Stakes seem higher than normal for tonight’s Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League. The FT7 online league, which features top and mid-level players with commentary, resumes this Thursday with a rematch. The recent Anime Ascension Guilty Gear Grand Finals displayed an epic showdown between KidViper’s Johnny and daymendou’s Slayer, and the same matchup is on the table tonight. The second set is between Kizzercrate and wne.
KidViper
On the match: “Honestly, I still don’t feel quite as comfortable as where I’d like to but I’ll do my best! I think writing out my thoughts really helped me to look at myself and how my focus needed some work. So with that in mind, I feel really refreshed going into the set!”
On his opponent: “He’s a very smart and diligent player. It’s definitely the type of knowledge that’s not for show as you can see most of it implemented in all his matches. Couple that with the character he plays, and you have a very scary combination. One wrong move against him and the payout is really high!”
On his own playstyle: “The way I try to play is with the intent of ‘I want my opponent to feel helpless at all times.’ Be it on offense, defense, or neutral, I want my opponent to feel suffocated no matter how much space or freedom they’re given. Because of this, I try to training mode and practice as many situations as I can to be comfortable at any point in a match. Most people just end up saying I’m more of a defensive player, but it’s not my intent!”
daymendou
On the match: “To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking of KV after winning [Anime Ascension], I was just happy to win for Norcal. I got a lot of luck and after the last moments of the last round, it was a relief to finally be able to relax. I did nothing in particular until the last 2 weeks. I played a lot with Brett yesterday to practice, about 60-70 games. I have turned down everyone asking me for netplay this week until the exhibition is finished. I made some notes based on the games and discussion with Brett.”
On his opponent: “He’s very motivated, he’ll probably try to surprise me with some stuff since we haven’t played since AA. I fully expect to lose the first 2 games. In general, he’s very good at focusing on small things to improve on.”
On his own playstyle: “It would be adapting to what the other player doesn’t want me to do. I try to adjust my pace and rhythm if I feel they wouldn’t be prepared for it in that moment. The effect is to be unpredictable and try to goad them into doing things. I can counter for high reward, while making it harder for them to prepare the correct punish.”
Kizzercrate
On the match: I’m excited for the exhibition itself and grateful for the opportunity as it’s the first time I’ll be able to show my hard work and skillset in a long set. However, I’m also anxious as I tend to get really bad tournament nerves, and I’m learning how to not tense up and play timidly in fear of making mistakes and losing because of them.
On his opponent: My opponent, wne, is very intelligent and solid. I’ll have to keep my play clean in order to avoid getting my life bar deleted by Sin.
On his own playstyle: I have a heavily read-based aggressive gameplan, and I’ve been known to go for flashy plays. The risks I take are calculated, but sometimes I’m really bad at math!
wne
On the match: I think this will be a good set overall since KY v SI is relatively close in my opinion. If I really was pressed I’d actually say Ky has a slight advantage over Sin since most of his buttons beat a lot of my approach options, so I have to play this matchup extremely patiently. Sin gets more reward but since these matches generally go for a longer time period, so food management is definitely an issue when both are sitting midscreen at neutral.
On his opponent: On Kizzer, I think he’s a really, really solid Ky that probably messes around a little too much with Instant Kills in my opinion, but it works well for him and he’s gotten notorious from it. IKing aside, I think he makes very smart decisions and is very knowledgeable about his character and specific matchups, including the one I have against him. I have nothing but respect for him however, and regardless of the outcome, am happy to get to play him.
On his own playstyle: Hmm, being self-critical I want to say I press way too many buttons for my own good. My GG training partner and the guy who helped me learn back in AC was fadooglee, and I probably picked up a few more aggressive habits from him than I should have. I’ve been trying to play a lot more patiently recently so I can see my gameplay changing, but I know I’m definitely more on the offensive side when it comes to US Sin players. But hey, I like big damage and big confirms, haha.
Don’t miss the show later tonight on silva_hime’s Twitch channel, at 8:00 PM EST/7:00 PM CST/5:00 PM PST. Commentary is provided by TSB|Blaze and Ryan Hunter.
Here’s the last week’s footage, which included Vevion vs. sweetxjam and Hamad vs. Foo.
Additional sources: Mdesilva
