Recently one of our members was caught using a AIMBOT. Let me be very clear that Next LeveL as well as myself does everything possible to ensure it’s members play legit and it’s new recruits go through a rigorous screening process. His history was checked extensively and it turned up clean. The aimbot for which he was banned for has been publicly detected since the 28th of November and he got banned for it 10 days later. His actions, the way he talked, played, and carried himself on mumble seemed normal.

It really is too bad that this game doesn't allow first person spectating, for this reason (among many others). Otherwise trying to detect a player with *some* raw skill with a finely tuned low fov aimbot is practically impossible if he is cautious, which lead us to believe he probably just started using it either last night or today.

Due to PBBans ban of ZuluGrunt and denial of his PBBan appeal it is in Next LeveL's best interest to part ways with him and move forward. This has been very  unfortunate for us and everyone is pretty bummed about it, not for the person, but for the team. We rarely open our door to multiple new recruits and in this case we wish we had not. It could have happened to anyone and hope this does not happen to anyone else.

I have personally contacted all leagues we have competed in with Zulu and made aware any information we have obtained and have complied with any questions or info they have asked.  On a side not I also feel the need to apologize to Area 51 and or it’s members as it has been brought to my attention that Zulu’s attitude as a Next LeveL member  was very unprofessional and not becoming of our team and what it represents.

It has been awhile since we have made any posts updating anything regarding Next LeveL, so I am going to give a little progress report & a write up on an interesting topic on the EA forums. So grab a beer, make some pop-corn, & kick up your feet… it’s a new day!

As most of you know since the lack luster game BFBC2 was released, Next LeveL really has not competed in any leagues or tournaments. In the very early stages of the game we took the game serious, but quickly either lost interest or became fed up with it entirely.  I am also to blame for lack of effort being put into the team, as I really had no interest in playing the game and stepped back in my leadership role allowing much too much World of Warcraft, League of legends, & SCII in my day to day role. Let me be the first to say that BF3 will be our main focus from here on out.

With the beta out… most of our entire infantry core has returned. With the loss of Arias, Peacemak3r, Uber, and Krav3n due to schooling, and personal life changing matters we have welcomed back 2 members and good friends (HP – lostsight ). Both should add more stability and veteran match play. We still have high hopes for Krav3n’s return (school) but should be able to field a very very solid ground force.  With the movement of sm0key from main tanker to infantry & addition of lostsight, HP now takes the main tanker role. I feel very confident with this team to compete and bring on all the haxusations!

Speaking of HAXUSATIONS… I could not help but read a stickied post on the EA forum, that I found to be very interesting. Not so much of the actual thread but what it represents and implies. As some of you might know we went through a very similar event awhile back during our reign of domination in the BF2  5 v 5 scene. For those that don’t I will give a short explanation of what happened. In competition play most of us would agree that we play on a level much higher than most. This sometimes brings on a false sense of elitism with individuals who indeed are not. Now with that being said and not pointing out fingers at certain players in the community, these individuals could not comprehend how out skilled their game play actually is. This however would not result in a Well played or GG, but resulted in the all famous HAXUSATIONS!

This brings us to my interesting EA topic I read earlier today. Now keep in mind this thread does indeed post actual hackers which I will post evidence, but also post’s those special individuals who feel they are elite, great, and even go as far as saying pro and not post any evidence to back up their claim.  It is ok to say or even consider yourself elite, great, or pro, but to go publicly on this & accuse someone/s of hacking is just  wrong especially if you have no evidence.

Now here is an example of an individual in my opinion who is in the wrong. I could care less about the accused score, more less being accused in game about hacking. What I do care about is the evidence being submitted by the accuser. On his first death you can clearly see the suppression fire from 2 different players focusing on him, which at the time he was at 32% health. His death results in a hacker reply in game chat thus proving nothing but bad awareness. On his 2^nd death the accuser is clearly cutting across an open FoV fire which the accused held the high ground and had a clear shot, plus he was being shot at by another enemy player in front of him.

Now here is an actual hacker and what is most important here is actual evidence.  I think you can pretty much sum this up yourself and no need for an explanation is needed. Now after watching this video some of you might ask  “what does this all really mean”? Well to be very honest to some it might not mean anything and to others a point might be made. However I think my intentions for writing this was not to show that false accusations just happen in the competitive community, but to open the minds of everyone that A). No matter how elite, good, pro you are… there is always someone better, and B). Please back up what you are saying…  Opinions are like assholes, in which everyone has one!

Well this is BIG DADDY Bull hoping to see you at your local bar... remember GO BIG or GO HOME, and when in doubt.... Just HOLD it DOWN!

Two years after its closure, the CPL is set to make an announcement on May 1st. Will this mark its return?

In an interesting turn of events, the Cyber Professional League (CPL) and Cyber Amateur League (CAL) websites have both been revamped with a splash page and a timer. In March 2008, it was announced that the CPL would be closing down because of “the current fragmentation of the sport, a crowded field of competing leagues, and the current economic climate.”

Five months after the closure an investment group, Abu Dhabi, made the purchase of the company and released the following statement, “We are planning to launch a new company which will be named CPL LLC and will be headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. The new company will organize videogame tournaments worldwide.”

While no exact details are known at this time, prior comments from the investor group make many gamers anxious for the news to be released May 1st. Former CPL CEO Angel Munoz has shared some information on his Facebook page in which he said,

" A few people have contacted me inquiring about CAL, since there's a new countdown on the site. While the domain is still controlled by us, as it’s in escrow until summer, we are not involved with CAL (or CPL) any longer. I did meet with one of the new owners a few weeks ago and he told me that they are definitely relaunching CAL... but that's all I know.

A couple of weeks ago the new owners asked me to forward to them my contacts at Valve, so they can renew the league's license to use their games. So I think we may get the old school games again."

Along with hopes for a fresh start, controversy has also started to surround the return of the league. While Angel Munoz and the CPL brand played a large part in shaping what e-sports is today the company name is still tainted by the fact they have unpaid prize money from past events. The current CEO of the CPL, Scott Valencia has worked with WSVG and the CGS in the past and his reputation has been hurt by the closure of those two leagues.

While rumors are quickly being passed around, we will need to wait until May 1st to hear exactly what the CPL is planning