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.

Latin America has long been under-represented in the FGC. You hardly hear a peep out of these guys–with the obvious exception of players like KaneBlueRiver–but Capcom is looking to change that, through supporting events going on in the area throughout the year. Shout-outs to them for doing that.

One player seeing the benefits of the newly found attention in the area is Ray “DR Ray” Rosario, of the Dominican Republic. I must admit that I’ve heard little of this guy due to the lack of attention shown to the Caribbean region, so I’ve had to do a great deal of research into his play before I’d written this article. What Latin American flair can Rosario bring into the competition?

Regional Champ

From what I can tell, GAM|DR Ray was not even remotely in the picture for Capcom Cup until the end of October. Having only participated in as many events as can be counted on one hand, there was no way that he was getting in on points alone. Coming into the Latin American Regional Finals, it was do-or-die for Ray, and he chose to do. To top that off, he had to defeat internationally tested Evil Geniuses pro Kenneth “K-Brad” Bradley to secure his spot. He did so with a flourish, beating him 3-1 in winners finals, and 3-0 in grand finals, putting to bed any doubt that he can compete at the highest level.

Clawing His Way Through

One of the best tools that DR Ray has available is his choice of character. Vega is as under-represented in high-level tournament results as Latin America is in the grand scheme of fighting games. But this does not mean Vega is not viable, and I believe that DR Ray’s play has proven just that.

DR Ray has established a style that is a beautiful blend of hyper-aggressive and hyper-patient. On one hand, he is unafraid to rush in and set up situations for mix-ups and frame traps. On the other hand, he is equally unafraid to back off, even refraining from pressing buttons if he feels like it is the right approach to the match at that point. Thanks to Vega’s ability to change stances to suit, he even has the right tools for whatever style he picks. Moreover, he understands his spacing very well, and can fish properly for counter hits and whiff punishes off of even the most minor opportunities. While this is more important for a Vega player than with most characters, DR Ray does this extraordinarily well–better than other Vegas such as M. Lizard or NVT|Flash.

What really sets DR Ray apart is his use of slides. Often you see Vegas use slides errantly as a means to get in, or even as a footsies tool. This is a highly punishable move and can lead to big damage and loss of position for Vega should the other player know how to punish it. DR Ray seems to realize this, as he was using–from what I could see–his slides much more conservatively, and finding good opportunities for whiff punishes off of them.

Adaptability

One of the things that I saw that impressed me the most about DR Ray is his adaptability. He adjusts his play properly on matchups and players that at first frustrate him, often mid set.

In the linked video, you see DR Ray at first struggling on approaching Dark’s Alex. It does not take him long to adjust from dashing in and getting poked back out to jumping in on an Alex who struggled with anti-airs. He is a quick learner, and this will work to his advantage at Anaheim.

We Require Experience

The thing that is going to cripple Rosario, however, is the amount of tournaments he has played, and with whom. He has only had five events that he has participated in, and only four events in the Street Fighter IV series. He has never won an event until the Latin America Regional Finals. Further, playing against other international players, he has lost miserably. Winning to K-Brad is great. Losing to HM|GO1 and EVB|Chris Tatarian does not bode well for him. If he is struggling with players on the cusp of qualification, it’s going to be a tough road in Anaheim.

Further, if he’s having a tough time with players who have not automatically qualified, then what happens when he gets paired up with players who have? When he faces a Tokido, EG|Momochi, or Qanba Douyu|Xiaohai, what happens then?

Final Thoughts

To me, DR Ray is like the Oscar nominee that is just happy to be nominated, but doesn’t expect to win. I’m sure he’s not thinking like that, and is looking to shock everyone with his play. He is playing a lesser-used character and has far less play for people to dissect on the internet. He is a dark horse for sure, and that could all work to his advantage.

Does he have a realistic shot of winning it all? Does he have a realistic shot in winning matches? It really depends on who he plays. He is going to be on the lower end of the seeding, so he has it up against him. I’m expecting him to go two and out. But let’s see what a few more events next season will do for him. Hopefully he gets out to travel more, because his Vega is exciting to watch.

For anyone that caught the event live, Capcom Pro Tour Asia Regional Finals gave us a load of hype matches. The grand finals ultimately came down to Mago, and MOV–two players who were already qualified, but wanted to put a punctuation mark on their seasons by qualifying directly.

Both are arguably the best players of their characters, and both were showing some amazing wherewithal in the match. While the results ended with Mago taking the set out of losers bracket, the match that brought him to victory was one of note–and one that should be the pace-setter for what Capcom Cup will shape up to be.

Source: Capcom Fighters

While games like Marvel and King of Fighters revolve around teams of characters, it’s very rare that traditional fighters allow players to team up to fight against others. The Super Smash Bros. series has always prided doubles as part of its competitive scene, with teams events growing in popularity and prestige over the past few years. Esports teams like Alliance and Counter Logic Gaming have even signed players down to their skill in doubles play, showing just how advanced and respected Melee doubles has become over the last few years.

To celebrate the “unique power of Melee teams”, the latest mini-documentary from Last Stock Legends focuses on CLG|PewPewU, CLG|SFAT, and WFX|Shroomed, some of the USA’s best doubles players as well as Norcal natives as they compete throughout Genesis 3. The documentary presents a potted history of Melee doubles in California, as well as shedding light on why Melee doubles is so unique and appealing in a competitive world which usually values singles play, by talking to other notable players like Armada and Shroomed’s erstwhile doubles partner Alan. As with any LSL documentary, expect some top-notch production values and high quality interviews from various players from the upper level of Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Source: Last Stock Legends