Lake Buena Vista, FL - Major League Gaming heads south this month as the fifth circuit event of the season prepares to start on Friday here in Orlando. With the Chicago event now just a memory, all accomplishments and failures can now be redeemed as the MLG Circuit enters into the final stretch of the regular season. The Orlando event at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort will be the final event before the MLG Playoffs and National Championships take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Any team looking to make their mark on the 2007 MLG Circuit now has their moment to do so. Darkhorse teams who find themselves at a low rank should play their heart out at this event as this is their last chance to seize a respectable seed heading into the playoffs. With that in mind, this coming event should be a spectator’s joy with plenty of teams fighting for their spot beneath the dominance that is Final Boss.

While it is not a sure thing that Final Boss will win this year’s MLG Circuit, this team has done everything in their power to make it look as though they will. After stumbling in Dallas, Final Boss has bounced back to take the top spot in Chicago while Carbon struggled to stay within the top five. One of the reasons Carbon struggled last month was Str8 Rippin. With the new additions of Legit and Elamite Warrior, Str8 Rippin was able to knock Carbon to the lower bracket with a series sweep in the upper bracket quarter finals. It was then FBI The Agency’s turn to take their shots at Carbon as they too swept last year’s champions in the lower bracket semi-finals. Whether this spells the end of Carbon’s chances of winning back to back championships is not certain, but only a serious turn around will bring them back to the top. With the rumors of turmoil in the ranks of Carbon, it looks as though it is now make or break time for the 2006 champions. Keep an eye on any game Carbon plays against other high ranked teams. If they gain any momentum early, it could be a fun event to watch for Carbon fans. If they are not able to gain any early momentum, this team may be picking themselves up off the canvas and finding that their hopes of a 2007 MLG championship are out of reach.

This season’s main focus has been the return to form from Final Boss. Last month it was Str8 Rippin making noise; after being a team who was once considered to be among the best of the best, Str8 Rippin was finally able to get back into the top five after a string of poor performances. This new roster for Str8 Rippin could be the answer to making their dreams a reality, which of course is to have victory over Final Boss in the final series of a MLG event. While FBI The Agency is not an elder team like Str8 Rippin or Final Boss, they too have had a strong season even though they did not even exist in last year’s competition. Unfortunately, The Agency’s success has been obscured by the fact that they are never at the top of the mountain and are always looking up to see Final Boss standing at the summit. The Agency has played many top teams tough, but it is the mental toughness that they lack which will prevent them from defeating a confident team such as Final Boss.

Now onto the fun part of the article: my predictions of who the best teams are in the MLG Circuit and where they will place at the MLG Orlando event. I would like to thank Johnathan Lugo for his input and help in putting together this article.