[3 Aug 2013] Sega Cup Europe (London)

Good luck to everyone going to Sega Cup, hype that shit up people

 

is any vf gaming going on at HoG now? im down to meet up and play

 

I want to see!

 

cool heading there.

 

Just finished watching the stream (Missed some of the games, apparently), amazing matches from everyone! Great games from Maki and Kingo especially

 

Good games from a lot of people, I enjoyed the top 8, I was impressed by Ash, I didn't know him, he knew his stuff, especially against chofu's Taka .
GGS to Chibitox, Kingo and Maki to make it that far ^^ !

 

Yeah, strong showing from France there towards the end, bien joué. Disappointed no UK players made it through to the finals though, on home turf as well. Unfortunately the stream crashed for quite a few hours early on, so fingers crossed, hope to catch up later with those matches, to see just how things did play out.

Great comms from Ryan, Gutti and the rest of the team. That JP Taka rinsing 4P+KP, oof, ruthless...

 

Technically Ash/Atsushi is UK for the time being, so we're claiming him lol.


And tell YOMI I'm still waiting on that Goh vortex.

 

I just got kicked out of bed after 3 hours of sleep and I am going to post my impressions from yesterday's event; I am going to post the positives first and then some negatives, not to troll but in the hope that the next event can be even better.

So first the positives: The event was awesome. the location was great, a big room in a museum/art centre about 30 minutes from Victoria bus station. Easy to find, relatively cheap to get there, nice friendly people at the reception/cafe, air conditioning, ect. really impressive.

The event was staffed by Unequalled Media (ZeroEX company I think?). If I understand it correctly, they provided all the screens and Xboxes to play on, as well as the streaming and all the tech side of stuff: the tourny section was impressive, with 8 separate screens/xboxes for the qualifying brackets, + 1 separate table that showed the streamed matches, connected to 2 big ass flat screens so that it was possible to follow 2-3 games at the same time.

The event had ample room for causal play: there were maybe 10 other screen/xboxes tables, with plenty of room and chairs, so that people wanting just to practice or play random-selection-king-of-the-hill could do just that. There were enough consoles and screens to allow everybody an excessive amount of VF for the day. Well done ZeroEX, that was really professional.

All this was made possible, of course, by Sega. Sega's US rep (if I remember correctly!) is a Japanese-Spanish-American Woman named Mai, who was flown from San Francisco to supervise the event and making sure everything was running smoothly. Professional yet friendly, she spent the whole day in a room full of hardcore VF'ers, showing a strong commitment to the community and the game. Well done to Sega, you should get this woman a promotion/salary increase.

Unfortunately I could not stay until the end because the event was running a bit late, so I missed final 8, but I was there to see the raffle winners. Ash Kaiser winning the VF stick made me thinks the raffle was more rigged than Zimbabwe’s election. Still, hats off to Sega/UM for the raffle and the prizes, making sure that even the people who would not necessarily win at VF were still winners that day. Shame it had to be Ash Kaiser. Ash, you know what to do with the stick, I’ll PM you my address later.

Anyway, here is the meat and potato of the event: the community. It was great to meet the European VF’ers. I finally got to meet Manji, Lammas, Blossy, Settra, Gutti, Rayne and the whole EU elite in person. It was really good to finally put a face to a name. It was also good to meet the UK crew again, Feck, Seidon, Ash (until the raffle), Rory, Jide, Marly, Opti. Hanging around with these guys really made me feel part of the community, as if I was meeting old friends. I need to come down to London more often. I am sorry that I didn’t get to play anybody, but next time I will come ready to fight.

It was nice to finally meet GFA, Makilesushi, Chibitox and the French crew. Really friendly, authentic French spirit. The French came to fight and they fought. In the last 8 there were 3 French guys, and no UK representative. Seidon played a solid Blaze and was the last UK player to exit the tournament, causing some upsets along the way.

There were a couple of guys from Poland, one who plays and his friend who doesn’t, but you will see him fighting Itazan on the stream. Well done to you Sir, coming all the way from Poland to fight! There was Mr. and Mrs. Cobratron representing US of A. As they say, ‘behind every great man there is a woman’ (there is another version of this say that adds ‘…rolling her eyes’). No eyes were rolled by Mrs. Cobratron that day. It was great to chat with you guys, hope next time you come to Europe we will have time to catch up again.

Finally, there were the Japanese players. I may be wrong about this, but I got the impression that Itazan and the others didn’t come to dilly-dally, but to win the tournament. I kinda tried to overcome linguistic barriers and strike up a conversation with Itazan, but he was more focused on the game than anything else. Anyway, they came all the way from Japan just to play; I haven’t seen the final results, but I expect they were not disappointed. Also had a chance to meet Ash, Japanese player now working in UK. Ash had a solid Lion and was really easy to talk to. The other Japanese players were Chofu KK who is a Shun/Taka player and Ujinozanani(SP?) who plays Akira. I didn’t see much of Chofu games, but Uji’s Akira was impressive. It made me want to go home and start practice.

As an Akira fanboy, I also enjoyed watching Feck and Rory play. I still have a long way to go before I catch up with these guys, but watching them play made me want to play. Still, I did get to play a few games on random selection, winner stays on, AKA ‘no combos, just fun’. I played a couple of games with Marly and Mister from Italy, fun, but not really serious. Next time I will come more prepared.

OK then, now for the criticism.

As I said, the event was organized very professionally, with plenty of screens and consoles. The negative side of having so many consoles is that people had to keep moving from one to the other, and sometimes to the ‘special table’ that was streamed on Twitch. The problem with this set up is that most games were played with basic costumes. Even on the stream, you will see mostly ‘basic, boring’ costumes with no show of VF wide range of customizations. We all know VF is solid; the problem is that the flashy stuff is hidden behind a layer of customizations, and for people watching videos on twitch/YT the flash should have been on display. It wasn’t. So, in terms of promoting the game to non-VF players, we need to think about these details. What is the solution to this issue? Memory cards? Setting up a profile for every console? Giving the players on stream 10 minutes to set up their favorite customs? I don’t know the tech details, but it has to be done.

My second criticism was that the games streamed were not necessarily the best games played. I think Itazan Vs. random Polish player was streamed (sorry, didn't watch the stream yet, but it was played on the 'stream' table) while others, more exciting nail-biters weren’t. Now, I know Itazan is the champ, but I rather watch a game were two equally skilled player battle nail and tooth to the end than Itazan steamrolling a newbie. What is the solution to this problem? I think it is a matter of knowing the players. Do the players have to make themselves known? I don’t know. I think it should be up to UM to know what games should be worth streaming and which aren’t. Hence: what players and games to watch out for . The staff of UM was busy and worked very hard to make this an enjoyable event, but as I said, if you stream VF you have to make sure what you show is good. Whoever is in charge of deciding what goes on stream has to know that ‘Settra vs Ryan Hart’ has precedence over others, less balanced games. I know this is a difficult thing to arrange and maybe I am being overly critical, but it would be good for VF.

 

Just a quick note to say GGs to everyone I played. Will do a proper write up when I get in

 

thank you for the report! I'm even more mad now for I haven't been able to go there with the other Italians well, I hope next time....

 

Seidon i didn't get to meet you but I was one of the few people watching the off-stream match between you and Ryan. You came back to defeat him and it was one of the most impressive matches I saw all day. It should have been on stream. Like Matteo described there were alot of issues with marquee matches not being streamed. I saw MarlyJay demand certain matches be streamed as well a matches that were going off-stream be transfered to the stream station. At one point Ryan Hart vs Chibitox was about to start at station #2 while Jide and Sushi were gearing up to fight on stream. I had to tell the main UM guy how important the match with Chibitox was. He gave the excuse that others hadnt been on stream which is the reason they were recoring Sushi vs Jide instead. I assured him that people watching at home would definitely want to see Ryan vs Chibitox so he agreed to hold of their battle until Jide's match was done Thank God. There were many many other matches I saw off-stream that people would have loved to watch also.

 

Big-ups To MarlyJay for spearheading the trip for me and Diana (as well as 20 other people) to get home. You will get the same hospitality when you come to San Francisco/Norcal. Thats if we dont end up moving to London first because this is the best place ever. Who needs Las Vegas lol.

 

Looking forward to more write-ups. Thank you SEGA and everyone who helped make this event what it was. Nice to have developer backing. Nice to have Tournament Organizers who give their best. And what a great thing to see players travel to events from all over.

 

Right, I just got home.

My overall impression of the event was great. Everyone seemed to be having fun the entire time I was there and I don't doubt the casuals before/after and at HOG were immense. Missed out on those so hopefully next time an event comes around I can afford to spend more time with everyone.

On the whole it was well put together. A good few matches I watched off stream were sick and it was a shame no one will get to see them I understand that you can't get all the matches on the stream but I suppose the only criticism I could have, as others have said before me, was that some of the matchups that would have obviously been a good watch were not shown. I understand the constraints with these things though and I'm sure the guys at UM done the best they could.

Was great seeing old and new faces, putting voices and faces to guys I had only known by their avatars on VFDC and in game costumes is always great for me. For those of you who met me, I hope I didn't come off as a total dick as I know I can do that. My biggest regrets are that I didn't get to meet and play with everyone. I had to head back early as well so I wasn't there for finals (Which I will be watching on twitch soon).


MarlyJay: Marlon, it's never just smooth sailing between the two of us when it comes to VF. We only played a few matches and I was lucky enough to win them this time. I still feel you're the better player but I edged out yesterday. I fully expect you to come and knock me back down. I'm sorry I never had time for you to exact any revenge on me later in the day but hopefully we keep what VF fire is burning and I'll see you next time. Regardless of that it really was great seeing you again and I hope that we get to play again soon.

Jide: We never got to play, man. Missed out on testing myself against you. As above with Marly, I hope we get to play soon as you're still one of the hurdles before me for VF and I aim to clear that hurdle. A nice guy as always, was awesome getting to talk to you again and see your Goh up close once more. If you find out about postage I would be more than happy to take that shirt of your hands

Feck: You bodied me pretty hard when I first arrived. I never got to try my luck against you again later. But the way I was faring against Akira I'm sure the outcome would have remained the same. Appreciate all your help with trying to get in contact with Hannah as well, both you and Ash were a great help. Prepare yourself for next time though, man. I'm going to make sure you aren't as surprised when I go further than the other UK guys next time.

Ash: First of all, glad I came back with my hands intact! Was brilliant seeing you again, big man. Full of jokes and information as usual and your ability to use the wizardry of math to figure out who I would be playing against was second to none! As with, Jon, thanks for helping me try to get a hold of Hannah, I really do appreciate it. Our casual games earlier in the day were fun. REAL WRASTLIN' on show. Hope to do it again soon!

Rory: Rory, I haven't seen you since 2008! Nice to see you still have your VF skills! We chatted quote a bit throughout the day about VF stuff and I really enjoyed it. Checking over shoulders to see who is preparing for what and who is too close to talk about! Ha ha! Sucks I never got to play you but as I said to Feck, the way I was faring against Akira, you would have wrecked me! Good stuff, man. Your matches are always fun to watch and maybe soon I'll get to fight that Akira of yours!

ElectroLex: Cool guy, painful Jeffry. I was genuinely worried when I found out you were to be my first matchup in the double elim. The match itself proved why I should be. I narrowly won. I don't know if you noticed but I did not land the first attack ONCE in our set of matches. You just seemed to be one step ahead the whole time. I somehow managed to pull ahead (in the last round when we were 2-2) It really could have gone either way. Will have to brush up vs Jeffry for next time

Rayne: It was nice to finally meet you, man. I was absolutely terrified to go up against you as you have this habit of completely destroying me when we play online. I lucked out big time though, it seemed like the tournament setting and the shenanigans Blaze has helped me edge you out. You're one of the players I was worried about playing most. I even told a fair few people before that I was hoping you weren't going to turn up so I could get out of groups at the very least. You're a really nice guy and I hope you come back for next time, you owe me a kicking. Thanks for the massive ego boost throughout the day as well, earlier in the day you said you didn't think I would be as good offline and then asking me to sign your stick at the end really made me feel good about my VF game. It meant more than you probably thought, thanks.

Maki Man. Where to begin? Was good to see how strongly you felt about the game. Would be angry when you lost and would jump up with your victory dance when you won. I got very lucky against you in our groups. I felt that after I rung you out in one round on that narrow stage the momentum changed. You got your revenge later on when we met at the end of top 16. You totally deserved the win, outplayed me. But I took some matches again so I was happy with my performance. If and when there's a next time I'll be gunning for you though, will work on my game vs Vanessa.

Krye: We spoke a bit during the day. You seem like a really nice guy and you are so knowledgeable about the game. We played early in the day and, as expected, you walked all over me. Although I did win once or twice It's nice to know there are so many people still way ahead of me. Makes me want to improve. At one point you said this might be the end of VF for you but I really hope it isn't. Don't hang up your stick just yet, man. I need to be better than you first!

Kingo Kingo, man. I only briefly met you. You're way different from what I had imagined! I never did get a chance to outmash you though. If I hadn't lost to Maki I might have made you afraid of my Blaze I watched some of your matches and you played really well, I haven't watched top 8 matches yet but I will do soon, hope you done well for yourself, man! Hopefully we get to play offline in the future!


Gutti: Man, how big is your arcade stick? How does anyone find room to play alongside you? Was really nice to finally meet you, man. The English accent took me by surprise though! You were yet another person I never got to play against but I saw your matches and I'm confident you would have been yet another to expose me as the fraud I am. Maybe in the future we will play. I will try my best to be ready when the time comes!

Unicorn. Was really nice to meet you as well, I'm sorry we never finished our set, man. You got dragged off for a tournament game and we had to leave it sitting. Really impressed you could play on that hitbox. Looks difficult as hell. You seem really serious about learning the game as well, that notebook was awesome. I wish I'd had a look at it at some point!


Ryan Hart: Seriously doubt you'll read this but I just wanted to say GG. I've met Ryan at a few events int he past. I understand that he goes to a lot of these things and I'm not surprised he didn't remember me. Maybe now that I won he'll remember if he meets me at another VF event. Still shocked at how good this guy can be juggling so many games. He must have the right head for these kind of games.


Blossy: Blossy, I only spoke with you briefly and never got a chance to get any games with you. I feel really bad about this as you are one of the guys I can always count on to play some games with me when I'm online. I'll definitely catch up with you online and if we ever have an offline run in again I'll make sure we play!

Settra: Since Vanilla you have always gave me a run for my money. I even have a replay up (terrible quality) of us playing back then on my youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lefqVzzvhfo). I haven't really played you much in FS but I know you wreck me with Jean whenever we do. Only spoke to you once or twice throughout the day but it was nice to meet you and I have my fingers crossed we'll get to play more frequently online and hopefuly offline if we get the chance in the future.

Manji: Was awesome seeing you again. You looked really tired during the event, found out you were suffering from a flu. Hope it clears up soon, man. I never caught any of your matches and we never got the chance to play which I regret. I'll make this up to you in future. I know how terrible our connection is so offline is our only option. We'll have to make it happen!

Cobratron: So much respect for you coming over, man. Caught one or two of your matches, really awesome stuff. Wish I had at the very least introduced myself. There's always next time, man. Even if it means scrimping and saving so I can come to the US. Thanks for your comments above. I don't know who was watching my match against Ryan but I felt really good about coming back from that. Felt like I suddenly had an understanding how how he played and I'm happy at least one other person besides myself and Ryan saw it!

Shoju: Shoju, only spoke to you at the end of the day. "That damn Brad player" who schooled me back in 2008. I wish I had a chance to play you as you were one of those players who stuck with me over the years. I felt absolutely destroyed back then and I would have liked to see how I would have stacked up now. Maybe in the future, man. need to see that Brad again.


Last personal shoutout is to Matteo. Matt, you being there was what really made it feel complete for me. Been around 4-5 years since I last saw you. You were there when I was just a teenager getting into VF. You, Ash and Feck putting up with my mad sleeping patterns that weekend. Your life has got so much busier now with your little Tomo. But I hope that you still keep that VF fire burning inside you, man as once your boy is big enough and you can play more I hope that you'll come back once more to play with everyone. If you see me online, Matt and you have time for a few, message me. I'll make time for you. Tell Nao I said thanks for letting you come to see us. And yes, that pink DS is mega gay.

For anyone I haven't mentioned, please don't feel bad, there were so many people and so many faces there. If I never played you, I'm sorry. We'll get around to it at some point (Besides, who wants to play a gimmicky El Blaze, right?) Thanks to everyone who came along and made it as great as it was for me. Big thanks to SEGA and Unequalled Media for making this happen. I had a great time and I hope it happens again int he future.


One last shoutout I suppose:

Seidon: You got so lucky in all of your matches. You got by on trick setups and nonsense from start to finish. Short sets are in your favour when you just play with tricks and no basics. The biggest bright side for yourself was landing all those low catch throws from rocket discharge on folk. Why must you feel the need to always play flashy? You have basics, you just don't use them as much as you should if you want to get better. Technically, you were the last UKL player still playing in the tournament. So I suppose we can totally claim now that we are number 1 UK (lol).


So yeah, number 1 UK. Come at me guys...


I WELCOME THE CHASE!!!

 

As a first tourney experience, it was awesome playing vf offline with some seriously skilled players and they had plenty of consoles set up for casual play. Everyone seemed really chilled as well so it was a nice atmosphere. Here's hoping for a sega cup 2014.

 

Man, Seidon almost bought a tear to my eye

Nice writeups guys, I'll try and do one myself in about 18 hours or so

 

Well, I made it down there on Saturday and it was the first fighting game tourney I have ever been to. I thought it was really cool but my main beef was the large screens in the tournament room seemed like they were showing the stream which was choppy and laggy. For a game like VF that's just unwatchable so I ended up just watching on the actual monitors. So what's the point of the big screens then? Surely for the actual venue they could get a direct feed of the console for the big screen.

The casual zone was cool but the stupid controller adapter I bought didn't f**king work. ARGHHHH!!!! So I had a few wonky matches playing on an old school Xbox 360 controller (!) and fight stick.

MarlyJay, I realised I didn't introduce myself . We had one or two matches before the finals. I was the guy battling with a 360 controller trying to get some Pai moves out. Maybe we can arrange some offline sessions for London crew at some point...

Otherwise pretty great experience all in all. Seeing Shun Di take the final was pretty awesome. And also checking out the meanest Taka I have ever seen.

 

Nice meeting you again Seidon. You did really well, I enjoyed watching that match vs Ryan Hart. If we'd have played on Saturday you'd have likely massacred me. I haven't played and practiced VF consistently since that time I saw you in 2008 and I barely played FS at all since it came out. I came to this event and the warm up beforehand to see if it'd encourage me to start playing fighters again and it kinda did. I would've like to enter the tournament but didn't think I could make it in time. I didn't see anyone using Brad at all.

Hopefully play you next time.