With the competitive season now in full swing, multiple tournament weekends are starting to arrive and complicate already busy schedules. In order to help spectators at home get the most out of their viewing experiences over the next few days, we’ve decided to break down two upcoming events, along with streams and adjusted schedules for folks outside of the regional time zones.
Nine States Tournament 2015 – Fukuoka, Japan
Hosted by Fukuoka Gamers Club, this year’s installment of the Nine States Tournament has received some added spotlight thanks to its inclusion on the Capcom Pro Tour. As a ranking event, high placers will be rewarded with points towards their overall circuit position, giving them an early edge in the standings.
This has, as you would guess, brought a ton of Ultra Street Fighter IV talent out of the woodwork, including Infiltration, Poongko, BIGDANMUL, Pugera, NISHIKIN, Akimo, Amiyu, MIzoteru, Michael-tan, Dunhill, and Fukuoka Gamers Clubs’ own Pepeday.
While all of the main tournament action is scheduled for Sunday, the event will also be home to a special 5-on-5 team tournament the day before. The full schedule can be found below.
| Event | JST (Local) | PDT | EDT | GMT |
| Teams | 03/14, 11:45 AM | 03/13, 07:45 PM | 03/13, 10:45 PM | 03/14, 02:45 AM |
| Singles | 03/15, 10:45 AM | 03/14, 06:45 PM | 03/14, 09:45 PM | 03/15, 01:45 AM |
Folks watching at home should be sure to tune into Tough Cookie TV, as they will be the main and only broadcast for this event.
SXSW Gaming Fighters Invitational – Austin, Texas
Here in the states, however, the action is scheduled to begin a day earlier with SXSW Gaming’s Fighters Invitational. The first of its kind, this high-stakes competition will bring together sixteen of the world’s top Ultra Street Fighter IV players, all of whom will be vying for a portion of the $20,000 prize pool.
The players invited to compete in this event include Kun “RZR|Xian” Ho, Hajime “MCZ|Tokido” Taniguchi, Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis, TSC|Sanford Kelly, Eduardo “EG|PR Balrog” Perez, Long “pH|LPN” Nguyen, Kenneth “EG|KBrad” Bradley, EG|Yusuke Momochi, Du “TL|Nuckledu” Dang, Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue, EG|Ricky Ortiz, Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart, EG|Justin Wong, DL|Hamad Akbar, Bruce “AVM|GamerBee” Hsiang, and MCZ|Daigo Umehara.
With such a refined group of players gathered from all across the globe, this event is sure to provide some ridiculously hype moments. You’ll find a full schedule below and, if that’s not deatiled enough, a down-to-the-match timeline can be found through the event’s official website.
| Event | CDT (Local) | PDT | EDT | GMT |
| Group Round 1 | 03/13, 12:00 PM | 03/13, 10:00 AM | 03/13, 01:00 PM | 03/13, 05:00 PM |
| Group Round 2 | 03/13, 02:15 PM | 03/13, 12:15 PM | 03/13, 03:15 PM | 03/13, 07:15 PM |
| Group Round 3 | 03/13, 04:30 PM | 03/13, 02:30 PM | 03/13, 05:30 PM | 03/13, 09:30 AM |
| Group Round 4 | 03/13, 06:45 PM | 03/13, 04:45 PM | 03/13, 07:45 PM | 03/13, 11:45 PM |
| Group Round 4 (cont.) | 03/14, 12:00 PM | 03/14, 10:00 AM | 03/14, 01:00 PM | 03/14, 05:00 PM |
| Group Round 5 | 03/14, 02:15 PM | 03/14, 12:15 PM | 03/14, 03:15 PM | 03/14, 07:15 PM |
| Group Round 6 | 03/14, 04:30 PM | 03/14, 02:30 PM | 03/14, 05:30 PM | 03/14, 09:30 AM |
| Group Round 7 | 03/14, 06:45 PM | 03/14, 04:45 PM | 03/14, 07:45 PM | 03/14, 11:45 PM |
| Top 8 | 03/15, 12:00 PM | 03/15, 10:00 AM | 03/15, 02:00 PM | 03/15, 05:00 PM |
| Top 4 | 03/15, 02:35 PM | 03/15, 12:35 PM | 03/15, 03:35 PM | 03/15, 07:35 PM |
| Finals | 03/15, 03:35 PM | 03/15, 01:35 PM | 03/15, 04:35 PM | 03/15, 08:35 PM |
Spectating this tournament in person is completely free of charge if you register for a guest pass, and a stream will be provided through Twitch.
With these stacked tournaments on the horizon, how do you think they will play out? Let us know in the comments!
Sources: Fukuoka Gamers Club, Beast of the East, Capcom Pro Tour, SXSW Gaming
