The Brooklyn Beatdown will return to New York City’s Barclays Center on September 16 and 17 with a $50,000 prize pool provided by ESL. Regional online qualifiers begin today and will continue through Saturday; winners from five regions, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, India, and South America will receive a paid trip to The Brooklyn Beatdown next month.
Direct sign-ups are also available via the event’s website and the tournament bracket will be limited to just 256 players, so be sure to register in advance. Last year, Qanba Douyu|Xiao Hai won a close grand finals set against EchoFox|Momochi and took home $30,000 for first place.
Like last year, the tournament will be run alongside the ESL One Counter Strike: Global Offensive event, and the finals will likely be featured on the arena’s main stage on Sunday, though the schedule has not been confirmed. The top 16 finishers in the tournament will receive prize money starting at $750.
Visit the official Brooklyn Beatdown website to register for the tournament and purchase a ticket for the event.
Injustice 2 players got their hands on Starfire for the first time yesterday, and wasted no time developing some standard combos and mixups for the high-flying Titan.
Starfire is the game’s third DLC character, and her moveset incorporates a number of projectile-based attacks. She can use her Stardust special to place traps on the opponent’s wakeup and create effective mix-ups, while her trait allows her to pour additional damage onto her combo enders.
Below you can find an annotated combo guide, showing some of Starfire’s basic combos along with a few more tricky setups to help keep opponent’s guessing. Starfire’s release completes the first round of DLC characters for Injustice 2, with six more planned for the future.
In mid-July a grandmaster Street Fighter player made his way from Japan to the states; but rather than making the trip to Evo, his sights were set on Next Level Arcade for 2 Old 2 Furious. Kusumondo’s E.Honda has already claimed international titles and countless victories over the two decade history of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but the passion for classic Street Fighter that pours through each 2 Old 2 Furious event brought him to Brooklyn.
2O2F has hosted tournaments for ST, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter EX2+, and Capcom vs. SNK 2 since 2013. What began as a local series for New York City players has gained international attention for preserving these games in their purest form. For their setups, 2O2F uses arcade hardware and Sony PVM monitors for RGB display. Stream matches are held on head to head BlastCity cabinets that were purchased via a donation drive for an ST revival in 2012. Equipment donated by other gaming groups such as iFixMachine help make sure these old games are presented in pristine condition.
A viral video from Mashable showing just a brief glimpse of a 2O2F event sparked a wave of nostalgia in April, and has been seen more than 800,000 times on Facebook. But despite the publicity, attendance for July’s tournament was nearly the same as the one three months prior. The turnout isn’t exactly surprising; the competition at these events has always been about much more than arcade nostalgia.
At a time when even new games like Tekken 7, The King of Fighters XIV and Injustice 2 struggle to keep their players involved at locals, 2O2F nurtures its small but consistent scene by regularly improving its presentation, and providing players with top-notch equipment and high-level competition.
“With every 2 Old the quality keeps going up,” Brooklyn native and OG Dictator player Riz0ne said. “And not only the quality of the stream, the quality of the amount of setups, the quality of how quickly the bracket is run, the quality of the players.”
“You incentivize the players to come, you make it a fun event and build it up, and people are gonna turn up,” added Josh Cooper, another local player.
Fighting old school
While the tournament pool was filled with Next Level regulars, not everyone was a seasoned veteran. Patrick “DaFeetLee” is best known for his play in Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V, but in a stacked ST tournament he bowed out with an early 0-2.
“In these old games, if you don’t anti-air once you’re dead,” Lee said between matches. “I don’t even know why people say that about Street Fighter V! The old games are so punishing; playing them makes you more aware that if you make one mistake, you’re done.”
PAG|Jihan “Virgo” Sheriff-Crichlow managed to take third place in Street Fighter Alpha 2 with Birdie, a character widely considered to be one of the worst in the game. He explained how practicing in an arcade environment can help players improve, while echoing Lee’s sentiment about the speed of the classic Street Fighter titles.
“It helps you with your fundamentals, learning your spacing, understanding your character,” Virgo said. “Back then we didn’t have training mode we just worked it out, going to the arcades everyday. Fundamentals are important with these old games and they go very quick, it’s not like how the modern games can take so long to just finish a round.”
Kusumondo put on a masterful showcase during the Super Turbo finals, overcoming one of Honda’s most difficult matchups and winning the tournament without losing a game in top 8. There’s no hidden tech or new characters in these games; the best players are defined by their knowledge, experience and consistency. The low margin for error and fast-paced nature of these arcade classics created the win-first mentality that still defines the competitive spirit of the fighting game community.
Out comes the new, stick with the Old
July’s 2O2F also featured a tournament for Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, the recently-released update for the Nintendo Switch. While the title has reportedly sold well overall, it has been largely ignored by the competitive community. USFII saw half as many entrants as ST at 2O2F, and didn’t receive much hype or attention in general.
“It’s good but it’s not 2X, 2X is still the best,” USFII and SFEX2+ winner Marcus “GoLion” Gibbs said, referring to ST by its Japanese title’s (Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge) abbreviation.
Gibbs, who has used the tag Marsgatti in the past, said that he enjoys the game but ultimately hopes it will lead to a direct port of ST on modern consoles. USFII introduces new characters, some balance changes and a throw break system, a big change for the SF2 engine. But if anything could be learned from the short tournament life span of 2008’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, it’s that the magic of ST cannot be reproduced.
“You can’t recreate the gem of 2X, the game is perfect and if you change one little thing about it, it’s no longer that game,” Riz0ne said. “ST cannot be recreated, you can have another version… but you can’t compare the two.”
It’s hard to argue with the decades-old legacy of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but it’s the players who have kept the game alive and near the forefront of the FGC throughout the years. Tournaments like 2 Old 2 Furious and the ongoing ST Revival movement show the sort of passion that is needed to keep old games alive and fresh.
“If you have a small group of friends, just three people who really really love this game and you want to do this thing, you can revive any game,” Riz0ne said. “You can revive Ultra Street Fighter IV or you can revive vanilla Street Fighter IV if that’s what your crew wants to play and you have enough heart to play.”
Without world tour stops, pot bonuses or sponsored players, 2O2F continues to grow through its dedication to the classics. The tournament is a living testament to the grassroots and history of the fighting game community, showcasing the spirit that fuels competition.
“You get good players from all around and there’s no drama, the drama is in the game,” Gibbs said. “I’d pick 2Old over Evo any day.”
Video archives from July’s Ultra 2 Old 2 Furious are available now through Team Sp00ky; be sure to follow @2Old2Furious for information on their next event. Both Super Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2 enjoy healthy communities on FightCade. For more information about competitive Super Turbo, including offline events, interviews and Fightcade sessions, visit strevival.com.
A number of upgrades to Capcom’s CFN Portal arrived quietly alongside Street Fighter V’s Abigail patch yesterday, adding login functionality for players and full frame data tables for each character.
Using their PlayStation Network or Steam login players are now able to check CFN data online, including win rates, recent matches and overall ranking information on a platform called the Shadaloo C.R.I (Combat Research Institute). Using this information players can generate a personal player card called a “Psycho Pass” showing off their favorite character, rank and chosen avatar. The pass can then be shared via social media, and the C.R.I tracks the number of followers a player has.
Many of the features mirror those of the the now defunct V-League.pro which was active until April of this year when the website’s CFN account was banned. However, the C.R.I platform only shows recent Ranked match opponents, and does not list specific match results or match IDs for replays.
Logging into the C.R.I also provides access to frame data for each character, and while there have been some alternative sources, it’s certainly nice to have the data from Capcom first hand. The data is also quite detailed, including airborne frames for attacks and exact numbers for V-Trigger cancels.
Though it’s odd that Capcom would roll out this service without a formal announcement, it shows at least some progress towards turning CFN into a better platform for competitive players.
Alright, Abigail’s out and it’s time to get behind the wheel; but what sort of destruction can the Mad Gear gear-head bring to Street Fighter V? The goofy grappler is earning a warm reception as players begin to develop devastating 100% stun combos and dangerous setups for Season 2’s newest character.
We now know those giant arms aren’t just for show, as a Crush Counter fierce can spell absolute disaster with Abigail’s V-Trigger, Max Power. Activating VT after a raw Crush Counter can actually give Abigail enough time to jump in and continue a combo.
For those looking for a general overview of the character, AutoMattock has you covered with a solid day one tutorial reviewing Abigail’s standard options.
As desk has demonstrated with across three videos so far, Abigail’s unusual move properties will certain lead to unique tech being developed for the character. Be sure to stay tuned for more, as the exploration of this crazy character continues!
Season 2 of the Skullgirls Tour kicks off this month with a free online tournament on July 8th and the first offline stop at Defend the North on July 30th. So far Skullgirls Tour Season 2 includes seven major offline events across the US along with a series of free online tournaments held before each major.
Each offline event will add a $500 pot bonus sponsored by Steam.me and the online tournaments will provide cash prizes as well. Each pre-registered attendee for the tour’s first stop, Defend the North, will add $5 to the pot for the July 8th online tournament, going up to a maximum of $300. The online tournaments will be streamed at Stream.me/SkullgirlsTour, and be sure to follow @SkullgirlsTour on Twitter to find out future online tournament dates.
SonicFox dominated the Skullgirls Tour’s inaugural season, winning each offline event he entered. The tour’s finale at Combo Breaker this year brought in 150 entrants and international competition from Europe, Brazil, Mexico and Japan.
Once season two of the tour is underway the full schedule and standings for will be maintained on smash.gg. Take a look at the current schedule below:
Defend the North, White Plains, NY (July 29-31, 2017)
CEOTaku, Orlando, FL (Sept. 23-24, 2017)
Northeast Championships, King of Prussia, PA (Dec 15-17, 2017)
Before there was Next Level Arcade or NLBC, New York City’s fighting game community was harbored in the city’s arcades. Even as American arcades dwindled and Street Fighter II cabinets disappeared from stores, Manhattan’s Chinatown Fair remained a hub for the city’s gamers, and a landmark for the East Coast’s most impressive fighting game talent. In their film The Lost Arcade director Kurt Vincent and writer Irene Chin explore the elements that helped Chinatown Fair foster its unique community and the competitive spirit that led to the creation of Next Level.
Frequently referred to as “New York City’s last great arcade,” Chinatown Fair’s history predates video games altogether: it first opened in 1944, and eventually became a video arcade during the ’70s. The Lost Arcade focuses on how the arcade became an essential crossroads for New York City’s gamers under the ownership of Pakistani immigrant Sam Palmer, who purchased the business in 1982.
“I wanted to create a film that would capture the spirit that hit me the first time I walked through those doors,” Vincent said in a statement about the film. “There was a melting pot of a community that congregated there, where all walks of life came together and shared one common interest: video games. It was a microcosm of what New York was all about.”
Palmer began investing in fighting games at the advice of Henry Cen, his employee and business partner. In a time before “FGC” was a common term, Chinatown Fair gave many their first exposure to high-level fighting game play. The Lost Arcade captures the arcade’s weekend crowds for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike — late night tournaments would keep the arcade open past 2:00 AM.
The arcade served as a proving ground for a generation of New York City fighting game players: Justin Wong, Chris G, Sanford Kelly and Arturo Sanchez were just some of the faces among the fierce competition. Cen even made sure console titles like Super Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 made their way to the arcade.
Chinatown Fair prior to its 2011 closing
The Lost Arcade captures Chinatown Fair’s fall and rebirth, as rising costs pushed Palmer out of business in 2011. Cen opened Next Level shortly thereafter as a refuge for the city’s fighting game players. The film shows the Brooklyn venue flourish from an empty canvas to a vibrant competitive space while a new owner eventually re-opened Chinatown Fair, without fighting games, a year later. The Lost Arcade contrasts the rise of Next Level with the community’s attempts to adjust to a very different Chinatown Fair.
Through the eyes of Palmer, Cen and Akuma Hotaru, a Next Level and Chinatown Fair employee, The Lost Arcade relates of how the spirit of community can transform the simplest of spaces into something more.
“It had its own language, its own quirks, these vibes that attracted like-minded kids to a place that may have been a safe haven even from their own home,” Vincent said of the arcade. “You talk to these patrons, and they just want to share their stories and history of the Chinatown Fair to keep it alive. They’re detailing accounts of meeting a best friend, getting into fights, a first kiss and meeting the love of their life.”
The Lost Arcade is available on most digital platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Steam, Vimeo, VHX, Vudu, Microsoft and Sony video services, Comcast Infinity and Direct TV. For more information visit arcademovie.com
Street Fighter V received a brand new batch of colors as a part of the major content update yesterday, adding colors numbered 11-15 for each character’s Story and Battle costumes. The costumes are unlockable using Fight Money, but with only two tiny color patches to judge from in-game, figuring out what a costume looks like can be a rough job. However, Capcom’s CFN Portal site has been updated with all of the new colors.
Shadoloo’s Sgt. Ashida provides some commentary on the fighters’ outfits, as well as the new colors. Be sure to see which new designs are your favorite before spending that precious Fight Money. Unlocking every new available color for a single character costs 94,000 FM in total, so choose wisely!
FightClub Cup 2017 brought some the world’s best King of Fighters XIV competition to China, including the top four finishers from this year’s KOFXIV World Cup. Japanese Champion Sanwa|M’ attempted to defend his title against the likes of Xiaohai, GXBridget and Panda|Dakou.
The tournament was one of the first major showings for the game’s new balance patch, which arrived alongside four new DLC characters earlier this month. A total of 17 characters were used over the course of the finals, but Rock, Vanessa, Yamazaki, and Whip were not among them. Despite nerfs K’, Benimaru, and Mai continue to be popular at the highest level of play, and Iori continues to be a powerful anchor character for both Xiaohai and M’.
ET’s unconventional team of Billy/Clark/Benimaru is pushed to the brink in an intense grand finals set that goes to the last possible round. More footage from the earlier rounds of the tournament is also available on GatoRay’s Youtube Channel.
Results & Match Log
Xiaohai
ET
Panda|Kdit Ren
Zeng jia zhen (GX Bridget)
Xiaohu
Panda|Dakou
Sanwa|’M
Shuiyu
Grand Final
ET (Billy/Clark/Benimaru) vs. Xiaohai (Kula/Mai/Iori) – 1-3 Reset
ET (Billy/Clark/Benimaru) vs. Xiaohai (Kula/Mai/Iori) – 2-3
The remastered version of Street Fighter II’s Thailand Stage will be released for Street Fighter V, alongside three new premium costumes, on April 25. The new content was revealed during Capcom’s WonderCon 2017 panel earlier this month.
The iconic stage was the home of Street Fighter II’s final battle, where players faced off against M.Bison. Capcom released several design sketches for the stage, which has been faithfully reproduced. The stage’s theme music has been recreated as well, in similar fashion to the Air Force Base and High Roller Casino stages already adopted from Street Fighter II.
Ryu, Chun-Li, and Juri will receive new premium costumes with a shared schoolyard theme. Ryu is dressed as a student gang leader with fierce sideburns, Chun-Li dons glasses for a more traditional school girl look, and Juri shows off some gothic punk style–boots, leather and all. Each costume will cost $3.99 USD.
Capcom has also confirmed that even more new content is on the way before the end of April. A previously announced balance patch is due to arrive before the end of April, and the developer is expected to reveal the third DLC character for Street Fighter V Season 2–soon.
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