KN RM CD Jr wins Killer Instinct at Evolution 2014!

Killer Instinct had come with a strong show of surprises this weekend at Vegas, including the reveal of a new character (Maya), disclosure of new game mechanics to be implemented, and more that you can learn about the game's second season at this video. What better way to complete KI's showing than with an exciting Top 8 finals on EVO's stage?! Each player who made it to the top had something special to demonstrate through their passions and abilities as fighting gamers, and now, the crowning of Killer Instinct's first EVO champion has come to pass!

As the curtain rises, RG Rico Suave confidently charges into battle with TSwagg's Sadira using his Thunder. The spider-woman's air control proved futile against Mother Nature's human avatar as Rico takes the set 2-0. However, KN RM CD Jr redeems Sadira's reputation by utilizing a strong combination of Instinct Mode and her unbreakable Opener combos to defeat EG Justin Wong's Sabrewulf 2-0. Rico would anticipate another hurricane of web-slinging in the Winner's Finals!

For Loser's Bracket, Pretty E and Guttermagic kick off their first game with a ground-based brawl between Orchid and Thunder. As close as the first round had been, Pretty E had taken too much damage by the time he eliminated his opponent's first life bar after losing his own, and this along with Guttermagic's double dash after Instinct Mode cost him dearly. Pretty E tried valiantly to run it back in the second game, but a combo drop near the end gives Guttermagic the opening he needs to wrap things up with Thunder's command grab. He takes it 2-0!

The next match is one that much of the KI community, if not all of it, had been eager to see. For those who watched MLG Anaheim, you'll remember MyGod's victory over Mr Grimmz's Jago in the top 8. That conflict has carried over to EVO 2014 in a 2/3 setting. After the first round, the momentum swings completely into MyGod's favor and he does not relinquish it throughout the entire set. Mr Grimmz falls by MyGod's hand once again and is eliminated from the tournament.

Loser's Quarterfinals commences with a re-enactment of Thunder vs. Sadira through Guttermagic and TSwagg. After dropping the first game, TSwagg made some strong adjustments against Guttermagic and was on the verge of getting himself on the board, but his failure to read Thunder's overhead near the end of the match results in a victory for Guttermagic. This was Thunder's time to shine!

Next match is a series of Sabrewulf mirror matches between EG Justin Wong and MyGod 88, two players with styles that differed from one another almost perfectly. At first, Justin got off to a shaky start and it appeared that MyGod would seize a dominant win in the Sabrewulf mirror, when Justin's infamous Wong Factor kicks in and a mind-blowing comeback occurs in the second game where MyGod's overhead pounce goes right over Justin, allowing for a whiff-punish that turns the tides of battle. Obviously startled by this, MyGod attempts to pick his momentum back up, but drops his combo and gets punished by a throw from Justin Wong. With a 2-1 under his belt, Justin shows everyone how it's never too late to come back from the depths of defeat!

Whether or not he could keep up his stride would be made clear in Loser's Semifinals, where he would face Guttermagic's Thunder. Like with MrGrimmz and MyGod, this would be a rematch from NCR where Justin came out ahead 3-1 against Guttermagic. Gutter demonstrated pure domination in the first game, but the second game was a Hell of a roller coaster ride that had the entire EVO crowd screaming their heads off, as it all came down to a stalemate that was eventually broken by Justin's patient playstyle and adaptation. With Gutter's control over the set broken, Justin makes quick work of him in Game 3 and makes it to Loser's Finals! The odds have been defied by the player's determination to win!

With only one player remaining in Loser's Bracket, the time for Winner's Finals to start had arrived. For the third time in this top 8, we would see Sadira vs. Thunder in the clash between CD Jr and Rico Suave, two training partners who were more than familiar with one another's tactics. The intense exchange of counter-strategies between both players eventually culminates in a time-out win for CD Jr, who proceeds to take the second match in a manner so convincing that Rico opts to switch out his Thunder for Fulgore. Unfortunately for him, this decision yields no benefit to him whatsoever, and Junior goes on to earn a 3-0 win as well as his spot in Grand Finals!

Rico wasn't out of this yet, though. To keep himself in the game, he'd need to solve the equation that is the Wong Factor in Loser's Finals. He immediately goes to Glacius to avoid playing Sabrewulf up-close, where the wolf is known to excel. From watching the game, it was apparent how Sabrewulf couldn't play his usual game against the likes of Glacius, but with the skill levels of Justin and Rico to take into account, nobody could be sure of what would happen. It all came down to the final life bar in the fifth game...in an upset that struck everyone in the crowd like bolts of lightning, a successful Counter Breaker finally negates the Wong Factor and sets the stage for a rematch between CD Jr and Rico in Grand Finals!

Right off the bat, we see a twist going into Grand Finals: while CD Jr sticks with Sadira, Rico pulls out Jago, a character nobody had ever seen him use in tournaments. Some speculated that Rico needed Jago's Tiger Fury to better moderate Sadira's air game. Whatever the reason could be, this choice does not pay off in the first two games, so Rico falls back to one last counter-pick out of desperation: Sabrewulf, another character that he does not commonly use. As he overcomes Sadira's air control to take the first game, everyone finds themselves questioning their predictions yet again!

The fourth and final game of the tournament is where the pressure mounts beyond anyone's management. With the clock running out, Rico struggles to emulate the Wong Factor for one last effort at a comeback, but a Counter Breaker from CD Jr ends his partner's dreams and wraps up the greatest fighting game tournament ever seen for Killer Instinct!

Congratulations to KN RM CD Jr, your Killer Instinct champion at Evolution 2014! What a way to close out the best fighting game tournament of the year! The KI community looks forward to what you and the rest of the top players will accomplish come the second season of the game!

Congrats to both CDjr and Rico - their play throughout the entire top 8 was phenomenal. Thought Rico might start making a comeback but CDjr was just too strong and deserved the win.

edit: also, these top 8s are too much. Injustice was insane, BlazBlue even more so (I don't really like the anime scene and my body was not ready for such clutch matches) and KI was just as heart stopping.

My favourite set from KI had to be Rico vs Justin once Rico switched to Glacius. I had seen the Wolf vs Glacius in pools and every time Glacius looked free, but that insane screen control from Rico - even when pinned in the corner by Justin - was too much.

Yay CD Jr!
I totally sponsored him...to get to CEO

But that KI was super hype and awesome <3

;_;

I've watched CD from the start of his KI training.

;_;

MY NIGGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gratz

Congrats to CDJr.! Vamos dominicano loco!

Huge congrats to cdjr. He played ridiculously well and definitely earned the win.

Grats @CD jr Hype as fuck

Congrats @CD jr !!

#BlameKN

That was AWESOME!!! KI was so hype

You could see how much he wanted it. Congrats !

Could you start putting the placements in as well? The matchlog is nice but most of the time I just want to see who placed where without thinking because I'm lazy

Congrats to Jr, you can see he is very invested in KI. Congrats to Rico and the rest of the top 8 as well.

cd jr was very dominant. At no point did it look like he could lose. Congrats!!

congrats CDjr!!

Congratulations @CD jr. The emotion was real.

That top 8 was really gooooooooooood and so much heart. Wow.

WHO DAT! I literally never rooted for someone as much as I did for CDJR. He deserved that W. I ain't mad at him for almost crying though. He gave Rico that work.

I did think Saberwulf was going to be the death of him though.

You could legitimately tell how much that meant to @CD jr . I mean, damn... CONGRATS, SIR!!!!!!!!

Cdjr getting his first EVO! Good shit man, keep your head up, your a champion! Looking forward to seeing more KI at future tournaments.

Put this in the OP ;_;

@CD jr wow man u really wanted to win Evo so bad and the look on your face. U must be in seventh heaven for the rest of the year... Congrats @Rico Suave for a great performance as well

This meant so much to him how could you not be happy for this man!? Congrats

this was so damn fun to watch. Finally getting my xbone in a week, i can't wait to play KI. CDjr was hype as hell today, so many good reads and movements.