| 14 August 2010
Larry "DEHF" Holland had his moment in the national spotlight last weekend, when he took first place at Apex 2010, the biggest grass roots Brawl tournament this year. Almost 300 players took part in the tournament, some coming from overseas.
While DEHF is considered one of, if not the best player on the West Coast, there were many other contenders poised to take home the title. And yet, he stood tallest in the end, holding on by defeating Japanese player Brood in the finals.
Perhaps a win like this, with thousands of people watching, can boost the community. Maybe it brings in a new breed of Falco players. Maybe it shows that a major championship can be won without using Meta Knight. Or, maybe something else special happens.
GLENN: I was told there weren't too many West Coast players that went. Did that put extra pressure on you to do well because of that, or was there less pressure?
DEHF: It put on more pressure for me, I didn't want to place low like I did at Pound 4
GLENN: Did you know Japanese players were coming, and did you hope to play against them?
DEHF: I knew the Japanese players were coming and I wanted to play all of them at least once, especially Rain, the best Falco in Japan.
GLENN: What was your approach to playing against Brood, and was it based off of seeing what he did against M2K and Ally?
DEHF: Not really, I was actually pretty confident about playing Brood. I get a lot of experience in the Olimar match up from Rich Brown, one of the best Olimar players in the U.S.
GLENN: Did it throw you off that it was an Olimar user you were playing against in a grand finals, and not a typical top-tier/MK character?
DEHF: It did, I don't think there's a been a national tournament where a Metaknight wasn't in grand finals.
GLENN: How did you celebrate the win, or did you?
DEHF: Nope, I haven't really celebrated yet. I haven't even cashed the check from winning, but I plan on doing both soon.
GLENN: I know a few people not in the community were watching this. Do you think a tournament like this can bring in new players?
DEHF: Of course, especially since it shows that you don't have to use MK to win a tournament.
GLENN: On a similar note, seeing this type of tournament happen, with so many players and viewers, what can the community do to capitalize on the success? Should there be an outreach to new players, or should there be another big major immediately, or something else?
DEHF: I think the community should work on getting new players in the scene. A tournament like this should breathe new life into the community.
GLENN: Where do you go from here? MLG? More random tournaments?
DEHF: I'm going to all of the MLGs. I don't have any plans about going to any other tournaments yet.
GLENN: Are you signed onto a pro gaming team? If not, do you want to? Have you tried to get onto a team?
DEHF: I'm not signed to anything yet. I want to be, but haven't really looked into it much.
