Month: November 2016

The fighting games communities of the Middle East are really starting to make their mark on the global stage, with big tournaments in Kuwait and Dubai bringing players from across the world to see this growth of this burgeoning scene. In that vein, the Gulf Cooperation Council–which represents the countries of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman–is coming together to finish 2016 with one last massive tournament.

Hosted at the Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Bahrain, GCC Majors 2016 will bring players from all across the Arab Gulf and hopefully, the world, to compete in a variety of fighting games. GCC Majors will be running Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, The King of Fighters XIV, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Street Fighter V as its main games, with side events for both BlazBlue: Central Fiction and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first day, December 23rd, will see Street Fighter and Guilty Gear combatants go at it on the main stage, while the second day will have The King of Fighters XIV and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U players seal out this event.

If you are looking for some fighting game viewing as you are wrapping those final presents ahead of Christmas Day, the GCC Majors could help you soldier through that last bit of tricky ribbon-tying. All the action will be streamed on the GCC Major Twitch channels, and if you are looking to find information about tickets and hotels to attend the event, more information can be found on the GCC Majors website. If you want a glimpse of what a GCC event usually looks like, check out the video below, which teases GCC Dubai from December last year.

Source: GCC Majors

While initially hopeful about their chances at launch, American players had something of a rough start with Street Fighter V. It seems that it was only during the later stages of this year’s Capcom Pro Tour that they seemed to hit their stride.

In a new article called “State of the Union,” Red Bull eSports takes a look at the performance of some of the top American players, talking with them as they share their thoughts on the game and their standing compared to Asia.

On a whole, they seem very optimistic. Evil Geniuses’ Justin Wong states “”I think America’s chances in SFV is way higher than Street Fighter IV.” He continues by explaining that the lack of an arcade version giving Japan a head start has helped them–and other regions–out a lot. “Street Fighter IV was super hard because Japan had arcades for it, they had the game a year in advance, and it was really hard for America to catch up. Since Street Fighter V came out at the same time, it doesn’t look as dominant. Even now, when Asia wins, before it was always Japan winning, and now Japan doesn’t win all the time.” It should be noted that Justin was the first American player to win a Capcom Pro Tour ranking event in Asia, at Manila Cup.

The other thing discussed was the break out performance of Team Liquid’s Du “NuckleDu” Dang. Du recently posted back-to-back wins at Canada Cup and Red Bull Battle Grounds. According to Evil Geniuses’ Ricky Ortiz, Du was able to unlock his potential as a top player during the latter part of the tour allowing him to take these events. “I think when you’re a player and getting better, it’s really hard to know when you’re good or not, but NuckleDu unlocked that potential of actually becoming a great player”

That sad, Du states that he surprised even himself with his performances. “It didn’t kick in until, like, the third day I came back home. I was like, ‘Holy crap, I just won Canada Cup.’ It felt good, because no American had won a Premier event this year, and America is generally seen as the weaker region.”

Despite this progress however, they’re still looking to how Japan trains as a way to catch up. Control Gaming’s Raynel “RayRay” Hidalgo notes their work ethic, and how he feels they work harder than Americans. “I personally think we’re not too far behind, I just think their most talented players are way harder workers than our most talented players,” RayRay states. ” I feel like we have Justin, Ricki and NuckleDu, to me they’re the best players in America and only Du is trying his hardest. I don’t think they’re trying as hard as they could be.”

Meanwhile, Justin Wong states that the fact that America is a much larger country and players are spread much further apart is a problem they need to face. “NuckleDu is all the way in Florida, we’re from California, there’s strong New York players, strong Texas players. It’s really hard to get together unless we go to an event. When I spent time in Japan for two weeks, I noticed that every top player that comes to America or that is a household name, they all live in Tokyo, and they all play against each other.”

Of course, that’s just part of what they talk about in the article. You can read the rest over at Red Bull.

Source: Red Bull eSports

With Capcom Cup almost upon us, one of the things many fans are looking forward to–aside from the all the high-level Street Fighter V action–is the possibility of new announcements from Capcom. Now, it seems that we may be getting one, according to Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono.

In a tweet thanking all those involved in 2016’s Capcom Pro Tour season, Ono mentioned having something in “Blanka’s pocket” at Capcom Cup.

Thanks for joining to #CPT 2016season and watching these tournament! See you next time at Capcom Cup! Blanka's pocket will have something! https://t.co/nGOMmg1XaL

— Yoshinori Ono (@Yoshi_OnoChin) November 19, 2016

Now, while this isn’t outright confirmation of an announcement, it’s likely the closest we’ll get to one from a producer who’s become known for his love of hinting, teasing, and outright trolling at times.

Capcom Cup 2016 will take place at the Esports Arena on December 2, before moving to the Anaheim Convention Center on December 3. With Akuma playable at the PlayStation Experience already, it would not be surprising if another character was announced alongside him–but we’ll have to wait until Anaheim to know for sure!

Source: Yoshinori Ono (Twitter)