Month: July 2017

First the PGR, then SSBMRank and now the Japan Power Ranking! With Evo coming up on us fast, Japanese statistician haruki has finally released the country’s full Smash 4 Power Ranking. Larger than most Western variants, their ranking lists the country’s 200 best players, with the top 30 having their achievements memorialized in video form.

The videos showing off the top 30 are truly something–with each player getting a breakdown of their best wins, a map showing where they have competed and even a special end-card which relates to a memorable moment from their Smash career. I’d love to see haruki and editor cooder collaborate with the PG Stats team for the PGR v4, as the editing in these videos really add some personality to the whole affair.

As for the actual rankings, KEN has held onto the title as Japan’s best Smash 4 player, with 2GG’s komorikiri retaining his second place position. LG|Abadango has moved up from seventh to third place, while former bronze medalist Shuton has dropped down to sixth. You can find last season’s list here, if you want to check how the positions have changed.

Out of the top 15, only four–Choco, Shuton, T and Hikaru–are not attending Evo this year. With Japan fielding so many heavy hitters for this year’s event, I’d be surprised if you didn’t see at least two or three players on this list making it to Sunday finals. You also have to note the huge character variety in Japan’s ranking, when compared to the West. Every top 10 player mains a different character and the only repeating characters are Bayonetta, Rosalina and Luma, Pit and Duck Hunt.

Source: Harukisb

David “UltraDavid” Graham and James Chen are the hosts of the aptly named UltraChenTV show. This livestreamed series is a weekly discussion of the latest news and chatter in the FGC, and there’s no FGC topic bigger right now then this weekend’s Evolution 2017.

The two renowned commentators break down the game lists, rules changes, stats, and what their expectations are for the event.

There are also special guests to discuss various major tournaments. For The King of Fighters XIV, Giby “Dr KOF” Zia gives his predictions for the top players. Since his 2014 predictions were 100% accurate, it’s worth listening to his analysis!

To talk Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, they bring on the one and only Steve “Tasty Steve” Scott.

UltraDavid happens to be a strong follower of Injustice 2, so he leads the way in this NetherRealm Studios discussion.

To discuss Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Nintendo’s favorite commentator D’Ron “D1” Maingrette was brought on board.

Circa ESports manager Brandon “Tuboware” Brockman sings the praises of Tokido for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

James “XiePlus” Xie thinks this year’s BlazBlue tournament is too close to call, citing the unprecedented number of champions attending for the first time.

Reepal “Rip” Parbhoo of Level Up Your Game thinks top 8 will be all international players in Tekken 7.

And, of course, as Street Fighter experts, Team UltraChen tackle Street Fighter V.

And that’s every main-stage game broken down for your listening pleasure! Hopefully this Evo preview tides you over ’til Friday.

Source: UltraChenTV