Author: Sam "Trilby" Foxall

Acting as a Ranking event on the Capcom Pro Tour and one of South East Asia’s biggest majors, registration for Manila Cup 2017 is now live. Held at the Power Mac Center in Makati from September 8th-10th, this year’s Manila Cup is hosting a grand total of nine tournaments with:

• Street Fighter V
• Tekken 7
• Mortal Kombat XL
• The King of Fighters XIV
• Injustice 2
• Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2
• BlazBlue Central Fiction
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

International registration can be found over at smash.gg, while local Filipino players can register at the Play Book Gaming Lounge in Circuit Makati. With top talent from all over South East Asia coming to compete and SRK’s very own d3v helping run the tournament, Manila Cup is an event you don’t want to miss.

Source: ManilaCup2017

With issues swirling around modded controllers, mid-set coaching and ledge-grab limits, the high council of Super Smash Bros. Melee has finally met to discuss a new recommended ruleset for the game. Voted on by members of MeleeItOnMe, this new ruleset is open to amendment, so don’t expect certain elements to be set in stone.

First off, competitive Melee will continue to use NTSC or PAL version 1.02 with the use of a standard memory card. That means no using modded versions of Melee to fix dash-backs, shield-drops and Firefox angles. By extension, no hardware modifications that fix these issues can be used either, so Arduino controllers are out of the question. Shield-drop notches and cosmetic controller mods are still allowed.

One of the biggest questions going into this new ruleset was the question of the Smash Box and other box-like controllers. On a vote of four to one, the MeleeItOnMe leadership panel voted to tentatively ban controllers like the Smash Box and the B0XX, with the reason being given that “the use of a GC controller is somewhat intrinsic to what [they] consider ‘playing Melee.’” This may be subject to change — I certainly hope it will — but controllers of this type will not be allowed at tournaments that follow this ruleset.

Mid-set coaching is also banned with this rule-set and warm-up periods before games are now restricted to 30 seconds using Melee’s in-game timer. For the entire rule set, a breakdown of how the panel voted and an explanation for certain rulings, go to MeleeItOnMe’s official website. You can also find details on how to propose amendments to the ruleset on the official ruleset PDF.

Source: MeleeItOnMe

Europe’s largest gaming trade-show Gamescom is fast approaching, and several fighting game developers are showing off new content. Capcom have already stated that Dormammu and Firebrand will be revealed for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and Bandai Namco have confirmed that a new Dragon Ball FighterZ demo will be playable at the show.

According to Bandai Namco, an “enhanced playable version” will be present at Gamescom, along with DBFZ’s first competitive European tournament. Based on that wording, I imagine the Gamescom build will likely feature Krillin, Future Trunks and Piccolo, alongside any additional engine changes Arc System Works have made since E3. We may even get a hint at the 10th character, which is hopefully going to be added for the closed DBFZ beta. My bets on either Tien Shinhan, Ginyu, or one of the Androids.

Gamescom runs from August 23rd to 26th, so keep your scouters ready for any new DBFZ information.

Source: Bandai Namco Europe

While CEO may be moving to Daytona for its 2018 event, the FGC may be returning to Orlando in the near future as part of Disney’s push into the world of esports. Set to be completed in January 2018, Disney will be opening a 8000-seat stadium inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, which is being poised for hosting future esports tournaments.

“We are absolutely looking at esports and [the stadium is] a wonderful venue for that,” says Faron Kelley, the vice president of Disney Sports. “Everyone is learning at the same time about what is the best way to do this. With our unique configuration we could have an esports event going on at the same time as an esports conference or expo in one of our other venues. We have got a lot of flexibility.”

Based on ESPN’s history with the FGC — recently televising Evo finals for both Street Fighter V and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U — I’d expect fighting game events would definitely be on the company’s radar. When you also consider other media outlets like the BBC and Turner Broadcasting are giving the FGC a shot, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney try to host their own televised event in this brand new arena.

So the question remains, when are we going to see Mickey Mouse throw a Hadoken?

Source: Forbes

ELEAGUE have announced how players can qualify for the Injustice 2 World Championship, starting on October 21st. In order to include players from all over the world, competitors from all events on the Injustice 2 Championship Series will get a shot at competing at the Championship. The starting 16 will be formed from:

• Eight players from the Injustice 2 Pro Series
• Two players from the North American Hometown Heroes circuit
• Two players from the European Path to Pro series
• Two players from the Latin American La Liga series
• Two players from the ELEAGUE Last Chance Qualifier

The Last Chance Qualifier will be on October 21st, and will no doubt feature some fierce competition as players battle for those final two spots. After that, the 16 combatants will be split into two groups of eight, where they will fight in a best of five, double-elimination bracket, with the top two from each group going forward.

The final four will then proceed to one last double elimination bracket, where the Injustice 2 World Champion will be crowned. Will Noble|Dragon hold onto his crown after his Evo 2017 win, or will we see someone else take the throne? As with the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational, all matches will be shown on either TBS or on the ELEAGUE Twitch channel.

Source: ELEAGUE

ELEAGUE have announced how players can qualify for the Injustice 2 World Championship, starting on October 21st. In order to include players from all over the world, competitors from all events on the Injustice 2 Championship Series will get a shot at competing at the Championship. The starting 16 will be formed from:

• Eight players from the Injustice 2 Pro Series
• Two players from the North American Hometown Heroes circuit
• Two players from the European Path to Pro series
• Two players from the Latin American La Liga series
• Two players from the ELEAGUE Last Chance Qualifier

The Last Chance Qualifier will be on October 21st, and will no doubt feature some fierce competition as players battle for those final two spots. After that, the 16 combatants will be split into two groups of eight, where they will fight in a best of five, double-elimination bracket, with the top two from each group going forward.

The final four will then proceed to one last double elimination bracket, where the Injustice 2 World Champion will be crowned. Will Noble|Dragon hold onto his crown after his Evo 2017 win, or will we see someone else take the throne? As with the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational, all matches will be shown on either TBS or on the ELEAGUE Twitch channel.

Source: ELEAGUE

ELEAGUE are strengthening their presence in the world of Street Fighter V, by announcing a new amateur league in partnership with GEICO. The GEICO ELEAGUE Amateur Series will feature three tournaments, with the first being held at PAX West from September 1st-4th.

The PAX West tournament will be a 32-player bracket, with 16 players getting in via online qualifiers while the other 16 will qualify via an open tournament on-site. These 32 players will then compete for various prizes, which have yet to be announced. Seeing as it is named the Amateur Series, I imagine there will be some rules in place to stop top players on the Capcom Pro Tour sweeping in to take the grand prize.

Details on commentators and the other two events in the Amateur Series will be revealed at a later date, so stay tuned for more information. You can sign up for the three online qualifiers here, with two of them being straight double elimination brackets and the other being a seven-day ladder where players vie for the top spot. If you’re unable to attend PAX West, all of the action will be streamed via the GEICO and ELEAGUE Twitch channels.

Source: Turner

Following his split from Critical Reaction after Evo, Tim “HoneyBee” Commandeur has now signed to fledgling esports team beastcoast. Before HoneyBee’s arrival, beastcoast’s roster was all Smash players, with MikeHaze for Melee and Mr. R for Smash 4. The addition of HoneyBee for Injustice 2 shows the team’s commitment into branching out into traditional fighting games, alongside platform fighters.

proud to announce the newest member of beastcoast, @HoneyBeeCMNDR!https://t.co/CszcsBx1jx

here's a pun about how flashy his play is

— beastcoast (@beastcoastgg) August 1, 2017

beastcoast are certainly making an entrance into competitive Injustice 2 with HoneyBee, with the Flash master earning second at this year’s Evo and defeating giants like Echo Fox|Sonic Fox and Echo Fox|Theo along the way. With Flash’s recent buffs in the August patch, HoneyBee is on pace to do well at the Injustice Championship Finals in September. HoneyBee’s first tournament with beastcoast will be Summer Jam XI on August 11th, so watch out for a blur zipping past you in pools.

Source: beastcoast

After a season of hard-fought competition, the best of the Brawlhalla world are coming together in Atlanta this November for the second annual World Championship. Alongside invited players from the Brawlhalla circuit, there will be regional championships to bring players from all four corners of the globe to compete in the world final.

These regional qualifiers will begin September 2nd, with them running every weekend until October 8th. If you do not get into the World Championships via these online events, there is a last chance event at the Brawlhalla Championship Expo where four players will proceed to the final bracket.

Both the Championship Expo and World Championship will be held at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, Georgia, with over $100,000 in cash prizes up for grabs. You can already sign up for the BCX Open Qualifier on smash.gg, with all of the action being streamed over on the Brawlhalla Twitch channel.

Source: Brawlhalla

After showing off some of the August balance changes in a recent Watchtower stream, NetherRealm has released the full patch notes for Injustice 2. Along with general improvements, move list corrections and various bug fixes, the majority of this patch saw NetherRealm breaking out the nerfing stick and cutting some of the top tiers down to size.

You should hopefully see less Trident Rush spam, as Aquaman’s infamous special move has seen its damage lowered, along with his Tentacle Strike meterburn causing a hard knock-down instead of a pop up. Atrocitus’ feline friend Dex-Starr now drains more trait meter whenever he uses a move, meaning less oppressive offensive when this cat comes to play. Speaking of cats, Catwoman’s Whip Strike has had its hit angle adjusted, with her meterburn Cat Dash now losing its armor. Batman now takes longer to recover following a meterburn Batarang and Black Adam’s overall damage output has been reduced. He’ll no longer do 600+ damage if he lands his full trait to Riddle of the Sphinx combo, thank Amon-Ra.

There are loads more changes so check over on the official Injustice 2 website, to see who has been spared the nerf bat and has been blessed with buffs. As part of this patch, two new shaders have been added to character customization. The Electrum shader colors your fighters silver, while the Tournament shader dresses your character in glistening gold. The sale of each Tournament shader will help support future Injustice 2 tournaments and community events, so consider buying it if you want to support the Injustice 2 competitive scene.

Help support the E-sports/Tournament scene by getting these Injustice 2 Tournament Shaders !!pic.twitter.com/y9kgFeKugS

— Ed Boon (@noobde) July 31, 2017

Ed Boon has also posted a curious image over on his Twitter, showing a downed Cyrax from the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. This has — quite naturally — sent fans into a frenzy at Cyrax being added as a possible fighter in Fighter Pack 2. Knowing Ed Boon’s penchant for trolling, I see this more as a red herring, rather than a confirmation that another Lin Kuei ninja is joining the Injustice 2 roster.

pic.twitter.com/hIiZ8CbxlJ

— Ed Boon (@noobde) July 31, 2017

Sources: NetherRealm; noobde