Month: April 2016

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The Kanto Region’s Top Players Face Off in these BlazBlue: Central Fiction Exhibitions

While the game has yet to hit consoles, BlazBlue: Central Fiction has been out in Japanese arcades for quite some time now. This has given regional scenes a chance to identify who among them is the best at this latest iteration of the title.

One such scene is based in Japan’s Kanto region. Players from this region recently held a series of first-to-five exhibitions featuring four of their acknowledged top players at the Shinjuku Sportsland game center. These exhibitions pitted Black Eye and Stick Bug’s Dora, one of the best Bang players in Japan, against Fumi and his Nine. Meanwhile, Ryo took out his Litchi and Relius to go against Shima’s Izanami.

For those curious about how these turned out, Jazz-ism has shared the replays of each set, complete with English commentary. You can check these replays out below.

Source: Jazz-ism, tip via Jonathan M.

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Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Red Bull Kumite 2016

Last March, the first Red Bull Kumite took place, pitting sixteen top Ultra Street Fighter IV players against one another. Last December, the folks at Red Bull decided to host the event again in 2016, this time with Street Fighter V serving as the proving ground.

This change in game presented an interesting situation, as invitations to the 2016 event had to start going out well before Street Fighter V’s official release. Even so, the lineup, which you can find later in this article, looks to be just as stacked as it was last year, so we should be in for quite a show.

To get things rolling, check out this trailer for the event:

Who received invitations?

The following fourteen players will be making their way out to participate in this year’s event:

Player Team Country
Daigo Mad Catz Japan
Luffy Red Bull France
Alioune France
Keoma Brazil
Xian Razer Singapore
Tokido Japan
Momochi Evil Geniuses Japan
Justin Wong Evil Geniuses United States
Snake Eyez Red Bull United States
Bonchan Red Bull Japan
Poongko Team Secret South Korea
Kazunoko Japan
Infiltration Razer South Korea
GamerBee AVerMedia Taiwan

The final two spots in the tournament will be awarded to those who fight their way through the other participants in the 256 player last chance brackets on Saturday, April 23.

When does all this go down?

Red Bull Kumite 2016 takes place over a two day period. The open qualifier tournament will be held on Saturday, April 23, and the sixteen-participant main event on Sunday, April 24. But there’s more going on than just tournament matches, so check out the full schedules below to plan your day around the events you’d like to see. Extra planning may be required for viewers not based in Europe.

Saturday, April 23

Event CET (local) GMT PST EST JST
Registration 9:00 AM 7:00 AM 12:00 AM 3:00 AM 4:00 PM
Beginning of Live Stream 11:00 AM 9:00 AM 2:00 AM 5:00 AM 6:00 PM
Matches in Pools A to H 11:00 AM 9:00 AM 2:00 AM 5:00 AM 6:00 PM
Matches in Pools I to P 1:30 PM 11:30 AM 4:30 AM 7:30 AM 8:30 PM
Break 4:00 PM 2:00 PM 7:00 AM 10:00 AM 11:00 PM
Top 32 Matches 4:15 PM 2:15 PM 7:15 AM 10:15 AM 11:15 PM
Top 16 Matches 6:00 PM 4:00 PM 9:00 AM 12:00 PM 1:00 AM (Sunday)

Sunday, April 24

Event CET (local) GMT PST EST JST
Opening Ceremony 2:15 PM 12:15 PM 5:15 AM 8:15 AM 9:15 PM
Top 16 to Top 12 Matches 2:35 PM 12:35 PM 5:35 AM 8:35 AM 9:35 PM
Side Act 1: Combo Contest 5:30 PM 3:30 PM 8:30 AM 11:30 AM 12:30 AM (Monday)
Top 12 to Top 4 Matches 5:50 PM 3:50 PM 8:50 AM 11:50 AM 12:50 AM (Monday)
Side Act 2: All-Star Team Battle 8:00 PM 6:00 PM 11:00 AM 2:00 PM 3:00 AM (Monday)
Top 4 to Grand Finals Matches 8:20 PM 6:20 PM 11:20 AM 2:20 PM 3:20 AM (Monday)

How can I follow along at home?

Saturday’s open qualifier will be live on Twitch starting at 11 AM CET and will be available in both French and English. Sunday’s stream will be live in French, English or Japanese on Twitch beginning at 2:15 PM CET.

In the event that you miss a match, the folks at Red Bull will be uploading footage as the tournament progresses. You’ll be able to find these uploads at the bottom of this page roughly twenty minutes after match completion.

Saturday’s pools brackets are currently available here, and the top 32 bracket here.

Where can I find more information?

If you still have some questions left unanswered, the event’s official site may be able to help.

Source: Red Bull, with tips from Aurélien L. and Lex P.