HAWTHORNE - I had a chance to interview MYK after he defeated Suiken in the finals of the "Tekken 6" tournament at Triple Threat this past saturday at HAX.

Although he beat a well-known SoCal Tekken player to claim the title, his run in the tournament might be more known for his First Semifinals win over Ricky Ortiz.

It was an exciting semifinal contest (get a recap here), and we talk about that during this podcast. Consider this: MYK faced six players, and four of them finished in the top 10, including wins over Aris and Tommy Hilfiger.

In the interview, he also talks about why he didn't use Steve to begin with in his matches against Suiken and Ricky Ortiz, and why he used Lars in the tournament. You can listen to the interview below.

Interview with MYK at Active Gamers (Click to listen)

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During the Active Gamers' Triple Threat tournament on Saturday, I had a chance to interview Justin Wong, who will soon be a West Coast resident.

Yep, he'll be packing his bags and heading out to our great state. But aside from that, he talks about NorCal regionals and an opponent he faced a few days ago, the Special 2 at Orochon (if you're wondering what we're talking about, check this out) You can watch the video interview below.

Video by A.J. Papa. Graphics by Kelly Bracha.

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Keno is one of the many Boxer users in Southern California, but he's difference because he's in the upper echelon. He proved it during the second season of the Arcade Infinity Ranbats "Street Fighter IV" competition. Leading for most of the season, he capped off the title last month by winning the last tournament.

Not only did he win it, he had to come out of the losers bracket to do so, and then he defeated Alex Valle in the title bout. A few days after his title win, I had a chance to interview him about a few topics.

Interview after the jump ...
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ANAHEIM - Seems like any time there is an NBA Live tournament held in the state, Swaggy and his twin brother, Handz are in the building, trying to get their hands on the championship. This past Saturday, Swaggy won the Anaheim NBA Live Challenge, beating Live Boss in the final match, 54-46.

As with any NBA Live tournament game, getting ahead by three possession is a virtual game-set-match situation. Swaggy didn't get that advantage until late in the third, when he got a steal and a fast break to go ahead, 38-32. It stayed that way until late in the fourth quarter, when Swaggy pulled ahead 48-38 and then poured it on.

The Washington baller took some time out after the win to talk about his tournament run. You can listen to it below.

Interview with Swaggy (Click to listen)

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NOTE: My apologies first and foremost for the very low volume on the two audio interviews below. I recommend using headphones and turning them up loud to listen in. I'll definitely make sure this won't happen the rest of the weekend.

ANAHEIM - Earlier today, I caught up with Chuck Hollywood and R.G. to talk about the Anaheim Madden Challenge. Both guys had performances in Dallas that left a lot to be desired. They'll both be trying to go for the regional title this weekend, which will give them a spot in the Finals Tournament in February.

My discussion with Chuck was about what his thoughts were following the Dallas tournament and what he's done since then. In talking to RG, he mentioned the team he'll be using and what his mindset is going into this weekend's tournament. You can listen to both interviews below.

Interview with Chuck Hollywood.

Interview with RG.

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If there's someone that expected to do well at the Dallas Madden Challenge, it was Kornstar. Instead, he finished 1-2 and didn't get any room to breathe, even in his lone win.

One good part about the Madden Challenge tournament series is that there's more than just one event, so those like Kornstar can find a way to improve on their game and get ready for the next one. In this interview, he talks about what happened in Dallas and what he expects to happen this weekend in Anaheim.

GLENN: How excited are you to compete in Anaheim?

KORNSTAR: I'm ecstatic. Ever since Dallas I've been more and more focused on getting all aspects of my game right and taking down one of these events. I can't wait to go out there and let the hard work and my stick work take over and get me a win as it usually does.

GLENN: Looking back at what happened in Dallas, what did feel like you have to improve on for the next tournament?

KORNSTAR: I'd say a lot of things. My offense was hardly stopped at all, but most importantly, my D was a wreck. I hadn't put much time into it, and to be honest -- I shouldn't have went to Dallas, I wasn't ready, and I didn't feel ready at the time on both sides of the ball. I felt overall my O was good enough to win but my D left a lot to be desired. So that's what I've been doing.

GLENN: Did working on your personal gameplan mean scrapping everything and starting over, or tweaking what you were doing already?

KORNSTAR: Tweaking everything I do on the offensive side of the ball, and scraping the D I was running and starting all over. Right now I feel like I'm at the top of my game, more prepared than I normally am. All aspects of my game have gotten much better and I'm excited again for the opportunity that awaits me in Anaheim.

GLENN: Did you put in extra time than normal after what happened in Dallas?

KORNSTAR: Yeah, absolutely. I had to, my D was awful, my O was good but as you know the game evolves in Madden from day to day, and it's on a level I like my offenses to be at around this time of year where I don't feel like I can really be stopped.

GLENN: I'm sure you're going to say you'll make the championship match and win it. Who do you want to face, and why?

KORNSTAR: It'd be an honor to play Big Gene in the finals again like I did at the Madden Challenge finals in LA in Madden 08 where we had an absolute crazy game. I know he's ready and I hope to meet him there. Any of my EMB guys I'd like to see there also, because that means we did our job.

GLENN: On that same note, is there someone out there that you have to be on the lookout for?

KORNSTAR: Always have to look out for Problem... with the rules that MLG has, he's allowed to compete. He's the best defensive player to ever do it so that game against him will always be hell.

GLENN: There were a lot of surprise plays in Dallas, like the pitchback by Shutdown against Derwy and the interception-lateral by Chow over Problem. Do you think those types of plays will still happen in Anaheim, or has everyone learned how to prevent that from happening?

KORNSTAR: You can't prevent plays like that, those are just instinct and great plays made by great players who have quick reaction time. That's like asking if some one could truly prepare for my Ali Quick stick work when I pick off a pass with my DT or anything else, there's no way to get ready for that. Players make plays. no comments

HAWTHORNE - During the Tekken 6 release party and tournament this past Saturday at HAX, I had the chance to interview several players within the Tekken community. Today, I'll be giving you three more interviews I did during the event.

John Nelson is the president of Active Gamers, the organization that has put on tournaments in the South Bay. They'll be playing host to a three-game tournament on Nov. 14 at HAX. Here, he talks about his organization as well as the Tekken 6 event.

Interview with John Nelson (Click to listen)

Aris is the well-known beareded man that beats everyone up in tournament play. He was the winner of Saturday night's tournament at HAX. I talked to him prior to the quarterfinals, and he mentions one feature in the console version that is key to being successful in tournament play.

Interview with Aris (Click to listen)

Suiken is another well-known player in the Tekken 6 community. He talks about his main and where he stands to be in the tournament scene.

Interview with Suiken (Click to listen) no comments

HAWTHORNE - During the Tekken 6 release party and tournament this past Saturday at HAX, I had the chance to interview several players within the Tekken community.

Today, I'll be giving you two interviews I did during the event. Here is an interview with MYK. He runs the Web site, I Am Tekken and is the current points leader in the Video 94 Ranbats standings. We talk about the game, as well as other projects coming up on his site. Also, since he's been playing Tekken 6 for a few months, how much will his experience keep him above the competition?

Interview with MYK (Click to listen)

Rip is the Evolution 2009 "Tekken 6" champion and has obviously spent a large amount of time with the game. He tells us where he could stand in the power rankings once more players start competing in Tekken 6 tournaments. Also, what was it like to win an Evolution tournament?

Interview with Rip (Click to listen)

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