Carolina Core Draft Report Card

Writing witty intros might be my favorite part of these articles. But since the Core's Report Card is long enough without an intro, I'm going to sacrifice my pleasure for your sanity.

Don't make me regret it by going insane, anyway.

Starter's Draft

Round 1 (#5): Eric "General E Live" Earley (Forza)
Round 2 (#11): Hoang "sOnNy" Tran (Source)
Round 3 (#17): Mark "Masternook" Torrez (Source)
Round 4 (#23): Andrew "Anomaly" Brock (FIFA)
Round 5 (#29): Kat "Mystik" Gunn (DoA F)

Taxi Draft

1. Corey "kaM" Hanes (Source)
2. Brent "ReX" Diampilis (Forza)
3. Erik "kabe" Kabe (FIFA)
4. Bill "Tom Brady" Menoutis (DoA M)
5. Michael "Hare" O'Toole (Source)
6. Vanessa "ladyface" Castle (DoA F)
 
- Andrew "Anomaly" Brock

This pick reminded me of The Simpsons episode where Lisa goes out with the hopelessly nerdy Ralph and ends up breaking his heart when she reveals it was only out of pity. The confrontation was captured as part of a show they were attending, and Bart, being a good brother, rewinds a tape of the event to show exactly where Ralph's heart broke into pieces.

In this case, Ralph would be Anomaly, Chicago would be the happy Lisa, and Carolina would be the angry, vengeful Lisa that crushed Ralph's will to live. And obviously I would be Bart, sadistically replaying that moment over and over again while cackling wildly.

(I don't really take pleasure in his unhappiness, but you have to admit it was a pretty memorable moment.)

For Carolina, the good news is that Anomaly had a great performance in the Combine to back up his dominant World Finals. I wasn't totally sold on him before the action in Austin. My concerns were simply a matter of caution; his dominating performance at the World Finals didn't seem fluky, but I couldn't get over that 4-8 record during Region 1 without a little more evidence. We had two data points on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Of course, when he finished fourth, I found myself completely unsurprised. That means I'd like to officially announce I'm hopping on the bandwagon. He has the talent to be a legitimately great player in FIFA this season.

That being said, there are concerns with the pick because he's coming from the Chicago Chimera. Will he be happy? Can he play his best for the team that used to be his sworn enemy?

Honestly, I don't think anybody can answer that until the season starts.

People say he's a professional, and I agree with that assessment of his character. I don't think you could find a more respectful or dedicated person.

The problem is that, no matter how hard we try, sometimes it's impossible to completely separate our professional and personal lives. Merely calling him a professional is not incontrovertible proof that he'll continue to play at the same level he did with Chicago; happiness isn't a rational decision. Like it or not, I think we have to admit that, despite the quality of his character, there's a chance he'll be unhappy with Carolina and his passion for the game might suffer because of it.

I offer that not as proof, evidence, or even an argument that his game will decline with Carolina, only that it might - despite his best intentions.

Stashing the hypothetical situations, I think he's going to fit in with the Core. The reason is just a little more complicated than "he's a professional".

The team has a reputation for being arrogant and generally hard to get along with, but I spent time around the players during the World Finals when I did coverage for Carolina's site, and that's simply not true for all the players. In my experience, the DoA members, Mystik and Offbeat, are welcoming and easy to talk to. Phantom seemed really laid-back. I didn't even have problems with the CS guys.

Granted, I wasn't trying to beat their brains in five months ago, but the point is that I think Anomaly will find people to connect with. That also means I expect him to be just as good as he was during the Combine and World Finals.

Plus, if they're smart, the players will make an effort to reach out to him for the good of the team. You want this guy on your franchise for as long as you can hold onto him. Show him some love, and help him help you!

Grade: A-

- Eric "General E Live" Earley

GEL was one of the best racers heading into the Combine. I'd say his stock dropped after a somewhat lackluster performance, but he was still the fifth pick overall and the third Forza player taken. That's pretty close to where he should have gone. Muffinman was probably the consensus #1 pick, and then GEL should have been ranked between second and fifth on all the GM's draft boards.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about this one. It was a good pick in the first round, and GEL should team up with Joe "Phantom" Tackett to form a good racing duo.

On a side note, I'm excited for this pick because his handle is often shortened to GEL, as I've written. Just once, I want him to win a huge race, stand up and yell "I AM SO GELLIN!"

I hope this isn't too much to ask.

Grade: A

- Kat "Mystik" Gunn

It's not every day you can draft one of the Combine tournament winners in the last round. The Chimera drafted the FIFA champion in the fourth round, and that game has as much scoring as a nursing home fresh out of Viagra.

I understand the game in question is DoA Female and Vanessa wasn't participating because she was a Franchise Player, which is tantamount to holding a hat-size contest without inviting Barry Bonds, but Mystik still outperformed every single DoA Female in the competition. As a reward, she got to sit through four and half rounds in absolute terror that culminated in her admission that she didn't think Dolven would draft her. I just hope that pick came with a free bottle of Mylanta; it looked like she might need it.

Perhaps the only thing weirder than her availability in the final round is the fact that people were genuinely surprised Dolven chose her.

In the days leading up to and immediately after the draft, I've heard Dolven connected to every other viable option in DoA Female. Jax was worried that he would take Phoenix. Dolven was also supposedly the reason that Lake was forced to take Belle in the third round instead of waiting. And despite choosing Mystik over Raspberry Tea, I know some people that swear it was basically a coin toss.

This is all contrary to his self-published wish list, which clearly puts Mystik next to the "1".

I'd love to solve this mystery, but I'm stumped. Dolven has shrouded his true intentions in such a deep fog that not even a plucky group of teenagers and a strangely intelligent dog could unmask the original plan.

The only thing I'll say is that, if you watch the draft, he certainly didn't look like somebody getting his first choice with his last pick. He looked strangely resigned to his fate.

For comparison, when Darkstorm unexpectedly fell to Moto in the second round, 3D's GM looked excited enough to knock Warden and Striker off the stage, grab the mic, and scream "I TAKE DARKSTORM, SUCKERS!"

I admit this means almost nothing, in the grand scheme of things. It's certainly not any kind of concrete evidence. But it makes me wonder if there's truth to the rumors that he wanted a different DoA Female, but in the end couldn't pass up the value Mystik presented in the last round.

That's all speculation, though. Mystik was the choice, and based on talent it was the right one. I don't know that anybody will compete with Vanessa this season, but Mystik does have a chance to separate herself from the rest of the pack. Drafting her in the last round was just gravy.

Grade: A

- Mark "Masternook" Torrez, Hoang "sOnNy" Tran

I hope these guys are comfortable playing together, because I can't see either of them playing for a franchise other than Carolina.

Torrez is generally reviled for his days as a trash-talker in the community, and even though he's mellowed as old age takes hold, it still comes out every once in a while. Plus, there's the unfailing confidence (some would say arrogance) that gives birth to the trash-talking.

Let's just say the other GMs weren't clamoring to draft him while he was available. The possibility of bad chemistry far outweighed any benefit, even if he was technically more skilled than the person he would have replaced.

And while we're on the topic of bad chemistry, I suppose we should bring up sOnNy, the man who took the phrase "burning bridges" to another level.

I love comparing eSports news to other sports or general occurrences in life because it provides a barometer, but I still don't think I've seen anything like this. He blatantly bashed two GMs (Alex Conroy and Dave Geffon), insulted the players on San Francisco, and in the process probably killed any chance of joining the community-oriented Los Angeles compLexity. That's four franchises down. He gave some modicum of support for hahN being drafted, so maybe dkt doesn't hate him yet.

(Clearly, sOnNy's work is not finished.)

The real kicker is that he even planned ahead. He insulted the entire Pandemic Source team in his rant, which alienated their manager, Chris Lemley, who just happens to be a frontrunner for a GM position if the CGS expands. In other words, he's burning bridges that haven't even formed yet. He's just carpet-bombing everything that even looks like it could be a bridge in the near future. It's simply amazing.

The reason I bring this up is because Dolven can simply repeat same draft strategy regarding Source that he employed this season, provided the CGS uses the same format in future drafts. He can put both players back into the draft pool with impunity; I don't think there's a GM in the league that would risk the rebellion from his/her Source team (and possibly the entire fanbase) that might come with choosing either player. That's a nice option to have for Carolina.

In terms of drafting, sOnNy's pick was probably a better value. He's still undervalued as a player, in my opinion - I don't think he was on anybody else's radar, even before napalmed his connections with possible employers. In terms of talent, he fits in nicely being taken after grt, but before da_bears and Mustang. That's just about right.

Dolven probably could have waited to draft Torrez until the fourth round if he wanted to make absolutely sure he got Anomaly, but in the end I think he got both players he wanted. Just a minor note.

Grade: B

- Taxi Draft

I'll be blunt: I don't see a single player in the Carolina Taxi draft that could end up playing for them during the season.

The Source players, kaM and Hare, probably have the best chance, but Carolina's CS team shouldn't have any big stumbles. They're already used to playing with each other, and Dolven would have to be desperate to risk breaking up that chemistry.

Kabe, ReX, and Tom Brady are all solid players, but they shouldn't challenge Anomaly, GEL/Phantom, or OffbeatNinja. Those are arguably Carolina's three strongest games, and their starters aren't going anywhere, barring some emergency.

Grade: C+

LD's Overall Grade: B+/A-

Truthfully, I wasn't in love with this draft when it happened. Outside of the Anomaly selection, it wasn't flashy. There weren't drastic changes like New York and Dallas, or drastic non-changes like Los Angeles. It simply didn't stand out.

The more I thought about it, though, the more it grew on me like some kind of mental fungus.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that Carolina took the second-best team in the CGS last season and upgraded FIFA and Forza. And that obviously doesn't include the sneaky-upgrade in Source from replacing Adam "Elusive" Messner with Cyrus "org" Habibi. It technically didn't happen during the draft since "org" was called up during the CEVO season, but it's still a change from their roster at the World Finals, and simply put, org is a better player than Elusive.

Did Carolina pick up the kind of impact talent that New York did? As a whole, no. They couldn't, for the simple reason that the fifth pick isn't as valuable as the third.

But look at their team. Show me a glaring weakness. I don't know about you, but it doesn't take me much effort to imagine every component finishing in the upper half of their respective games. It might not work out that way, but there isn't one game where they're clearly going to struggle next season.

That's a scary prospect.

Their strength on paper doesn't guarantee a victory any more than 3D's excellent draft does for New York, but it comes down to this: if you want to beat Carolina next season, you're going to have to be strong in almost every game.

And if you're one of the (many) people that hates to see Carolina win matches, you might want to start mentally preparing for a long year.