Month: June 2016

Do you like upsets? Because there were plenty to go around this year at the entry capped CEO Pokkén Tournament event. Before we get into that, let’s back up a bit.

The first time Japanese players touched down on American shores to play Pokkén, there was absolutely no reason to think anyone other then GO-1 would take Final Round. The game had just seen its console release and Japan had had a lengthy amount of time with the Arcade version. Go-1 would indeed walk away from Final Round victorious, but not without dropping rounds and games to PokkénArena mod AppleBoom in grand finals. Those losses, it seems, would be a premonition of things to come.

All the same, he returned to the states this past weekend as the “champion.” Though he has switched to Shadow Mewtwo now (after previously representing Suicune), once again, there was no reason to believe GO-1 wouldn’t make at least top 8. American players, for all their improvements, simply haven’t had the chance to test their game versus Japanese talent. Sponsored by HailMary, GO-1 is known and respected enough in Japan to have been invited to FujiONE’s televised Pokkén invitational. There’s also that little fact that he was, upon arrival, undefeated in the US.

So when he lost a decisive 0-2 to InC|Cyberman65’s Charizard in pools, there had to be the smallest fear that maybe he wouldn’t even make it out of pools. He dropped games to PG|ESAM along the way, but despite the rocky start, he did manage to claw his way out to top 32 losers side. He didn’t get much further–Circa|Cat Fight, still reeling from his own recent upset to South Flordia’s Kino, stood in front of him. In a emotional and close match, Cat Fight’s Chandelure threw everything at the Shadow Mewtwo in front of him, seemingly always one step behind the JP Vet, but never out. In the nail-biting finish, one unbelievably smart Overheat sealed GO-1’s fate.

GO-1 was out in 17th.

Abadango, the Japanese scene’s last hope, entered top 8 winners with a lot more momentum than his fellow countryman. The legendary Smash player is no stranger to playing Pokémon in fighting games, but here in Pokkén he opts for the zoning-heavy Chandelure. That momentum he was building, with notable wins over Milin and a tight 2-1 vs. Teejay, came to a screeching halt the moment he entered top 8. NG|Obscure’s Suicune wrecked him in a brutally fast 2-0. Obscure played in such a profoundly smart, aggressive, and disrespectful way that one must wonder if he was watching Abadango’s matches all tournament, taking notes on his habits. Every Blizzard, every Counter, every J.X connected like a raw read. It wasn’t close.

That’s just one loss, of course, and Abadango still wasn’t out. One more American awaited him: Coach Steve’s Garchomp. It was a perfect storm; Coach Steve is wildly smart, plays an underused character in the meta, and was already off the high of eliminating one of America’s best sponsored Pokkén players, Cat Fight. You can make the argument that maybe Abadango was caught off guard by Obscure’s aggressive style with a zoning character, but it should be understood by now that Coach Steve’s vortex heavy gameplay was the very definition of “aggressive.” Abadango wasn’t ready for it. Steve bulldozed him in a confident 2-0, ensuring that Japan would not crack into top 4.

Neither Abadango nor GO-1 faced the eventual tournament winner, Circa|Sui Master. Sui Master has recently shared his own hour long set versus Japan’s Azazel with the world, showing that he is indeed actively preparing for the numerous Japanese players coming to Evo. It’s also no secret that the Florida scene is working to establish itself as the strongest Pokkén scene in the world, evidenced by their repeated appearance at every major tournament in the US. Though Florida represented a sizable chunk of top 32, the losses obtained by Japanese players came from New York, New Jersey, and Georgia. The arcade gap has been closed. We are now, as a scene, strong enough to defend our own tournaments confidently.

The race for the Evo crown, and the World’s crown on Nintendo’s own official tour, just got interesting.

Source: Pokémon Company International Twitch