GamerBlake90
Blue Blurs for Life!
This is mainly for those who tuned in to Kombat Network's channel to watch the Mortal Kombat 9 tournament for Final Round 17. After rewatching my second bracket match with @GGA Jeremiah in the archives and listening to the commentary from @GGA 16 Bit and @R.E.O., I grew uneasy and decided this needed to be said.
For those who are curious, skip to 54:30 at this archive: http://www.twitch.tv/kombatnetwork/b/511061933
If anyone thought my pop-off from my victory was...dare I say it...overboard, then I must apologize publicly to Jeremiah as well as to anyone else who felt offended. The pop-off was not to signify malicious intent in any way, it was just my way of expressing triumph from not only defeating the guy who sent me to Loser's Bracket (our first match was off-stream and he beat my Scorpion with his Sheeva), but also making it into Top 8 which has not happened for me since...Texas Showdown 2013, I believe. I assure you, the pop-off was not personal by any means.
In fact, for those of you who are familiar with my history of tournament appearances, I am known to pop off from nearly every match I win. But these pop-offs are not meant to be attacks on my opponents. As I explained to @FOREVER KING when we played Injustice at the Weekly Scraps #12 in Atlanta, if I somehow show that I can pose a challenge to the talented players that face me, I feel it's something to be proud of. After all, I never thought highly of my skills as a player, certainly not after both MLG Dallas 2012 and Final Round 16 (you can ask everyone who knows me), so when things like that happen I can't really do anything to hold back my excitement.
Since I mentioned FR 16, that was yet another strong factor in my pop-off. As the commentators already described, the heart-breaking combo drop against Pokchop which cost me my match with him haunted me to this day, as did MLG Dallas. I had almost retired tournaments for good after I finished with Evolution 2013, because by then, I lost what little faith I had left in myself as a player and didn't see the point in continuing.
It was actually not my original intention to compete in this year's Final Round tournament...instead, I was going to spectate from the sidelines. Naturally, when I made this decision public, my friends voiced their disagreement. So what led me to change my mind? Well, it certainly wasn't because I suddenly thought that I would destroy everyone at Final Round. It was because of my time at the Weekly Scraps...that intense energy that sweeps into me with every match I play caused me to realize how much I missed competing, and so I reversed my decision.
Before anyone goes and says it, I know, I know...the amount of rust we'd accumulated due to our time being invested in Injustice rather than MK9 was very apparent on the stream. I was no exception and neither was anyone else who entered. Nevertheless, I've always been extremely competitive with every game I play, regardless of however much time I've spent on it. It is simply who I am and it's not a part of me that I will let go of.
And no, in spite of what happened, I still don't feel I'm at the level I want to be as a player. I do think I've redeemed myself somewhat after this week (not just because of the fact that I got revenge in Loser's Bracket, but also how I did against the other players I either beat or lost to and got 5th place in the end), but I never feel satisfied until the ultimate tournament victory falls into my lap...Hell, even if that were to happen, I still would want to taste more victory, because why stop at just one conquest?
"Never settle for less than 100%." That's my personal motto and I won't be swayed from it.
But the extensive history lesson aside, I don't want anyone thinking that I have some sort of vendetta against anyone from GGA, as well as every other player I pop off on. I have only love and respect for everyone who participates in the community, and the GGA crew are no different. They always make tournament experiences enjoyable and I'm pretty sure that if I got the chance to attend a GGA gathering, everyone there would be godlike.
So there. I'm probably still going to get some flack for that pop-off, but at least typing this puts my mind back at ease as hopefully this will correct some inaccurate judgments over what happened. My enjoyment level for tournaments is just that high, what can I say? Jeremiah will receive this apology in person when I see him at the FR venue again, assuming he hasn't yet seen this thread (and he likely won't since he and I will be busy with the tournament). I would have told him sooner, but we were all very occupied by the tournament going on.
Gotta get some sleep now. The FR weekend is not done and I look forward to facing off against those who run into me in the brackets for Injustice.
Have a good evening.
For those who are curious, skip to 54:30 at this archive: http://www.twitch.tv/kombatnetwork/b/511061933
If anyone thought my pop-off from my victory was...dare I say it...overboard, then I must apologize publicly to Jeremiah as well as to anyone else who felt offended. The pop-off was not to signify malicious intent in any way, it was just my way of expressing triumph from not only defeating the guy who sent me to Loser's Bracket (our first match was off-stream and he beat my Scorpion with his Sheeva), but also making it into Top 8 which has not happened for me since...Texas Showdown 2013, I believe. I assure you, the pop-off was not personal by any means.
In fact, for those of you who are familiar with my history of tournament appearances, I am known to pop off from nearly every match I win. But these pop-offs are not meant to be attacks on my opponents. As I explained to @FOREVER KING when we played Injustice at the Weekly Scraps #12 in Atlanta, if I somehow show that I can pose a challenge to the talented players that face me, I feel it's something to be proud of. After all, I never thought highly of my skills as a player, certainly not after both MLG Dallas 2012 and Final Round 16 (you can ask everyone who knows me), so when things like that happen I can't really do anything to hold back my excitement.
Since I mentioned FR 16, that was yet another strong factor in my pop-off. As the commentators already described, the heart-breaking combo drop against Pokchop which cost me my match with him haunted me to this day, as did MLG Dallas. I had almost retired tournaments for good after I finished with Evolution 2013, because by then, I lost what little faith I had left in myself as a player and didn't see the point in continuing.
It was actually not my original intention to compete in this year's Final Round tournament...instead, I was going to spectate from the sidelines. Naturally, when I made this decision public, my friends voiced their disagreement. So what led me to change my mind? Well, it certainly wasn't because I suddenly thought that I would destroy everyone at Final Round. It was because of my time at the Weekly Scraps...that intense energy that sweeps into me with every match I play caused me to realize how much I missed competing, and so I reversed my decision.
Before anyone goes and says it, I know, I know...the amount of rust we'd accumulated due to our time being invested in Injustice rather than MK9 was very apparent on the stream. I was no exception and neither was anyone else who entered. Nevertheless, I've always been extremely competitive with every game I play, regardless of however much time I've spent on it. It is simply who I am and it's not a part of me that I will let go of.
And no, in spite of what happened, I still don't feel I'm at the level I want to be as a player. I do think I've redeemed myself somewhat after this week (not just because of the fact that I got revenge in Loser's Bracket, but also how I did against the other players I either beat or lost to and got 5th place in the end), but I never feel satisfied until the ultimate tournament victory falls into my lap...Hell, even if that were to happen, I still would want to taste more victory, because why stop at just one conquest?
"Never settle for less than 100%." That's my personal motto and I won't be swayed from it.
But the extensive history lesson aside, I don't want anyone thinking that I have some sort of vendetta against anyone from GGA, as well as every other player I pop off on. I have only love and respect for everyone who participates in the community, and the GGA crew are no different. They always make tournament experiences enjoyable and I'm pretty sure that if I got the chance to attend a GGA gathering, everyone there would be godlike.
So there. I'm probably still going to get some flack for that pop-off, but at least typing this puts my mind back at ease as hopefully this will correct some inaccurate judgments over what happened. My enjoyment level for tournaments is just that high, what can I say? Jeremiah will receive this apology in person when I see him at the FR venue again, assuming he hasn't yet seen this thread (and he likely won't since he and I will be busy with the tournament). I would have told him sooner, but we were all very occupied by the tournament going on.
Gotta get some sleep now. The FR weekend is not done and I look forward to facing off against those who run into me in the brackets for Injustice.
Have a good evening.
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