As you might expect, the second day of Evo 2014 was filled with many hours of fantastic high-level fighting game matches. There was even a bit of upcoming game news sprinkled in! The whole event can be a lot to take in, so let's look at a handful of highlights:
Super Street Fighter II Turbo proved yet again that it still has some life left. The match above is the 3 on 3 "X-Mania USA" grand final featuring Team M3 versus Team Japan 2. There was some solid play here, especially from Mao: a Vega player with a personality the size of the moon. Like many, I still absolutely adore this game, and it does the heart good to see it get a bit more time in the spotlight.
The Injustice: Gods Among Us tournament wrapped up yesterday, with the grand finals coming down to Sonic Fox (using Batgirl) and the amazingly named Pig of the Hut (using Zod.) In the end, Sonic Fox's oppressive Batgirl gameplay put him on top with 6 straight wins.
The King of Fighters XIII competition also came to a close. Tokido (one of the fighting game world's most accomplished players) won the initial set from the losers bracket, but his Iori, Mr. Karate, and Chin team was ultimately defeated by Xiaohai with Iori, Mr. Karate, and Kim.
During the Super Smash Bros. Melee pools, Mew2King's Marth made short work of Leffen's Fox. Leffen is out of the competition now, but finished with a respectable 9th place. Mew2King made it to the winner's side of top 8, the result of which will be decided later today.
Ed Boon took a break from teasing us with unlikely roster images and announced the fan-favorite Raiden as part of Mortal Kombat X's cast. The reveal trailer shows off tons of fancy combo possibilities and a ridiculous eye popping fatality that captures MK's trademark blend of disgusting and hilariously over-the-top quite perfectly.
The Killer Instinct competition is now underway, and this intense set between Tyrant (with Spinal) and Rocksteady (with Glacius) was one of the day's best. Both players went on to finish in the top 16.
Killer Instinct bonus: we must never forget JuniorSauce666, the player that chose to wear a Powerpuff Girls shirt while competing.
While I generally prefer seeing players handle the results of their matches in a reserved fashion, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 can make that pretty tough. Marn's excitement over defeating Chris G (one of the absolute most skilled MvC3 players) was actually a bit amusing, particularly with how well the crowd played into it. Overall, I love seeing that level of passion for these games.
Later, Apologyman came incredibly close to sending Evo 2012 MvC3 winner Filipino Champ to the losers bracket with his excellent Firebrand/Doom/Super-Skrull team. With less than 20 seconds left, two characters to kill, and a few pixels of remaining health, F Champ managed to take the 4th round. If you're aware of any of the fighting game community's drama (and I highly suggest you stay far, far away from it if you aren't) then you know this guy is far from the most lovable player, but the resolve it took to run away with that victory is still admirable. He went on to win the next round, and later qualified for the winner's side of top 8. Apologyman ultimately finished in the top 16.
After MvC3, Evo 2014 Day 2 concluded with Chubby Boy Films' Matador Vega origin short film. With the finals for BlazBlue, Killer Instinct, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, and Ultra Street Fighter IV to follow, the best is likely still to come. For those interested, you can check out the final day from home via the SRK Evo Twitch channel.
That does it! Until next time, feel free to creep on me via Twitter or Facebook!
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