Category: Interviews

Razer’s Seon-woo “Infiltration” Lee has been one of the most recognizable figures in professional fighting games for the last few years. He needs hardly any introduction as a four-time Evolution champion, the winner of the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary event in two titles, as well as winning more majors than you can count on your fingers and toes.

Not only is he world-renowned for his skills on the stick, but also very vocal and personable, and always has a lot to say when given the chance. Thus, when I sat down with him at Canada Cup to talk about Capcom Cup and his life in gaming, we had plenty to talk about.

Missing Person: It’s been quite a while since we met. How has your life been since Evolution?

Infiltration: Actually, after Evo, I wanted to take a break. In terms of training, my focus was to try out different characters because I knew for sure that after Evo, everyone would be hitting the lab to learn the Nash match-up. Therefore, I knew for a fact that the tier lists would change a lot prior to Capcom Cup. Right now, I’m just preparing for Capcom Cup.

Missing Person: Do you feel like the break has helped you, or do you think you might have taken too long a break?

Infiltration: It has actually helped me quite a bit. Also, since October, I started going to events again, and I expected to lose a lot. Of course, losing isn’t always fun, but I expected it to happen. It’s neither positive nor negative for me at this point; I’m just sticking to my plan leading up to Capcom Cup.

Missing Person: With the losses combined with the break, do you feel like the meta has changed to the point where you are now having to catch up to the meta, on top of learning new characters and maintaining a strong Nash?

Infiltration: True on all counts. The meta has definitely changed. A lot of the trending playstyles have evolved since Evo. As far as defensive play, it has evolved into baiting for throws or shimmies or jump throw techs. It has become very simplistic. So characters that are really strong and neutral, have good walk speeds, or are able to back away from wake-up situations are very common in the top 8s of many events, so it’s something I have to prepare for now.

Missing Person: There are some reports that you may not be able to win Capcom Cup due to this break. What do you have to say to them?

Infiltration: I’ll have to agree somewhat with the naysayers because it’s becoming harder and harder to stay competitive. Further, it’s inevitable that I’m a huge target due to how much I’ve won, including my Evo win. I knew for sure that everyone would have me in their sights after that to scout out my weaknesses, my characters’ weaknesses, and things of that sort. That was definitely inevitable. If you look at the current standings for Capcom Cup, based on the 32-player bracket format, I would have to face Sako first. That’s a rough start for me. There’s a lot of hurdles for me to win, but I have to face them.

Missing Person: Let’s focus on something more positive. We’ve seen you in a new role as coach for the Korean players that are making their way to events. As one of the best players in the world, in a smaller upstart scene, what responsibility do you feel to coach up the rest of Korea to your level?

Infiltration: I feel a deep responsibility to do this. As a lot of people know, Korea has not always had a strong Street Fighter scene, and most of the fighting game attention has been focused on Tekken. But with Street Fighter V, it’s a new game, and a new community is forming around it. There’s a lot of new players who are trying to get stronger, and I want to be able to help them because I have the ability to teach them faster than they could learn on their own.

Missing Person: Do you also believe that building up a stronger scene will also benefit you and your training in the long run?

Infiltration: Absolutely. The character choices in Korea are very diverse, so being able to make the Korean scene stronger will also help me in some of my match-up deficiencies that I currently face. Further, it will help keep me sharp when I’m not traveling.

Missing Person: Currently, we’ve only seen you traveling with NL, Verloren, Poongko, and XYZZY. I know there’s other killers emerging within Korea. Are there other Koreans that you would like to bring along to events?

Infiltration: There’s a lot of players that I would love to. But at the time, I’m bringing these guys out because they have expressed their interest in going out to more events and dedicating themselves to the game. The other players that I have in mind that would be great to bring haven’t expressed the same level of commitment yet, so I have focused on these guys first.

Missing Person: And another thing that we have seen you doing lately is commentary. I saw that you had provided commentary for the last two Spirit Zero events since Evo. You also provided commentary at ArcadeStream’s Road to Evo tournament. What are your thoughts in doing this?

Infiltration: I had no clue how hard commentary was until I started doing this myself! The people that dedicate themselves to it are in another league. But being able to watch all the matches and comment on them allows me to take a step back, and understand the game from a different perspective. In particular, for my students, it allows me to view their matches and see their mistakes more clearly so that I can work with them better.

Missing Person: Let’s jump to the past for a second. Did you play fighting games before you started playing Street Fighter IV?

Infiltration: I actually did. I played some Street Fighter II, like most people. In Korea, of course I played my share of Tekken and The King of Fighters. But it wasn’t until Street Fighter IV, and most notably, the console release of the game, that I really started to dig deeper and get into them as a competitive thing.

Missing Person: So I remember your early beginnings in the game a bit, and you probably don’t remember this. I actually ran into you at an arcade at Isu station in Seoul in 2010. I remember you beating me every time, and everyone else that was in there didn’t stand a chance. When I came back to America, I heard that you were going to Evo, and immediately called you going top 3. What were your thoughts when you reached that level in Evo 2010?

Infiltration: Quite frankly, when I entered Evo that year, I had zero expectations of doing that well. I just went because I heard of the event, and didn’t even know that type of thing existed until then, and wanted to see it for myself. So when I got to top 8, I had actually shocked myself. I feel like the fact that I was unknown to nearly everyone worked to my benefit, because no one knew how I played. I could play to my strengths and most people weren’t aware of them at that point.

Missing Person: At what point did you decide that this was what you wanted to do, and dedicated yourself to traveling for events?

Infiltration: Probably right after Evolution 2010. I didn’t get started on that right away, and it took me until NorCal Regionals the next year to really start traveling. But I think when I did so well at Evo, I realized that this is what I am passionate about, and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Missing Person: So you’ve experienced playing side-by-side and playing head-to-head in arcades. Which do you prefer?

Infiltration: I actually prefer to play side-by-side. A lot of people don’t realize this, but just like in American arcades, a lot of Korean cabinets were setup for side-by-side play. I actually enjoy being right next to my opponent, and feeling their movement, and feeling the tension from being that close to each other during competition.

Missing Person: Do you have any final thoughts or shout-outs to give to your fans?

Infiltration: First off, I want to apologize to my fans. After Evo, I promised to start streaming again, and due to other obligations, I was unable to do so. I still want to start streaming again, but it will probably be sometime after Capcom Cup. Also, I want to thank everyone who has supported all my friends from Korea who are making their way to events. Whether they’re doing so financially or just coming up to them and giving them emotional support as fans, it’s all greatly appreciated.

Special thanks to Kevin “Burnout” Kim for his assistance in the Korean and English translation of the interview.

No Evolution 2016 champion has had a more roller-coaster year than Super Smash Bros. Melee champion Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma. After winning throughout the summer, he had a major crisis on his hands regarding his esports career, which led to him quitting his engineering job to focus on Melee full-time. The community was torn on his decision, but it seems the move has paid off, as he managed to come just shy of winning a Canada Cup 2016 title, losing to Adam “Armada” Lindgren in a very close grand finals set.

Just after the event, I had a chance to talk to Team Liquid’s Hungrybox before he had to run to catch his flight out of Toronto.

Missing Person: You’ve had a lot of moving and shaking since winning Evolution. What has life been like for you since July?

Hungrybox: It’s been kind of hectic, since I was doing my last two weeks at work. Then after that, I had to put myself in the right mindset to play Melee again. But leaving my job made me look forward to playing Melee again. I have been looking forward to Melee more than I ever have. It was definitely a ton of fun coming to Canada Cup and playing. I wasn’t expecting to win, to be honest, but I expected to be in a good mindset and my prediction was correct. In the grand finals set with Armada, you can see that we were both getting into each other’s heads.

Missing Person: What else made this set with Armada so spectacular?

Hungrybox: He is so good at this game, but I think—not to be cocky—that I’m also very good. But what I’m saying is that we both understand what we’re both trying to do against each other. We’re not trying to give ourselves easy openings and our punish games were both immaculate. He and Leffen both have the finest punish games on the planet against Jigglypuff, and I’m the Puff that has to punish all these Foxes. But I’m learning a lot and it all comes down to a battle of stamina and who is going to budge first. He won the tournament because he earned it, but leading up to Summit, this is going to be interesting.

Missing Person: What adjustments did you see Armada making after the reset to take you out?

Hungrybox: The first game after the reset was a really good indicator of what he was doing. He was simply not giving me any opportunities to touch him. He was extremely careful with his positioning. He was less lazy about it after the second game, but was still a little lazy during the first game. I was doing really well on the ground approach throughout the set, but ultimately he was making me pay more for my approach.

Missing Person: So I know you said you were looking into getting into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U when concentrating on esports full time. How is the progress on that game going?

Hungrybox: I am absolute garbage at Smash 4. I’m trying to get into it, and I’m streaming it when I play, but it is just a huge adjustment from playing Melee full time and I’m not there yet.

Missing Person: I actually had a friend goad me to ask this question, and said it was half-serious. With your bait-and-switch style play in Melee, why are you not going Sonic in Smash 4?

Hungrybox: Because I’m a decent human being and not an asshole. You know, I talk a lot of garbage about Sonic players when I stream Smash 4, and feel like it’s a bad way to get a win, but a lot of people said that about Jigglypuff in Melee, and I dealt with all the flak that comes with my main for years. Overall it’s a choice in playstyle and personality to pick a main, so I can’t really hate too much on Sonic, but it’s just not the way I want to go.

Missing Person: So no regrets quitting your job now obviously?

Hungrybox: Absolutely not. I know it’s a cut in pay for now, and it’s a risk, but for me this is the way to go. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and really enjoying what I’m doing right now. I seriously fell back in love with playing Melee again, and that’s obviously going to trickle down to my play and how I approach each tournament. Like I said, I didn’t come here expecting to win, but to do well, and getting second proves that I’m doing exactly that.

Missing Person: So how do you feel with Smash Summit on the horizon and the prep time you have to get into that?

Hungrybox: I’m highly optimistic. See, at Evolution and all throughout the summer, I was winning all these tournaments, and that was great. But I was not at my prime. No one was. But I think we’re all working toward that peak, and I’m feeling closest to ‘Box Prime than I’ve felt in years. My punishes are getting better, my DIs are becoming pristine, and my understanding of the game is improving. And with everyone else nearing that same prime, I think Summit is going to be insane.

Missing Person: One thing that has been nagging me and I’d love your feedback. With the high skill cap, the large gap between entry level players and the pros, and the risk of injury, where do you feel like Melee is headed? Do you think the game will be healthy or will it eventually die?

Hungrybox: I don’t see Melee dying any time soon. We’ve had all this talk for years of the five gods of Melee, with me being in there, but the top ten and twenty players are starting to take games off of us. Yeah, there’s a skill gap, but players are constantly playing and improving, and I don’t see any reason why Melee is going to die. I seriously envision that come 2020, there won’t be talk about five gods and it will be more like ten gods who are just really good at this game.

Kim1234 just jumped in on Arman “Phenom” Hanjani last week, and the interview couldn’t be any better. As always, Kim1234 brings the hard questions, and BX3.TP-Link|Phenom follows through with solid answers. In the interview, they discuss Phenom’s switch to Necalli from Bison, as well as his opinions on the changes in the input lag in Street Fighter V. They also discuss the Capcom Pro Tour’s qualification system, which many have agreed to be difficult to comprehend this year.

They also talk about how Phenom got his name, which may come from a source you wouldn’t necessarily expect. For more, please watch the video.

Source: The Jump-in

Zhuojun “Xiaohai” Zeng has been rapidly climbing the rankings in every game he is currently playing. He has clearly been working hard this year, and it has shown with his play. Having been on a tear of firsts and seconds in The King of Fighters XIV and Street Fighter V, he looks to be virtually unstoppable.

Over the course of Canada Cup, I had a chance to sit down to some fine dim sum with Team Qanba Douyu’s Xiaohai, and get a rare glimpse into what he views as the greatest attributes a high-level player can possess.

Missing Person: You’ve been having a really good year. This is your best year on the circuit to date. What do you attribute your success to?

Xiaohai: I’ve been utilizing all of Cammy’s advantages and abilities very well. I also have spent some time surveying the best players, such as Daigo, Infiltration, Momochi, regarding their personas and how they project the kind of demeanor. There are times where they are not playing exceptionally well, but when lower level players play them, they are afraid of playing against them.

Missing Person: So you’re using a different attitude when playing than normal?

Xiaohai: It’s not really my demeanor or attitude that changes, but how I play against players that are affected by playing against top players. When lesser players play against us, they get into situations where they are afraid or feel trapped. At that point, you have to maximize your proper spacing, isolate the errors that people make, and capitalize on those. When they play top players, they feel pressure to be aggressive because they feel smothered by those players. When you get into that spot, you leave more room for error and unsafe moves that pros will capitalize on. What I’m trying to do is put people in those positions where they feel smothered and are under pressure to do something, and then jump on those opportunities that they give me.

Missing Person: You’re already showing yourself as amazing in Street Fighter V. King of Fighters XIV just released, and you’re also doing well there. How are you feeling about KOF this iteration?

Xiaohai: It’s just normal to me. I don’t think it’s a better game than The King of Fighters XIII, personally.

Missing Person: So if it were up to you, you would be playing XIII over XIV?

Xiaohai: I love The King of Fighters XIII. The newest iteration feels like you get hit, get put into a combo after that, and someone’s already dead. In XIII, it feels like there’s more room for mix-ups, resets, and combos, so you really have to read your opponents more in that game. Plus the game speed in XIII was faster than XIV, so there’s that that I like as well.

Missing Person: Two weeks ago, you went to SoCal regionals, and won both The King of Fighters XIV and Street Fighter V. I want to go back on both those grand finals sets, which provided a lot of fireworks. First, let’s talk about the one with Reynald in King of Fighters. He put you in losers bracket. What adjustments did you make leading up to grand finals that allowed you to completely shut down Reynald?

Xiaohai: I trained with a friend, who basically taught me how to counter Mian after losing to him on winner’s side. After that, I already knew how to beat the other characters. The main problem was Mian. The dive kick pressure was getting to me, but with practice, I realized that blocking the dive kick pressure didn’t affect as much as I initially thought. The reason for this was that my guard meter was building up faster than Reynald could drain it using dive kicks. He was banking on me getting scared by not knowing that. So once I realized that my guard meter was safe, I could block without being scared, and wait for him to do something unsafe to punish.

Missing Person: Did it affect you at all when Reynald made the switch to Chin as anchor?

Xiaohai: After the first round of that, I was able to download and dissect his Chin very quickly.

Missing Person: In Street Fighter V, Haitani managed to get a reset on you when you so easily beat him in Winners Finals. What caused that to happen?

Xiaohai: Because I was on the winner’s side of grand finals, I felt more relaxed and wasn’t taking it as seriously as I should have been. I didn’t feel as pressured or rushed to attack in the ways I was the first time we faced off. So in the first set, he was changing up the way he was coming in and attacking, and I conditioned him in the end. So after the reset, I had made Haitani remember how to approach, and I flipped a switch, and was countering everything that I had conditioned him to do. He thought what he was doing was safe and it wasn’t. He was always throwing out meaties, and I would just use my reversal.

Missing Person: You are currently ranked second in the world rankings. Does this change your mindset at all knowing that everyone is looking up the hill at you? [Editor’s note: at time of publication, Xiaohai has fallen to the #6 spot.]

Xiaohai: I’m more focused on this point on what I can do better, and the psychological games that go along with playing at a high level.

Missing Person: Who are you looking forward to playing at Canada Cup, and who are you wanting to avoid in the brackets?

Xiaohai: I’m up to play anyone at this point.

Missing Person: Not even worried about Infiltration, who sits above you on the leaderboard? [And is still #1! – Editor]

Xiaohai: For me, it’s just practice. I’m not afraid. A lot of people think that Infiltration is dropping in the ranks, and I agree that he is. They know how to play against him at this juncture. The thing is, at Evolution and most events, they’re sitting side-by-side, and he can see what other people are doing by watching their sticks. When I was watching him play in the team tournament at the head-to-head setup, Infiltration cannot rely on that sort of information because it isn’t there. When it’s like that, Infiltration simply struggles.

Missing Person: That’s true, because he also struggled at Street Fighter V Crash, but did well at Evolution. Does this format affect you at all? Do you find yourself looking at sticks, or do you treat matches like they’re always head-to-head?

Xiaohai: I’m at a bigger advantage with head-to-head, because I can stick out attacks that other people can’t anticipate because they cannot see my inputs. If I’m playing side-by-side, I can still do those moves, but because they can see my joystick and know what I’m doing, it gives them time to react.

Missing Person: So obviously you prefer head-to-head play.

Xiaohai: Definitely. On top of that, this is how I grew up playing in arcades in China, so I’m already used to it compared to other players that didn’t have that luxury. Also, the larger tournaments in China run the games head-to-head, so it is exactly what I’m used to.

Missing Person: How do you like your chances going into Capcom Cup this year?

Xiaohai: I’m feeling fifty-fifty at this point.

Missing Person: I personally have you pretty even on the odds going into this.

Xiaohai: Yes, someone had shown me your article before. It’s very long, and my English is not good enough to understand everything, but I saw that you were optimistic.

Missing Person: You got your start in The King of Fighters ’98, and won Super Battle Opera for the game in 2007. What was the feeling knowing that you were one of, if not the first foreigner to win an event there?

Xiaohai: It was nerve-wracking, and it made it hard for me to do my best. In most events, it’s double elimination with multiple game sets. That gives me time to adjust my play. But with it being one game for single elimination, I had to win against players I haven’t played before or go home. So with that pressure, it was very difficult to compete at my best, so it was nerve-wracking trying to take home the title.

Missing Person: How do you feel about the new Chinese players coming up in the scene? You have Abao, Weili, and Jiewa showing up and doing well. Do you think China is the future of fighting games?

Xiaohai: If they are able to go to more events, and play as many players as they can, it’ll be better for them competitively. Even for me, even though I went back to China right after SCR, I haven’t practiced since SCR. Even though I don’t get a chance to practice often, I cherish and utilize the time that I do get to practice wisely.

Missing Person: Do you think playing the top players keeps you fresh, knowing that you always have to be able to play on the highest level?

Xiaohai: It’s not necessarily keeping up my skills, because that stays sharp no matter what after you learn it. It’s more keeping up the mentality that it takes to out-think my opponents. One of the most important things I’ve learned about Street Fighter V, is that it’s not so much how much aggression you can put on your opponent, but also being defensive-minded and knowing when to block and when to counter. Not only that, but trying to get maximum damage whenever you can. I cannot stress enough that most players feel the need to attack because they feel like if they don’t attack, they will get hit. But ultimately, that mentality leads to most players’ downfall.

Missing Person: Do you feel like that mentality stems from trying to prove themselves against top players by playing totally aggressive?

Xiaohai: Not at all, I merely think that they feel like if they don’t attack, they will get hit, and that leads to them being aggressive in stupid situations. It’s like Sunzi says in The Art of War. He doesn’t retreat and then the opponent attacks. He attacks, and puts the opponent in the corner to where they feel like they have to attack. Then he takes advantage of their desperation.

Special thanks to Hulk-Jen for Cantonese-to-English interpretation for this interview.

Zhuojun “Xiaohai” Zeng has been rapidly climbing the rankings in every game he is currently playing. He has clearly been working hard this year, and it has shown with his play. Having been on a tear of firsts and seconds in The King of Fighters XIV and Street Fighter V, he looks to be virtually unstoppable.

Over the course of Canada Cup, I had a chance to sit down to some fine dim sum with Team Qanba Douyu’s Xiaohai, and get a rare glimpse into what he views as the greatest attributes a high-level player can possess.

Missing Person: You’ve been having a really good year. This is your best year on the circuit to date. What do you attribute your success to?

Xiaohai: I’ve been utilizing all of Cammy’s advantages and abilities very well. I also have spent some time surveying the best players, such as Daigo, Infiltration, Momochi, regarding their personas and how they project the kind of demeanor. There are times where they are not playing exceptionally well, but when lower level players play them, they are afraid of playing against them.

Missing Person: So you’re using a different attitude when playing than normal?

Xiaohai: It’s not really my demeanor or attitude that changes, but how I play against players that are affected by playing against top players. When lesser players play against us, they get into situations where they are afraid or feel trapped. At that point, you have to maximize your proper spacing, isolate the errors that people make, and capitalize on those. When they play top players, they feel pressure to be aggressive because they feel smothered by those players. When you get into that spot, you leave more room for error and unsafe moves that pros will capitalize on. What I’m trying to do is put people in those positions where they feel smothered and are under pressure to do something, and then jump on those opportunities that they give me.

Missing Person: You’re already showing yourself as amazing in Street Fighter V. King of Fighters XIV just released, and you’re also doing well there. How are you feeling about KOF this iteration?

Xiaohai: It’s just normal to me. I don’t think it’s a better game than The King of Fighters XIII, personally.

Missing Person: So if it were up to you, you would be playing XIII over XIV?

Xiaohai: I love The King of Fighters XIII. The newest iteration feels like you get hit, get put into a combo after that, and someone’s already dead. In XIII, it feels like there’s more room for mix-ups, resets, and combos, so you really have to read your opponents more in that game. Plus the game speed in XIII was faster than XIV, so there’s that that I like as well.

Missing Person: Two weeks ago, you went to SoCal regionals, and won both The King of Fighters XIV and Street Fighter V. I want to go back on both those grand finals sets, which provided a lot of fireworks. First, let’s talk about the one with Reynald in King of Fighters. He put you in losers bracket. What adjustments did you make leading up to grand finals that allowed you to completely shut down Reynald?

Xiaohai: I trained with a friend, who basically taught me how to counter Mian after losing to him on winner’s side. After that, I already knew how to beat the other characters. The main problem was Mian. The dive kick pressure was getting to me, but with practice, I realized that blocking the dive kick pressure didn’t affect as much as I initially thought. The reason for this was that my guard meter was building up faster than Reynald could drain it using dive kicks. He was banking on me getting scared by not knowing that. So once I realized that my guard meter was safe, I could block without being scared, and wait for him to do something unsafe to punish.

Missing Person: Did it affect you at all when Reynald made the switch to Chin as anchor?

Xiaohai: After the first round of that, I was able to download and dissect his Chin very quickly.

Missing Person: In Street Fighter V, Haitani managed to get a reset on you when you so easily beat him in Winners Finals. What caused that to happen?

Xiaohai: Because I was on the winner’s side of grand finals, I felt more relaxed and wasn’t taking it as seriously as I should have been. I didn’t feel as pressured or rushed to attack in the ways I was the first time we faced off. So in the first set, he was changing up the way he was coming in and attacking, and I conditioned him in the end. So after the reset, I had made Haitani remember how to approach, and I flipped a switch, and was countering everything that I had conditioned him to do. He thought what he was doing was safe and it wasn’t. He was always throwing out meaties, and I would just use my reversal.

Missing Person: You are currently ranked second in the world rankings. Does this change your mindset at all knowing that everyone is looking up the hill at you? [Editor’s note: at time of publication, Xiaohai has fallen to the #6 spot.]

Xiaohai: I’m more focused on this point on what I can do better, and the psychological games that go along with playing at a high level.

Missing Person: Who are you looking forward to playing at Canada Cup, and who are you wanting to avoid in the brackets?

Xiaohai: I’m up to play anyone at this point.

Missing Person: Not even worried about Infiltration, who sits above you on the leaderboard? [And is still #1! – Editor]

Xiaohai: For me, it’s just practice. I’m not afraid. A lot of people think that Infiltration is dropping in the ranks, and I agree that he is. They know how to play against him at this juncture. The thing is, at Evolution and most events, they’re sitting side-by-side, and he can see what other people are doing by watching their sticks. When I was watching him play in the team tournament at the head-to-head setup, Infiltration cannot rely on that sort of information because it isn’t there. When it’s like that, Infiltration simply struggles.

Missing Person: That’s true, because he also struggled at Street Fighter V Crash, but did well at Evolution. Does this format affect you at all? Do you find yourself looking at sticks, or do you treat matches like they’re always head-to-head?

Xiaohai: I’m at a bigger advantage with head-to-head, because I can stick out attacks that other people can’t anticipate because they cannot see my inputs. If I’m playing side-by-side, I can still do those moves, but because they can see my joystick and know what I’m doing, it gives them time to react.

Missing Person: So obviously you prefer head-to-head play.

Xiaohai: Definitely. On top of that, this is how I grew up playing in arcades in China, so I’m already used to it compared to other players that didn’t have that luxury. Also, the larger tournaments in China run the games head-to-head, so it is exactly what I’m used to.

Missing Person: How do you like your chances going into Capcom Cup this year?

Xiaohai: I’m feeling fifty-fifty at this point.

Missing Person: I personally have you pretty even on the odds going into this.

Xiaohai: Yes, someone had shown me your article before. It’s very long, and my English is not good enough to understand everything, but I saw that you were optimistic.

Missing Person: You got your start in The King of Fighters ’98, and won Super Battle Opera for the game in 2007. What was the feeling knowing that you were one of, if not the first foreigner to win an event there?

Xiaohai: It was nerve-wracking, and it made it hard for me to do my best. In most events, it’s double elimination with multiple game sets. That gives me time to adjust my play. But with it being one game for single elimination, I had to win against players I haven’t played before or go home. So with that pressure, it was very difficult to compete at my best, so it was nerve-wracking trying to take home the title.

Missing Person: How do you feel about the new Chinese players coming up in the scene? You have Abao, Weili, and Jiewa showing up and doing well. Do you think China is the future of fighting games?

Xiaohai: If they are able to go to more events, and play as many players as they can, it’ll be better for them competitively. Even for me, even though I went back to China right after SCR, I haven’t practiced since SCR. Even though I don’t get a chance to practice often, I cherish and utilize the time that I do get to practice wisely.

Missing Person: Do you think playing the top players keeps you fresh, knowing that you always have to be able to play on the highest level?

Xiaohai: It’s not necessarily keeping up my skills, because that stays sharp no matter what after you learn it. It’s more keeping up the mentality that it takes to out-think my opponents. One of the most important things I’ve learned about Street Fighter V, is that it’s not so much how much aggression you can put on your opponent, but also being defensive-minded and knowing when to block and when to counter. Not only that, but trying to get maximum damage whenever you can. I cannot stress enough that most players feel the need to attack because they feel like if they don’t attack, they will get hit. But ultimately, that mentality leads to most players’ downfall.

Missing Person: Do you feel like that mentality stems from trying to prove themselves against top players by playing totally aggressive?

Xiaohai: Not at all, I merely think that they feel like if they don’t attack, they will get hit, and that leads to them being aggressive in stupid situations. It’s like Sunzi says in The Art of War. He doesn’t retreat and then the opponent attacks. He attacks, and puts the opponent in the corner to where they feel like they have to attack. Then he takes advantage of their desperation.

Special thanks to Hulk-Jen for Cantonese-to-English interpretation for this interview.

There was a lot that happened last weekend at Canada Cup, especially with all the Street Fighter 2 excitement and craziness. One of the bigger games there was of course Tekken 7, the highly anticipated title that’s coming next year.

Bandai Namco uploaded this video covering what went down in Canada, from player feedback of Toronto, player reception of the venue, and the regional rivalry with the man who eventually won the tournament, Team Secret’s Poongko.

Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America

During a lull in the excitement and tension of Red Bull Battle Grounds in Seattle, Capcom community manager Matt Edwards got the chance to grab an interview with the young star from Japan, John Takeuchi. Dazzling fans with his hyper-aggresive Rashid play and his youthful charisma, Takeuchi has shot up the ranks of the Capcom Pro Tour leaderboard, with wins over old guard players like RB|Bonchan and high placings at tournaments like Canada Cup and First Attack.

In this interview, Takeuchi explains how he got into Street Fighter V, how Rashid’s backstory actually influenced his character pick, as well as admitting that he may not be the best Rashid in Japan, among many other things. The back and forth between Takeuchi and the translator during this interview makes for a natural and flowing conversation, resulting in some very in-depth answers. John Takeuchi is in the top 16 of Red Bull Battle Grounds, with his first match being against XsK Samurai later today.

Source: Capcom Fighters

When all the glitches, tick throw traps, and hype had dissipated in Toronto, one player stood out on top. To no one’s surprise, Mattsun–arguably the best player in the world at Super Street Fighter II Turbo–emerged victorious over one of the most stacked fields the West has ever seen in Super Turbo. He fought a long battle, which featured running through America’s best player, Damdai, and his fellow countryman Kusumondo on his way to the title at Canada Cup 2016.

After the celebrations died down, I sat down with Mattsun to talk about his thoughts immediately after the tournament.

Missing Person: First off, congratulations, this is a huge win for you.

Mattsun: Thank you.

Missing Person: Let’s go back to the grand finals with Kusumondo. What was going through your mind when he reset the bracket?

Mattsun: I really had no change in my mindset when the reset happened. I had no time to think about it; I was more focused on winning the match than worrying about Kusumondo’s reset. So I felt completely the same between the first set in grand finals and after the reset.

Missing Person: How long have you been playing Super Turbo?

Mattsun: I picked up Super Turbo when it released in Japan in 1994, so I’ve been around from the beginning.

Missing Person: Have you been playing Ken from the start of the game?

Mattsun: I have played him since the game released.

Missing Person: What made you gravitate toward Ken in Super Turbo?

Mattsun: When I was playing World Warrior, it was a matter of trial and error. I didn’t like Honda, Zangief, or Dhalsim. I had narrowed it down to Chun-Li, Ryu, and Ken, but I didn’t like charge characters, and ultimately decided to stick with Ken over Ryu. That mainly happened due to rebellion, since Ryu was the playable in Street Fighter I, and Ken was only selectable in two player mode.

Missing Person: You recently started the biggest Super Turbo event in the world with X-EST. How did the formation of that event come about?

Mattsun: That, to me, was out of necessity for the Super Turbo community in Japan. Before, we had Super Battle Opera, and Super Turbo was always on the roster. After SBO became defunct, we had no large scale Japanese tournament to showcase Super Turbo. So I started X-EST to fill the hole in the scene that was left by the absence of SBO.

Missing Person: Not only did you form this tournament, but this year you actually won X-EST. Which do you feel is the bigger achievement for you, winning X-EST or winning Canada Cup?

Mattsun: Ultimately, it’s different formats, and a different group of players. Both were a challenge for me, and both were enjoyable experience, so I feel no difference between the two wins.

Missing Person: Which of the western players at Canada Cup impressed you the most?

Mattsun: I would definitely say that Damdai, as well as Riz0ne.

Missing Person: Do you feel that the foreign players are starting to catch up to Japan in this game?

Mattsun: All of the Japanese players at Canada Cup were very surprised with the level of play from the players from America and Canada this weekend. It’s definitely getting better.

Special thanks goes out to JakyoManor for her help in translating the interview.