Month: March 2015

Although he placed third at Evo 2014 just behind Evil Geniuses Justin Wong and Christopher “NYChrisG” Gonzalez (then sponsored by GamesterGear), the early parts of this year have seen very little from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 powerhouse Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez. A new job working at Nvidia has consumed much of the time that practice normally filled, leaving little opportunity to attend tournaments on a regular basis.

That all changed at Final Round 18, an event that saw the former Evo champion edge out veterans and relative newcomers alike to secure his first major championship since West Coast Warzone 4 last September. That said, his victory came as no personal surprise to the Northern California competitor.

“It was just a matter of time for me to take it,” Ramirez told theScore eSports reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau. “I’ve always put myself in the position to win by placing high consistently.”

Confidence has been a huge part of Ramirez’ game since he exploded onto the scene shortly after Street Fighter IV’s release in 2009. While some may be turned off by what they see as obnoxious behavior, he has regularly embraced the Filipino Champ persona, relishing the responses he gets from acting as the community’s heel. But that’s not to say there haven’t been cracks; narrowly edging out Gonzalez and runner-up Carlos “Infrit” Randay at Evo 2012 left him visibly drained, and an on-stream interview at Final Round 18 saw him bid farewell to the negative image attached to his gamertag.

Fortunately, the confidence is still there. While he still gives props to Gonzalez and Wong, Ramirez feels he is the most complete of the three, particularly when it comes to avoiding damage. “Defense to me is the highest attribute in fighting games and I work hard developing my defense over time,” he explained. “Thanks to it my tourney results are pretty consistent.”

There’s no doubt this factor of Ramirez’ game contributed the most to his first-place finish this weekend, and seeing him rise to the upper ranks of competition once again makes us excited to see what he has in store for 2015.

For more of theScore’s conversation, be sure to visit the original article.

Source: theScore eSports