Category: News

In what seems to be an amicable split from his sponsor, the Netherlands-based team LowLandLions, Ramin “Mr-R” Delshad has now become a free agent in the Smash world, joining the likes of other unsponsored top players like Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby. As a European player, a lack of a current sponsor may present possible problems for Mr-R attending tournaments in the future, but with his position as one of the world’s best Sheiks and his recent placings, gaining 5th at Pound 2016, 1st at Melbourne Battle Arena and 7th at Get On My Level 2016, a new sponsor will hopefully jump into the fray soon.

This may be the opportunity for some European-based eSports teams to finally get in on Smash 4. Could we see Fnatic making their debut in the Smash world by sponsoring Mr-R? Will Alliance branch out into Smash 4 by picking up Mr-R as their first player? With the summer of Smash almost upon us and there being plenty of chances for Mr-R to both show off to sponsors and for sponsors to promote their own brand, we could see something in the very near future.

Source: Mr-R

Earlier today, Capcom released an official statement surrounding the unacceptable events that transpired over the weekend at Illinois-based tournament, Combo Breaker. Regarding Noel Brown’s inappropriate actions, those behind the Capcom Pro Tour had this to say:

Over the past weekend, we were notified that an unfortunate case of sexual harassment occurred at Combo Breaker 2016, a Capcom Pro Tour Ranking Event, where a female attendee received unwarranted and unwanted contact from a male attendee, who is confirmed to be Noel Brown. This incident was also captured on camera during the live stream before the Street Fighter V Losers Finals match.

We have worked closely with the tournament organizer of Combo Breaker to gather all details surrounding the incident. We have found that the victim, who wishes not to be named, has gone on record and confirmed this was an inappropriate act from Noel Brown and was not consensual.

As a result, we are banning Noel Brown from competing in the duration of the 2016 season of the Capcom Pro Tour as a first offense. A second offense will result in a lifetime ban from participating in all future Capcom Pro Tour events. We will use this as a baseline penalty if similar incidents occur in the future.

We do not condone any acts of harassment and we want all of our players and fans to know we will continue our work to ensure that all Capcom Pro Tour events provide safe, inviting environments where the focus is on healthy competition and exciting rivalries.

We support Combo Breaker’s decision to ban Noel Brown and support any tournament organizer who decides to ban anyone from their event who they feel is creating a hostile environment for other attendees.

When we contacted Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar regarding the incident, he had the following to say: “Evo stands behind Capcom’s decision to ban any player responsible for acts of harassment. We have a zero tolerance policy for behavior that creates an unsafe environment for our attendees. He will not be allowed to attend Evo 2016.”

Source: Capcom

Red Bull has always been known to think outside the box to find their market, so their partnership with the Capcom Pro Tour for the Red Bull Kumite came as no shock; it’s also not surprising to learn of their upcoming Red Bull Proving Grounds series.  Given gamer proclivities for drinking energy drinks, and a glowing endorsement of the drink by Team Secret’s Poongko at Evolution 2011, Red Bull and Street Fighter seem to be a perfect fit for each other.

For Red Bull, they see deeper into the relationship than most would have expected, and have joined forces with Street Fighter V producer Tomoaki Ayano to create a collaboration between Street Fighter V and Red Bull BC One, their annual international B-Boy competition which will be held in Nagoya, Japan on December 3rd.

When speaking of the collaboration, Ayano was quoted as saying, “We saw a lot of similar aspects between breakdancing and competitive fighting games. One of course being the one-on-one battle format but also the fact that there are 16 B-Boys performing and 16 characters in the game.”

While the extent of the collaboration remains to be seen, it is still exciting to see Street Fighter being fluidly integrated into other sub-cultures.

Source: Red Bull BC One, with a tip from Josh C.

As Super Smash Bros. Melee’s 20th ranked player in the world, it might come as something of a surprise that Hugo “HugS” Gonzalez was a free agent. This is no longer the case, however, as the highest ranked solo-Samus on Melee It On Me’s Melee Rankings has been signed to represent Florida-based Dream Team.

Dream Team are best known for their high-level first-person shooter teams, but they have announced their intentions to branch out into the fighting game community and, as such, HugS will be the first Dream Team FGC representative.

This follows the recent news that Joey “Lucky” Aldama has become the first Smash Brothers player to represent Counter-Strike and Rocket League organization Selfless.

Lucky, the world number 12, was the highest ranked unsponsored player on the list and, now that HugS has also announced his sponsorship, 18 of the top 20 Melee players in the world have sponsorship deals. You’d have to imagine that it’s only a matter of time until Johnny “S2J” Kim joins the club, though the currently injured Aziz “Hax$” Al-Yami may have to wait a little longer.

Source: Dream Team, Selfless, feature image courtesy of Robert Paul

2016 has been the year of King of Fighters so far. With trailers and demos of the upcoming King of Fighters XIV being shown off nonstop, this is a good time to be a KOF fan. This week’s team trailer for the game showcases three characters set to yet another theme, “Tiger & Dragon.”

Ryo and Robert have been shown before, though a closer look is most welcome. As has been the trend with past team trailers, one of the featured characters is one we haven’t gotten a good look at before. With that said, Yuri dominates a good chunk of the trailer, demonstrating her potential, as well as several Desperation moves.

Source: PlayStation

Street Fighter fans will know that the game’s latest installment has seen Ibuki ditch her classic ninja duds in favor of a more school girl-themed outfit. What may surprise some, however, is that Capcom outsourced the creation of the new model for this returning character. Fans of the redesign have freelance artist Marie-Michelle Pepin, who has worked on a plethora of other projects from XCOM 2 to Diablo III, to thank for bringing the kunoichi to life in a new light. There’s a lot of detail to be found in Ibuki’s new design, with new features complimented by callbacks to her classic design like her returning facemask and ponytail.

We’ve included a handful of shots below, and you can check out more high-res screenshots at Pepin’s ArtStation. You can find her full portfolio here.

Sources: ArtStation, Marie-Michelle Pepin

Tier lists are one way to look at how characters stack up, but actual usage rates at competitive events can sometimes tell a different story. Fighting game enthusiast Koga compiled a handy chart that speaks with pure data. It displays each character in Street Fighter V and counts how may times they’ve been picked, or used as a counter-pick, in Capcom Pro Tour events.

Ken edges out Necalli by a single choice, with Karin and Nash hot on their trail. The characters with the least representation are Zangief, Alex, Guile, and Rashid, with the gadget-loving fighter not seeing any top 8 performances as of the end of May.

What are your thoughts on the chart? Will we finally see a Rashid in top 8 in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Kogazor

Earlier today Red Bull announced that they will be running a series of Street Fighter V tournaments, dubbed “Red Bull Proving Grounds,” in six select cities throughout North America: Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Toronto. This tournament series is separate from the Capcom Pro Tour, but will offer a chance to earn a qualifying spot for the CPT for the player who emerges victorious.

Here’s the trailer Red Bull released to promote the Proving Grounds series:

These tournaments will be run as a series of events over the months to come, culminating in a final, all-expenses paid trip to an event to be held at Red Bull eSports Studio at Red Bull HQ in Santa Monica, CA. There are slots for three people to qualify from each American city, and one slot for Toronto. The winner of the finals event will be given the opportunity to play in the CPT North America Finals at Red Bull Battle Grounds from November 4-6 in Seattle.

It appears that Red Bull has decided to tap into the existing talent within the FGC, as each region’s event series will be run by well established tournament organizers from the grassroots FGCs within their respective areas. These organizers include:

• Eric Small of bigE Gaming (Philadelphia)
• Larry Dixon of Final Round (Atlanta)
• Alex Valle and Jimmy Nguyen of Level Up (Los Angeles)
• Noah Vandercook of Ignite Gaming Lounge (Chicago)
• Deniz Bengisoy and Chris Anderson of Northwest Majors (Seattle)
• Justin Baisden of Super Steel City Fight Nights (Toronto)

The structure for earning points towards a qualifying spot for each region by playing in the Proving Grounds tournament series is as follows:

• 1st: 300 points
• 2nd: 250 points
• 3rd: 225 points
• 4th: 200 points
• 5th: 175 points
• 7th: 150 points
• 9th: 125 points
• 13th: 100 points
• 17th: 75 points
• 25th: 50 points
• 33rd: 30 points
• 49th: 20 points
• 65th or lower: 10 points

For information on the rules of these tournaments, head on over to the Red Bull eSports page’s official announcement.

Source: Red Bull

Jon “jonnyfraze” Bonilla has just released a video displaying some of the changes in the recent firmware updates to Brook’s Universal Fighting Board. This board has picked up a reputation for being this generation’s version of the MC Cthulhu, thanks to its flexibility across platforms.

Version 1.5, which was recently released by the Brook team, now adds something unexpected to the mix: Wii U support. While fighting games may be limited on the platform, the team looks to make sure that, if necessary, you are prepared for any game that releases on Nintendo’s current flagship system. Also changed is the amount of latency inherent from the board between button presses and system response when being used on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The results will allow you better reaction time when using the UFB when compared to other possible boards and arcade sticks on the market currently.

If you own one of these boards, this update will be a great one to flash to your current stick. If you were on the fence on these boards, perhaps all the additions in 1.5 could sway your opinion.

Source: Jon Bonilla, with a tip from Neoxon

Jon “jonnyfraze” Bonilla has just released a video displaying some of the changes in the recent firmware updates to Brook’s Universal Fighting Board. This board has picked up a reputation for being this generation’s version of the MC Cthulhu, thanks to its flexibility across platforms.

Version 1.5, which was recently released by the Brook team, now adds something unexpected to the mix: Wii U support. While fighting games may be limited on the platform, the team looks to make sure that, if necessary, you are prepared for any game that releases on Nintendo’s current flagship system. Also changed is the amount of latency inherent from the board between button presses and system response when being used on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. The results will allow you better reaction time when using the UFB when compared to other possible boards and arcade sticks on the market currently.

If you own one of these boards, this update will be a great one to flash to your current stick. If you were on the fence on these boards, perhaps all the additions in 1.5 could sway your opinion.

Source: Jon Bonilla, with a tip from Neoxon