Combo Breaker’s second annual congregation invited renowned fighting game community players, organizers, artists, game developers, competitors, and spectators to step just outside Chicago’s boundaries for a memorable weekend. The timing of Memorial Day was all the more appropriate for the vacation venue in St. Charles, the Pheasant Run Resort, a large complex with a tower hotel, two swimming pools, nearby restaurants, and, most importantly, a dedicated Mega Center that hosted the FGC event.
The first thing greeting players on their way to compete were arcade cabinets with a selection of old school games, like the original Killer Instinct. Across from them, vendors lined up with art, sketches, gaming paraphernalia, stick and pad modifications, and an indie games section. Among them were folks from Pocket Rumble.
“It’s been great so far. We have a tournament going on right now, we have a lot of enthusiasm going on,” April “PaniniKill” Sewell, the composer, artist, and co-game designer behind Pocket Rumble, told me at the event. “Every person pretty much who has come up and played the game had a really positive reaction. We got to play with some of our top players in person like SonicFox and Dacidbro. That’s been the best part probably.”
Located in a small section of the huge hall, the venue hosted 20 tournaments for 20 different games. One would think that’s an organizer’s nightmare and a recipe for body traffic. However, the bigger games, sequestered by rows and tables grouped up with four set ups max not only made it easier to breathe and walk around, but the large number of consoles made it easy to play casual matches practically all day. Furthermore, the venue was open 24 hours.
“I think this new venue is probably my favorite part, how big it is,” said OrganicLuker, a Guilty Gear player from Huntsville, Alabama. “There’s a lot of room to walk around even though it’s still pretty crowded. This stage is amazing. Everything has been laid out very well.”
OrganicLuker made it to the Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- Battle Summit as part of the last chance qualifying 5v5 team.
“I didn’t come last year, but I’ve come to three Ultimate Fighting Game Tournaments beforehand because I love Chicago tournaments,” he said. “They’re always right on time, Mystery Game is fun, great atmosphere. I like this tournament a hell of a lot more than some around me, like Final Round. The main difference is that Final Round has a party atmosphere, but a lot of the game stuff, the important things, like playing your pools, suffer. But here, I’ve never had problems. None in Chicago tournaments.”
Friday night had some exhibitions, like the Skullgirls 10v10 and Chicago’s Mystery Game Tournament, which included titles like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Edition, among others. Even Tekken Ball Mode had its spotlight. A dedicated space showcased sought-after, but not yet available games: King of Fighterx XIV and Tekken 7.
“I’m studying Tekken 7, playing Street Fighter V and -REVELATOR-,” said Kayo, an attendee from Orlando, Florida. “Right now, Tekken 7 is playing a little slow, and I like it like that, because it reminds me of Tekken 1, Tekken 2, and that’s where I come from. Last year I just spectated, I wanted to see what Combo Breaker is all about because I played at UFGT, but now it’s Combo Breaker, and I like it a lot. My favorite part is the big screens.”
And indeed, while four stages allowed many top 8s and finals to be featured across five streams, the main screen was something else. As tall as the entire hall, the stage gave incredible prominence to whatever game was featured. Extra touches like dynamic lighting and letters that lit up on the sides, saying things like “Let’s Rock” for Guilty Gear or “Killer Instinct,” drew eyes all around and contributed to the hype.
“I’ve always wanted to create a fighting game convention, and I want to create a fighting game convention that caters to the part of the FGC that I love the most, which is being with people, playing games, developing that fan-player goal, but without losing the current eSports target goal of producing spectacle entertainment out of the games,” said Richard “The Hadou” Thiher, the main organizer of the event. “With Combo Breaker, I’m starting to find a natural midway point where I can play games with friends in the middle of the night, at 2 in the morning, and at the same time, come Saturday evening, I can put together the kind of show that we had for Killer Instinct or Skullgirls.”
The atmosphere definitely hit high eSport notes, especially since many prominent players like EG|Justin Wong, EG|Ricki Ortiz, and many more–even Lupe Fiasco made a low-key appearance. At the same time, due to the venue’s robust accessibility, it maintained an approachable, easy-going feel.
DarkFire, a player from Orlando, came to Combo Breaker at the last moment, and the buzz before the event about the “godlike” venue helped him make the decision.
“My favorite part is definitely just being with my friends,” he told me. “I talked to a lot of top players in MKX, SonicFox, Dragon, all my friends. That’s the best part for me. Playing in a tournament, competing, top 8 and whatnot is cool, but for me, I have more fun just being there interacting with everyone.”
Combo Breaker 2016 definitely felt more akin to a convention rather than just a tournament. With such diverse activities and games at the venue, it’s hard to find anything to complain about. There was food available in the center, even if it wasn’t restaurant-quality. A few players (and myself) noted that the temperature was a little too low. Some felt that the cold actually impacted their hands and how they played. It’s nitpicking at best, however, and this tournament has all the chops and organizational power to truly be the biggest in the Midwest, if not the most important non-Evo event.
Last year, the event took place at Crowne Plaza, a comfortable hotel with multiple ballrooms, but it didn’t quite compare to this year. The event is something of a spiritual successor to the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament.
“If you’re after fighting games and fighting game events to be focused on fun, more so that than just competition, without forgetting that the competition matters, Combo Breaker is going to be an event that caters to what you’re looking for in this community,” said Thiher. “And that’s something I’m proud of, so it’s something I don’t think will ever change.”
All photos courtesy of Victoria Hionis from Portraits Couture
Source: Combo Breaker
