The Evolution Championship Series may put a stopper to a few other gaming events, and indeed, it has been a bit of a break for Tension Pulse. However, the Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 online exhibition series is back! Get ready for two passionate sets of first-to-seven matches, streamed live with quality commentary.
We’re seeing two new faces as well as two returning ones. One of the sets is between [YASE] JSB|2pgod and Doonpa, while the second match has Mr. K battling Voguekun. Let’s learn a little more about each combatant and their characters.
Mr. K
On the match: “I have not played the Leo vs. Kum match-up enough to feel confident, but I feel like it’s fair as long as Leo can break Kum’s fireballs with his own. Her clap super is incredible vs. backturned stance, so I need to be very careful how I run offense to avoid the situation.”
On his opponent: “Vogue has been putting in a lot of work with his character and he has been improving steadily. I haven’t played him since Frosty Faustings, unfortunately. I hear he really likes Kum’s new gatling, something like 2K 2S?”
On his Evo experience: “Vegas is fun as a tourist but it’s extremely hot and pricey. I am glad I went because I got to play with all my friends, and especially because I got to play a few of the Japanese players. T5M7’s Leo beat me soundly both in and out of tournament. He really impressed me and I want to get strong enough to fight at that level.”
Voguekun
On the match: “I’m excited to participate in the showmatch series once again. This time, I’m less focused on trying to defeat my opponent than I am on having a good time and demonstrating some of Haehyun’s less seen combos and tricks. Leo is one of the easier characters for Haehyun to do some of her more stylish combos on, so I hope I get a chance to show what I’ve practiced.”
On his opponent: “I first played Mr. K at Frosty Faustings where he bopped me hard in casuals. Since then I’ve gotten a lot better, but my Leo experience is still pretty lacking in comparison to the match-ups I feel like I know pretty well. Haehyun and Leo are similar in a lot of ways, and one of my favorite sets in recent memory, Tomo vs. Chachacha, demonstrated just how exciting a set can be with two characters that like to get in and swing on each other. Also, I was supposed to play Mr. K in a money match at Evo but we ducked each other. I guess this is how we’re making up for that?”
On REV 2 changes: “The tiers were slightly consolidated, but honestly I didn’t see the game change as much as I thought it would. Haehyun’s buffs were definitely extremely welcome. In particular, some gatling leniency changes and 2K2HS have made life much easier for me. And of course, Shishiinken has sent many Twitter timelines into full-on panic mode. I’m quite happy with the state of Guilty Gear right now.
Doonpa
On the match: “I’m kind of excited and nervous since I haven’t played an exhibition style match on stream since I played Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. I’ve been juggling a lot of games like UNIST, KOFXIV, BlazBlue, and Gundam, so I’m hoping I can perform well in Xrd. I’m going into this with a couple of contingency plans just in case I get blown up a bit, but I’m stoked nonetheless. I really hope to give people a very entertaining set and show them some clean play from my end.”
On his opponent: “I honestly haven’t seen him personally play before, so I’ve tried to look up some matches of him, but I haven’t had much luck so I can’t really say. I know he is a Chipp player (booooo) so his character alone is a big threat, let alone what unique traits he can bring to the table as a player himself. I don’t really have too much experience playing against this character as he is quite rare on the East Coast, but it’s exciting nonetheless. I trust he’ll do all the scummy stuff we know and love from Chipp players, so we’ll see how well I can deal with it, haha.”
On his own playstyle: “I’ve mainly seen myself as a passive player who picks and chooses his spots to initiate situations versus my opponents. I like to react to situations and act accordingly, so I prefer to let my opponent try to be the aggressor in the hopes of countering their approach. I’ve played a lot of different character types, so I do think I’m capable of playing most playstyles, but I think a reactionary style is the best for me. I hope I can showcase that skill and not get bullied by Chipp’s ridiculous speed and options in this exhibition.”
JSB|2pgod
On the match: “I’m looking forward to it. I hope I can provide entertaining matches for the audience.”
On his opponent: “I think I can beat him. I’ve seen him play, and while it won’t be easy, I’m confident I can win. The biggest challenge for me is that he is planning on using multiple characters while I’m only going to use one. Training for multiple match-ups can be time-consuming. I have close friends who play I-no, Jack-O’, and Johnny, so getting prepared won’t be too hard.”
On playing since last time in the league: “I’m very aggressive, like most American Chipp players. I like to be creative with my mix-ups.”
Catch the next episode of Tension Pulse live on Silva_hime’s Twitch channel. The first set, between Doona and 2pgod, begins today at 10:15 PM EST/9:15 PM CST/7:15 PM PDT. MechaMacGyver and Ryyudo will commentate the matches and lend their expertise to the on-screen gameplay.
Looking to catch up on the last episode of Tension Pulse? The last episode was the Pre-Evo special! Eight players joined the fight there, including high-profile names such as Lord Knight, XCEL|BjornSonOfBear, Nakkiel.exe, Hotashi, and more!
Sources: interviews; Mdesilva