With all the continuing growth the fighting game community is experiencing with esports, sponsors, social media, and bigger cash payouts, it might be easy to forget where most of what we now have originally started: the local arcade scene. So, with that said, it’s nice when someone takes it upon themselves to show where their local scene comes from and who represents their region.
In this almost seven-minute mini-documentary — simply titled “SFV” — by Matt Herrick takes us on a visual tour of 16-Bit Bar + Arcade in Columbus, Ohio. At this local bar/arcade spot in the Midwest, plenty of drinks are served next to retro arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Tron, Galaga — and classic fighters such Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, and Killer Instinct are in abundance. It’s also at this venue where Beatdown at the Bit weekly tournaments are held for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
Matt also interviews local players Sarah “litebriteRPG” Opelt, Brian “ocelotyouth” Opelt, and Red Bull Proving Grounds finalist Rob “RobTV” Burney. They talk about when they first started playing the Street Fighter series, and how they feel being a part of the fighting game community.
For more information about 16-Bit Bar + Arcade, click on the social media links in the sources below.
Competitive fighting game team UYU.gg continues to expand their player roster across multiple titles such as Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, and others; recently, UYU.gg announced on their Twitter page that they have now signed current Tekken World Tour champion, Qudans, to their roster. With this huge announcement, Qudans joins the likes of other notable Tekken 7 players such P. Ling, KawaiiFaceMiles, and Fergus as team representatives.
We would like to officially announce our latest signing, the reigning Tekken World Tour Champion @qudans1987 to the UYU roster. Qudans will be defending his title this year across the EU, NA and Asian stops of the #TWT. #UYU *Special thanks to @MarkMan23 for his help. pic.twitter.com/aHl15wPY8i
Team UYU.gg also mention that Qudans will be attending tournament stops for this year’s Tekken World Tour in Asia, North America, and Europe. Looks like will be seeing a lot more of the Devil Jin specialist in action for the rest of 2018!
The losers bracket. In the realm of competitive fighting games, most players will advise each other that being in the winners side of a major tournament is better than the former. This becomes painfully apparent if someone gets sent to the losers side early on in pools, or getting sent there right after you make it out in winners — where as some will say: the real tournament begins.
Imagine if you will, losing your first match out of pools in top 256 in Street Fighter V at Evolution to the likes of NuckleDu, only to find out that your first losers match right after is GamerBee, who was sent to your side of the bracket by Nemo. You eliminated him? Good for you. Now you have to play Daigo Umehara. Only a dozen or so matches left to go before you can crack top eight!
Yes, running your way through the losers bracket at a major for any fighting game can be a daunting task for many, whether your’re a sponsored pro or an aspiring diamond in the rough. However, for the few who have the mental stamina to endure set after grueling set against some of the best fighting game competitors in the world, an amazing losers run can cement a player’s legacy and be talked about for many years to come.
With Echo Fox’s Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi’s memorable top eight losers run towards his Evolution 2017 first place victory still fresh in our minds, theScore esports takes a closer look at the legend on his path to Evo glory. The video goes over his major fighting game accomplishments throughout the years across multiple titles, his growth as a player both in and out of the game, and touches on each set before and during his top eight losers run against Punk, Haitani, Itabashi Zangief, Filipino Champ, NuckleDu, and Kazunoko. While definitely not as lengthy a losers run as Luffy’s was at Evo 2014, the caliber of players both Luffy and Tokido had to go through to win Evo is nonetheless intimidating, but also inspiring — as it shows with hard work and laser-focused determination, it is possible to overcome what many consider to be an almost insurmountable task.
It’s finally here, folks! The premier tournament league series, NorCal Fight Club, has returned for its third iteration this time featuring Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. This event will be taking place at AFK Gamer Lounge in San Jose, CA this Friday to Sunday with the top eight finale next Thursday at the Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco.
15 players from various parts of northern California will be competing against each other in three round-robin style events (with a twist) and will conclude with a regular double-elimination tournament between the top eight. Pandora House released a hype trailer yesterday showcasing NorCal’s veteran (and upcoming) talent who were invited and qualified for NCF3.
All the #NCFC3 players and their characters are locked in. Tune in starting tomorrow at https://t.co/zO91qwMy0Z or watch LIVE at @AFKggLounge as some of NorCal's strongest competitors fight this weekend!
The format for this round-robin style tournament series is not your typical one. Pandora House project and social media manager, Rose Sylvestre, outlines how this unorthodox format will out between the competitors:
Rules
Round Robin Format: All 15 players will be playing against one another within a course of three days.
Game Point Differential: Each game point will factor into your total score. The objective is to win as many games possible while losing as little as possible [i.e 3-0 score is worth more than 3-1 score because you gave up one game]
Introducing some brand new elements to the NCFC League:
Tower of Power: There will be three towers in total dividing the 15 competitors. Each tower will contain five competitors per day. The two competitors who score the most points that day for each tower will be deemed as “Leaders” and will stay in their respective towers, while the bottom three will shift to the neighboring tower to the right side.
Game Breaker System: In conjunction with the “Tower of Power,” we are implementing the “Game Breaker System.” Each individual tower will declare two Leaders after the end of Round 1. From Round 2 to Round 3, a player is able to obtain an additional (+3) points whenever they defeat a leader of their respective tower by defeating them in a first-to-three set. This means that not only are non-leaders able to get two chances against their leaders to obtain points, but the leaders themselves are eligible to gain points from one another in their tower as well. This will make the battle of power an interesting one.
Below is the first round bracket of players that will be playing against each other in each tower. The groups of players in each tower will change throughout the weekend as the series progresses.
For more info and updates on NorCal Fight Club 3, be sure to check out the Facebook event invites and Pandora House’s social media pages in the source links below.
Over the course of two weeks in this month of February, two qualifiers were held in San Francisco and San Jose, CA to determine which six players will be competing the third iteration of NorCal Fight Club 3, featuring Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Both qualifiers showcased some of Northern California’s seasoned and up-and-coming talent battling fiercely for those coveted three spots in each location. Winners finals, losers finals, and grand finals replays and results for each qualifier are shown below!
In addition to the six players who qualified for the league, nine notable top players have been selected to participate, for a total of 15 competitors who will be fighting it out in a round-robin style tournament series — with some special rules that will be outlined in a future post. The invited player list, as well as the dates and venue locations, is as follows in the announcement tweets by PandoraHouse below:
It’s that time again, folks. Early bird registration for Northern California’s premier fighting game tournament, NorCal Regionals, has been announced via the event’s Twitter page; the event is returning once again to the Holiday Inn in Sacramento on the last weekend of March.
As the above image in the announcement Tweet suggests, Dragon Ball FighterZ will indeed be part of the main game lineup this year. Here’s the full list so far:
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Tekken 7
The King of Fighters XIV
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
In addition, there will be a community choice vote for a seventh game to be added to the lineup. The choices are as follows:
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (Tournament of Legends qualifier)
Windjammers (Flying Power League tournament qualifier)
ARMS
Pokkén Tournament DX
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Killer Instinct
More details will be revealed for the event as it gets closer to the dates. Be sure follow the sources below for more info regarding registration and venue as well as future announcements on what is sure to be one of the most exciting and competitive international fighting game competitions of the year!
It was only a matter of time, folks. The premier northern California tournament league series by PandoraHouse, NorCal Fight Club, is coming back for its third entry — featuring Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
First popping up almost four years ago with Ultra Street Fighter IV, NCFC has featured some of the best talent such as LPN, EG|Ricki Ortiz, Julio, Hoodaman, BJ Unchained, and other notable players showcasing their skills with prizes, pride, and glory on the line. NCFC3 looks to be no exception in 2018 with SFVAE not only bringing back the aforementioned seasoned veterans, but also attracting the local newcomers that have been on the rise in the Bay Area to level up their game and get their names known in the fighting game community.
The first qualifier for NCFC3 will be hosted and streamed by ShowdownGG this Friday night in San Francisco, CA at the Folsom Street Foundry. More format details and the date for the next qualifier will be announced later this week. Check out the announcement and first hype trailer in the tweet below. If you’re interested in competing or spectating the event, check out the source links at the end of the post!
While the Genesis tournament series has been first and foremost a Super Smash Bros. event, the staff has been adding more games to its lineup since last year’s event. For Genesis 5 in Oakland, CA, in addition to Smash 64, Melee, and SSB4, there will be tournaments for Rivals of Aether, Splatoon 2, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, and last but not least, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
Genesis 4 did feature SFV last year with 130 entrants from both Northern and Southern California. So far, this year’s event doesn’t have quite as many competitors as last year (only 57 as of this writing, but there is still on-site registration the day of the tournament), there is an added $1,000 pot bonus that some of NorCal’s players will be playing for this weekend, with the likes of Evil Genius’ Ricki Ortiz, Rommel “ROM” Macatangay, Miky “XSK_Samurai” Chea, Long “LPN” Nguyen, and Pavo “Pavocado” Miskic in attendance.
Since SFV: Arcade Edition is only a few days old, the results may vary this weekend due to the cast having access to brand new V-Triggers, Sakura being tournament legal, and huge character balance changes. I caught up with Miky, Long, and Pavo to get their early Arcade Edition impressions and their competitive mindsets going into Genesis 5, and beyond.
Kolin is ridiculously cool and powerful now! Expect it to be a cold year.
“I think the single player content is fantastic and the reworked UI is hella sick. I get excited just watching the matches queue up,” said Pavo.
LPN shared the same enthusiasm for the new update: “Playing it for the last few days, it has sparked my interest in many different avenues. With the plethora of tech and info shared across Twitter and YouTube the past few days, I’m overjoyed at how fast people are picking things up in this rediscovery stage. It’s a good look for SFV and seeing other people happy about the game makes me happy as well.”
As far as the character balance changes were concerned, all three players had varied opinions.
“If we’re talking balance, it seems like the gap between low and mid tier is closer than before, but the gap between high tier and everyone else is even bigger than before. A lot of people are going to have to pick up secondaries this year if they want to win big tournaments,” Pavo said. He also adds, “It’s hard to tell how everything will shake out, but the early tech for Abigail is already incredible. Getting hard knockdown on the first hit of his Abigail Punches special move into the new V-Trigger 2 for free unblockables is kind of mind-blowing, considering Akuma just lost his hard knockdown sets ups.
“I’m also slightly worried about Guile considering his bad match-ups seem to have gotten worse, but the system changes benefit Guile more than ever. Mika was mostly given positive changes that go hand-in-hand with her current playstyle, but none of it seems to be that extra cheap stuff that the potential top tiers have. The system changes to throws aren’t in her favor either. She’ll still work, but her bad match ups will require back up for competition. I’m hoping that Blanka will fix all my problems!”
In contrast to Pavo’s enthusiasm, LPN seems unconvinced: “Some characters got over-buffed, [Rashid and Laura] are prime examples. Great characters who are now even greater for no sensible reason in my opinion. New mix ups of Laura have been floating around the internet and Rashid flying in every video as well. The idea behind the game becoming more “neutral” must have been a rumor that’s been circulating the internet for some time now, because it isn’t apparent in AE.”
LPN also seemed confused about the way that characters had been changed: “Some other characters like Alex and Vega can use some more buffs, and some characters like Ken and Akuma got nerfed in a weird direction. The characters aren’t destroyed or unplayable. Just minor adjustments will make them ‘complete.’ Oh yeah, Kolin is ridiculously cool and powerful now! Expect it to be a cold year.”
Seeing other people happy about the game makes me happy as well.
He added: “Some people are happy. Others are not. But the bottom line is, if you enjoy playing the game, then continue to do so. Overall I still love the game and with Arcade Edition out now, I’m ready to jump back into the lab.”
Miky said that he thinks the changes will lead to a more neutral-based experience, even though some characters will have strong 50/50 setups and one-touch kills. He said that even though he will have to work harder, he feels that it will make him play better overall. “Season 3 will bring a new direction in terms of development for players. It’ll be up to the player to realize that and take it into consideration when looking to improve for this year.”
As for the mindsets of all three players going into competing at Genesis 5 and future tournaments, they all seemed optimistic and focused, despite the drastic changes in season three.
“My mindset going into Genesis is to not make the tournament special,” Pavo said. “No extra pressure, no expectations. If I show up and can stay focused throughout the tournament I’ll be happy. I’m not worried about anyone in particular, but all the new options people have means anyone has the potential to surprise me with some dirty tech I haven’t seen before. I hope to be ready to adjust on the fly. My future plans for Season Three are to hit up everything I can. I haven’t seen the East Coast yet and would love to go out there and play with everyone.”
A lot of people are going to have to pick up secondaries this year if they want to win big tournaments.
LPN said, “My mindset going into Genesis is to show the people what AE is all about. It’s a fresh start for many people and I feel so for myself I’m not worried about any particular player as I’m confident in my ability to take the whole thing. As for future tournaments, I plan on going to as many CPT tournaments as possible to compete in SFVAE.”
Lastly, Miky adds emphatically, “I am going there to win with my new style. I don’t care who I play against, or which character. Season 3 in terms of future tournaments? I’m not sure, since I am not sponsored for this season. I will most likely compete in California majors and locals.”
It should be an exciting time for both players and spectators this weekend at Genesis 5 in Oakland, CA. SFVAE takes place this Saturday at around 2:00 PM PT, and is being streamed by IPLAYWINNER.
Kumite In Tennessee 2018 took place last weekend and was host to several “Ultra Fight Night” exhibitions between top players for three titles which were Street Fighter V, Injustice 2, and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, streamed by Panda X Gaming. While the two former exhibitions were first-to-seven, the latter set between the Battle of the Stones champion FORT|Cloud805 and the Evo 2015-2016 Mortal Kombat X champion Echo Fox|SonicFox was a first-to-10 affair, and was an amazing treat to watch if you’re an MvC fan.
The full set below clocks in at almost 50 minutes so it’s somewhat lengthy, but it’s definitely worth the watch. With Cloud805’s explosive team play of Dante, Zero, and the Soul Stone up against SonicFox’s now-infamous setplay with Jedah, Rocket Raccon, and the Space Stone, there’s no shortage of exciting back-and-forth action between these two top contenders.
What does it take to become the best Super Smash Bros. Melee player in the world? For Team Alliance’s Adam “Armada” Lindgren, it was not just confidence, dedication, perseverance, and experience that got him to the top of the Melee mountain. As he mentions in a clip from The Big House 4: if Armada doesn’t get first place, it’s not good enough for him.
In the latest video by theScore esports, Armada goes over his competitive roots in the Super Smash Bros. series, and the surprisingly tough obstacles he had to overcome to get to where’s he’s at now. He talks about his first taste of competition in Super Smash Bros. 64 and Melee in Europe, his original main character before playing Peach, his first time traveling and competing in the United States, the brief retirement period, and eventual return to dominance since Apex and Evolution 2013. If you ever wanted to know more about Armada, check out the video below.
“If we’re talking balance, it seems like the gap between low and mid tier is closer than before, but the gap between high tier and everyone else is even bigger than before. A lot of people are going to have to pick up secondaries this year if they want to win big tournaments,” Pavo said. He also adds, “It’s hard to tell how everything will shake out, but the early tech for Abigail is already incredible. Getting hard knockdown on the first hit of his Abigail Punches special move into the new V-Trigger 2 for free unblockables is kind of mind-blowing, considering Akuma just lost his hard knockdown sets ups.
“My mindset going into Genesis is to not make the tournament special,” Pavo said. “No extra pressure, no expectations. If I show up and can stay focused throughout the tournament I’ll be happy. I’m not worried about anyone in particular, but all the new options people have means anyone has the potential to surprise me with some dirty tech I haven’t seen before. I hope to be ready to adjust on the fly. My future plans for Season Three are to hit up everything I can. I haven’t seen the East Coast yet and would love to go out there and play with everyone.”