Sultan
Kitana, Scorpion
So the weekend was bittersweet for me. (Prepare for a novel, lol).
I arrived in Chicago around noon on Thursday via Amtrak. After a little shopping I made my way to GGA. This journey was an odyssey. Google Maps was retarded and gave me the worst possible directions to arrive there - I ended up in Cicero via the Pink line and walked some 14 or so blocks to the Metra (which was stationed at Union station - where the Amtrak dropped me off in the first place, so this walk was total bullshit). Upon arriving I realized - as the train zoomed by - that I needed cash for the Metra. So of course I had to backtrack 6 blocks to the closest shitty ATM I could find.
By the time I hit Brookfield I had another bajillion blocks to walk to GGA itself. (I forgot to mention this - this whole time I was carrying a full backpack and a full messenger bag). I wandered aimlessly for some time, bogged down by luggage in the heat, hungry and exhausted, but I eventually saw Tony's holy sign shining in the distance like some beacon of hope and love.
And then there I was, in the most dope arcade I've seen since Chinatown Fair, ready to play some mufuckin Injustice.
My first set of casuals was with @EMPEROR_THEO of all people which was awesome. He 10-0'd me, but I wasn't totally free, the bulk of the matches came down to the last life bar with him sitting on half or so and I could see clearly where I was fucking up... I also played @The_PantyChrist in casuals and I was bopped 0-2 in tourney by Evil Rahsaaan and @MajinBerserker, and as salty as I was about it, it didn't bother me too much. This was my first offline showing in Injustice and the monitors took some getting used to. I got into some lengthy talks with @GGA Wafflez while I was there and he was by and far the chillest guy at GGA. I briefly played @Ecodus and his dope Catwoman in casuals as well.
After all that I ended up at Tony's with the rest of the hungry GGA'ers and ended up sitting nearest to @Tm_whiteboi @GGA Saucy Jack @GGA 16 Bit and Ecodus and Theo. The conversations where interesting to hear and be involved in and the food was confirmed not a bill.
By the end of the night I wasn't sure where I was going - I'd only arranged for a room for Friday and Saturday night and I figured I'd either pull an all-nighter, stay at the local Motel or figure something out at the Crown Royale when I got there. Luckily for me @Espio is the nicest guy in America and offered me the floor in his and Ecodus' room.
+++++
Friday was thoroughly awesome. I've never played the Grundy match-up before and who better than to test it out against than @RDK|Tyrant at 9 in the morning! It was a fun set and I loved that some of my set-ups and tech left him scratching his head. We both agreed it felt even despite my getting bodied.
Throughout the day I ran casuals against @Perfect Legend, @Syknis, @gross, Evil Rahsaan, @KHTC_Biohazard, @RedRaptor10, @OG Mannimal, @TWISTED_ANIMALITY, @Fromundaman, MajinBerserker and @AK RM Blake. My proudest moment was learning the Flash match-up on the fly and stealing some games over @HoneyBee as soon as a crowed gathered, lol. Syknis was awesome, we played like an hour and a half set until like 3 in the morning. His Frost match-up knowledge is crazy. HoneyBee and Biohazard were impossibly cool.
Throughout my casuals I enjoyed myself, but I noticed that, for the most part, my execution wasn't all there. I don't know what contributed most, but I was off and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be come Saturday.
+++++
But that didn't happen, I got bopped 1-2. @Digit beat me 3-0 on stream and @Espio beat me 3-1 off stream. Against Digit in particular I felt I handled the match well despite not really knowing the match-up, but that didn't matter - I dropped all but 2 combos/set-ups and lost momentum every time I promised to gain it. The same could be said for my match with Espio. I have no idea how either set would have played out if I didn't beat myself first before they beat me. Unfortunately I played poorly enough that I couldn't gauge that at the end of the day.
As @SonicBoomBrad put it, that's the curse of Frost I guess, but I was max salty over it. The way I saw it, I traveled far out and spent a lot of money that I barely had to spare to ultimately lose to myself - my worst match-up traveled with me... (which isn't taking anything away from Digit or Espio or anyone else who bodied me all weekend, everyone I played was godly and deserved every win over me, but on my end there was this failing to live up to my own potential that legitimately stung and left me feeling nothing short of salt-drenched and livid).
At my losing to Espio I just decided to distance myself from the tourney and call up my dad and see him and the other half of my family for the first time since November (I don't get to come out to Chi-town that often and I have a baby sister I hadn't even met yet, so you can imagine why they took priority over more casuals and seeing the grand finals live).
+++++
I didn't leave gracefully. When I lost to Espio I was incredibly upset about dropping every combo opportunity and about my d2 turning into an iceberg during our last match - I basically real life rage-quit the tourney at that point - and I'd like to apologize now to Espio for any negativity I left with him: bro, you're Hawkgirl's sick and your patient play was hella impressive. More importantly, you were the most gracious guy there - I wasn't even asking for a bed and you offered me a place to stay Thursday night, you and Ecodus were infinitely kind for that and I did not thank you enough. A hundred apologies for my salty storming off.
Before I officially dipped I ran into @Cal-EL in the elevator and vented about my losses and whatnot (really wish that wasn't our first convo, lol), and then I ran into Saucey Jack and 16 Bit on my way out of the hotel. I told em it was cool getting to meet them and it was fun, 16 Bit praised my Frost combos, I said "too bad I dropped them" as I walked to my dad's car. He mentioned it taking him 6 years to get consistent, likely sensing my discouragement, as I was walking away.
Which struck a nerve, I've been playing fighting games seriously since 2006 and nearly 7 years ago competed in my first major at MWC in Northbrook - my inconsistency's been with me since the beginning and I've only been able to shake it for brief periods of time with an insane amount of practice. I shouted back "I've been playing for 9" before greeting my dad and going home to be a family man.
+++++
...This big ass thing I just wrote is I suppose ultimately for me. I didn't have the right mindset and I wasn't prepared for the competition - I let myself get in my own way in a number of ways, perhaps most importantly, I didn't let myself have the fun that was to be had at UFGTX. For every great conversation, cool person met, great match played, I missed out on twice as much because I was too in my head the whole time.
But there're no regrets, I leveled up ten-fold while I was there, met some awesome people, learned some needed match-ups and ultimately had a great time. I know now what it'll take to actually compete in a meaningful way in Injustice, so now it's on me.
Cheers to all the epic people I met that made this experience awesome for me. You guys are fucking awesome.
I arrived in Chicago around noon on Thursday via Amtrak. After a little shopping I made my way to GGA. This journey was an odyssey. Google Maps was retarded and gave me the worst possible directions to arrive there - I ended up in Cicero via the Pink line and walked some 14 or so blocks to the Metra (which was stationed at Union station - where the Amtrak dropped me off in the first place, so this walk was total bullshit). Upon arriving I realized - as the train zoomed by - that I needed cash for the Metra. So of course I had to backtrack 6 blocks to the closest shitty ATM I could find.
By the time I hit Brookfield I had another bajillion blocks to walk to GGA itself. (I forgot to mention this - this whole time I was carrying a full backpack and a full messenger bag). I wandered aimlessly for some time, bogged down by luggage in the heat, hungry and exhausted, but I eventually saw Tony's holy sign shining in the distance like some beacon of hope and love.
And then there I was, in the most dope arcade I've seen since Chinatown Fair, ready to play some mufuckin Injustice.
My first set of casuals was with @EMPEROR_THEO of all people which was awesome. He 10-0'd me, but I wasn't totally free, the bulk of the matches came down to the last life bar with him sitting on half or so and I could see clearly where I was fucking up... I also played @The_PantyChrist in casuals and I was bopped 0-2 in tourney by Evil Rahsaaan and @MajinBerserker, and as salty as I was about it, it didn't bother me too much. This was my first offline showing in Injustice and the monitors took some getting used to. I got into some lengthy talks with @GGA Wafflez while I was there and he was by and far the chillest guy at GGA. I briefly played @Ecodus and his dope Catwoman in casuals as well.
After all that I ended up at Tony's with the rest of the hungry GGA'ers and ended up sitting nearest to @Tm_whiteboi @GGA Saucy Jack @GGA 16 Bit and Ecodus and Theo. The conversations where interesting to hear and be involved in and the food was confirmed not a bill.
By the end of the night I wasn't sure where I was going - I'd only arranged for a room for Friday and Saturday night and I figured I'd either pull an all-nighter, stay at the local Motel or figure something out at the Crown Royale when I got there. Luckily for me @Espio is the nicest guy in America and offered me the floor in his and Ecodus' room.
+++++
Friday was thoroughly awesome. I've never played the Grundy match-up before and who better than to test it out against than @RDK|Tyrant at 9 in the morning! It was a fun set and I loved that some of my set-ups and tech left him scratching his head. We both agreed it felt even despite my getting bodied.
Throughout the day I ran casuals against @Perfect Legend, @Syknis, @gross, Evil Rahsaan, @KHTC_Biohazard, @RedRaptor10, @OG Mannimal, @TWISTED_ANIMALITY, @Fromundaman, MajinBerserker and @AK RM Blake. My proudest moment was learning the Flash match-up on the fly and stealing some games over @HoneyBee as soon as a crowed gathered, lol. Syknis was awesome, we played like an hour and a half set until like 3 in the morning. His Frost match-up knowledge is crazy. HoneyBee and Biohazard were impossibly cool.
Throughout my casuals I enjoyed myself, but I noticed that, for the most part, my execution wasn't all there. I don't know what contributed most, but I was off and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be come Saturday.
+++++
But that didn't happen, I got bopped 1-2. @Digit beat me 3-0 on stream and @Espio beat me 3-1 off stream. Against Digit in particular I felt I handled the match well despite not really knowing the match-up, but that didn't matter - I dropped all but 2 combos/set-ups and lost momentum every time I promised to gain it. The same could be said for my match with Espio. I have no idea how either set would have played out if I didn't beat myself first before they beat me. Unfortunately I played poorly enough that I couldn't gauge that at the end of the day.
As @SonicBoomBrad put it, that's the curse of Frost I guess, but I was max salty over it. The way I saw it, I traveled far out and spent a lot of money that I barely had to spare to ultimately lose to myself - my worst match-up traveled with me... (which isn't taking anything away from Digit or Espio or anyone else who bodied me all weekend, everyone I played was godly and deserved every win over me, but on my end there was this failing to live up to my own potential that legitimately stung and left me feeling nothing short of salt-drenched and livid).
At my losing to Espio I just decided to distance myself from the tourney and call up my dad and see him and the other half of my family for the first time since November (I don't get to come out to Chi-town that often and I have a baby sister I hadn't even met yet, so you can imagine why they took priority over more casuals and seeing the grand finals live).
+++++
I didn't leave gracefully. When I lost to Espio I was incredibly upset about dropping every combo opportunity and about my d2 turning into an iceberg during our last match - I basically real life rage-quit the tourney at that point - and I'd like to apologize now to Espio for any negativity I left with him: bro, you're Hawkgirl's sick and your patient play was hella impressive. More importantly, you were the most gracious guy there - I wasn't even asking for a bed and you offered me a place to stay Thursday night, you and Ecodus were infinitely kind for that and I did not thank you enough. A hundred apologies for my salty storming off.
Before I officially dipped I ran into @Cal-EL in the elevator and vented about my losses and whatnot (really wish that wasn't our first convo, lol), and then I ran into Saucey Jack and 16 Bit on my way out of the hotel. I told em it was cool getting to meet them and it was fun, 16 Bit praised my Frost combos, I said "too bad I dropped them" as I walked to my dad's car. He mentioned it taking him 6 years to get consistent, likely sensing my discouragement, as I was walking away.
Which struck a nerve, I've been playing fighting games seriously since 2006 and nearly 7 years ago competed in my first major at MWC in Northbrook - my inconsistency's been with me since the beginning and I've only been able to shake it for brief periods of time with an insane amount of practice. I shouted back "I've been playing for 9" before greeting my dad and going home to be a family man.
+++++
...This big ass thing I just wrote is I suppose ultimately for me. I didn't have the right mindset and I wasn't prepared for the competition - I let myself get in my own way in a number of ways, perhaps most importantly, I didn't let myself have the fun that was to be had at UFGTX. For every great conversation, cool person met, great match played, I missed out on twice as much because I was too in my head the whole time.
But there're no regrets, I leveled up ten-fold while I was there, met some awesome people, learned some needed match-ups and ultimately had a great time. I know now what it'll take to actually compete in a meaningful way in Injustice, so now it's on me.
Cheers to all the epic people I met that made this experience awesome for me. You guys are fucking awesome.
