Category: Fighting Games

Despite a lengthy series of losses reaching back to South East Asia Major 2014, Razer’s Kun “Xian” Ho defeated personal demon Yusuke Momochi of Evil Geniuses during the Ultra Street Fighter IV grand finals at Final Round 18 this weekend. Apart from securing a spot at this year’s Capcom Cup, he was also rewarded with a $7000 check and a hefty amount of rankings points to improve his seeding position.

Shortly after his win, theScore eSports’ Rod “Slasher” Breslau caught up with Xian to discuss the impact it made, his plans heading into another year of competition, Capcom Cup 2015’s $500,000 prize pool, and more.

A previous Evo champion, Xian feels as if he may finally be nearing the mindset he had when he was crowned champion of the largest fighting game tournament in the world. “My mental state at this point of time, I would say, is almost at the same level as when I won Evo 2013,” the Singaporean competitor explained. “I used to think I may not be able to win anymore about nine months ago when Ultra came out, because Gen was [nerfed] and delayed wakeup affected [him] a lot. However, I have been making an effort in learning many pocket characters to cover that up.”

It’s no secret that mental fortitude is just as important in competitive arenas as skill, so gaining insight on Xian’s thought process throughout the past year or so is incredibly enlightening. While he would do well in a variety of smaller tournaments after his Evo championship, the aforementioned South East Asia 2014 saw him bow out at seventh before a surprising elimination outside of top sixteen at Evo 2014.

Does Xian have what it takes to earn himself another shot at the Capcom Cup gold? That remains to be seen, but if his performance at Final Round is any indication, Momochi better watch his back.

For more of theScore’s discussion with Xian, be sure to visit the original article.

Source: theScore eSports

Dudley has been a crowd pleaser since he tossed his first rose back in Street Fighter III: New Generation. Whether it’s his fancy duds (sorry), his ability to thoughtfully stroke his curled mustache with a gloved hand, or his sheer rush down and damage potential, it’s hard not to be entertained when a skilled practitioner takes the stage.

In their latest Ultra Street Fighter IV player spotlight, Olympic Gaming takes a close look at one player behind the mustache: el Mocha Latte. This Dudley faces off against a handful of top players including Alex Myers’ Sakura, Veloc1raptor’s Gouken, and Jazero’s Ibuki.

As always, you’ll find a short text-based interview with the highlighted player in the video’s description.

Source: Olympic Gaming

As the first premier stop on this year’s Capcom Pro Tour, Final Round 18 was home to some ridiculous Ultra Street Fighter IV action this past weekend. Players from all over the world converged on Atlanta, Georgia to try their hands at the automatic Capcom Cup qualification spot the event offered, not to mention the ranking points and prize money that was also on the line.

With the competitor pool whittling down to the top sixteen, Southern California powerhouse Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis was matched up against Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi of Japan. While the former’s Zangief is, without a doubt, among the best in the world, he had a hard time finding any ground when matched up against the latter’s Sagat. Well-known for his incredible play with the Russian grappler, many saw the trip Lewis took to the character select screen after going down one game as a normal play for time as he gathered his composure.

That was, until he selected Evil Ryu.

Far from a hail mary, however, Lewis’ side character was not the rusty shoto everyone may have expected it to be. Instead, he was able to take the fight to Bonchan, pulling out the long combos Ryu’s evil side has come to be known for and even throw in a ton of grabs in the process. But more important than that are the tools the fireball-slinging fighter put at the west coast player’s disposal, allowing him to combat Bonchan’s potent zoning game while supplying pressure of his own.

This surprise switch would lead to his qualifying for top eight the following day, while the Evo 2014 second place finisher bowed out tied for ninth.

If you missed out on the live stream, Capcom is currently uploading random matches from the event. Feel free to check out the match in question below and head on over to Capcom Fighters for a few more. Full results for this and other games at Final Round 18 can be found in our coverage hub.

Source: Capcom Fighters

Alpharad recently held a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament to celebrate reaching his goal of 10,000 YouTube subscribers. The winner of that tournament, Lyra214, got to pick the character to be highlighted in the next How to Play video. With that in mind, Alpharad brings us How to Play Pac-Man 101.

As usual, these For Glory match highlights show off a mixture of high-level play and hilarious antics, including ridiculous self destructs, incredible reads, and perhaps even a dash of luck here and there.

Pac-Man adds a unique spin to things thanks to his fire hydrant. The water spouts allow the Namco star to move toward his target while charging various smash attacks for some truly satisfying kills. And when he tires of riding the waves, Alpharad takes to knocking the hydrant around to help secure victory.

Source: Alpharad

For obvious reasons, most of the attention given to Killer Instinct’s second season has focused on the new additions to its cast. That said, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything new for the original characters from season one.

In his latest video, Hughboyzilla once again goes over some tips and tricks for Orchid. This time, however, the video focuses on what she can do with the changes in season two. This includes combos, meaty setups, safe jumps, and more.

Check the video out and see if it can help you step up your game.

Source: Hughboyzilla

Bandai Namco Games recently released the debut TV spot for the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden.

The video, which you can see below, doesn’t really cover anything that hasn’t been revealed in our previous coverage, that said it is nice to finally see the Arc System Works-developed game in motion, even if just for a short while.

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butouden is the latest installment in the long running Butouden series. This latest iteration lands on Nintendo 3DS in Japan on June 11.

Source: Bandai Namco Games via Gematsu