Month: November 2014

In his effort to spread around as much Ultra Street Fighter IV knowledge as possible, Bafael has released yet another addition to his Primer series, this time focusing on counter-hits.

Understanding these unique hits work in Ultra Street Fighter IV can mean the difference between closing out a match with a win that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible and holding that loss. Counter-hits provide extra hit-stun, more damage, higher stun output, and sometimes even change move properties entirely, which makes understanding how your character handles these situations a key component to high-level play.

While the rules for counter-hits are typically universal, there are some exceptions. For example, Bafael examines the bonus frame advantage that Hugo receives in some situations, as well as the fact that Guile’s Sonic Boom can be countered well after its startup frames have ended, making trades against the projectile all the more valuable.

If you’ve missed previous videos from Bafael, follow this link to get your information fix.

Source: Bafael

TOPANGA LEAGUE 4 (A) is a pay-per-view series of broadcasts. See below for more information.

TOPANGA LEAGUE 4 is the first of the round-robin invitational series to utilize Capcom’s Ultra Street Fighter IV. Several weeks ago, the B League competition reached its conclusion, with sako, SANTAROU, EX Pugera, NEMO, Fuudo and TOKIDO advancing. For the next month, the action now turns to A League, featuring twelve of Japan’s top Street Fighters. Last year, Bonchan climbed from an average start to reach the pinnacle, claiming the 3rd A League championship. The fight to simply remain in A League can be grueling, let alone to seize first place. Who will be the first Ultra Street Fighter IV TOPANGA LEAGUE A champion?

A League Competitors

• Bonchan (Sagat)
• Momochi (Ken)
• Kazunoko (Yun)
• Umehara (Evil Ryu)
• Michael-tan (Ken)
• Uryo (Chun-Li)
• Fuudo (Fei Long)
• sako (Elena)
• SANTAROU (Sagat)
• EX Pugera (Ibuki)
• NEMO (Rolento)
• TOKIDO (Akuma)

Commentary

• Play-by-play – A-ru
• Analysis – To be announced

Schedule

ROUND 1 – November 7 (Fri)

ROUND 2 – November 8 (Sat)

ROUND 3 – November 9 (Sun)

ROUND 4 – November 14 (Fri)

ROUND 5 – November 15 (Sat)

ROUND 6 – November 16 (Sun)

ROUND 7 – November 22 (Sat)

ROUND 8 – November 23 (Sun)

ROUND 9 – November 24 (Mon)

ROUND 10 – December 5 (Fri)

ROUND 11 – December 6 (Sat)

ROUND 12 – December 7 (Sun)

Format & Rules

Provisional Ranking Round-robin League

A twelve-player online round-robin league. Matches are best of three rounds, best of five games. In the case of a tie in rankings, order is determined by the players’ game win-loss difference, with one game counting as one point. For example, a 3-0 victory counts as +3, while a 2-3 loss counts as -1. If there is still a tie, the winner of the match between the two players claims the higher ranking.

The top four players will automatically advance to the upper finals league. Fifth through tenth place will advance to the upper finals league. Eleventh and twelfth place drop from competition.

Finals League Ranking Competition

Provisional ranks fifth through tenth place will play in the lower league. The top two players from this league will join provisional ranks first through fourth place to make up the finals league. Tenth place will fall to B League, while eighth and ninth place must play in the replacement matches after the next season’s B League.

Offline round-robin leagues. Matches are best of three rounds, best of thirteen games. In the case of a set point tie (6-6), the match goes into deuce. The first player to gain a two-game advantage or reach ten wins (whichever comes first) claims victory. Two characters are allowed, with mid-match switches allowed every three-game interval for the losing player within that interval. In the case of a tie in rankings, order is determined by the winner(s) of the match(es) between the involved players. If there is still a tie, order is determined by game win-loss difference.

Prize Information

• 1st Place – 1,000,000 yen (~8680 USD)
• 2nd Place – 300,000 yen (~2605 USD)
• 3rd Place – 150,000 yen (~1300 USD)
• 4th Place – 80,000 yen (~695 USD)
• 5th Place – 50,000 yen (~435 USD)
• 6th Place – 20,000 yen (~175 USD)

Broadcast & Pricing Information

TOPANGA LEAGUE 4 will be streamed on Niconico Live as a pay-per-view series of broadcasts. In order to view, you must have a registered Niconico account.

• B League Individual day ticket – 300 Niconico points (~2.60 USD)
• A League Individual day ticket – 500 Niconico points (~4.35 USD)
• B League season ticket – 1500 Niconico points (~13.00 USD)
• A League season ticket – 3500 Niconico points (~30.40 USD)
• B-A League season ticket – 4500 Niconico points (~39.05 USD)

The A League ticket will allow purchasers to watch all twelve days of A League. The A-B League ticket includes the entirety of A League as well as the completed B League. Ticket purchase allows unlimited timeshift access to archives until Monday January 12, 2015.

TOPANGA LEAGUE 4 Ticket Purchase

In order to purchase tickets, one must first buy the appropriate amount of Niconico points. One point is the equivalent of one Japanese yen. While there are a number of payment options for buying points, the only relevant direct purchase options for those outside of Japan is via credit card. All credit cards may not work.

Results

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER IV – TOPANGA LEAGUE 4 (A)

Ranking Round-robin League

Current Standings

ROUND 1 – November 7 (Fri)

sako (Elena) vs. Bonchan (Sagat)
SANTAROU (Sagat) vs. Pugera (Ibuki)
Umehara (Evil Ryu) vs. Michael-tan (Ken)
Uryo (Chun-Li) vs. NEMO (Rolento)
TOKIDO (Akuma) vs. Kazunoko (Yun)
Momochi (Ken) vs. Fuudo (Fei Long)
Michael-tan (Ken) vs. Pugera (Ibuki)
Bonchan (Sagat) vs. Uryo (Chun-Li)
Momochi (Ken) vs. SANTAROU (Sagat)
sako (Elena) vs. NEMO (Rolento)
Umehara (Evil Ryu) vs. Fuudo (Fei Long)

Sources: TOPANGA, Niconico Live