Month: May 2016

Some of the Northeast’s top Street Fighter V players will face off in a special 5v5 tournament to help kick off Defend the North on July 29. Teams representing New York City and the surrounding area will compete in an 8-team, single-elimination bracket with a prize of $1,000 for the winning team. The event was announced via Facebook by Dwayne “D’Nyce” Buchanan, who named the captains of the eight participating teams.

Battle of the Boroughs was spawned in response to recent chatter within New York City’s Street Fighter V scene. Players debated whether low turnouts at Brooklyn’s Next Level Arcade and local tournaments like The Savage Land signaled a lack of drive within the community.

In an effort to draw more players out, the Hiero Group and Defend the North offered up a $700 pot bonus for the Next Level Battle Circuit v.11 on April 27, which managed to bring in 70 competitors. A week later, with no added bonus, just 20 players showed for NLBC v.12. However, Andy “CitiofBrass” Dumornay, lead organizer of Defend the North, doesn’t believe that lower tournament turnouts mean less active players; they’re just more spread out.

“There’s now a tournament every single day in New York City, they all have anywhere from 15 to 25 players who participate,” Dumornay said in an interview. “It shows that the scene is still there. Although we’re not all in one place, it’s still showing that there’s healthy growth.”

D’Nyce said the goal of Battle of the Boroughs is to provide a different type of competition, one where players would be encouraged to develop their local talent. Captains must announce their teams by May 31, meaning they will have two months to whip their players into shape before the exhibition. According to D’Nyce, at least one team’s members may already be set, and Queens captain Arturo Sanchez will choose his crew upon his return from Japan.

“I wanted to announce the captains of each area for whoever is interested in representing their areas and participating.” D’Nyce said in a phone interview. “All they’ve got to do is go to their local events, contact their captains and say ‘hey look, this is what I’ve got.”

A Friday night casual session held between NLBC v.11 and v.12 brought in some 60 players to Next Level, and not just for Street Fighter V. D’Nyce said many of those faces were new, signaling a need for more casual sessions, rather than tournaments. That night, the SFV players organized themselves into a special 20 on 20 team match. According to D’Nyce, the team dynamic changed the atmosphere.

“During the 20 v. 20 we were coaching each other, we were showing support, we were getting hype with every hit that connected,” he said. “I think it brings more excitement.”

Motivated to create a team event, D’Nyce contacted tournament organizers and top players individually, earning their support. Dumornay offered to house Battle of the Boroughs at Defend the North and match whatever prize D’Nyce was willing to offer for the event.

“I was looking for a venue or owners to partner with and Andy reached out to me,” D’Nyce said. “He asked me if I would like to host this at his event, and I’m really honored for him to reach out to me and give me the offer.”

The Long Island team helmed by “LI” Joe Carmelli is considered an early favorite, with heavy hitters like F3|alucarD and OG|Shine within the region. Those three players combined to take the top spots in the 12 player Senheisser Invitationalat Next Level on April 30. D’Nyce said he believed New Jersey to be the exhibition’s likely dark horse, having watched their local tournaments via 8WayRun.

Both D’Nyce and Dumornay said there is a possibility that Battle of the Boroughs could be expanded to 12 teams if there is more interest. Other potential teams could include Boston, Philadelphia, Maryland/DC/Virginia and Canada. Seeding for the exhibition will be randomly selected.

Defend the North, one of the Capcom Pro Tour’s ranking events, will take place July 29 to 31 in White Plains, N.Y. For more information, visit the tournament’s official website.

The Defend the North Captains are as followed:
Team Brooklyn: Henry Cen AKA Golden Cen
Team Bronx: Steven Delgado-Mendoza aka Coach Steve
Team Manhattan: Michael Mendoza aka IFC|Yipes
Team Queens: Arturo Sanchez aka TS|Sabin
Team Long Island: Joe Ciaramelli aka LI Joe
Team Upstate: Richard Melendez aka Rainbow Impact
Team New Jersey: William Sykes aka Shakugan
Team Connecticut: Jamal Crews aka FREEJ4Y

Source: Defend the North, Henry Cen, Facebook, Andy “CitiofBrass” Dumornay, Dwayne “D’Nyce” Buchanan. Image c/o Petey Hann

For the first time in Europe, VS Dojo and Stunfest are pleased to announce that the latest version of The King of Fighters XIV will be playable at this year’s Stunfest in Rennes, France. This particular playable build of KOF XIV will have 24 characters available, so players can really get to grips with the new cast and fighting engine of this latest installment of SNK’s trademark series.

Not only will the game be playable, but Stunfest are holding a special exhibition tournament for KOF XIV with some of the world’s best King of Fighters players coming to prove their worth in the new version. There will be other special activities for fans who come by the dedicated King of Fighters XIV areas at Stunfest, as well as the opportunity to win some special KOF goodies for those attending.

Don’t worry if you can’t get down to Stunfest to see all the action in person; there will be a dedicated KOF stream live from the event, providing fans with plenty of interviews, matches and information about the upcoming title.

Stunfest is set to take place May 20-22.

Source: Stunfest