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.
Street Fighter V‘s Abigail is a giant bruiser who originally comes from Final Fight‘s Mad Gear gang. However, before Abigail, another humongous grappler came in to mount a giant attack on the streets: Hugo.
With rumors of the game coming to modern hardware via an anniversary collection, David-Paul “AutoMattock” Mattock takes a look back at Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Hugo. The video below covers one of the more difficult match-up that Hugo (or most other characters in 3S) can face: the ever dominant Chun-Li.
Specifically, AutoMattock goes over Hugo’s options when he finally gets a knockdown with Chun-Li off his Meat Squasher special. While actually landing the special (and just beating Chun-Li in the neutral) is fairly difficult, the video demonstrates that Hugo can start applying pressure and damage once he actually lands it and gets her knocked down in the corner.
With us now in the month of August, and the release of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite a mere 49 days away, the marketing and promotional efforts for the title are definitely ramping up. As we reported several months ago, Marvel will be releasing a series of special Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite variant covers for several of their titles throughout August. These collectible covers feature various Marvel and Capcom characters duking it out. However, one cover has revealed a pair of currently-unannounced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 veterans that will be making a return to the roster: Ghosts n’ Goblins’ Firebrand and one of Dr. Strange’s greatest foes, the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu.
These characters appear on the special variant of Spider-Man vs. Deadpool #20, which kicks off this series of covers when it goes on sale tomorrow, August 2nd. This has prompted the Marvel vs. Capcom official Facebook Page to acknowledge the cover, along with revealing that these two demonic villains will officially be revealed in-game at Gamescom, which takes place in Cologne, Germany on August 22-26. Given that there were four open slots on the San Diego Comic Con build’s character select screen, and we’ve yet to see an official reveal for Jedah Dohma, who was demoed at Evo, it seems very likely we’ll be seeing those three — along with Ghost Rider and the Soul Stone — officially revealed with a trailer at this event.
Are you excited about either of these veterans returning to the battlefield in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite? Will you be picking up this variant cover at your local comic store tomorrow? Let us know in the comments.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will be released on September 19th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam.
For many years, Chung-gon “Poongko” Lee has been a huge fan favorite in the FGC. Having already been a mainstay within the FGC in Korea for years, he rose to prominence after his mauling of Daigo Umehara at Evo 2011, and won the hearts of fans for his performance.
While he was unable to replicate his Evo 2011 performance this year, he still finished a respectable 25th at this year’s Evo. While there, we sat down with him for an interview that provided a lot of insight into the mind of The Machine.
Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: Poongko, congratulations on making top 32 at Evo. How do you feel about your performance this year?
Chung-gon “Poongko” Lee: I’m not very happy about it. I feel like I could’ve made top 8 if I had just won my last match in winners bracket. I was sent into losers bracket by a relatively unknown player named MoJoe — an R. Mika player from the United States. Then I also lost to Sako in losers bracket. Honestly, top 8 was my goal, and I didn’t meet that this year.
Missing Person: The MoJoe match is an interesting one to touch on. He came out of nowhere to beat you, and I thought that to be a huge upset. Do you feel like the level of play in Street Fighter V is at where it’s difficult for anyone to make it through a bracket now?
Poongko: When you compare it to the Street Fighter IV series, I had been playing that for seven years. So when you think about it, Street Fighter V is still relatively new. I’ve only been playing it for a year and a half. On top of that, I recently switched my main from Cammy to Kolin. So to start with, there’s already unfamiliarity for me with it being a new game. Right now, there’s players that get this game easily, and people that don’t. For me, it’s taking longer to adjust, so I need a bit of luck to do well in this game right now. I’m not saying you need to be lucky to win in SFV, but I’m not at a point in my play where I can rely solely on my skill to win.
But just beyond the general understanding of the game, you have to factor in my character switch. She’s new and hasn’t been fully studied yet. So I’m still trying to bring Kolin to her full potential. That’s making my results a little more volatile.
Missing Person: You had solid results with Cammy. However, you quickly changed over to Kolin when she was released. What attracted you to her? Did you see something similar to the gamble-heavy characters you played in SFIV, such as Seth?
Poongko: I initially played Cammy in SFV because I had somewhat of a history with her at the end of the SFIV era. Plus, there was no Seth in SFV, so it felt like the easier fit for me. But the thing was, I was not achieving the results I wanted to with her. On top of that, it was a new game, so naturally there were changes to her in SFV. When I switched to Kolin, I realized there was some fun stuff I could do with her, and she was fun to play. It wasn’t so much that she was like Seth, but the tech I saw on Twitter of her looked really fun. Regardless, I’m still looking at all the DLC characters, because I’m still in a character crisis.
Missing Person: If Capcom were to have you choose a character for them to create, what would be the perfect character style for Poongko?
Poongko: Since the mechanics are so different, I can’t expect someone from Street Fighter IV to come out and wow me. I would love for a character to come that has a lot of options, similar to the amount of options Seth had. Kolin fulfills that in a large way, but not 100%. She can be offensive, but can play defensive with her counters. While she does sort of fit my style, if a character like Seth came out with a plethora of options came out, I would change to them.
Poongko playing Xian at Canada Cup 2016. (photo by Corey Lanier)
Missing Person: I’ve noticed that you are notorious for playing marathon sets. When I was at ArcadeStream, I would see you there until 3:00 AM playing casuals. On top of that, even at the salty suites at Evo, I rarely saw you get off a station. Most people would be in a fog playing so long. What keeps you focused on learning things over a marathon set?
Poongko: I used to play like that as a kid. By now, I’m used to playing marathon sets. If I put a lot of hours into a game, I enjoy playing it. If I can’t do that, then it’s clear that I don’t. It kind of becomes a cycle. If I become good at a game, I enjoy it more. If I play longer, I become good at the game. If I enjoy a game, I’ll play longer.
Missing Person: You became really interested in Tekken 7 when Akuma was released, and also made several top 8s in the game. Do you remain active playing Tekken?
Poongko: I honestly feel like I got lucky in those tournaments. Akuma hadn’t been released in the west, so people didn’t know how to fight him. Around that time, I used to play Tekken in arcades when I had free time. Now that it’s out on consoles, I like to toy around in training practicing combos. I usually do about a half an hour of practice, and I don’t play online too much.
But honestly, I really enjoy collaboration games. I played Capcom vs. SNK 2 when it was big. I also really enjoyed Street Fighter X Tekken and played a lot of Tekken characters in it. So when Akuma came out in Tekken 7 it felt similar to me.
Missing Person: As you said, you played CvS2, and were notorious for that and The King of Fighters in Korea. However, no one’s ever really seen you play The King of Fighters XIV. Did the game not strike your fancy, and if so, why?
Poongko: I played it a little in the beginning. However, everyone was training hard for Street Fighter V. If I had to focus on KOFXIV, I would have lost a lot of focus on SFV. It was simply a matter of how much effort I can give to one game.
Missing Person: Last year, you were on Team Secret. However now, you’re a free agent, and were at Evo thanks to r/Kappa. Are you looking to travel more and try and get another sponsor?
Poongko: r/Kappa cannot replace a sponsor fully, as they only send me out when they have the funds and want to send me out. I am definitely looking for a team. My goal is to travel to more tournaments in Asia. I didn’t have the greatest results last year, and this year hasn’t been the best either. I have more to prove.
Missing Person: I want to touch back on something that happened six years ago. You went to Shadowloo Showdown in Australia and beat Momochi. Then you came back to Korea to play in a Spirit Zero tournament, then faced Tokido in an exhibition at that event, whom you also beat. Then at Evo 2011, you faced Daigo in a memorable match. What was going through your mind during this sequence of events that found you destroying these Japanese killers?
Poongko: Did I face Tokido that year? I forgot.
Missing Person: You did, I was there. It was after you beat Infiltration in the Korean tournament before Evo.
Poongko: Oh yes, now I remember! When I went to Australia, I had chosen Seth because I had this feeling that the character had potential. That tournament was a chance for me to test it out in a major. I wasn’t confident at all. I was honestly pretty nervous. But as I went through the bracket, I started to relax and focus better. Once I started doing well, I realized I was right, that this character is good.
At Evo when I reached top 8, I had a runback with Daigo. He had beaten me at the GameStop exhibition in 2009. I realized I was playing against a legend at the top of his game. He had an overpowered character in Yun. I went to the bathroom and had an anxiety attack. It felt like I was dying! I felt like the only way I could overcome the anxiety was to overcompensate for it on stage. So I threw my belt and badge off, and chugged the Red Bull before I sat down to play. That showmanship helped me fight my anxiety. It worked out for me, obviously.
Missing Person: You talked about anxiety and nervousness. Does that still happen to you? If so, how do you deal with it now?
Poongko: In Street Fighter V, you have a lot of the old guard mixed with a lot of the new blood. The playerbase in these tournaments is huge now. Because of that, I do still get nervous. It’s not to the point where I have to overcompensate by being showy.
Honestly, the nerves never really go away for me. In order to combat that, I try to play a lot. I want to get the techniques so embedded into my muscle memory that it’s like breathing. You still breathe when you’re nervous, and you do it without thinking. I want it so that even if my mind messes with me in a match, my body will know what to do in a certain situation.
Missing Person: So “The Machine” is actually really fitting for you?
Poongko: That’s the way I want it to be.
Special thanks to Gerald “mintcheerios” Lee of Core-A Gaming for translation.
With the conclusion of Evo and the release of patch notes for the upcoming Version 2.0 of BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Level 482 Productions has begun creating a series of videos breaking down the myriad of character changes coming to CF’s cast. So far, their coverage includes:
Nine The Phantom
Noel Vermillion
Mu-12
Hazama
Hibiki Kohaku
Izayoi
Hades Izanami
Azrael
Susano’o
Jin Kisaragi
Hakumen
Rachel Alucard
Valkenhayn R. Hellsing
482|MastaStef, Saykin, and Premium Tax examine the likely effects of each translated change, in addition to speculating on potential playstyle and tier list shifts for each character. They’re looking to cover every single member of the cast before the patch officially hits consoles. You can see all of their current videos below, and keep an eye on their channel as they look at more characters in the future.
BBCF Version 2.0 will be released in arcades on August 3rd, with a console release planned for later this summer. You can see the updated Arcade opening, which includes new challenger Jubei, here.
A new version of HORI’s latest design will be available soon!
The HORI Real Arcade Pro N Hayabusa is an updated version of the new RAP design HORI utilized for the RAP Tekken 7 Edition — featuring the HORI Hayabusa lever; Hayabusa matte-surfaced, short-throw pushbuttons in the Namco Noir button layout (instead of the Taito Vewlix layout, presently much more common on fightsticks); and an OPTIONS button cover to prevent accidental presses, alongside the other usual HORI RAP functions.
This model will be compatible with PlayStation 3 & 4, and PC via XInput. Pre-orders are live now at Arcade Shock; expect the fightsticks to ship out in mid-August 2017.
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.
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.
The number say it all — and provide some perspective on the reach of Evo this year!
12,000 attendees, 10,000 competitors, and a quarter of a million dollars on the line. It seems like this Evo thing is a pretty big deal! To provide a look at the level of success this year’s Evolution Fighting Championship achieved, this infographic has been released compiling a variety of event totals. Have a look!
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.
During the second round of the very first fight between Spero Gin and P. Ling at BCF2, P. Ling demonstrated a level of anti-character knowledge not yet seen in tournament play. He took advantage of a small gap between the two hits of Eddy’s rage drive to use Ling Xiaoyu’s Art of Phoenix stance, which allowed him to avoid the second hit on reaction and punish.
But this tech is not limited to the slippery Ling Xiaoyu. As TDG Fergus demonstrates, Ling is not the only character capable of wiggling out of the second hit of this Rage Drive. Included in the video above are methods for about half the cast to nullify the Rage Drive on reaction — though some are more practical then others.
