Author: Sam "Trilby" Foxall

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Last Stock Legends Delve into One of the Most Important Videos in the YouTube Era of Super Smash Bros. Melee

As Melee marches on towards the bright lights and big production values of other esports, it’s always worth a look back at the quieter times in its history. Flashing back to the beginning of the YouTube era of Melee, when players were uncertain about its future as a competitive game, Last Stock Legends have chosen to document the history of one of the first Melee videos to reach over 1000 views on YouTube.

The video in question, a match between Tang and Lunin, acts an effective snapshot for that epoch in Melee’s history: the capture equipment wasn’t the best, and the play looks slow when compared to the current meta, but the passion for the game is evident. It’s the people like Phil and HomeMadeWaffles cheering in this video that kept the flame of Melee burning during its darkest hour, so it is vital to preserve and remember these matches–which may seem minor in the current era of massive prize pots and huge sponsors.

Last Stock Legends recently released a video about the history of the Wombo Combo, which is also worth a watch, to see what birthed a phrase used in multiple esports.

Source: Last Stock Legends

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BEast of the East Opens Sign-Ups for the Capcom Pro Tour Last Chance Asia Qualifier

The final chance at a spot in Capcom Cup is coming up fast, as BEast of the East have opened sign-ups for the last chance qualifier for the Asia Regional Finals of the Capcom Pro Tour. This last chance qualifier will be held at Fighter’s Spirit 2016 in Anyang, South Korea on November 17th, with two players gaining a trip to the Asia Regional Finals on November 19th.

There is a 256-player cap for this qualifier, so get signing up now over on the BEast of the East’s website to attend the ultimate last chance qualifier for 2016. The Asia Regional Finals will take place at the G-Star Expo in Busan, South Korea, where players like HORI|Sako, EG|Ricki Ortiz, HM|Eita, DNG|Itazan, HuomaoTV|Humanbomb and others will be competing for that final spot at Capcom Cup 2016. The bracket is available right now over on the official CPT Challonge page, so you can start making predictions on the winner.

Sources: SPIRITZERO; BEast of the East, Challonge

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Battle on the Strip Announces Online Qualifiers for Both Street Fighter V and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Bolstered by the recent successes of online qualifiers for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, smash.gg is partnering with Battle on the Strip to bring Street Fighter V into the fold, by offering both a Smash and Street Fighter online qualifier for the latest edition of this monthly Las Vegas tournament series. These free online qualifiers will invite the top four players for each game to the SLS Resort in Las Vegas, to compete against four of Las Vegas’ best for a split $10,000 prize pool between both games.

Both qualifiers will run Saturday 12th November, starting at noon PST until the top four players for each game have been decided. All qualifying players will then be flown out to Las Vegas to compete at the BOTS finals on Sunday 20th November. The finals will be streamed over on the BattleVegas Twitch channel if you wish to tune in and all the information about event registration and attendance is available on either the BOTS website or the smash.gg page. Like most online qualifiers of this type, entrants are unfortunately limited to North America at this time.

Hopefully, this expansion into Street Fighter V online qualifiers will be as successful as it has been for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, giving online warriors and those who cannot afford expensive flights a chance to compete at tournament level.

Sources: smash.gg; Battle on the Strip

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The Nintendo Switch Playable at Tokaigi 2017, Host of the NicoNico Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Championship

Great news for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U fans who are awaiting news on a possible Switch port: Nintendo has announced that the Switch will be playable at Tokaigi 2017. For those who aren’t familiar with Tokaigi, it is a massive gaming event held in Chiba, Japan which last year held the NicoNico Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Championship, where Masahiro Sakurai previewed Corrin, Bayonetta and the Umbra Clock Tower stage ahead of their official release.

Sakurai even announced the release date of these pieces of DLC during his Tokaigi presentation and commentated the finals between Nairo and Abadango. With a recent report stating that a remastered version of Smash 4 may be coming to the Switch within six months of the console’s launch, this event seems like the perfect place to reveal more information about a potential updated port. More and more top Japanese players have been making their mark on the world stage, so 2017’s championship should be a brilliant event. Tokaigi 2017 will take place from February 11th-12th, and it will also host the national finals for the Splatoon NicoNico Championship, which is also coming to the Switch–based off Nintendo’s initial presentation.

Sources: Nintendo of Japan; Tokagi 2017

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“Street Fighter Is about Getting Into the Opponent’s Head”: Pros, Players, and Commentators Discuss the Art of Street Fighter

During the madness of the Red Bull Battle Grounds, Red Bull eSports caught up with various Street Fighter players to discuss what Street Fighter means to them and why they play the characters they do. Talking to people like Ultradavid and Seth Killian, to master Street Fighter is master one’s own mind while exploiting your opponent’s weakness. Like any other game requiring strategy, a top Street Fighter player must be able to predict and out-think their opponent, while keeping calm and not faltering when put in a stressful situation which may cause mistakes.

This strategy often manifests in character choice, as certain fighters allow players to exert pressure in a way which meshes with their playstyle and mindset. To this end, Red Bull talked to players like their very own Snake Eyez, BST|Daigo Umehara and EG|Justin Wong to understand why a specific character resonates with them.

Source: Red Bull eSports

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Capcom Releases the Full Details on Capcom Cup 2016

As December gets ever closer, Capcom is gearing up for the culmination of almost a year’s worth of competition with Capcom Cup 2016. To prepare fans both attending the event in person and watching online, they have released full details on how this two-day Street Fighter extravaganza will run.

Day One will be held within the Esports Arena in Santa Ana, located 10 minutes away from the PlayStation Experience in the Anaheim Convention Centre. All games will be streamed over on the Capcom Fighters Twitch channel, as players fight through the final 32-player double-elimination bracket to determine this year’s champion. All matches up to top 16 will be best two out of three, with the rest of the bracket being best three out of five. Seeding will be based on the Capcom Pro Tour Global Leaderboard, and there will be plenty of other activities to enjoy at the Esports Arena besides the actual competition itself. There will be casual play stations open all day, along with top player signing and raffle sessions, alongside food trucks from Okamoto Kitchen to fill the bellies of all World Warriors. Doors to the Esports Arena will open at 9am PST, with the actual tournament starting at 11am PST. If you just want to attend Day One of the Capcom Cup, tickets are available right here.

Day Two will see the top 8 moving to the Anaheim Convention Centre, with players competing for over $350,000 and the title of Street Fighter V World Champion. The finals will kick off at 6pm PST, with the closing ceremony set to start at 10pm, if all goes to plan. Attendees of the top 8 will require a PlayStation Experience ticket in order to watch the finals live, but this does give you access to the whole show and all the games on display. Akuma will also be playable during the PlayStation Experience, so get your tickets now to avoid disappointment.

Capcom Cup 2016 runs from Friday 2nd to Saturday 3rd December so book those flights, grab those tickets and get ready to enjoy two days of the highest level of Street Fighter.

Source: Capcom Pro Tour

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Nemo’s Vega Graces the CFN with Its Presence in This Street Fighter V Replay Compilation

One of the most stylish Vegas out there and an Evo 2016 top 8 placer, Alienware’s Nemo has only popped up at a handful of tournaments in this past few months, sticking mainly to event in South East Asia. As such, his great Vega play may have passed quite a few players by. Luckily, XusesGB has managed to track Nemo down in the badlands of the Capcom Fighters Network, bringing us a compilation of Nemo’s greatest recent matches.

According to Xuses, Nemo has only recently started to take online seriously based on his replays, reaching Diamond rank in record time. Let’s hope Nemo makes it to the Asia/Oceania Regional Finals later this month and is able to get his Vega to Capcom Cup in December, alongside fellow Vega Dr. Ray from the Dominican Republic.

Source: XusesGB

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ESL Extends Its Street Fighter V “King of the Hill” Series for Another Four Weeks

Following its runaway success and the quality of matches on display, the ESL has decided to extend its King of the Hill tournament series for an extra four weeks, starting on the 22nd of November. This decision comes as NorCal currently holds control of the Hill, thanks to EG|K-Brad’s victory over both NYChrisG’s Guile and Ronin|Alex Meyers’ Cammy. NorCal does get to hold the Hill for two weeks, as there will be a week break until play resumes.

SoCal had held the Hill for four weeks, thanks to the combined efforts of Chris Tatarian and Alex Meyers, so it is up to K-Brad and his fellow NorCal residents to defend the Hill from the southern avengers. The contest for the Hill will resume on Tuesday the 22nd so tune into the official ESL Twitch to watch all the Street Fighter V action.

Source: ESL Street Fighter

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FGC Academy Instructs How to Pile on the Pressure as Ibuki with This Street Fighter V Guide

Previously covering how to optimize kunai usage as Ibuki, FGC Academy is back with another video dedicated to the young ninja. This time, they focus on pressuring as Ibuki, listing guaranteed pressure setups which can exploit your opponent mashing buttons to interrupt your attack.

FGC Academy shows different ways to pressure from different ranges, using moves like Ibuki’s far heavy kick to catch the recovery on an opponent’s move, or to cause a Crush Counter if they are throwing out buttons. Finally, they show off how to deal with people who are a little bit too patient, by racking up white life to build V-Trigger and force the opponent to hit buttons to wipe off that potential damage. These white life pressure strings are becoming a popular tactic in Japan, according to FGC Academy, so utilizing this specific pressure tool now may give you the leg up for when other top players start following suit.

Source: FGC Academy

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FGC Academy Instructs How to Pile on the Pressure as Ibuki with This Street Fighter V Guide

Previously covering how to optimize kunai usage as Ibuki, FGC Academy is back with another video dedicated to the young ninja. This time, they focus on pressuring as Ibuki, listing guaranteed pressure setups which can exploit your opponent mashing buttons to interrupt your attack.

FGC Academy shows different ways to pressure from different ranges, using moves like Ibuki’s far heavy kick to catch the recovery on an opponent’s move, or to cause a Crush Counter if they are throwing out buttons. Finally, they show off how to deal with people who are a little bit too patient, by racking up white life to build V-Trigger and force the opponent to hit buttons to wipe off that potential damage. These white life pressure strings are becoming a popular tactic in Japan, according to FGC Academy, so utilizing this specific pressure tool now may give you the leg up for when other top players start following suit.

Source: FGC Academy