Month: July 2017

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Evolution 2017 preview: SNK’s flagship franchise returns with The King of Fighters XIV

After a two-year hiatus, SNK’s The King of Fighters series returns to the Evo main stage once again with The King of Fighters XIV. However, the road to Evo 2017 has been rather bittersweet for the community. KOF XIV’s competitive following has, at least in the West, been rather more subdued compared to its predecessor — in spite of the fact that The King of Fighters XIV is, from a gameplay standpoint, arguably the best the series has been since the Ultimate Match version of KOF 2002.

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Despite the smaller competitive scene, that doesn’t mean that the players’ passion for the game has diminished in the West. This is especially true in the series’ more traditional strongholds within Mexico, Latin America, as well as the United States. Familiar names dominate competitions in this side of the world, with players such as Arcade Shock’s Reynald Tacsuan, Ramon “Romance” Navarrete, Luis Cha, Eric “Juicebox” Albino, Team Spooky’s Josh “NerdJosh” Jodoin, Raphael “Laban” Ramos, Chris “Hellpockets” Fields, and more.

In addition to these are names more commonly associated with other games. While Evil Geniuses Christopher “NYChrisG” Gonzales competed in The King of Fighters XIII, he seems to have found more success in The King of Fighters XIV, with a recent top 8 finish at CEO 2017. Meanwhile, one of ChrisG’s rivals in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Black Eye’s Nicolas “Kane Blueriver” Gonzales has also done well in KOFXIV, actually qualifying for this year’s The King of Fighters XIV World Championship in Japan.

The King of Fighters XIV however has found more success as a competitive game outside of the West, specifically in China. During The King of Fighters XIV World Championship, most of the top 8 finalists were Chinese players. First and foremost among these is DouyuTV’s Zhoujun “Xiao Hai” Zheng, who arguable be the strongest KOFXIV player in the world at the moment. Another strong Chinese player is PandaTV’s Haojun “Dakou” Su. These two are joined by a host of other top Chinese players from teams such as DouyuTV, HuomaoTV, and PandaTV.

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Of course, other countries and regions have strong The King of Fighters XIV representation as well. Japanese player M’, who is arcade hardware company Sanwa Denshi’s first sponsored player, made a name for himself by winning The King of Fighters XIV World Championship. Meanwhile, Korea has also traditionally strong KOF scene, and Evo 2012 King of Fighters XIII champion Kwang-noh “MadKOF” Lee still remains a big threat, and could take it all again if he returns to Las Vegas [and it turns out that he is – Editor]. Meanwhile, Europe also has a strong The King of Fighters XIV scene, with players such as Frionel and Alioune Camara also having strong showings at The King of Fighters XIV World Championship.

All in all, despite the low turnout, the possibility of big name international competitors converging in Las Vegas make The King of Fighters XIV at Evo one of the hypest tournaments yet. The multi-national nature of the KOF competitions at Evo has always energized the crowd — raising the stakes by unifying spectators by country or nation of choice.  At times, KOF at Evo feels almost like a World Cup soccer game, where national pride is on the line. With this in mind, The King of Fighters XIV at Evo 2017 may yet show that it’s not the size of the community, but their passion that counts!

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SRK Stats breaks down Evo 2017 registration numbers: Game entry overlap, overall growth, and more

Some interesting aspects of the players and the event are revealed.

SRK Stats has crunched the Evo 2017 registration numbers, and thus revealed some interesting statistics about what people are playing, and the event itself. To start, here’s a look at how registrants across the multiple games overlap in the games they entered:

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For example, you can see in the breakdown above that more than 40% of Tekken 7, UMvC3, KOFXIV, and Injustice 2 players — and 38% of REV 2 players — are also playing SFV. 16-17% of Smash competitors are playing both games in the franchise. 46% of BlazBlue players are also competing in Guilty Gear — but only 28% of Guilty Gear players are in both ASW titles!

How many games has each fighter taken on? Have a look:

We also get a look at the development of the event over past years — factoring out the massive 2016 spike, the event is still showing slight growth:

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Source: SRK Stats (Twitter)

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Slayer signed by Rouge Gaming to represent them in Injustice 2

With the release of Injustice 2, sponsorships have been cropping up for players in the NetherRealm Studios community with a steady consistency. The latest player to be picked up is Frank “Slayer” Perales, who has been picked up by Rogue Gaming as the first fighting game player on their roster. Owned by musician and DJ Steve Aoki, the organization is mostly known for their Fall of Duty, Overwatch, and CS:GO teams.

Slayer was arguably the top Kung Jin in Mortal Kombat XL, scoring no less than 17th at any Major event he attended during his time with YOMI. Fresh off a silver finish at CEO 2017, which saw him eliminate Echo Fox|SonicFox in an epic Black Adam mirror match, as well as a 2nd place finish at Combo Breaker, Slayer will no doubt be looking to make an impact at Evo 2017. Below you can see an announcement Tweet from Rouge Gaming, as well as a highlight reel of recent accomplishments to remind fans of what he’s capable of. (though be warned it is set to NSFW music).

We at Shoryuken would like to congratulate both parties on this well-deserved signing, and wish them all the best for the future!

Sources: GoingRogueGG (Twitter); Rogue.GG