If you’re in the gaming community, you’re gonna notice some strange things this weekend. Namely, a few of your friends are going to be tweeting words that seem like nonsense into the ether. If you’re not into gaming, it’s going to look even stranger. But, if you’re into sports, it’s important to understand, this weekend is the Street Fighter communities Super Bowl, and it’s going to be amazing.
I’m going to try and break it down for everyone, so if this is something you’ve ever considered watching, you won’t be left in the cold. First of all, the
SCHEDULE:
Last Chance Qualifiers – December 8th, 2017 11 am PST – twitch.tv/capcomfighters
Now you know when it is, let’s talk about what it is. Since February, professional Street Fighter players have been traveling the globe earning league points for the Capcom Cup. Aside from a few exception qualifications (other qualifiers, and last year’s winner) they have been stacking points hoping to find themselves ranked in the top 31 overall.
Now that the points are locked, today there will be one more spot available. This tournament, open to anyone who wants to enter, gives the winner immediate entry into Capcom Cup in the 32nd spot.
That tournament takes place tomorrow. This qualifier will be the most stacked tournament of the year not counting the top 32 taking place tomorrow. Why? You may ask, well it’s quite simple, there are hundreds of INCREDIBLE Street Fighter players across the world, and only 31 of them have a guaranteed shot at the prize pool right now. So the tournament today is stacked with almost every professional player that just qualified, this means that every match from beginning to end will be nail-biting. I hope you get a chance to watch!
Here are a few names to keep an eye out for, if you’re new to the scene.
EG| NYChrisG
Playing and excelling at both Street Fighter and Marvel Vs. Capcom, Chris G is an intense competitor. His solid execution and good reads make him someone who is fun to watch. Also, if you’re into the whole U.S.A thing, he plays Guile, so you know, go America!
GRPT| MOV
A loyalist to Chun Li, Mov was a 3rd Strike Legend. Honing his skills, his Chun Li is intensely scary and his knowledge of every matchup is unparalleled. He’s in Top 8 at almost any tournament you’ll see him in, and he is extremely expressive. MOV is fun to watch.
SPLYCE| Fchamp
Filipino Champ is another of the United States’ best. Arguably the best Dhalsim player in the world, and one of the best overall fighting game players in the world. Watching fChamp is watching somebody get taken down through a war of attrition. His knowledge of when to go in vs when to stay back is unrivaled, and, he has some pretty fun pop offs as well.
GRPT| Infiltration
Hailing from Korea, the fact that Infiltration isn’t qualified is actually pretty shocking. He started Street Fighter V Season 1 in a dominating fashion, but being considered almost unbeatable. Through a few balance patches, he’s had to find his way back, but based on what he showed at some local tournaments in Anaheim he’s ready to turn some heads. In my mind, he’s one of the top choices to win this last chance qualifier, and if he does, it could cause a lot of upsets at the finals this weekend.
Other notables: EG| Kbrad, GAM DR Ray, PR Balrog, ImStillDaDaddy, Afii, Zowie| GamerBee You can hit this link: https://smash.gg/tournament/capcom-cup-sfv-last-chance-qualifier/events, click on “attendees” and google a few names, I’d be shocked if there were many that didn’t have a ton of clout heading into today.
Capcom Cup
Top 32 – December 9, 11 am PST – twitch.tv/capcomfighters
Top 8 – December 10, 2 pm PST – twitch.tv/capcomfighters
OK, once the last chance qualifiers are over on Friday, everyone can start preparing for the big show tomorrow. Literally, every player in this tournament is a killer, so instead of giving you notable names to follow, instead, I’ll give you some formatting rules and basic terms to get you up to speed.
Let’s start with the
RULES:
This is a double elimination tournament. If you’re not familiar with that format, losing when in the “winners bracket” sends you to losers, where another loss eliminates you. It is possible to lose both matches pretty quick, and that happens to 50% of the players entering.
Matches are 2/3 until Top 8. This means each set is 2/3 to win a match, and each match is 2/3.
Really, that’s all you need to know to have a basic understanding, let’s jump into some
Key Terms:
Punish: In fighting games, there are moves that leave you at a disadvantage or “negative” what this means is that you have done something that leaves you exposed and your opponent has a move that is fast enough that it is a guaranteed to hit. If you leave yourself exposed and they hit you for the free damage that’s a punish.
Whiff punish: This type of punish is more technical. Essentially, if you push a button (punch/kick) referred to as a normal, and your opponent positions themselves correctly, they can push a button that will hit yours during recovery (the time it takes for the animation to finish out). This is called whiff punishing.
Combo: a series of moves linked together for more damage.
Damage scaling: In Street Fighter, combos lead to scaling. What this means is that the damage of a move is reduced with each hit in a combination. This helps reduce the chance of one combo kills and the like.
Reset: This is something that happens when a combo can be dropped in a precarious position for your opponent. Maybe its something that forces a side switch and they have to guess which side you are going to land on, maybe they are mashing out a special move during your combo and you drop and block to get a new punish. Whatever it is, a reset is essentially dropping a combo and resetting the scaling to get more damage.
Mashing: This is exactly what it sounds like, your opponent was hitting something either during a block string, or on wakeup, they are “mashing” the buttons to make something happen.
I hope you find this beginners guide mildly helpful. There are a ton of resources you can check out to find more information. And, if you’re a stat junkie like myself you can follow along at Smash.gg to see who’s winning where. They also have a really fun contest going, where you are given a budget and can pick 8 “fantasy players” depending on how far those players make it in the tournament you will get points and the winner gets some swag.
If you’re in Anaheim and have some free time today, I highly recommend getting to the venue and watching the action live.
Notes:
If you want to read the rules in full for the entire tournament go here: https://capcomprotour.com/rules/