled down for a proper training session leading up to the championship match. The results were clear as the SALVO were up 7-3 following the FORZA and FIFA games.

Messy brought the heat after his celebrated one-round overtime win.

"It just felt as though my practice had finally paid off really," exclaimed Bazza. "I didn’t come into the other games as prepared as I should’ve been. I didn’t practice as much, and this week I thought, 'this is it, this is the biggest match of my life. I need to practice as hard as I can.' I did that and I knew coming into this match that if I played the way I know I can play there’s only one or two players in the league who will give me a good game. I’m just ecstatic. I’m over the moon right now."

With two DOA games left to be played, it was time for the OPTX to even up the score with their strongest division. Vanessa Arteaga was up first as she faced off against Sarah "Sarah Lou" Harrison for the second time. Vanessa was favored to win, and while Sarah Lou put up a decent fight, the result was in favor of the OPTX, as Vanessa won 5-2 and put the OPTX right back in the match, trailing 9-8.

The first two rounds of Counter-Strike: Source were played before the DOAM game began. Chris “NinjaCW” Harris was having a stellar World Final, decimating Rudolf "THE_TACTICAL" Fischer and losing only to Emmanuel "Master" Rodriguez. Unfortunately for the OPTX, the championship match would not be his night. NinjaCW went up 2-0 and it looked as though he was continuing his streak of solid play. It was here that MESSY picked up where he left off in the overtime round against Offbeat Ninja. He rallied back and eventually came away with a 5-3 victory, stunning the OPTX and giving the SALVO a 14-11 lead with only the remainder of the CSS match yet to be played.

"I played every round like the last round I played Offbeat and that’s it basically," MESSY stated boldly. "I can’t remember what was going through my mind. I even forgot to stand up when I won the match. I think in the EU finals I used Gen Fu, and Gen Fu is really my character. I tried Hayabusa, he didn't work, and I think I used to have trouble performing but now I don't have that problem. I'm going to be one of the best players."

A confident Mangiacapra seemed sure that Salvo would rule the CSS match.

The SALVO have been known throughout the World Final for having one of the best CSS squads. Heading into CSS with a three point lead definitely favored the SALVO. The first half of CSS ended with the SALVO up 6-3, meaning they only needed to win two rounds in the second half to secure the victory and become the 2008 CGS World Champions.

"We were quietly confident that we’d get the rounds. But obviously, we know they’re a good team, but when it comes down to it we knew we were going to get the rounds and win the game," said CSS captain Sam "RattlesnK" Gawn. "It was just unfortunately for them that their DOA players didn’t turn up today and ours did. I can’t really say much more than that."

It would only take three rounds of play for the SALVO to reach their goal and so ended the first game in CGS history to go unfinished. The CSS game would end with a score of 8-4 in favor of the SALVO, leaving the match with a final score of 22-15.

The dust hasn’t yet settled, and for many the truth of the matter has yet to sink in. But the SALVO are now $500,000 richer as they prepare for a joyous flight back to the UK. In only the second year of the CGS, the coveted Dew Trophy will travel across the ocean where it will remain until the other regions attempt to claim it for their own during the 2009 season. In the meantime, the BIRMINGHAM SALVO have done what few expected them to do, but there is no question that they are, indeed, the 2008 CGS World Champions.