IBF lightweight champion Robert Easter (20-0, 14 KOs) defeated Russian challenger Denis Shafikov (38-3-1, 20 KOs) by unanimous decision on Friday night at he Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Both fighters had their moments and exchanged blows throughout the fight, although two of the judges awarded Easter every round with scores of 120-108, while the third scored it 116-112 for the unbeaten champion.
Easter won rounds when he used his height and reach advantage to land jabs and hard…
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT joins the host of new playable games at Evo 2017
Final Fantasy fans, your prayers are answered!
Joining the already impressive list of new titles that will be showcased at Evolution 2017 — Gundam Versus, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and ARIKA’s in-development title — Square Enix will also be bringing over something to show off: Dissidia Final Fantasy NT will now be playable at Evo 2017, at the Square Enix booth!
DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT will be playable at #Evo2017! Be sure to visit the @SquareEnix booth! #DISSIDIA pic.twitter.com/nCdttLZtHC
— EVO (@EVO) July 1, 2017
If you want to try this spectacular new team-based fighter, you’ll need a pass for Evo! Registration is still open until 11:59 PM PDT tonight, so move fast if you haven’t signed up already!
Source: Evo (Twitter)
Dragon Ball FighterZ will be playable at Evo 2017, with its own side tournaments!
Get ready to release your full power in a new Evo side event!
We’ve already got Gundam Versus, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and ARIKA’s in-development game as hot side attractions at Evo 2017; now you’ll also get a chance to try out Bandai Namco & Arc System Works’ upcoming title, Dragon Ball FighterZ! First shown at E3, they’re now bringing a demo build to Las Vegas so Evo attendees can test their power levels hands-on.
DRAGON BALL FighterZ is coming to @EVO and there will be a tourney w/ amazing PRIZES! Space is limited! Sign up now: https://t.co/zchb1bEd20 pic.twitter.com/f2T7ih7q7x
— EVO (@EVO) July 1, 2017
There will be side tournaments and prizes hosted by Bandai Namco, and registration has opened on smash.gg. You’ll need a pass for Evo to play, and registration is still open until 11:59 PM PDT tonight!
It will be the Trunks build or later!
— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) July 1, 2017
UPDATE: The smash.gg morning side tournaments filled up VERY fast! They’re no longer open for pre-registration. But:
The morning tournaments have been capped! Afternoon tournaments will have open sign ups at the @BandaiNamcoUS booth during #Evo2017! GLHF! https://t.co/f4jtAG9mZj
— EVO (@EVO) July 1, 2017
Sources: Evo (Twitter); Joey Cuellar (Twitter)
Learn more about BlazBlue: Central Fiction with “The Spectator’s Guide to Blazblue” by Ebonic Plague
With the amount of systems, depth, and character specific mechanics it boasts, Blazblue can be a daunting game to learn. As I’ve mentioned before, even learning combos has broken some of the mightiest hustlers in the FGC.
That’s where guides like this Spectator’s Guide to Blazblue come in.
Written by Blazblue commentator Ebonic Plague, and inspired by Lolraid‘s Spectator’s Guide to UMvC3, this guide gives beginners and general spectators an easy-to-understand overview of Blazblue systems, mechanics, characters, and even the players. Using this guide, you will come to realize the game is more difficult than what you might be used to, but it isn’t as difficult as you might have perceived it to be. Given the fact that the newest iteration in the Blazblue franchise is a Sunday title at this year’s Evolution, and the Japanese scene is traveling in hordes to compete for it, making an attempt to understand the game will make your Evo spectator experience a lot more enjoyable!
Recall that when you talk about the all-time greatest Evolution finals performances, the conversation will inevitably shift to the Evo 2014 BBCP Dogura vs. Galileo sets. It is one of the best conclusions to a tournament in Evolution history, and if you have never seen it before, I highly recommend you do:
Source: Ebonic Plague
ARIKA is exhibiting their playable fighting game project at Evolution 2017
Great news if you are attending Evo this year, as ARIKA will actually be doing a location test for the “mystery fighting game” they teased back on April Fools’ Day. It will be free to play on Friday and Saturday at ARIKA’s booth, with the team asking for player feedback following their time with the game.
ARIKA to exhibit in EVO 2017
『EVO2017』に出展https://t.co/Vdh0z7Rp7z— 株式会社アリカ公式アカウント (@arika_co_jp) June 30, 2017
By the sounds of it, it will be the same build used at the April Fools’ playtest, with Street Fighter EX characters Garuda, Kairi, and Hokuto playable. You may have to queue for quite a while as there is only one station, so make a beeline for it once your pool has finished!
Hopefully, the feedback received from Evo will help push ARIKA to fully develop what looks to be a mix of Fighting Layer and Street Fighter EX4. My prayers for Skullomania may finally be coming true.
There is still time to register for Evo 2017! Registration closes at 11:59 PM PDT tonight.
Sources: ARIKA (Facebook); ARIKA (Twitter)
Controller Chaos shows off their Evo 2017 Qanba Obsidian fightstick and GameCube controller designs
Check out these slick limited-edition custom designs for Evo 2017!
Controller Chaos has revealed their Evolution 2017 custom designs, this year offering a Evo-branded GameCube controller and Qanba Obsidian arcade stick:
As sweet as that GameCube pad looks, the Qanba Obsidian (reviewed by SRK here) was already a slick-looking stick, and works extremely well with the new Evo colors and style! These are limited-edition custom controllers; keep an eye on Controller Chaos’ website and on Twitter for updates. The limited-edition versions will be available at the Evo venue, while standard versions will also be made available online.
There’s still time to register to attend Evo! Registration closes at 11:59 PM PDT tonight.
Source: Controller Chaos (Twitter)
Rise Nation adds Bryant “Smug” Huggins to their FGC roster
Joining the likes of MenaRD and Marn, Rise Nation have signed Bryant “Smug” Huggins ahead of this year’s Evo. The mayor of Duff City has hit his stride during Street Fighter V Season 2, finding his main in the original Street Fighter boxer Balrog. With top eight placings at CEO 2017, Combo Breaker, KiT and Winter Brawl XI, along with victories at Texas Showdown and Fighters’ Underground, you need to watch out for this man’s Turn Around Punch.
We are pleased to announce that we have added @SmugDaBeast to the Rise Nation family! Full read: https://t.co/EW7D5a8Ea1 #WeRise pic.twitter.com/4WVomPzkNn
— RiseNation (@TheRiseNation) June 30, 2017
Smug was also one of the invitees to ELEAGUE’s Street Fighter Invitational, with his Balrog earning him ninth place overall. Rise Nation have certainly picked a winner with Smug, with his mix of skill and personality making him a definite fan favorite within the Street Fighter community. Expect this man to be putting new citizens on the Duff City bus at Evo.
Source: Rise Nation
Splitframe’s new limited-edition Street Fighter “Groove Tech” street wear line now available for pre-order
New Street Fighter street wear to show your devotion to your respective side of the scene.
Splitframe has revealed three new pieces of officially-licensed premium street wear: the Street Fighter Groove Tech collection, available in Street Fighter Groove, US Groove, and JP Groove styles.
Water-resistant, breathable, comfortable, and hand-customized, the quality of these hoodies looks to go beyond anything available in the FGC apparel market today, with a style suitable to wear both at and outside of FGC events. Pre-orders are open now over at Splitframe for $71.99 USD (pre-order discount, down from the regular price of $79.99). Each piece is limited to 150 units only; 75 will be sold by pre-order, while the remaining 75 will be available for purchase at Arcade Shock‘s booth at Evo 2017!
Source: Splitframe via Arcade Shock
Red Bull eSports follow his breakout year in their new Snake Eyez documentary: MIND GAMES
With Zangief gaining a new lease on life in Season 2 of Street Fighter V, Red Bull’s own Snake Eyez has been back on form with the Russian bear-wrestler. Following a recent win at CEO 2017, along with top placings at Combo Breaker, Texas Showdown and DreamHack Austin, America’s greatest grappler is slowly working his way back to the top of the Street Fighter mountain.
To commemorate his return, Red Bull Esports are producing a new documentary which follows Snake Eyez’s 2017 Capcom Pro Tour journey. Starting at Final Round 20, this film will show how Snake Eyez deals with the pressure of tournaments, fighting tough opponents, and how he keeps on the path to improvement. If Snake Eyez does well at Evo, expect his success to become a key component of this documentary!
Source: Red Bull eSports
How does the order of the last four matches affect players’ performance in finals?
A discussion on how changing the order of the final matches can affect the outcome.
Tensions run high and endurance is pushed to the limit for players that have reached the final matches in the Winners and Losers brackets. To set up the Grand Finals, somebody needs to get knocked down to Losers–but how significant is the sequence of these final fights to the competitors?
In this blog post, Glenn discusses the difference between two match sequences that occur in Capcom Pro Tour events; the order of matches are either:
Sequence 1:
Losers bracket Semifinal, Winners bracket Final, Losers bracket Final, Grand Final [LSF/WF/LF/GF], or
Sequence 2:
Winners bracket Final, Losers bracket Semifinal, Losers bracket Final, Grand Final [WF/LSF/LF/GF]
The primary difference is whether the loser of Winners Finals has to play immediately after in Losers Finals (sequence 1) or if the winner of Losers Semifinals plays immediately afterwards in Losers Finals (sequence 2). Why is this significant? Because a player is playing their next match either immediately off of a high-stakes win or loss — and that’s going to have an impact on their mindset and momentum.
Glenn examines recent CPT results, and how the first sequence tends to result in poorer performance from the player that just lost their Winners Finals. After factoring in how much break time players get between fights, they argue that the second sequence is better for both the competitors and the spectators. Read the entire argument here!
Source: Glenn