Tournament Results: Woodbridge, VA - 8/17

[wakka15]

I'd say we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 - 15 people show up, although Azen or Chillindude will know for sure (they had the brackets, as I recall).

<---1-on-1--->
1.) Chris M - [Azen Zagenite] - Link
2.) Keith - [VesaggisEmeron] - Jigglypuff
3.) Eric - [MarioandLuigi] - Yoshi
4.) Kashan - [Chillindude829] - Sheik
5.) Walker - [Wakka15] - D.K.

<---2-on-2--->
1.) Team Wang = Walker + Yong Bee (Mario and Sheik)
2.) Team Starfox = Chris S + Yannick (Sheik(?) and Falco)

The FFA tourney didn't happen, due to lack of interest. Most of the exhibition matches played before the tournament (and afterwards) were FFA, so the FFA fans got their fill of action.

I realize this thread won't last long, but I'll go ahead and post my thoughts anyway, for what it's worth.

[wakka15]

I'll start with the 2v2, since it's a shorter read...

2v2
We only had 6 teams sign up for the 2v2 tournament, and so we decided to split them into two groups of 3, which played round-robin style, and had the winners of each group duke it out in a 5-stock, best 2 out of 3, friendly-fire-on melee. Frustrated with DK's big frame, I switched to Mario on a whim, and Team Wang went on, surprisingly undefeated, to take the tournament. I have to give most of the credit to my shameless cape-wh0ring, me and my teammate staying out of each-other's way (something some teams had problems with), and the hyperactive ***-whupping administered by my sheik-wh0re partner, Yong-Bee. Yong-Bee didn't do as well in the 1v1 as he could/should have, but he shined in 2v2, often holding off both opponents at the same time with some fast as **** Sheik combos while I caped away at anything and everything I could, throwing smashes here and there. All in all, though, most people were more interested in the 1v1 battles. The 2v2 was more of a fun diversion. Bow down to Team Wang.


1v1
The meat and potatoes... There was fairly clear separation between the good players and the great players, and I'd say the Top 5 or 6 players there were in the second category (especially since I'm in it :)). Matches were, for the most part, pretty close, with most of them coming down to both players having one life left.

I had a mediocre day with DK. I wasn't quite "in my groove" that day, using the Giant Punch sparingly and connecting with it even less (although those hits that did connect usually KO'd). I was also taunt-happy, and lost at least 2 lives during tournament play simply because I couldn't resist taunting - all in all, though, I'd say it was worth it. I was also a bit off with my ranging, timing, and distancing. I'm usually a bit more slap-happy (as I showed Keith, the Jigglypuff player, in one round). For some reason, it just wasn't clicking. In some twist of fate, I managed to pull, on random stage-select, every single moving map except for Brinstar Depths. The maps I recall playing on were Brinstar, Poke Floats, Big Blue, and Ice Climber Mountain (might have played on Mute City, but I can't remember). I generally don't like moving maps, and like them even less when I'm playing as DK, but oh well, that's the way it happened. In short, it sucked, since I spent a good bit of time simply trying to survive (on Poke Floats, especially). Also, the skill with which Azen, Marioandluigi, and Keith played Link, Yoshi, and Jigglypuff (respecitvely) caught me off guard (since my friend plays Sheik, Chillindude's tactics were nothing new to me). They played them much better than I had anticipated and really took advantage of DK's big frame to give me a good pounding. There were a couple of things that I did notice while playing them, though. They were all aggressive players (with the possible exception of Azen, who played a more balanced game, I thought), and as such, usually fell for the block-throw man-handling that DK's so good at. Also, even with items on very-low, I noticed that there weren't any great item-users in this group (EDIT: I'll take that back, I did see one person abusing the samus-orb item). I, personally, am an item-*****, and not having items on medium hurt my game (although it does indicate dependence on item-use in my game).

Marioandluigi (Yoshi):
Crazy crazy Yoshi tricks. Showed me that Yoshi has a lot more air-priority and combo-ability than I gave him credit for. Also had amazingly good aim with Yoshi's Eggs. I rarely saw him miss. Was fond of using Yoshi's smashes on the ground (usually after an air-A), and, perhaps the most pesky trick, the Air-A. What I didn't know is that Yoshi's A in the air extends Yoshi's foot for a **** LONG TIME. Marioandluigi took advantage of this to tap-jump into an air-A and then quick-fall, bringing that foot down and smacking me on the head, more often than not. He had a pretty good idea of the best move to use in each situation. Very vulnerable to the block-throw, as it turned out, though I wasn't quick enough to take advantage of it (and with Yoshi's priority in the air, it was hard to with DK). He also was in a set pattern for his recovery, using the air-dodge right at the peak of Yoshi's jump nearly every time. This hurt him a bit since he wasn't always aiming for the edge, but simply falling back on the stage. I took advantage of this by simply grabbing and throwing him again (and again, heh). Overall, very solid gameplay; he's made me respect Yoshi a bit more.

Keith (Jigglypuff):
Great aerial control of Jigglypuff, combined with an abuse of Rollout that I'd never imagined. Rollout was this guy's main KO move. Most of his game involved knocking the opponent off the side of the stage, charging roll-out, then nailing the returning opponent. He was also, not surprisingly, a big fan of Final Destination, which had no platforms for opponents to use to avoid Rollout. Keith was great at faking his opponent out, weaving Jigglypuff back and forth in the air and only striking when the opponent wasn't shielding. Along with rollout, he ABUSED rest (especially on my big DK). In fact, in the final match, rest was the move he used to KO Azen nearly every time, as I recall. He rarely missed with rest, often even connecting with it by simply walking/running into an opponent and letting it loose. Of course, when he did miss, he was punished for it :). He also fell for the block-throw quite a bit, although I had a harder time grabbing Jigglypuff since he kept to the air almost exclusively. I do recall one round, however, where I'd finally gotten a clue and realized that DK's arms were longer than Jiggly's feet, and using some good ranging/distancing, managed to slap Jiggly around for about 70%, but overall, he trashed me with Rollout. I can only kick myself for not adapting sooner, I guess.

Azen (Link):
The champ, and also the one I remember the least about. Part of this is because we were on Ice Climber Mountain, and I was focusing a lot more on keeping up with the scrolling map. He used the boomerang and bombs to continually harass all of his opponents (boomerang followed by bomb, usually). He also had a good idea of which attacks chained together well. He made good use of the downthrust and upthrust, with occasional L-cancelling. I wish I remembered more about his style, but I was too busy focusing on the map, really.

[terrakalar]

Wow, good to see characters other than Fox and Falco take center stage for a bit. And going by your accounts of each player's style, you guys sound pretty good (as opposed to merely winning due to subpar competition).

What impressed me the most were the styles of Jigglypuff and Yoshi. That Yoshi plays just like the two best Yoshi's that I know: lots of eggs, neutral aerial A, and strong ground game (i.e. ground smashes). Yup, Marioandluigi suffered from his method of recovery, but for the most part, he sounds pretty good.

That Jigglypuff has perhaps the same exact style as another good Jiggly that I know, Rob1out from Hercules. Same aerial fakeouts and reliance on Rollout, especially in FD. And not to leave out the champ, he seems to have a good grasp with Link, focusing on projectiles and a balanced game. One question: how much did he rely on the Up-B? I ask because too many times I hear scrubs complaining about Link's "cheap" Up-B and losing because of it.

Congrats on a 5th place finish with my personal fav, DK. I appreciate this cuz I'm also trying to hone my DK in preparation for TG4.

And congrats to Azen and Chillindude on a successful tourney, hopefully you can get more comp at future tourneys.

[marioandluigi]

Thanks Wakka15 I didnt know id make a big impression on the tourney with my Blue Yoshi:) I haft to say I think i coulda had Keith(Jiggly)if i was prepared for his Rollout.Had I known his rollout was a BIG help to his jiggly style I would of never agreed to Final Destination :( . Oh well, lesson learned i guess cant wait for the next tourney ;)

[wakka15]

Marioandluigi: Heh, I think ALL of us could have had Keith if we'd been prepared for his rollout... Seriously tho, You and Keith showed an unexpected level of expertise with two characters that I had pretty much dismissed. That and my slowness to adapt to your (and his) tactics contributed a lot to my ***-whupping.

terrakalar: Go to the DK discussion thread and help me revive it. I'd like to trade DK tips. Chris's Link made very sparing use of the Up+B (I actually don't recall him using it at all, except for after down-throws). Along those lines, I believe a thread in the MBR mentions a method of escaping Link's up+B in the air (as well as other moves), browse around, it was pretty recent and it's a good read.

[Cornholio]

This tourney was great. Even though i do think i came in dead last, it was all in good fun. I also didnt know that sheik is as pupular as it is. I myself am a zelda user, and i very seldom turn into sheik. BTW, my boxing hamster was pure pwnage. I know u all wanted it.....

[chalky]

What part of VA is Woodbridge from? If it's the northern part, I could make it but I'm not sure about the southern. I ask this because I live in a state that's bordering VA, MD. It takes me about the same distance to go to northern VA as it does to DC. I need some competition badly. The only competition I get is if I use a bad controller against the people I play. They are not up to my level but what can be done about it? So is there gonna be a future Woodbridge tourny? If so, when, what part of VA is Woodbridge from, and where exactly as in what's the address?

[MarioToon]

I live very close to that. If I happened to be tehre, the results would be 100% different. ;)

[Mike G]

wtf?! someones getting banned....