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.

Yusuke Momochi of Evil Geniuses doesn’t need to think about proving himself. He’s been here before. He’s done it. I’m not quite sure if he received a T-shirt, but he certainly received a trophy and a fat payday for his trouble.

But this was in the Street Fighter IV series. This is a whole new game, and if there’s anything we’ve learned this year, it’s this is anyone’s tournament to win. But will experience count, and Momochi become the first person to win two Capcom Cup titles?

Strong from the Start

Like Infiltration, Momochi didn’t take too long to come out of the gate swinging. He may not have had as quick a start as the Korean player, but Momochi was able to take a title to secure his entry into Capcom Cup within a few short months of play. He started off with 33rd place at Final Round but outside of Evolution, where he lost surprisingly early to Arturo Sanchez to put him into an impossible losers bracket, he has not finished lower than that in any event he has played. On top of that, he has earned a string of seconds and thirds, with only a couple of instances of finishing outside of top 8.

Further, Momochi was a proverbial menace to society during Street Fighter V Crash. Particularly in the finals he ran through a five-game winning streak for Team Topanga, besting Fuudo, Infiltration and Xian of Team Razer in decisive fashion. In recent times his attendance to events has been sparse, but when he has shown up, he has shown up to win. In only 11 events scored on the circuit, he has earned enough points to nestle himself into 6th place on the SRK global leaderboard.

Immune to Pressure

If there’s one thing that can be said about Momochi, it is that he is a cool customer under the pump. He’s been in these high-pressure situations before. He’s won in these high-pressure situations before. He just isn’t fazed, and can maintain focus on the match no matter what is going on.

Most people will never be able to forget his part in the joystick fiasco at Evolution 2015. With his joystick shorting out, and ZOWIE|GamerBee taking the 2nd round by default, it looked like the type of situation where Momochi would simply crack. He didn’t, and—with a new and unfamiliar stick–in an amazing display of focus and execution, took the title over GamerBee in one of the most dramatic displays we have seen in the FGC.

It’s one thing to win Capcom Cup. It’s one thing to win Evolution. But to do these two things back to back, and to finish it off in a situation where it seems like Murphy’s Law is slapping you in the face? Momochi did just that, and showed the iron jaw that he has in the face of adversity.

Too Many Pots on the Stove?

One of the things that has kept Momochi’s tournament schedule limited this year has been that he has been busy with other endeavors aside from competition. He has been hosting a stream with his wife and teammate–Yuko “ChocoBlanka” Kusachi. The two of them also have formed a company aimed at training promising Japanese players for tournament play, called Shinobism.

Much like RZR|Infiltration—who has spent his time splitting interests between coaching up and coming players in Korea with commentary duties with Spirit Zero—with these two things alone, Momochi has had to take his focus away from competitive play. When you divide your interests, it detracts from your results. And, at times, the results have visibly been less impressive than Momochi can actually put up. In this season, he has only won one event–the Stunfest tournament that got him into Capcom Cup. When he won three tournaments in 2015 and two in 2014, that is simply not up to par with what Momochi can do–if and when his sole purpose is competing. Does he need to pick a hat to wear and keep it on?

He Knows What Tournament This Is

But here’s the thing–despite the low level of focus on recent tournaments and the other things he has on his mind, Momochi knows where he’s going. He knows when Capcom Cup is. It’s hard to think that he would not be preparing for this. Even if Shinobism is his primary focus now, what better way to cement the brand in the minds of impressionable Japanese players than to have the head coach of the team win the most prestigious circuit in the FGC–for the second time?

You can expect Momochi to show up with his A game. He is still showing up to the events he does play at his best, and it is paying off. It may not be netting him trophies, but you can most definitely believe that if he’s going to be aiming to win one tournament, it’ll be Capcom Cup.

Passing Him By

If you had asked me in June who the better player was between Tokido and Momochi, I would have said Momochi. That would have netted a lot of counter-arguments, but I believe it to be true. Momochi was already a complete player, and was playing Ken with enough efficiency to beat anyone standing in his way. He wasn’t struggling with matchups, and he was looking comfortable. Tokido looked great, but he still looked like he was figuring out which direction he was wanting to take his Ryu, and what it would take to make it to the top of the heap.

Ask me today, and I would say the results have flip-flopped. It’s Tokido looking comfortable, and Momochi who hasn’t been pulling out all the stops.

If Momochi is still playing like he can, and I’m sure he will be knocking rust off rapidly this month, then he hasn’t been surpassed by others in the field. But players like Qanba Douyu|Xiaohai, Liquid|NuckleDu, and Tokido–who have made large strides in his absence–stand to give him a run for his money at Capcom Cup.

Final Thoughts

This is a very gutsy pick, but I have a feeling Momochi is showing up with all limiters removed. His clutch factor and his ability to ignore tournament nerves are something that cannot be ignored even if he has played in fewer tournaments this year.

I look for Momochi to join Tokido in grand finals, for the ultimate match of which shoto is better.

Freeser is really starting to cook with Birdie, finding some hard-hitting setups with this portly punk. Experimenting with the juggle potential after a whiffed V-Trigger activation, he has discovered some corner mixups which can be more damaging than your typical guaranteed V-Trigger stun combo. By making the flame that Birdie spits out deliberately miss your opponent, you can utilize the juggle points gained off the missed V-Trigger to maximize your damage.

Freeser also covers ways to account for back recovery following these longer juggles, but cautions that you cannot cancel into Critical Art to finish this extended juggle. While you do gain extra juggle points, they run out before you can finish with Birdie’s Critical Art. You can cancel crouching heavy punch into CA after the whiffed V-Trigger activation, but it seems like a massive waste of meter for the actual damage it does.

Source: Freeser

The Capcom Pro Tour’s decisive battle is almost upon us!

Street Fighter V’s ultimate battle looms: the last stop on the Capcom Pro Tour’s first journey for SFV is in Anaheim, California–December 3, 2016. Over $350,000 is on the line, and the first CPT Street Fighter V champion will at last be decided from among the greats that have struggled to earn a place to compete in 2016’s final fight. Check out Capcom’s official event trailer below!

Keep your eye on Shoryuken for continuing coverage of Capcom Cup 2016!

Source: Capcom Fighters