Month: November 2016

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Until KaneBlueRiver began his trek across the globe to prove himself the best at Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Chile wasn’t even on the map when it came to fighting games. He ultimately showed the world how good he was, winning at Evolution 2015 and finishing second in 2016.

Now Chile has more than just KaneBlueRiver to be proud of. Brook Gaming’s Felipe “Misterio” Torres Carvacho has enough points to make his way into Capcom Cup. Through strong showings such as 1st place at Lima Salty 3 and a 5th at Treta 2016, Carvacho has punched his ticket to go to Anaheim for the biggest tournament of the year. Is he the next national hero of esports in Chile?

Keyword: Aggression

I haven’t seen a more aggressive Karin than I have watching Misterio’s matches, or what little of them I can find online. While he knows where to pick his spots, and certainly knows when to guard, it’s clear he has a main gear in game. It is full-out aggression.

From what I can tell, this likely stems from being a King of Fighters player first. Most KOF players are known to be aggressive, because the game warrants and rewards that kind of style. The fact that he can find his spots to hold back is impressive, given his background. This will be the difference-maker as he moves forward in Street Fighter V.

While aggression serves him well, over the long haul of a match, he is patient. He applies the aggression as needed, but he is willing to let the match drag on—not fishing to end the match early. This shows a mark of skill that is worth noting. His experience in fighting games has taught him not to be careless in aggression, which allows him to not get blown up by mistakes rookies often make in being too aggressive. Rookies will get tagged with reversals on wake-up and meaties on their own wake-ups simply by not maintaining patience. This is not a problem Misterio has, and serves to his benefit over the course of the match should it come down to a battle of attrition.

Latest Results and Double Focus

The problem I see with Misterio is his most recent results. After a strong start early, Misterio has seen his results dip. Since August, he has finished no higher than 5th. He is doing this in Latin American and South American events, as he has yet to travel outside of the region to play, as opposed to Brolynho. This is a major red flag that I see when it comes to his chances in Anaheim.

What can this be attributed to? Part of it can be associated with The King of Fighters XIV being released. He clearly started off in the series, and is already doing very well in South America. This series has a hotbed of activity in this region, so it is to be expected that Misterio, who started off in KOF, would pick up and do well in the fourteenth iteration.

The question that lingers now is how much he cares about Street Fighter V when he is able to return to playing his first love. Obviously he cares enough to enter Street Fighter V at events such as Treta. But is he really putting in the time needed to hang in Anaheim? It is not looking to be the case, as his results are showing.

While he is still making top 8s despite his focus shifting to King of Fighters–a mark of a strong player, as evidenced by Tokido and Xiaohai–how much is that going to matter when facing up against players whose sole focus is Street Fighter, especially when he’s struggling against players in his own region?

Inconsistency

The other issue I see is even early into the game, he had inconsistency in execution. Forever the divining rod that separates the good players from the best, execution could be his downfall at Capcom Cup. In multiple instances, there are dropped combos and confirms from his Karin that makes me worried about how well he can do. While Misterio has done well in not going on autopilot or panicking when he drops a combo, it’s those differences in damage from a punish that can mean the difference between winning a round and losing it.

Given his changed focus to KOF, I grow concerned that those issues have not been resolved, and any dropped combo will add up against the best in the world. However, given the high execution requirements in KOF, we might have seen that alone shake off the problems he was experiencing in Street Fighter V. It is a proverbial Pandora’s Box, that we’ll see opened in December.

Final Thoughts

I don’t mean to take anything away from Misterio. He has earned his way in, so he deserves to be there. But the fact looms over his shoulder that he is a big fish in the small pond of Latin America, about to be dropped into the ocean that is Capcom Cup in December. What’s worse is he is not focusing nearly enough on Street Fighter V to prepare to take on those bigger fish.

I project that Misterio will leave California 0-2 at Capcom Cup. Better luck next year, in whatever game he chooses to focus on.