Month: May 2016

After a week hiatus, SpoTV will return this Saturday night (in the west) with the latest installment of Street Fighter Crash, and it aims to be a big one. Three of the four seeded teams have ultimately made it through to the Top 4 of the event, with Team Topanga (Tokido, Momochi, and Mago), Team Razer (Infiltration, Fuudo, and Xian), and Team Southeast (Poongko, HumanBomb, and Gamerbee) all still in the hunt. However, there is one Korean team still poised for competition, with IsaCenter (Sandbag, 200won, and Sazabi) proving to be a formidable force going up against the minefield that has been the Crash bracket so far.

With Team Topanga and Team Razer already having squared off in the Top 8 with one of the most impressive upsets in Momochi handily dispatching Infiltration before he could even face his chief rival, Tokido, Poongko and Gamerbee wanting to prove that they are of the highest caliber in this game, and a relatively unknown team from Korea wanting to prove that they’re not a fluke, this episode is shaping up to be quite dramatic. Who will make it to the Grand Finals in the season finale next week? Who will go home salty? You owe it to yourselves to tune in and find out live on Twitch. Be sure to tune in for the broadcast at 1 AM EDT Sunday, May 29th (10 PM PDT Saturday, May 28th)!

Source: SpoTV Games

The hype for Combo Breaker is slowly reaching a critical level, and tons of Guilty Gear Xrd players are prepping this week for the announced brackets. But one event that’s sure to be a memorable appetizer for fans of this airdasher is the Guilty Gear Xrd Battle Summit, a 5v5 exhibition that showcases the best players from their respective regions.

Let’s take a look at each team’s lineup and analyze what they bring to the table.

Team Chicago

1. FF|ElvenShadow (Faust)
2. Sym (Millia)
3. BlackSNAKE (Venom)
4. ChosenNinja (Millia)
5. Kizzercrate (Ky)

This team practically screams “OG.” The trio of scene veterans–and I mean veterans to the truest degree–Elven Shadow, Sym, and BlackSNAKE have an incredible weight of experience behind them. It’s going to be very tough to break them. BlackSNAKE is the type of player who calculates and mercilessly grinds nearly every situation imaginable. He’s one of the only two Venoms in all of the teams. Oddly enough, this team has two Millias, which could turn out to be a weakness or a strength. While both Sym and ChosenNinja have strong mastery over the setplay character, this is the matchup that a lot of the top players will have figured out by now. A strong Elphelt or Johnny could be trouble for this team.

Team Michigan

1. CORN|AxisTheBeast (Johnny)
2. ShinSin (Chipp)
3. SRM|Leonil Requiem (Ramlethal)
4. YASE|Mr. U Suk (Sin)
5. Gekioh (Axl)

What’s strong about the composition of this team is a combination of powerful characters with a few unconventional ones. This is the only team to feature a Ramlethal and Axl. Ramlethal has been hurt by a patch from the -SIGN- era, but her setplay can get intense if she gets you cornered. Similarly, Axl Low can throw off anyone who hasn’t practiced against this somewhat niche character. As for the rest, Johnny, Chipp, and Sin are all quite scary in the right hands.

Team Nebraska

1. Cue (Zato)
2. Dekline (Sin)
3. YooYoung (Sol)
4. JaMarvelous (Leo)
5. TS|NerdJosh (Elphelt)

A pretty straightforward team, and what’s bizarre, YooYoung is the only Sol in the team exhibition. Dekline is a very solid Sin player, and that character has emerged as one of the stronger ones in Xrd. The real ace is going to be NerdJosh, as Elphelt is a universally feared combatant. He reached 3rd place recently at the West Coast Warzone tournament, losing to Kizzie Kay’s Sin. This team might be very troublesome for those who don’t have an Elphelt on their lineup. Most of these matchups are also advantageous to Sin, so hopefully for them, they’re not matched against Team South.

Stardust Crusaders

1. AKA (Zato)
2. KBnova (Bedman)
3. Mr. K (Leo)
4. Zinac (Faust)
5. Grant (Slayer)

This Midwest team also has some niche characters on its roster: Bedman and Slayer. That’s definitely going to be an advantage, especially for those opponents who haven’t specifically faced KBnova or Grant. Grant, a younger Chicago-based player, enjoys developing off-the-wall tech for Slayer. As for the rest, they are experienced Guilty Gear players who may be a little weak to the top-tier choices. But still, any of them have the potential to pull through and beat the popular characters.

Team South

1. TXrd|FaultyDefense (Sin)
2. Doren2k (Jam)
3. Shinobi! (Ky)
4. Hotashi (Elphelt)
5. Ryan Hunter (Venom)

This team has a well-rounded cast. There’s an all-out zoner, Venom, and both Ky and Elpehlt have some zoning capabilities. FaultyDefense terrorized the recent Texas Showdown, beating out the competition, especially Oso’s Elphelt, in grueling finals. However, the rest of the squad has also frequently placed in top 8s, making this one of the scarier compositions for Combo Breaker.

Team West

1. Beautifuldude (Zato)
2. Bears (Chipp)
3. Foo (Johnny)
4. Shtkn (Ky)
5. AS|Tasty Steve (Leo)

The West Coast has a strong Anime scene, and this team’s roster is filled with experienced players. It’s hard to say whether Foo can utilize Johnny as well as the other teammates, since it’s a character new to -REVELATOR-, but he undoubtedly could be an asset. By now, there’s a lot of Johnny tech posted on Twitter and YouTube. There are only two Chipp players in the Battle Summit, and both are a force to be reckoned with.

Team East

1. PG|MarlinePie (Zato)
2. D-Link|Lord Knight (Millia)
3. Lost Soul (Elphelt)
4. LoCal|Sway (Faust)
5. Flux (Jack-O’)

MarlinPie recently triumphed at Toryuken, while Lord Knight placed fourth. While they’re both incredibly solid players, Lost Soul recently beat out one of the top Japanese players, Dogura, at Final Round. This pushed the Japanese playerbase to declare Lost Soul as the top American Elphelt player; whether he is or not doesn’t matter as much as his actual talent. I can see how facing this team can be terrifying for the other players, and they definitely have a lot of potential to win the exhibition. It’s also nice to see a Jack-O’ in the tournament, and the new character may catch people off-guard.

Who are your favorites to win the Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- Battle Summit? We can’t wait to find out, and Combo Breaker 2016 is shaping up to be an incredible event. Make sure to stay tuned to our coverage!

Source: Combo Breaker, SymzStudioz, TheSassageKing, Latigular FG, Khaos Gaming, theloafingone, FunkyP