Red Bull Proving Grounds ended this past weekend, with a victory for the Online team. Team PGO, consisting of GAM|Dr. Ray, GAM|Caba, and Nephew triumphed over the other teams from San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and ultimately everyone. There was one team that stood out: Team Chicago, as the home team, welcomed the competition at the Ignite Gaming Lounge, who helped run the event.
Part of the Chicago team that participated at the Red Bull Proving Grounds, BxA|Marcus “THE COOL KID93” Redmond, has been making waves with his Rashid, and lately Abigail. A highly accomplished Midwest player, he’s also a Street Fighter V content creator on YouTube. While at the event, we took an opportunity to chat with Marcus about the tournament, his channel, and what he thinks of the current and future state of SFV.
Luke “Woocash” Siuty: Tell me about the Red Bull Proving Ground matches.
THE COOL KID93: For the most part, Chicago had me as anchor throughout the tournament. In at least two or three matches, I didn’t even get a chance to play because they weren’t paying attention to Tatsuko/Mira, who was just beating everybody. It was a surprise because we’ve been trying to make sure Tatsuko stays level-headed, doesn’t tilt. The first game, RobTV lost, Tatsuko ended up beating the whole team. We had to eventually play San Francisco, and that was the only time I played, as well as against Los Angeles. The other teams didn’t know too much about [my teammates], so I’m glad they got a chance to show how good they are. I beat BushinStyle and Pnoy. We ended up coming short against the Online team, PGO. We really only lost to Caba.
Woocash: Why do you think that happened with Caba?
THE COOL KID93: He plays Guile. I practiced that match in training a lot. I actually really like that match, the more defensive that Guile is, the more I can do with Abigail, because he has moves that stop the Booms and things like that. When Abigail gets in, compared to Rashid, it leaves a lasting impression. They want to play more cautiously, take more risks to get away from him. Abigail is my secondary to Rashid. So what happened with Caba, he was trying to jump, and I tried to Super, but I got a mis-input. That’s why I was so close to hitting the table! It was that close. Regardless if he blocked, it would have killed, but I missed the input while the Boom was coming.
Woocash: What are your thoughts toward the future of Street Fighter? Regarding the Arcade Edition and the upcoming changes, like the new V-Triggers.
THE COOL KID93: I’d say it’s a big turning point because with Dragon Ball FighterZ coming out and AE in January, they need something. Going into Season 3, just looking at pictures of the interface, it looked a bit more, I guess, grand, more esport-ish. You get a game with a different feel. You get new V-Triggers, V-Skills, Supers, it will make the game that much more interesting. Plus with the new characters, and I believe, maybe legacy characters this time around from what I’m hearing, that’s what I want. My main character is Cody, and I hope he makes a comeback. He’s the most Street Fighter character, a straight-up brawler. I feel like everything that they’re doing now is what they should have been doing a year or two ago. We finally get the game that they want to bring out. I’m definitely excited for the future.
Woocash: You brought up Dragon Ball, are you looking to get into other games seriously?
THE COOL KID93: The only other game I’m looking to get into seriously is Dragon Ball FighterZ. I love me some DBZ! I’ve been playing all the games, even the Tenkaichi, the Xenoverses, I played them all. Every game I play, I just always hope that one day we get an actual fighting game with DBZ characters. After a while, I felt like that was wishful thinking, it will never happen. Seeing it actually in reality and how good the game is going to feel, that’s something I’m definitely going to spend my time on. I never really played games in that style, but I’m willing to learn.
Woocash: How was the event for you? Do you feel better being a host this time? Do you think it changed how the event is for you?
THE COOL KID93: It was amazing that I had people cheer “let’s go Cool Kid!” I never had anybody chant my name before like that, that was an all-new experience. My mother and father, uncle were here, they never came before. Them being here was amazing for me, as well as my wife. And so many people here, and it goes to show, how vocal everybody was, how much we enjoy this.
Woocash: Do you still keep up with your YouTube channel? Any content we can look forward to?
THE COOL KID93: I’ve been kind of absent on YouTube, but the plan is, I want to start doing sets with people and put it on my channel. I’m for sure going to be uploading DBZ stuff. That’s really it, I don’t really upload anything silly for the sake of doing an upload. I gotta have a reason to upload. Because the tournament was coming up, I didn’t upload sets. Now, I probably don’t mind doing that.
Woocash: Regarding Street Fighter, you earlier said they have to make something interesting. Can you expand on that?
THE COOL KID93: I’ve been playing Rashid since the beta. I’ve been using that V-Trigger all that time, and I feel like it’s time for a change. We can get some new stuff, spice the game up rather than just a new balance update. New Supers and V-Triggers will take the game even higher, make it even more refreshing.
Woocash: Any final comments?
THE COOL KID93: I’d like to thank my sponsor, BxA, for believing in me. Of course, in my wife above all, because if it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be doing this. She never steered me the wrong way, to tell me that I shouldn’t be doing this when I lose. My wife always makes me feel better and pushes me to be better than I am today. My family as well for believing in me and coming out here as well. Of course, my supporters, the ones who motivate me, whether it’s winning or losing. I won’t stop! It will be more Cool Kid down the line, and there will be more DBZ down the line. I’ll be sure to take that seriously, and when I take a game seriously, I make my presence known.
All photos, including feature image, are courtesy of Red Bull /Bryan Lamb.
