Author: Corey "Missing Person" Lanier

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Ricki Ortiz of Evil Geniuses was always stuck in a crisis of sorts in Street Fighter IV. Known for her Rufus play, she was always a strong player near the top. However, she was never fully able to capitalize on the biggest events, with her highest placement at Evolution being 2nd in 2010, and 9th at Capcom Cup in 2014. But with a new game and a familiar character, has Ricki found everything she needs to decimate the pack?

Let’s Get it on Now

Ricki was most known for her play in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, before her Rufus was pushed to the forefront during the Street Fighter IV era. While Ortiz was able to bring out Chun-Li in the IV series in certain matchups, she never dedicated herself to the character like others, possibly owing to the difficult matches Chun-Li had against the highest competitive tiers in the game.

However, if there was ever a game to return to Chun-Li in, Street Fighter V is it. Her aggressive style play in 3rd Strike–we’re seeing similar from her this time around. While being able to react well, she also makes really strong reads on her opponents’ wake-ups that allow her to push the tempo of the match.

But not only does she have this, but she has a good presence of mind on her own wake-up, which allows her to escape various situations that could cost her matches. She plays a solid game, and should make some strong decisions in Capcom Cup.

On the Prowl

Another thing that you can definitely say about Ricki is her ability to never be out of contention. Out of 28 events, she has placed top 8 in 19 of them. This strong consistency has what kept Ricki in the hunt for a Capcom Cup berth for the entirety of the season.

Stats, Stats, Stats

But while those stats are impressive, there’s one that denotes her placement in Capcom Cup. Out of those 19 top eights, she has only won one event at Defend the North. Making top 8 is no easy feat, and I refuse to scoff at the ones she did make. However, not closing tournaments out does not garner any confidence that she will bring the title home for America for the first time.

Asia Factor

But to further compound her issues going into Anaheim, we have to look at her performance at the Asia Regional Finals. This will definitely be a litmus test of how she is going to do at Capcom Cup, as she is currently projected to play ZOWIE|GamerBee first round, and potentially either Tokido or Yukadon should she dispatch of the ‘Bee.

At the Asia Finals, she was able to take out HM|Go1 in the first round. She then subsequently lost to MOV in the 2nd round of winners bracket, then lost to HuoMaoTV|HumanBomb to end her run at 1-2. While this won’t build a lot of confidence–and at least two of those three are at Capcom Cup as well–it should be taken with a grain of salt. She essentially was a Chun facing a legion of Chuns and fell to them, essentially proving to not be the best at the mirror.

Again, at Canada Cup, Ortiz was gliding along rather well, until she faced OR|Nuki–again a Chun mirror–who sent her out just shy of a 20th top 8. Again at The Fall Classic, Ricki found herself ousted in a mirror by CoinUp|Ludovic. She is a great player that falls to the mirror more often than not.

Final Thoughts

Ricki is a great player, but is she “Capcom Cup champion” great? Unlikely, doubly so should she face a fellow Chun-Li–of which there are possibly four others making their way to Anaheim.

She could easily make top 16, but I’ll guess that she goes 2-2 in this event.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Benjamin “Problem X” Simon has long been one of Europe’s elite. The British player was one of the world’s most explosive proponents of Seth over the course of Street Fighter IV, and has maintained his consistent results throughout the first year of Street Fighter V.

With him making his way to the Capcom Cup through the European leaderboard, what does he have to offer when he crosses the pond?

A Bevy of Characters

Where Problem X mostly stuck with Seth throughout the course of SFIV, he has diversified his play with Street Fighter V. After seeing early success with M. Bison, he has added Alex to his repertoire, making the Brooklyn brawler his go-to character. He has also employed four other characters during the season, including Guile, R. Mika, Zangief, and Birdie. He has had success during his time with all of these characters.

However, his diversity could be a double-edged sword. Having too many characters can also be a problem, especially in early phases of a game’s life.

One thing that I always remember was a set at Evolution 2010 where Korean player Laugh played against a Dhalsim. Ever the tactician, expert, and counter-picker, Laugh–after dropping the first game with his patented Ryu–moved over to Rufus, a character he knew was a counter to Dhalsim. While knowledge is one thing, execution is another–and Laugh failed to execute and lost the set.

While Problem X’s mileage may vary in this department, the risk remains the same. If he knows on paper one of his characters wins a certain matchup, but hasn’t had experience of it, he could go for the counter to his detriment, rather than sticking to the character he has the most experience with and gutting it out. Further, with his proclivity to play various characters, we could see him risk his entire tournament run on a character that we have yet to see him play, just because Problem knows it’s a good counter-pick.

Really, the only players I see doing this and succeeding at this point could be RZR|Infiltration or Liquid|NuckleDu. Problem X doesn’t come to mind here.

Tiers

One of the biggest problems facing Problem X is that his characters will not be strong enough to bring him to the top 8 alone. The two characters he regularly plays–Bison and Alex– are both considered far from top tier. Both have flaws, and both of them have more bad matchups than good.

He has already shown that he can play higher tier characters such as Guile and Mika at times. If he was hungry for the Capcom Cup win, he would have played one of them on a more regular basis. He hasn’t. His standard picks are going to give him lots of problems facing the players going to Anaheim.

The Losing Edge

Simon has consistently been a threat to make top 8 in Europe. However, where are his wins?

The problem is that all of Problem X’s tournament victories are way back within the first two months of Street Fighter V’s life. Not only that, but they were local events in the UK. Even with these locals being stacked with talent, and his strong understanding of the game from day one, he hasn’t been able to ramp up his chances of closing out events beyond the local scene.

He has come close since, sure, but he is not playing at the level he should be if he wants to be a serious threat at Capcom Cup. His consistency should be applauded, but he needs to be winning more consistently to have any serious projections coming into Anaheim.

Final Thoughts

Problem X is problematic for everyone he plays. He’s a solid player with a great understanding of Street Fighter V. However, he has problems in sealing the deal, and his characters–as well as his character crises–are not doing him any favors.

Simon is yet another player that I see going 0-2 leading into Capcom Cup. He could possibly steal a win from someone not prepared for Alex or his other unusual pocket characters, but it’s a long shot.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Putthivath “XsK_Samurai” Chea may be having his best year ever. Out of all Americans in the field, I believe him to be the most prominent riser in the scene. His Ryu has never been bad, but he has never had the winning edge that he’s had this year.

After all the effort he has put in, the newly signed player from Winterfox has now found his way into his first Capcom Cup by way of the North American Leaderboard. Will Chea be able to slice and dice through the field?

Ryu 101

There is something special about the way he plays Ryu. It’s so fundamental and pure at its core. It’s not too crazy, but he is always able to find punishes through his impeccable spacing and offense.

He never seems too fazed in his play. He is always able to defend, and doesn’t get flustered. I’d call his Ryu almost cookie-cutter basic Ryu play, but that is doing him a disservice; he does it so well that eventually players fall before him. Because he has such fantastic tools, there is nothing wrong with playing Ryu by the books, if you stay comfortable in forcing your opponent into situations that benefit you. Chea does just that, and he does it effectively and consistently enough to make him a threat to top players.

King of the Hill

Samurai is quickly establishing himself one of California’s leading lights. In a rivalry as old as the first American arcade cabinets to house a World Warrior, Chea is definitely showing enough to prove that he, as one of NorCal’s best, is better than SoCal’s finest–something Thomas Osaki failed to do a couple of decades ago.

He has performed solidly during ESL’s King of the Hill events, which focuse on the Californian scene. In tournament, only twice has someone from SoCal finished above him, and that was EG|K-Brad in both cases. The only other NorCal mainstay that has been ranked above him is EG|Justin Wong.

Further, he has had some international experience through Evo and other major tournaments. I did watch Chea do well in money matches against China in the ArcadeStream salty suite. Samurai has all the foundational skills he needs to use a character built on fundamentals, and competes on even footing, and is going to keep improving.

International Tournament Experience

The one thing Chea lacks is tournament experience against the world’s best. He may have some matches under his belt, but it just simply isn’t enough. When he has been at tournaments with a heavy international presence, he has posted his lowest results–unable to break top 16 at any of them. With a shortened field at Red Bull Battle Grounds, he just barely missed top 8.

The fact is that Chea is a great player, but has been hindered by his inability to seek out stronger competition. Making it out to events like Canada Cup and CEO can only help him level up, but when he isn’t playing the best on a weekly or biweekly basis, it’s not going to elevate his game fast enough to compete with them.

Surely, with this new sponsorship from Winterfox, we will be seeing more of him on the circuit. Who knows what he can do with more experience?

Final Thoughts

XsK_Samurai is on the upswing, and we’re going to see his star shine a little brighter next year. If he had received his sponsorship sooner, we could be speaking differently of his chances at Capcom Cup. He has a lot more learning to do before he makes a top 8 of this caliber. I’m expecting him to win two, maybe three matches before he is on his way home.

Korean arcade stick levers have been rising in popularity this decade. While they have always been popular among Tekken enthusiasts for their fast returns to neutral, players like Ryan “Laugh” Ahn and Team Razer’s Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee have popularized the stick for 2D fighters such as Street Fighter as well.

Given the need for information on the newest Korean variants, IPlayWinner reviewed three of the newest offerings. In their latest video, they review the CWL-309-Helpme, the CWL-309-MJ–both designed by Crown–and the FLF-ST–designed by IST. The latter of the two levers are Japanese mounted, whereas the CWL-309-Helpme is Korean mounted with its trademark neck. The differences do not rest just at the superficial mounting level, as each lever is different in its own way.

Source: IPlayWinner

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

DNL|Chris Tatarian is one of three American players, alongside FOX|Julio Fuentes and BCW|Brenttiscool, who are considered part of the Ken Trinity. He is the second of the Trinity–after Julio Fuentes–who has found his way into Capcom Cup by way of points.

With two of them headed to Capcom Cup, will one of them take the title in Anaheim? Further, will it be Chris?

Come at Me

While Chris has great, relatively safe pressure with Ken, one of the things he does best is reacting to his opponent. You’ll often see that a lot of his damage comes off anti-airs, jump-ins over fireballs, and whiff and block punishment.

Even better, Tatarian does well at creating the illusion of opponents needing to do things he can easily react to. This is likely the thing that makes Chris most dangerous in the game; he forces others to act, then takes advantage of his ability to react. The reduction of input lag since the early days of Street Fighter V is only going to make Tatarian an even greater threat in this department.

The Brotherhood

One of Tatarian’s–and Fuentes’, as well–greatest assets going into Capcom Cup is having his brother in arms in the hunt with him. While they are still competitors whose individual aims will be to win the event, both will want to see the other do well if one of them is eliminated. They will likely be talking things over before their respective matches and bouncing theory and matchup data before they enter the fray–unless of course they are facing each other!

Further, they will likely see Brentt “Brenttiscool” Franks in attendance as well–despite him not making it into the tournament itself. The three will likely be working together to see one of the Trinity make it to top 8.

Infrequent Flyer

Chris Tatarian is ready to win tournaments. However, the tournaments he has proved that fact at are generally lower level. The events he has won have been locals–such as Wednesday Night Fights–or majors where the most international competition he faced was south of the border in Mexico. When he has faced up against players from Asia, he has not fared as well.

The only event where he has made Top 8 with an Asian player involved was a 3rd place finish at First Attack in Puerto Rico, where he lost to both HM|Go1 and /r/kappa|John Takeuchi. Despite winning against Go1 on winners side, he lost to him in loser’s finals, which implies one of two things: either Go1 picked up on some pattern in Tatarian’s play, or Tatarian lost his nerve.

It’s not just Asia that have Chris T’s number either–when he travelled to UK for VSFighting 2016 he was left stumped in Grand Finals after resetting the bracket against fellow Capcom Cup qualifier AWS|CCL. He did blaze through the rest of the bracket however, suggesting that only Europe’s upper echelons will be able to face him down come the grand event.

While his finishes just outside of top 8 at SoCal Regionals and Red Bull Battlegrounds are respectable, they are just simply not confidence-instilling going into Anaheim. Although his new sponsorship with Denial eSports will give him more opportunities to travel and play against the best next season, future holdings do nothing for his current prospects.

Final Thoughts

Chris Tatarian has a lot going for him. But he’s just not ready for the field he’s about to take on. His results at Japan Cup are a glaring reminding of how much work he needs to put in during the coming year.

Though Chris T is one of the best Kens around, Julio Fuentes is who I see having the most potential in Anaheim out of the Trinity. I honestly expect Tatarian to go 0-2 in this event, maybe 1-2 depending on who his first round match is against.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Ryan Hart has been around the scene for as long as Evolution has existed, and even longer than that. The Prodigal Son has always returned stronger and stronger every time he’s seen in a tournament, proving to be arguably the United Kingdom, as well as Europe’s best player.

There were questions early on as to whether Hart would make it into the field of 32 at Capcom Cup this year. But now, with the perennial powerhouse making his way through via the European Leaderboard, how will Ryan fare?

Strength

There are so many strengths I can count toward Ryan’s favor. First, he has yet another out of the list that has played multiple games amazingly well. From Street Fighter, to Tekken, to The King of Fighters, to Virtua Fighter, Ryan has a history in some of the most competitive and technical fighters available. This automatically counts for something, as a lot of the skills translate over to various titles. Not only that, but having that experience allows Hart a smaller learning curve when training a new game.

And he has already proven that his prowess to learn a game is strong. Already he has bested some of the best in Street Fighter V, using a character with similar spacings that his Sagat required in Street Fighter IV. His Ken has already toppled great players such as Itabashi Zangief, OR|Nuki, CCL, and Daigo Umehara. If this shocks you given Ryan’s lower rankings in Street Fighter V, then you don’t know Ryan. He is a well-traveled player, and has seen and played these titans before in other games. He knows how to keep himself calm, and play his game.

One of the most notable moments of this was at Final Round 2014, where Ryan Hart toppled PR Balrog, after PR Balrog reset the bracket. Instead of getting inside his own head, Ryan Hart quickly made the adjustments he needed to counter his opponent, and take the title.

Let’s just say this, when his back’s to the wall, Hart is unfazed. He’s been around for decades. He knows this pressure, and can handle it. That alone could be an asset, but having a strong grasp of your character as well makes Ryan Hart a viable dark horse at Capcom Cup.

Travel

This is a double-edged sword, whereas with others, I would point this out as a flaw. Ryan has barely traveled this season like he has the other seasons. Much like most of Europe, he has only really shown up to the biggest events in America, such as Evolution. The rest of his tournament results have been in Europe, with one exception sending him to Kuwait.

However, when foreign players have made it to Europe, Hart has bested most of them that have lied before him in his path. While he has missed out a valuable international experience by not traveling this season, he is still a man capable of ruining a lot of brackets for people in Anaheim if they bet against him versus Japan, Korea, Taiwan, or China.

Tournament Wins, or Lack Thereof

While all these factors contribute to Ryan doing well, one thing is pause for concern. Out of fifteen events, Ryan has only won one. The one he did win was a local event in London. While this alone doesn’t say that Ryan cannot win, it does not bode well for his chances. He obviously has the tools to go deep into the bracket, but to win? The odds are stacked against him.

Final Thoughts

I love watching Ryan play and hate rooting against him. I have no doubts that he’ll turn some heads as the Prodigal Son returns to America to dole out more punishment to the unsuspecting victims left in his wake. I do have doubts that he’ll close out the entire tournament.

He is a definite wildcard, and a dark horse pick for me. He has the capabilities to make top 8, and the unknowns to go 0-2. I’m going to close my eyes, grit my teeth, and say that he makes top 16. I would love to see him travel more next season, and bring his amazing flair to the world.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Goichi “Go1” Kishida of Team Hail Mary was a complete unknown until Street Fighter V released–in Street Fighter circles at least. With his only listed tournament experience being in BlazBlue Chronophantasma prior to 2016, Kishida lit up the world with his stellar Chun-Li play, making his first sanctioned Evo top 8.

He has kept up his presence in the game, and earned his way into Capcom Cup via points. Now, can Goichi go on to become number ichi?

Transition from Anime

Probably the best thing that Go1 has done is choose Chun-Li as his character in Street Fighter V. Coming out of a background of aerial-heavy games like BlazBlue, this was probably the best pick he could have made, as Chun-Li has similar strengths when she takes to the air. This helped mitigate any form of a learning curve that he may have had.

His experience with anime fighters showed, as he was one of the first players on the circuit to effectively use instant air legs. Thanks to dealing with some of the more execution-heavy games in the scene, he made the move look effortless. The pressure he applies with instant air legs has become a staple part of Chun players’ arsenal since he made his presence felt.

But if it were only that, then Kishida would be a one-trick pony, and wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of the rankings. He has also shown off a strong ground and reactionary game that can only come from talent, understanding, and acceptance of the different nuances in his original games du jour and Street Fighter V. He has made his mark as one of the first players to show off Chun-Li as the nuisance that she is.

Evolution

If anyone is worried that he can’t beat the best players in the world, look no further than Evo to prove them wrong. To be honest, I would not have put money on Go1 making top 8, despite his talent. He not only did he do so, but managed to put the sort of indelible footprint on the event that only the strong thighs of his Chun-Li could leave.

Outclassed only by Yukadon, RZR|Fuudo, and RZR|Infiltration, Go1 managed to beat Alienware’s Nemo and followed that up by crushing fellow Capcom Cup-qualifier MOV by a score of 3-1. My money at the time of that match was on MOV due to experience, but Go1 proved that he can outclass one of the best Chun-Li specialists in the world.

It was this moment that proved that, despite his inexperience, Go1 would not be shaken by the pressure of the occasion. That alone makes him deadly.

Passing Him By

The problem now is staying on top. He made it there, but like every other player considered an apex predator, he has to worry about the bloodthirsty sharks below him ready to feast on his success. And already we are seeing that happen.

Since Evo, he has struggled to maintain his level of success. At other high profile events, he hasn’t even come close. At Japan Cup, he finished 13th. At Southeast Asia Majors, He finished 17th. At SoCal Regionals, he finished a paltry 49^th, which makes me wonder if he can handle North American players’ different playstyles, if that is his lowest finish since Evo. At the Asia Finals, he finished on the low end of top 16.

Like a lot of Japanese players, he is always a threat. But it’s quite possible that as players have leveled up, he has not changed much about his play. Is it possible that this has led him down a road to mediocrity? This is possible if he has been focused on other games, so hopefully he readjusts his focus heading to Anaheim.

Final Thoughts

This is a guy who could be anyone’s dark horse pick to win. I won’t count him out, and have Go1 making it to top 16. The biggest question mark will be how ready he is in comparison to how ready everyone else is. If he doesn’t find the clutch factor he had at Evo, look out for people who begin to put the unfair label of fluke upon him; he will have to have a stellar season next year to prove them wrong.

Laura is often an underappreciated character in Street Fighter V, but with the right offensive prowess, she can still be a threat. Due to her placement in tiers, most people don’t fully prepare for her–and are left devastated in the wake.

First off, we have an example of Daigo Umehara against Edwow, a top Laura player who is able to wrestle the beast into submission.

But in this feature, we have not one, but two examples of Laura doing work. Next, we have Wolfkrone–most famous for his Street Fighter IV play–using Laura to his advantage against NYChrisG’s Urien.

Source: YogaFlame24

Smug has always had a puncher’s chance–literally. His preference for characters like Dudley in Street Fighter IV and Balrog in Street Fighter V is well noted, and it fits his personality well.

As such, when Smug takes his Balrog online in Street Fighter V, he makes it work well. For any Balrog mains looking to up their game, this is one of the top guys to watch for the character. His opponent, Brian_F, keeps it really close, and this is a great lesson in spacing and proper play for the character.

Source: XusesGB