The road to Evo 2013 is in full swing, but since none of the major five pre-qualifiers took place in March, the who’s who of the fighting game community showed up in Atlanta Georgia to compete in the 16th Final Round tournament. There were plenty of notable matchups and some surprising results. Overall, the weekend-long brawl was well worth the watch for those who had the time to check out the primary Twitch live stream courtesy of Team Spooky. Additionally, anyone who wants to see the majority of recorded matches via YouTube can do so here.I’m going to just briefly cover the top 5 results for each category and, if necessary, mention any notable occurrences during the proceedings.
Dead or Alive 5 (PS3)-
- Ryane Jimenez (XCalibur)- New York City, NY: Alpha-152 / Helena
- Erik Argetsinger (Rikuto)- Rochester, NY: Bayman
- Leonid Izrailevsky (lopedo)- West Chester, OH: Jann Lee / Alpha-152 / La Mariaposa
- Sebastion Burton (Chosen1)- Stamford, CT: Brad Wong
- Emmanuel Rodriguez (MASTER)- Dallas, TX: Hayabusa
King of Fighters XIII (PS3)-
- Raymond Navarette (LDA Romance)- Michoachan, MX: King / Benimaru / Yuri
- Ho Kun Xian (DM. MCZ Xian)- Singapore, SP: EX Lori / EX Kyo / Mr. Karate
- Chung Gon Lee (CafeID Poongko)- Seoul, KR: Kim / Shen / EX Lori
- Daewhan Kim (CafeID Kensouzzang)- Seoul, KR: King / Kensou / Vice
- Reynald Tacsuan (ArcadeShock Reynald)- Long Beach , CA: Mature/ Mr. Karate/ Benimaru, Others
Melty Blood: Actress Again (Current Code- PC)-
- Steve Barthelemy (Lord Knight)- Robbinsville, NJ
- Diogo Cerda (Inso)- Santa Maria, BR
- McKendon LaFleur (Voomer)- Baton Rogue, LA
- Jeff Powell (ZomB)- Atlanta, GA
- Ben Robinson (SilentShinobi)- Birmingham, AL
Mortal Kombat 9 (PS3)-
- Tom Neiter (GGA Wafflez)- Chicago, IL: Smoke
- Ryan Gonzalez (WoundCowboy)- San Jose, CA: Shang Tsung / Liu Kang
- Brad Vaughn (EMPR/KH_Scar)- Houston, TX: Scarlet / Kabal
- EJ Williamson (EMPR_EGP_TYRANT)- Riverside, CA: Jax
- Dairs Abad (EMPR-EMP-DPGL Gross)- Miami, FL: Sektor
Persona 4 Arena (PS3)-
- Steve Barthelemy (Lord Knight)- Robbinsville, NJ: Mitsuru
- Geoffrey Creamer (Ivysaur)- Atlanta, GA: Chie
- Rodontel Davis (Kurumster)- Shreveport, LA: Aigis
- Steve Hutton (CORN Axis)- Detroit, MI: Kanji
- Daniel Coke (DC)- Miami, FL: Mitsuru
Soul Calibur 5 (PS3)-
- Ruben Rivera (Thermidor)- New York, NY: Nightmare
- Donte King (Hawkeye)- Chicago, IL: Natsu
- Jerome Dotson (LP)- Chicago, IL: Viola / Hilde / Ivy
- Rob Combs (RTD)- Atlanta, GA: Mitsurugi
- Jason Elias (RINGOUT)- Chantilly, VA:
Street Fighter X Tekken (Ver. 2013-Xbox 360)-
- Sareth Sok (ks corn sethlolol)- Detroit, MI: Law, Kuma
- Seonwoo Lee (INFILTRATION)- Seoul, KR: Rolento / Jin, Jin / Sagat, Others
- Justin Wong (EG JWonggg)- Los Angeles, CA: Hwoarang / Chun-Li, Elena / Alisa
- Long Nguyen (TFA|RZR LPN)- Alameda, CA: Hwoarang / Juri
- Chung Gon Lee (CafeID Poongko)- Seoul, KR: Nina / Kazuya, Ryu / Kazuya
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Ver. 2012- Xbox 360)-
- Seonwoo Lee (INFILTRATION)- Seoul, KR: Akuma
- Ryan Hart (Prodigal Son)- London, EN: Sagat
- Wolfkrone Philpot (WOLFKRONE)- Detroit, MI: C. Viper
- Abdulatif Alhmili (RZR Latif)- Flagstaff, AZ: C. Viper
- Du Dang (VXG/EMP NuckleDu)- Tampa Bay, FL: Guile, Ibuki
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3-
- AGE|NYChrisG (Morrigan / Dr. Doom / Vergil)
- GU|Flocker (Zero / Vergil / Hawkeye, Others)
- coL|Filipino Champ (Magneto / Dr. Doom / Phoenix, Others)
- TA|Moonz (Nova / Modok / Amaterasu, Others)
- MH|RayRay (Ryu / Magneto / Sentinel)
Finally, the Curleh Mustache tournament results for the UMvC3 5v5 teams were decided. The winners are:
1st place– Team NYC
- AGE|NYChrisG (Morrigan, Dr. Doom, Vergil)
- EMP|Yipes (Spencer, Vergil, Hawkeye)
- MH|RayRay (Ryu, Magneto, Sentinel)
- UVG|Noel Brown (Wolverine, Frank West, Wesker)
- TA|Moonz (Nova, Taskmaster, Amaterasu)
2nd place– Team SoCal
- EG|Justin Wong (Wolverine, Storm, Akuma)
- Combofiend (Nova, Spencer, Dr. Strange)
- BT|Clockw0rk (Dr. Doom, Amaterasu, Strider)
- DJ Divine (C. Viper, Dr. Doom, Strider)
- Angelic (Wolverine, Dormammu, Shuma-Gorath)
3rd place– Team Florida
- GU|Flocker (Zero, Vergil, Hawkeye)
- AGE|Flash Metroid (Modok, Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom)
- GU|Marvelo (Nova, Dr. Doom, Strider)
- Asian Demon (Wolverine, Dr. Doom, Wesker)
- GreenAce (Trish, Wesker, Dante)
4th place– Team Texas
- Ranmasama (Haggar, Dormammu, Magneto)
- Jan (Haggar, Dr. Doom, Vergil)
- Rubeks (Super-Skrull, Spencer, MODOK)
- Stone (Zero, Wesker, Dormammu)
- GOX (Wolverine, Dr. Doom, Dante)
And a two-way tie for 5th Place between:
Team Asia
- FRB|Abegen (Tron Bonne, Thor, She-Hulk)
- DM|Xian (Magneto, Morrigan, Dr. Doom)
- FRB|VXDante (Dante, Dr. Doom, Phoenix)
- BT|MarlinPie (C. Viper, Amaterasu, Dr. Doom)
- Antman (Vergil, Wesker, Strider)
Team NorCal
- coL|Filipino Champ (Magneto, Dormammu, Dr. Doom)
- EG|PR Balrog (Wolverine, Dr. Doom, Vergil)
- Neo (Magneto, Dr. Doom, Phoenix)
- Chris Schmidt (Magneto, Dr. Doom, Vergil)
- CJ Showstopper (Magneto, Vergil, Dr. Doom)
As is often the case, the heart of the Final Round tournament was centered around the big three: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Super Street Fighter IV: AE, and Street Fighter X Tekken. All of the names you know were out competing: from Justin Wong, Infiltration, and PR Balrog, to Filipino Champ, Yipes, Combofiend, and relative newcomer NuckleDu. Combofiend and Yipes assumed the commentating responsibilities for most of the weekend, providing solid analysis of the on-screen action.
The journey to the Evolution 2013 fighting tournament, the grandest stage of them all, is currently comprised of five pre-qualification tournaments taking place all around the country. “The Road to Evo” is an opportunity for players to earn seeding towards the Evo 13 world finals. The top 16 competitors in each category (fighting game) are given a spot at the tournament. For those interested, here is some information about each event:
- Southern California (SoCal) Regionals 2013: January 18-20- Irvine, California
- Winter Brawl 7: February 23-24- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Northern California (NorCal) Regionals 2013: April 26-28- Sunnyvale, California
- Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament (UFGT) 9: May 24-26- Chicago, Illinois
- Community Effort Orlando (CFO) 2013: June 28-30- Orlando, Florida
Then finally, there’s Evo 2013, taking place at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino from July 12-14. All the information you need to know about Evo can be found on the official site. This year, the eight games that have been selected for competitive play are:
- The King of Fighters XIII
- Mortal Kombat 9
- Persona 4 Arena
- Street Fighter X Tekken Ver.2013
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver.2012
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
This year’s Evo 13 side-tournaments include:
- Arcana Heart 3
- BlazBlue Continuum Shift EXTEND
- Dead or Alive 5
- Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
- Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code
- SoulCalibur V
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo
- Street Fighter III 3rd Strike
- Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
That’s about it for the wrap-up of Final Round 16. It was a solid tournament with a lot of good showings. Capping the weekend off with the finals for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 made for a fast-paced finale that was great fun to watch. I encourage anyone interested in taking part in the live stream fun to register for a Twitch account and get active in the community.
Did you folks watch any of Final Round XVI this weekend? What did you think of the matches? Who’s your favorite competitor heading into Evo this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
