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TheSteamCo CD Jr wins Killer Instinct at The Fall Classic 2014!

GamerBlake90

Blue Blurs for Life!
Nothing could prepare us for what was to come today at Raleigh, NC. Although Season 2 had yet to officially launch, Killer Instinct's Top 8 already saw the rise of TJ Combo thanks to TheSteamCo CD Jr, and also marked a shining star in RM Cloud who delivered an ice-cold message to the KI community at GUTS 3. Combined with the numerous big names joining them in Top 8, we would be treated to tournament memories we're not likely to forget in the near future! Let us take this opportunity to reminisce on what went down.

What better way to begin the day than a clash against one's inner demons? EVO 2014 champion, TheSteamCo @CD jr, is confronted by Gimpy NS for the first half of Winner's Semifinals. Having completely abandoned his legacy with Sadira, CD Jr is quickly backed into a corner by Orchid's burning barrage of grenades and firecats, but just when all looked lost in the second game he tears apart the holes in Gimpy's tactics and gains a control that could not be shaken! Junior's 2-1 victory sends Gimpy, wondering what on Earth just happened, straight to Loser's Bracket.

Not taking too kindly to the fall of his Orchid brethren, GnarlyFeats takes on RM Cloud's Glacius. Cloud's tactics manage to supplant enough doubt into Gnarly's mind that he begins to become too defensive, a fact which the ice alien takes advantage of through the persistent use of Shatter. However...when all seemed to go Cloud's way in the third game, an unexpected slip-up leads to Gnarly taking the set through a Slide Kick just as Cloud desperately reached for his armor! Screams of shock could be heard erupting around the venue as Glacius's death rattle signaled the end of the battle.

While the crowd struggles to digest what exactly happened, Orchid is featured yet again as EG PR Balrog takes on MOR Rico Suave's barrage of skull set-ups. Both players trade counter-tactics against one another without showing any signs of stopping, and for the second time, one unfortunate mishap on a player's part leads to a shocking outcome. Although Balrog was the first to hit the Danger zone, he capitalized on one faulty spacing attempt from Rico, reducing his health enough to guarantee an Ultra that would finish the set! With two Orchids proving triumphant, we have come not one, but two steps closer to flushing out UltraTech!

The next match would result in another player's departure from the tournament...IC EWTH ASAP Ricky 88 versus Paul B. Ricky strode boldly up to the arena, determined to prove a point, but the mighty Paul Beast had no intention of living life by the wildside. As opposed to the course of the previous three matches, Paul casts aside all restraint and takes a swift 2-0 victory over Ricky...and he performs a double Ultra ender as if to add salt to the wound!

Having seized such a quick win, Paul B had plenty of energy to spare for his next opponent, EG PR Balrog. Although the outcome was not as obvious at first, Paul B utilizes his Feral Cancels and Shadow Counters solidly enough to compete with Balrog's impressive spacing. However, when Paul B took the set 2-0, it was discovered that an error in the bracket had occurred and that Paul B was supposed to fight RM Cloud, not Balrog. Balrog initially denied the offer, but the bracket organizer stood his ground and restarted Loser's Quarterfinals with the matches properly reassigned.

Thus, Balrog's second chance would come down to an Orchid mirror match with Gimpy NS. Unable to get any kind of offense going against Gimpy, Balrog quickly became flustered, and eventually surrendered when he was reduced to his last pixel in the second game during which Gimpy still had his first health bar.

Paul B returns to the stage to take on his own personal demon in the form of RM Cloud's Glacius. Still rather shaken from his battle with GnarlyFeats, Cloud develops a reliance on his pseudo blockstrings with Shadow Hail. Paul catches on to this and practically steals the first game away from Cloud. At this point, the entire room could feel an aura of confidence oozing from Paul B (especially given his attempt to finish Cloud with an Ultra as well as taunting mid-match) while Cloud quickly crumbles into particles of ice. With another 2-0 win under his belt, Paul advances to Loser's Semifinals!

At this stage in the tournament, the hype levels were becoming critical (not that they hadn't already gone off the charts since the first matches). Paul B would be forced to defend his streak against Gimpy NS, the third Orchid player in KI's Top 8. When Paul punished a panicked Gimpy's backward jumps to snatch victory in the second game, the viewers began resigning themselves to the fact that Paul would take the whole thing...a judgment that was quickly overturned by a failed Shadow Counter on Paul B's part - accidental, perhaps? - giving Gimpy the opening he needed to close out the set with a 2-1 victory, with some teabagging mixed into the showers of salt.

The spotlight finally shone down on TheSteamCo CD Jr and GnarlyFeats for Winner's Finals of the Fall Classic 2014. Junior would stand alone against the onslaught of two formidable Orchid players. Gnarly's pressure with Orchid was as ferocious as ever, along with his tendency to perform double Shadow Uppercats at the end of all his combos with little to no care for his meter...but in the face of Junior's throw mix-ups and offensive containment, Gnarly loses 0-3 and is sent plummeting to Loser's Finals while the crowd basks in CD Jr's victory - and enjoys TJ Combo's Ultra as a bonus.

With CD Jr now waiting in Grand Finals, the last two Orchid players would engage in a literal cat-fight to the death! Gimpy gained a great start in the set, only for Gnarly's damage output to even the odds out. With the score sitting at 2-2, Gimpy appears to have run out of answers for Gnarly's adaptive gameplay, and succumbs after one final blocked mix-up. The crowd immediately goes nuts over the realization that a rematch between CD Jr and GnarlyFeats would make for the last match of the event!

The Fall Classic 2014 KI Grand Finals.png
If anyone was hoping for a less one-sided Grand Finals, they would be disappointed, because CD Jr's burning determination to overcome his competition knows no bounds. Even when down, TJ Combo's Instinct ensures that he is not out of the game. With a 3-1 victory in favor of CD Jr, the flickers from Orchid's firecat dissolved into golden ashes.

Congratulations to TheSteamCo CD Jr for winning Killer Instinct at The Fall Classic 2014! This basically solidifies TJ Combo's first major tournament win in the community, and adds further to Junior's championship streak. With the future looking bright for the first Season 2 cast member, we turn towards the oncoming date of October 15th with a thirst to see what is coming next!

Tournament archive: http://www.twitch.tv/bifuteki/b/577104762

Tournament Placings

7th Place: MOR Rico Suave and IC EWTH ASAP Ricky 88
5th Place: EG PR Balrog and RM Cloud
4th Place: Paul B
3rd Place: Gimpy NS
2nd Place: GnarlyFeats
Tournament Champion: TheSteamCo CD Jr

Winner's Semifinals

Gimpy NS (Orchid): 1 vs. TheSteamCo CD Jr (TJ Combo): 2

GnarlyFeats (Orchid): 2 vs. RM Cloud (Glacius): 1

Loser's Bracket

EG PR Balrog (Orchid): 2 vs. MOR Rico Suave (Spinal): 1

IC EWTH ASAP Ricky 88 (Fulgore): 0 vs. Paul B (Sabrewulf): 2

Loser's Quarterfinals

EG PR Balrog (Orchid): 0 vs. Gimpy NS (Orchid): 2

RM Cloud (Glacius): 0 vs. Paul B (Sabrewulf): 2

Loser's Semifinals

Gimpy NS (Orchid): 2 vs. Paul B (Sabrewulf): 1

Winner's Finals

TheSteamCo CD Jr (TJ Combo): 3 vs. GnarlyFeats (Orchid): 0

Loser's Finals

GnarlyFeats (Orchid): 3 vs. Gimpy NS (Orchid): 2

Grand Finals

TheSteamCo CD Jr (TJ Combo): 3 vs. GnarlyFeats (Orchid): 1
 
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Ashenar

Just a slightly above average player.....
My grandson Wins again. This family is happy. Now if only my son Gross would win it would be complete.