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This is a four-part series called "The Team Concept," where we explore what has happened in the year since Justin Wong has joined Evil Geniuses. How have players in fighting games been affected by teams and organizations coming into this realm?
The message came by way of a text while I was driving home on a cold June evening to Long Beach from Irvine. A friend told me to stay tuned to the Evil Geniuses website that night for a major announcement.
The messenger didn't want to give away what was going to happen, but no need; I already figured out the news, so I raced to a coffee shop and kept refreshing the Evil Geniuses page for what was the obvious announcement, that Justin Wong was going to be joining the organization.
The response was overwhelming, to the point the Evil Geniuses' site crashed. Justin posted this message on the day of the announcement:
"I am glad to be a part of Team EG and feel like I have found a new home. I am excited about my future with Team EG and will do my best to be the best fighting pro-gamer in the world!"It has been one year since Justin signed with Evil Geniuses and a lot has happened to him as well as other players. And that's the whole point of this three-day, four-part series. My goal in this series is to look at the idea of being on a team from several perspectives. You'll hear from a team owner, Justin, and others who aren't on teams but were.
All because of what happened June 24, 2010.
Only a handful of players had been on teams prior to that day. Now, if a player isn't on a team, he or she is probably new to the scene, on the cusp of something big, or so old that they seem to scoff at the notion of it all. Look at the top 16 Super Street Fighter IV placers at CEO 2011 two weeks ago. Out of the 16, 12 are on a team (and a 13th would soon join days later). Seven of the top eight finishers in the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament are on a team. This would have never crossed anyone's mind a year ago.
As much as I have stayed cold to some of the changes and additions to what's been going on in the various tournament scenes, the additions of teams has been mostly a welcoming sign. When I started Get Your Tournament in 2006, the only thing I knew about teams was Le Equipe Metroid (whom I competed against in score tournaments) and all of the Halo teams in Major League Gaming. As the months passed, I learned about more teams, but they were mostly competitive in the PC realm.
Once Justin was signed, it was as if a big bell rang and it was time for these teams to start picking fighting game players. And that's what seemed to happen. The good part is that it's not like any of these teams have picked slackers, scrubs or "guys off of Xbox Live" (go watch "I Got Next" for that line). Justin got off to a hot start days after joining the team, winning the eSports World Cup's Super Street Fighter IV tournament in Paris.
I hope more players get signed in the future. And that's the sentiment shared by everyone that I've spoken to in the past week regarding this subject. Hopefully it'll make the various scenes more competitive. And it's already insanely competitive.
= = =
The Team Concept - The Series
PART 1: The Day That Changed Things
PART 2: Justin Wong's Year
PART 3: On a Team, Then Off a Team
PART 4: Growing a Team
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Fuddulous has posted a ton of Super Turbo action at NorCal Regionals 9. The title match was Alex Valle vs Daigo Umehara and it is entertaining (it always is, I just had to make note here). If you want to see some of the action, head to his YouTube portal.
Video follows the jump...
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Video follows the jump...
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Ever wonder how Gamerbee just seemed to pop out of nowhere and roll through people at Evolution 2010? Yeah, I had that same question too. How did someone so good just seemingly come out of nowhere? Actually, he had been known but not on the level that we all see today. Initially, I thought he was one of those lucky guys that practiced the game, knew the bread-and-butter tactics and squeezed his way past the veterans.
Ryan Champ, a Tekken player and former Major League Gaming writer, said he had a hand in Gamerbee making his presence known. Here's his tale, which he titled "How I caused Justin Wong to lose at Evo 2010" (as you can tell, I didn't put that in this headline). If you want to talk to Ryan, head to his Twitter portal.
Story follows the jump ...
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MILPITAS - While at NorCal Regionals 9, I had an opportunity to spend a few minutes with Joshua "Wolfkrone" Philpot on several subjects, including the changes in Super Street Fighter IV, as well as his placing in the Evolution 2011 tournament series. This interview was done before he finished in the top four of the tournament, and there also is some audio issues. The other part of this interview will come later in the week, but for now, listen in to what he has to say.
Interview with Wolfkrone
NorCal Regionals 9 had a Street Fighter x Tekken exhibition tournament, where eight players dueled in the upcoming game. One of the players was Ari "Floe" Weintraub. I talked with him about his experiences playing the game. Hit the link below.
Interview with Floe about Street Fighter x Tekken no comments
Interview with Floe about Street Fighter x Tekken no comments
In light of the amazing finals at the Irish Evolution 2011 Qualifying Tournament, I had to take a look at a certain point in the contest and see how things were looking. I mention a couple of these items in today's Stats Series podcast, so if you want to check it out, head to the link at the bottom of the post.
The first was to determine the win probability overall. Here's the chart (this will be posted on the Fighting Game Stats database later today).
If you don't know, the chart shows what the players' chances are to win a match at a certain point based on what the score is and what the player did in previous rounds. There's enough rounds in my database where I feel comfortable in putting this out without the numbers being consistently off.
One more note, the reason why Game 3 is repeated is because the first time around, there was no winner, thus the game was repeated.
Let's take a look at Round 3-3. At this point, based on everything that had happen prior in the match, The Hound was a slight favorite to win the match overall at 54.8 percent. It's still, for the most part, a coin flip but the Hound had it in his favor. Full disclosure: I had my stat sheet written for a second finals match.
The Hound sent Stevoknevo to 50 percent and to 25 percent first and had a massive lead. This is what I wanted to know: With the Hound having more than 50 percent health and Stevoknevo having less than 25 percent health, what was the Hound's chances to win the round at that point?
Answer: 80.5 percent.
Looking at everyone that had been in his situation, the Hound was a 4 to 1 favorite to finish off Stevoknevo.
But Stevoknevo came back with a combo that sent the Hound to 50 percent health. The Hound was still in the lead and needed probably one combo. So now what was the Hound's chances?
Answer: 67.9 percent.
So no matter what, the Hound was still in a good spot to finish things off. Then he didn't, and thus the amazing double KO, and the replaying of Game 3.
= = =
The Stats Series - June 21, 2011 no comments
The first was to determine the win probability overall. Here's the chart (this will be posted on the Fighting Game Stats database later today).
If you don't know, the chart shows what the players' chances are to win a match at a certain point based on what the score is and what the player did in previous rounds. There's enough rounds in my database where I feel comfortable in putting this out without the numbers being consistently off.
One more note, the reason why Game 3 is repeated is because the first time around, there was no winner, thus the game was repeated.
Let's take a look at Round 3-3. At this point, based on everything that had happen prior in the match, The Hound was a slight favorite to win the match overall at 54.8 percent. It's still, for the most part, a coin flip but the Hound had it in his favor. Full disclosure: I had my stat sheet written for a second finals match.
The Hound sent Stevoknevo to 50 percent and to 25 percent first and had a massive lead. This is what I wanted to know: With the Hound having more than 50 percent health and Stevoknevo having less than 25 percent health, what was the Hound's chances to win the round at that point?
Answer: 80.5 percent.
Looking at everyone that had been in his situation, the Hound was a 4 to 1 favorite to finish off Stevoknevo.
But Stevoknevo came back with a combo that sent the Hound to 50 percent health. The Hound was still in the lead and needed probably one combo. So now what was the Hound's chances?
Answer: 67.9 percent.
So no matter what, the Hound was still in a good spot to finish things off. Then he didn't, and thus the amazing double KO, and the replaying of Game 3.
= = =
The Stats Series - June 21, 2011 no comments
Being able to work Microsoft Excel is awesome in trying to find out the most mundane of statistics. Before I give you this random stat, let me ask you a question: Do you do better on the Player 1 or Player 2 side?
With the exception being DDR, I've tried to stay on the Player 1 side. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's the default position if I'm a loner and am stuck playing games where I have to start on the left side.
What I wanted to know is whether Player 1 or Player 2 was the more fortunate of sides for the Evolution 2011 series competitors in Super Street Fighter IV. In the Top 4 of the Evolution 2011 series tournaments, there have been 41 matches played, this includes the reset championship matches and the online tournament matches.
And the winner is ...
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With the exception being DDR, I've tried to stay on the Player 1 side. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's the default position if I'm a loner and am stuck playing games where I have to start on the left side.
What I wanted to know is whether Player 1 or Player 2 was the more fortunate of sides for the Evolution 2011 series competitors in Super Street Fighter IV. In the Top 4 of the Evolution 2011 series tournaments, there have been 41 matches played, this includes the reset championship matches and the online tournament matches.
And the winner is ...
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I posted stats of the NorCal Regionals 9 Super Street Fighter IV top four finalists. They're now available on the Fighting Game Stats database.
There's plenty more stats from the tournament, and I'll post those throughout the week. no comments
There's plenty more stats from the tournament, and I'll post those throughout the week. no comments
Not all of us were there on that fateful day seven years ago in Southern California when Daigo Umehara did that thing. You know that thing where he pressed forward and stuff and beat that one guy who was representing the regular guy like you and me. Not everyone got that moment where we say "I was there, man. I was there and holy shit it was the best thing ever."
So we're all searching for our own moment, that time where we tell people "Man, remember when (insert epic moment)." And you'll tell your friends you were watching it on the Internet broadcast or you were actually there, in person, probably a few feet away when in reality it was Row 30, Seat 10. Or maybe you were the one actually involved in the moment.
It seems as thought NorCal Regionals has always provided viewers and event-goers with those memorable moments. The one NorCal Regionals where Daigo didn't make the finals. The other one where Justin Wong 6-0'd AndyOCR and silenced the crowd.
There were a few this time around that were tough to find, but let me help out here, because they will be notable as Evolution 2011 creeps closer.
There's no denying that Joshua "Wolfkrone" Philpot has held his own, even though the game has switched to Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. In his first opportunity to do something in the Evolution 2011 tournament season post-change, he finished in fourth place. Yeah, the game changed but so did Wolfkrone. He adjusted his game and has made it work despite the nerfs and buffs given to C.Viper.
It's the sixth time in the Evolution 2011 tournament series that Wolfkrone has finished in the top four. Ask someone to go to eight major tournaments and finish in the top four. We all have our bad days. But Wolfkrone has yet to have a really bad day. And that's perhaps the most amazing part of the tournament series. He knows he's been doing well. He knows he's a big target and expectations are going to be high (and he explains this in a podcast I'll be posting this week). Throughout all of it, he welcomes the challenge.
Right up there with Wolfkrone's achievement is Daigo Umehara, who erased the bad memory of NorCal Regionals 8 and won this time around in the Ninth Session. In the finals against Infiltration, he only got the first hit four times (one being a trade). He won all four times.
But what I'll remember is that he had a clean EX sheet. In the semifinals against Infiltration, he was a perfect 9 for 9 when using EX meter. All nine times he used meter, he got a clean hit on Infiltration. Since I started tracking EX meter -- ironically it started at NorCal Regionals 7 -- no player had ever had a clean sheet. Not only is he insanely good. Not only does he have the ability to overpower opponents. Not only does he know how to get two combos to 50 percent (I kept telling myself "Dude, how in the world? Oh yeah, it's Daigo), but he knows how best to use EX meter. We will never see this type of precision ever again, maybe not in five weeks in Las Vegas.
Those are two moments I don't think people will cling onto as their moment. The one that everyone will indeed probably remember is Justin Wong winning the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, bringing all of us wannabe sports-talk callers more fodder for "the Monday show." Relax, everyone. We're all going to be OK. It's not like the top players were going to stay home and just give the championships to the international players.
Justin's 6-0 beatdown was a perfect message to send.
He's not playing around anymore. He's the second player to get a 6-0 finish in a finals, the other being "NerdJosh" Jodin two months ago. A 6-0 finish is history. Four in a row, and the eyes start to get big. Five in a row and all you're hoping is that you didn't say anything that could jinx things. I remember typing on Twitter after the fifth win that I hope I didn't jinx it by saying "6-0," like the announcer that won't tell you a no-hitter is going because he's afraid he'll blow it.
Perhaps a loss like what happened in Orlando is what was needed to get the wheels going. A win gives us fans hope that something good will happen in "our game."
I'm sure there will be plenty other events that viewers and event goers will point to and say that it was their "I saw it" moment. NorCal Regionals seems to do that.
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So we're all searching for our own moment, that time where we tell people "Man, remember when (insert epic moment)." And you'll tell your friends you were watching it on the Internet broadcast or you were actually there, in person, probably a few feet away when in reality it was Row 30, Seat 10. Or maybe you were the one actually involved in the moment.
It seems as thought NorCal Regionals has always provided viewers and event-goers with those memorable moments. The one NorCal Regionals where Daigo didn't make the finals. The other one where Justin Wong 6-0'd AndyOCR and silenced the crowd.
There were a few this time around that were tough to find, but let me help out here, because they will be notable as Evolution 2011 creeps closer.
There's no denying that Joshua "Wolfkrone" Philpot has held his own, even though the game has switched to Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. In his first opportunity to do something in the Evolution 2011 tournament season post-change, he finished in fourth place. Yeah, the game changed but so did Wolfkrone. He adjusted his game and has made it work despite the nerfs and buffs given to C.Viper.
It's the sixth time in the Evolution 2011 tournament series that Wolfkrone has finished in the top four. Ask someone to go to eight major tournaments and finish in the top four. We all have our bad days. But Wolfkrone has yet to have a really bad day. And that's perhaps the most amazing part of the tournament series. He knows he's been doing well. He knows he's a big target and expectations are going to be high (and he explains this in a podcast I'll be posting this week). Throughout all of it, he welcomes the challenge.
Right up there with Wolfkrone's achievement is Daigo Umehara, who erased the bad memory of NorCal Regionals 8 and won this time around in the Ninth Session. In the finals against Infiltration, he only got the first hit four times (one being a trade). He won all four times.
But what I'll remember is that he had a clean EX sheet. In the semifinals against Infiltration, he was a perfect 9 for 9 when using EX meter. All nine times he used meter, he got a clean hit on Infiltration. Since I started tracking EX meter -- ironically it started at NorCal Regionals 7 -- no player had ever had a clean sheet. Not only is he insanely good. Not only does he have the ability to overpower opponents. Not only does he know how to get two combos to 50 percent (I kept telling myself "Dude, how in the world? Oh yeah, it's Daigo), but he knows how best to use EX meter. We will never see this type of precision ever again, maybe not in five weeks in Las Vegas.
Those are two moments I don't think people will cling onto as their moment. The one that everyone will indeed probably remember is Justin Wong winning the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, bringing all of us wannabe sports-talk callers more fodder for "the Monday show." Relax, everyone. We're all going to be OK. It's not like the top players were going to stay home and just give the championships to the international players.
Justin's 6-0 beatdown was a perfect message to send.
He's not playing around anymore. He's the second player to get a 6-0 finish in a finals, the other being "NerdJosh" Jodin two months ago. A 6-0 finish is history. Four in a row, and the eyes start to get big. Five in a row and all you're hoping is that you didn't say anything that could jinx things. I remember typing on Twitter after the fifth win that I hope I didn't jinx it by saying "6-0," like the announcer that won't tell you a no-hitter is going because he's afraid he'll blow it.
Perhaps a loss like what happened in Orlando is what was needed to get the wheels going. A win gives us fans hope that something good will happen in "our game."
I'm sure there will be plenty other events that viewers and event goers will point to and say that it was their "I saw it" moment. NorCal Regionals seems to do that.
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Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez and Mike Ross have joined CompLexity Gaming, it was announced Sunday night.
The two guys are on a day-long flight to Australia, where they will be competing in Shadowloo Showdown 2011. It will be their first tournament representing the famed organization.
Gootecks will be the media manager, while Mike Ross will be the player manager. This will be the first team both have joined as Super Street Fighter IV competitors. CompLexity is known for it's excellence in Counter-Strike and other PC games.
CompLexity said players will be announced in the coming weeks.
Here's more from the organization:
The two guys are on a day-long flight to Australia, where they will be competing in Shadowloo Showdown 2011. It will be their first tournament representing the famed organization.
Gootecks will be the media manager, while Mike Ross will be the player manager. This will be the first team both have joined as Super Street Fighter IV competitors. CompLexity is known for it's excellence in Counter-Strike and other PC games.
CompLexity said players will be announced in the coming weeks.
Here's more from the organization:
Today compLexity Gaming is thrilled to announce our move into the fighting game community. It has long been our wish to enter the vibrant scene but we wanted to do so in the best way possible. We now have found that way and are thrilled to launch our new fighting division- compLexity: CrossCounter.no comments
