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France's MD|Luffy wins EVO 2014 grand finals with a PS1 controller
Team France's MD|Luffy took home the grand prize in the final match of the Evolution Championship Series international fighting game tournament last night, becoming the first player in EVO history to win the grand finals using a stock PlayStation (PSone) control pad. Luffy's win cements a number of firsts for the long-running annual tournament. His victory marks the first time a player from Europe has won in a final round of a Street Fighter 4 EVO championship. Luffy's chosen character, Rose, is also the first female fighter to win a championship in the Street Fighter 4 series, overpowering competing finalist Bonchan's Sagat in a decisive victory following a high-stakes final round and bracket reset. Arcade stick purists across the globe proceeded to gnash their teeth and rend their garments in protest following last night's upset victory. Well, that's not entirely true - if anything, Luffy's victory demonstrates that using a controller you're comfortable with is a key factor in tournament play, as opposed to viewing expensive tournament-grade arcade sticks as a requirement for entry. (Still...a PSone control pad? Really? I mean, I would've expected the first EVO-winning pad player to use the more comfortable Sega Saturn controller, or maybe a Sega Genesis 6-button pad. That's impressive. Congrats, Luffy!) A full list of featured games and tournament results is available at Shoryuken.com. [Image: @Wario64]
The Summoner's Guidebook: LoL's World Championship fiasco alienates fans
I'm a big fan of e-sports, but League of Legends is currently one of the worst e-sports to garner a major scene. This isn't because the game is bad, though some aspects of LoL's Classic gameplay are bad for e-sports. It is universally because most LoL tournaments are poorly run and organized. A badly run tournament can ruin everything, regardless of how good (or bad) the game being played is. I would expect more from Riot Games, which creates and publishes League of Legends and which has a vested interest in fostering competition for the game. However, the studio seems to have learned absolutely nothing from very successful e-sports tournaments such as the Evolution Fighting Championships, the GOMTV Star League, and OGN's The Champions. All of these tournaments have better seeding structure and better venues, which contribute to a better overall event. Why can't Riot learn from these very successful events?
Daigo Umehara wins at EVO 2010; EVO Japan announced
With "over 3,000 player signups," this year's Evolution Championship Series had the largest turnout in the tourney's history -- perhaps unsurprising given the recent resurgence in the popularity of fighting games. What's even less surprising? Daigo "The Beast" Umehara took the number one spot in Super Street Fighter IV, once again trouncing his competition. Meanwhile, Justin Wong headed up the Marvel vs Capcom 2 ladder and Yoichiro "Garu" Aruga topped the Melty Blood boards. Alongside the ballyhoo and smack talkery of EVO 2010's proceedings came the announcement of the first-ever EVO Japan, set for September 11 and 12 (just before the Tokyo Game Show). According to Versus City, the event will take place "somewhere in the Tokyo/Kawasaki area" and is being put together by the EVO staff with the folks from Godsgarden. We've listed all of the winners after the break, alongside a video of the dramatic final SSFIV round.
Daigo attending EVO 2010 with Mad Catz backing
Attending this year's Evolution Championship Series in Las Vegas? If so, you'll probably wanna bring medicated lotion for the severe whooping you'll be receiving at the hands of international fighting game champion Daigo "The Beast" Umehara (you can call him "Beastie" for short, but we wouldn't suggest it). As it turns out, third-party peripheral maker Mad Catz will be sponsoring the gentleman's trip to Vegas, where he'll be "signing autographs as well as giving fearless gamers an opportunity to test their skills in one-on-one bouts of Super Street Fighter IV," according to the press release. If we were bettin' folks, we'd say his appearance probably has something to do with the partnership announced earlier this year. Mad Catz will also be giving away eight "exclusive 'Gold Plated' Tournament Edition Arcade FightSticks." And yeah, we're betting the quotes around "Gold Plated" mean that it's not actual gold, but hey, free arcade sticks!
