Fresh off his 3rd-place finish at Winter Brawl 7, C Khaotik 88 sits down for an in-depth and very candid interview. Dubbed by many as a player to watch, he discusses his background, his influences, and what lies ahead. This is the inaugural interview of a Rising Stars series that will chronicle some of the biggest rising threats in the MK tournament scene.
Khaotik is a Kitana and Sonya player from Silver Spring, Maryland, and he's been playing MK since the game came out. He recently took 3rd place at both Operation Wolf and Winter Brawl 7. He had some nice things to say about GamerBlake90, Mr. Mileena, Relaxedstate, SonicFox5000, rev0lver and more.
Kudos to Khatotik for taking the time to provide these thoughtul answers. Enjoy!
----------------------
1) First of all .. Give us some background on how you got into fighting games, Mortal Kombat, and tournament play.
I've been playing fighting games ever since I was 3 years old, back on the Sega Genesis. Back then, I was playing fighters like MKII, SSF2, and Eternal Champions. There was something about those games that always kept me intrigued and I've been playing fighters ever since. I've always been a HUGE Mortal Kombat fan. I've own just about every version except for Gold, and the portable versions and played every version. Once MK9 was announced, I already knew I was going to spend a lot of time with this game and knew I was going to take it seriously.
I first started thinking about tournaments after Devastation 2011. I fell in love with Mr. Mileena's Kitana and he instantly became my idol. I promised myself that I had to be just like him, so I knew I had to start taking the game more serious and start going to tournaments. Thing is, I never knew I had a scene around my area so I didn't think I had anyway to go to a tournament. Luckily, during the week of ECT4 last summer, RelaxedState hit me up on TYM and told me that he lives about 10 mins away from me and would like to run games. I accepted that invitation without hesitation and that's how I met the others like Astronout, Lulzlou, Kevo, etc. After just a few short days of playing offline, Relaxed insisted that I should go to ECT4 because I was way too good of a player to not have any tournament experience. I placed 3rd and I figured that was just the start of my journey of not only becoming a top Kitana, but a top player in general.
2) You've had a great run at the last couple of tournaments, finishing 3rd at Operation Wolf and 3rd at Winter Brawl. To what do you attribute your recent success?
Hunger and Anger.
After my very disappointing performance at NEC, I had let a lot of people down and knew I had a lot of work to make up for. All of the constant bashing and trolling about me losing to Baraka, my back being blown out, my stock plummeting, etc, it really got to me, but I didn't show it. I normally can care less what people think about me, since I know myself and know what I'm about, but for some reason, the disrespect kind of got to me. I don't know why, maybe because I didn't feel comfortable with the idea that I was just this hyped up player for no reason. So all of that anger I had, I just used it to force myself to become better. I was determined to bounce back. You know that movie, "The Dark Knight Rises", in which Batman got his back blown out by Bane and was sent into that jail/hole deep underground, and he worked his ass off to get back to the top? Well, NEC was my Bane, and it blew my back out. I was plummeted into that hole and did nothing but train to climb out.
All of that eventually turned into hunger, and I couldn't wait until my next tournament. That tournament ended up being Operation Wolf and I knew that this was the moment for me. Either I place high, or fail and be shunned by the community. There was no other option. Thankfully, all of that training paid off and I got 3rd. Although I was happy with my performance, and everyone was impressed by the way I bounced back, it wasn't enough IMO. Although OW was stacked, it was not a major and I was hungry for a top placing at a major. I went back into intense training, went to a local, and prepared myself for Winter Brawl. The training paid off and I got 3rd at a stacked major. I think I've fully bounced back from NEC and got the hype back, and I'm looking forward to placing high at more majors.
3) Talk a bit about what it's like to face Sonic Fox in a tournament.
Ahh man, young prodigy Sonic Fox. Playing him in a tournament is probably one of the most terrifying things to happen to you at a tournament. In order to even hang with Sonic, you HAVE to be patient, good reactions, good AA abilities, and you must play his game. As you probably know, Sonic and I play A LOT, online and offline (at tournaments), so we are pretty familiar with each others play styles. Our matches are wild cards, either I win a set or he wins. He is truly my equal, as we use the same characters and we have the same play style with Mileena. In tournament, I have major tourney nerves and when I have to play Sonic, the nervousness flies thru the roof. His play style is so intimidating, and it really knows how to get into people's heads. I'm sure he knows that people are afraid of him, and he takes full advantage of that. As nervous as I am, I still play him the best to my ability, and as you can see, Sonic and I always have intense, hype matches.
4) Tyrant has been on a tear as of late, and was dominating at WB going into Sunday -- but you kept your composure and won with extremely solid play. Were you nervous at all in those sets, and what helped you become so confident in the matchup?
Going into Winter Brawl, the only person I truly feared was Tyrant, but unlike some people, my fear of him made me want to play him even more, and the more I want to play you, the more confident I am of probably beating you. I knew we were going to run into each other at the tournament, so I made sure to watch EVERY match he played in, and I also made sure to run some casuals with him. He ran thru everyone on Saturday, and my fear of him grew, and so did my eager to beat him. When it came time for us to play in Losers Top 8, I was pretty nervous, but I was confident since I am pretty familiar in the Jax MU. That set was like an emotional roller coaster for me. When I would win a round, my confidence went up a lot. When he won a round, and might I add, he would win the round VERY convincingly, my confidence would drop. But despite all of that, I kept my cool and just played him the best to my ability. Tyrant is a very experienced, advanced player, and beating him is probably one of the hardest things to do in a tournament.
5) There was a lot of build-up for you going into NEC, and it seemed like you were most relaxed, and played your best in the casuals following the tournament. Did the drama affect you at all, and do you feel validated after doing so well this year?
That build up was one of my favorite moments in my career of MK9. Sadly, I didn't live up to it. I do feel like I played my best in casuals after the tournament, and I was so upset about that. Although NEC wasn't my first major, it was definitely my first tournament in which I had a lot to prove.
The drama did affect me a lot. I was really emo after my performance at NEC, and the bashing only made things worse. I didn't even want to think about MK. I barely posted in the forums. I was ashamed to even play the game. I eventually got over all of that and got back into the game, but NEC was always still in the back of my mind. A lot of people were telling me that I would bounce back, but I didn't pay any mind to it, but for some reason, I had a conversation with GamerBlake and he said something that really got to me. "Your time is coming, and when it comes, you are going to dominate" is what he said, and that really re-ignited the flame I had for MK.
I do feel I have some sort of validation so far this year. I ended the previous year on a bad note, and started off this year by beating a lot of good players and placing Top 3 at two stacked tournaments. I always wanted to be recognized as one of the best players, so hopefully, I'm approaching that position.
6) You were one of the most consistent whiff punishers and pokers at WB, capitalizing on nearly every f41 and a lot of Cyrax's shenanigans. How do you train, and what do you do to work on your fundamentals?
Thanks for the compliment. Since I spend a lot of my time on TYM, I always figure out a lot of information, in this case, dealing with Jax's f4 and Cyrax's shenanigans. All of that info I require, I take into training mode and try to process it. Luckily, I have a little brother who plays the game as well, and he is above average with every character in the game, so I train with him. When it came to Jax's f4, I practiced punishing it with my little brother. First, I practiced getting the timing right to interrupt all of his options after f4. Then, I practiced interrupting it with reaction. Once I got the hang of that, I took the training online and played every Jax I could fine, and the results were successful (in decent connection, of course). I took the training offline as well and interrupting it was a breeze, even on reaction. When it comes to Cyrax, I mainly just learned that MU online. Playing so many different Cyrax players introduced me to all of the mixups and tactics he has, and I eventually became aware of most of the shenanigans he can do.
All of the training definitely helped me at WB, as I played and beat Tyrant, who is arguably the best Jax, and Noobe, who is definitely a top Cyrax.
7) What was your favorite moment outside of the tournament at Winter Brawl?
Definitely hanging with the Florida Crew. Noobe, Kitana Prime, and SomeCubanGuy are some of the coolest people I've met in the community. They were so nice to me and supported me throughout the entire tournament. A lot of laughs were shared when I chilled with them and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
8) We've seen a huge resurgence in Kitana play lately, with Kitanas taking over the brackets at a couple of recent tournaments. Is this due to individual level-ups, tech, advances in matchup knowledge, or all of the above?
The Kitana army is growing fast and strong, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I can't really speak for every Kitana player, but I'm sure for the most part, it was individual level-ups. Revolver is probably the best example in this case. He's been going to tournaments for a while now, and although he was always regarded as a good Kitana, his tournament record never showed it. Lately, he's been tearing stuff up, as he placed top 8 at two stacked tournaments, and took out Maxter at WB.
In my case, it's all of the above. Not only did I want to level up, I wanted to be comfortable going into every MU, especially after the Baraka fiasco.
9) What other tournaments do you plan to attend in 2013.. And who are the rivals/players that will challenge you the most?
I plan to attend the Injustice Release Party/Tournament, Civil War, Flawless Victory, UFGT, ECT5 and EVO. Of course, I will be going to any locals in my scene as well.
I only have one rival, and that's 16Bit. Words cannot explain how bad I want to play him and I cannot wait for that moment. Of course, it's going to be a challenge, as he is a really good Kitana player and I despise the mirror match, but this is one match I'm looking forward to.
Reo is another challenge for me. There isn't any Kabal player out there that I will lose to except Reo. I've played just about every Kabal main out there and I've been successful against them, but Reo is just on a whole different level. As you probably already know, Reo and I had a VERY intense set at OW, and he ended up taking it 3-2 in a close match. I'm dying for a runback. I have no beef with Reo or anything like that, he's actually one of my favorite members of the community, but I hate that feeling of being so close, then it gets taken away from me. So after being down 0-2, then coming back to tie it, then losing was a heart breaker.
Finally, Pig is another challenge. I love the guy, as he is also one of my favorite members in the community, but he is also an obstacle I want to overcome. I've beaten every Kenshi I've played in a tournament, and I'm very familiar in the MU. Every Kitana wants to beat Pig, and I want to be the first one to do it.
10) What's it like to be a member of the Crazy 88's, and what has it meant to you?
I like being in the 88s. I've always wanted to be in the clan so now that I'm finally here, its amazing. I always thought of them as the elites, since they had/have members like Detroit, Pig, Reo, Sonic Fox, Wound Cowboy, Blake, Mr. Mileena, MIT, DJT, etc, and the fact that I'm in a clan like that is a huge accomplishment for me.
11) What advice would you give to players who are attempting to level up and climb the ladder?
Train and never give up no matter what.
I used to be a nobody, even when I thought I was a somebody. I was determined to not only become better, but I wanted to be recognized as one of the best. I'm a very motivated person, and I push myself to achieve my goals, no matter what hardships I have to go thru. I'm also a firm believer in seeing your hard work paying off when the time comes. So if there is anybody who wants to become known or one of the best at something, all I can say is work for it, no matter what, and your time will come. There will be haters out there, but use them as the gas to keep your flame going. Nothing feels better than hearing all the people who doubt you shut up after proving them wrong.
12) Do you have any tips for fellow players of the Princess?
Spacing, Ex Lift on Crossovers, and unbreakerables. Some Kitana players just like to throw out 21 or f21 at any range, and those strings are very easy to punish if it's whiffed. I'd suggest that they should learn the range of those moves, and know when to use the entire string or not. Since those strings have so much power behind it, a lot of Kitana players will use them, and a lot of opponents will fish for it.
Kitana was said to have a huge weakness against crossovers. That's not the case any more. Ex Lift is a very good option against crossovers. It's not as good as moves like Ex Cartwheel or Ex Spirit charge, but it can get the work done. I started using this tactic around OW time, and although I didn't use it much, the few players I did use this one were impressed, Crazy Dominican being one of them. I started using this move more and at worked wonders for me at WB, and many players were amazed at how well this tactic is.
Unbreakerables are a big portion to her gameplay IMO. She is one of the best in the game when it comes to this tactic, since its easy to do and it very damaging. I did an insane unbreakerable combo to Lulzlou in a tournament match that resulted in him losing +30% and keeping him in the corner. The crowd went insane when that happened.
13) Do you plan to play Injustice this year, and what do you think of the game based on what you've seen so far?
I cannot WAIT for Injustice. I'm beyond hyped for that game. I think the game will be amazing. NRS is clearly putting their hearts and souls into this game, and based on the feedback they got from MK9, they are pretty much obligated to make this game bigger and better than MK9. The character roster is very diverse and I like that, the gameplay mechanics are amazing, and I'm hearing the online play will be terrific. It's shaping up to become a huge and successful game, and I can't wait to be a part of it.
14) Any closing words or shoutouts for members of the MK community?
Shoutouts to Crazy 88s and PTH. My home and my family. I don't know what I'd be doing in MK9 without them. Also, shoutouts to all my supporters and everyone who's been behind my back since my rising in the scene. Also, shoutouts to the haters as well. All the talking does nothing but want me to work even harder, and its paying off. Also, seeing them shut up puts a huge smile on my face.
I truly think this year of MK is the new age of new top players. Of course, people like Pig and Reo will remain on top, but so far this year, we've seen beasts like Tyrant, Revolver, Wound Cowboy, Satsui, Lulzlou, and Astronout coming to these tournaments and playing at an extremely impressive level, and they could easily join in the ranks of the previous top players.
15) Thanks for taking the time to share with everyone and answer these. Looking forward to seeing a lot more of you coming up.
No problem man! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it. You will be seeing a lot more of me, and hopefully I won't disappoint.
Khaotik is a Kitana and Sonya player from Silver Spring, Maryland, and he's been playing MK since the game came out. He recently took 3rd place at both Operation Wolf and Winter Brawl 7. He had some nice things to say about GamerBlake90, Mr. Mileena, Relaxedstate, SonicFox5000, rev0lver and more.
Kudos to Khatotik for taking the time to provide these thoughtul answers. Enjoy!
----------------------
1) First of all .. Give us some background on how you got into fighting games, Mortal Kombat, and tournament play.
I've been playing fighting games ever since I was 3 years old, back on the Sega Genesis. Back then, I was playing fighters like MKII, SSF2, and Eternal Champions. There was something about those games that always kept me intrigued and I've been playing fighters ever since. I've always been a HUGE Mortal Kombat fan. I've own just about every version except for Gold, and the portable versions and played every version. Once MK9 was announced, I already knew I was going to spend a lot of time with this game and knew I was going to take it seriously.
I first started thinking about tournaments after Devastation 2011. I fell in love with Mr. Mileena's Kitana and he instantly became my idol. I promised myself that I had to be just like him, so I knew I had to start taking the game more serious and start going to tournaments. Thing is, I never knew I had a scene around my area so I didn't think I had anyway to go to a tournament. Luckily, during the week of ECT4 last summer, RelaxedState hit me up on TYM and told me that he lives about 10 mins away from me and would like to run games. I accepted that invitation without hesitation and that's how I met the others like Astronout, Lulzlou, Kevo, etc. After just a few short days of playing offline, Relaxed insisted that I should go to ECT4 because I was way too good of a player to not have any tournament experience. I placed 3rd and I figured that was just the start of my journey of not only becoming a top Kitana, but a top player in general.
2) You've had a great run at the last couple of tournaments, finishing 3rd at Operation Wolf and 3rd at Winter Brawl. To what do you attribute your recent success?
Hunger and Anger.
After my very disappointing performance at NEC, I had let a lot of people down and knew I had a lot of work to make up for. All of the constant bashing and trolling about me losing to Baraka, my back being blown out, my stock plummeting, etc, it really got to me, but I didn't show it. I normally can care less what people think about me, since I know myself and know what I'm about, but for some reason, the disrespect kind of got to me. I don't know why, maybe because I didn't feel comfortable with the idea that I was just this hyped up player for no reason. So all of that anger I had, I just used it to force myself to become better. I was determined to bounce back. You know that movie, "The Dark Knight Rises", in which Batman got his back blown out by Bane and was sent into that jail/hole deep underground, and he worked his ass off to get back to the top? Well, NEC was my Bane, and it blew my back out. I was plummeted into that hole and did nothing but train to climb out.
All of that eventually turned into hunger, and I couldn't wait until my next tournament. That tournament ended up being Operation Wolf and I knew that this was the moment for me. Either I place high, or fail and be shunned by the community. There was no other option. Thankfully, all of that training paid off and I got 3rd. Although I was happy with my performance, and everyone was impressed by the way I bounced back, it wasn't enough IMO. Although OW was stacked, it was not a major and I was hungry for a top placing at a major. I went back into intense training, went to a local, and prepared myself for Winter Brawl. The training paid off and I got 3rd at a stacked major. I think I've fully bounced back from NEC and got the hype back, and I'm looking forward to placing high at more majors.
3) Talk a bit about what it's like to face Sonic Fox in a tournament.
Ahh man, young prodigy Sonic Fox. Playing him in a tournament is probably one of the most terrifying things to happen to you at a tournament. In order to even hang with Sonic, you HAVE to be patient, good reactions, good AA abilities, and you must play his game. As you probably know, Sonic and I play A LOT, online and offline (at tournaments), so we are pretty familiar with each others play styles. Our matches are wild cards, either I win a set or he wins. He is truly my equal, as we use the same characters and we have the same play style with Mileena. In tournament, I have major tourney nerves and when I have to play Sonic, the nervousness flies thru the roof. His play style is so intimidating, and it really knows how to get into people's heads. I'm sure he knows that people are afraid of him, and he takes full advantage of that. As nervous as I am, I still play him the best to my ability, and as you can see, Sonic and I always have intense, hype matches.
4) Tyrant has been on a tear as of late, and was dominating at WB going into Sunday -- but you kept your composure and won with extremely solid play. Were you nervous at all in those sets, and what helped you become so confident in the matchup?
Going into Winter Brawl, the only person I truly feared was Tyrant, but unlike some people, my fear of him made me want to play him even more, and the more I want to play you, the more confident I am of probably beating you. I knew we were going to run into each other at the tournament, so I made sure to watch EVERY match he played in, and I also made sure to run some casuals with him. He ran thru everyone on Saturday, and my fear of him grew, and so did my eager to beat him. When it came time for us to play in Losers Top 8, I was pretty nervous, but I was confident since I am pretty familiar in the Jax MU. That set was like an emotional roller coaster for me. When I would win a round, my confidence went up a lot. When he won a round, and might I add, he would win the round VERY convincingly, my confidence would drop. But despite all of that, I kept my cool and just played him the best to my ability. Tyrant is a very experienced, advanced player, and beating him is probably one of the hardest things to do in a tournament.
5) There was a lot of build-up for you going into NEC, and it seemed like you were most relaxed, and played your best in the casuals following the tournament. Did the drama affect you at all, and do you feel validated after doing so well this year?
That build up was one of my favorite moments in my career of MK9. Sadly, I didn't live up to it. I do feel like I played my best in casuals after the tournament, and I was so upset about that. Although NEC wasn't my first major, it was definitely my first tournament in which I had a lot to prove.
The drama did affect me a lot. I was really emo after my performance at NEC, and the bashing only made things worse. I didn't even want to think about MK. I barely posted in the forums. I was ashamed to even play the game. I eventually got over all of that and got back into the game, but NEC was always still in the back of my mind. A lot of people were telling me that I would bounce back, but I didn't pay any mind to it, but for some reason, I had a conversation with GamerBlake and he said something that really got to me. "Your time is coming, and when it comes, you are going to dominate" is what he said, and that really re-ignited the flame I had for MK.
I do feel I have some sort of validation so far this year. I ended the previous year on a bad note, and started off this year by beating a lot of good players and placing Top 3 at two stacked tournaments. I always wanted to be recognized as one of the best players, so hopefully, I'm approaching that position.
6) You were one of the most consistent whiff punishers and pokers at WB, capitalizing on nearly every f41 and a lot of Cyrax's shenanigans. How do you train, and what do you do to work on your fundamentals?
Thanks for the compliment. Since I spend a lot of my time on TYM, I always figure out a lot of information, in this case, dealing with Jax's f4 and Cyrax's shenanigans. All of that info I require, I take into training mode and try to process it. Luckily, I have a little brother who plays the game as well, and he is above average with every character in the game, so I train with him. When it came to Jax's f4, I practiced punishing it with my little brother. First, I practiced getting the timing right to interrupt all of his options after f4. Then, I practiced interrupting it with reaction. Once I got the hang of that, I took the training online and played every Jax I could fine, and the results were successful (in decent connection, of course). I took the training offline as well and interrupting it was a breeze, even on reaction. When it comes to Cyrax, I mainly just learned that MU online. Playing so many different Cyrax players introduced me to all of the mixups and tactics he has, and I eventually became aware of most of the shenanigans he can do.
All of the training definitely helped me at WB, as I played and beat Tyrant, who is arguably the best Jax, and Noobe, who is definitely a top Cyrax.
7) What was your favorite moment outside of the tournament at Winter Brawl?
Definitely hanging with the Florida Crew. Noobe, Kitana Prime, and SomeCubanGuy are some of the coolest people I've met in the community. They were so nice to me and supported me throughout the entire tournament. A lot of laughs were shared when I chilled with them and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
8) We've seen a huge resurgence in Kitana play lately, with Kitanas taking over the brackets at a couple of recent tournaments. Is this due to individual level-ups, tech, advances in matchup knowledge, or all of the above?
The Kitana army is growing fast and strong, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I can't really speak for every Kitana player, but I'm sure for the most part, it was individual level-ups. Revolver is probably the best example in this case. He's been going to tournaments for a while now, and although he was always regarded as a good Kitana, his tournament record never showed it. Lately, he's been tearing stuff up, as he placed top 8 at two stacked tournaments, and took out Maxter at WB.
In my case, it's all of the above. Not only did I want to level up, I wanted to be comfortable going into every MU, especially after the Baraka fiasco.
9) What other tournaments do you plan to attend in 2013.. And who are the rivals/players that will challenge you the most?
I plan to attend the Injustice Release Party/Tournament, Civil War, Flawless Victory, UFGT, ECT5 and EVO. Of course, I will be going to any locals in my scene as well.
I only have one rival, and that's 16Bit. Words cannot explain how bad I want to play him and I cannot wait for that moment. Of course, it's going to be a challenge, as he is a really good Kitana player and I despise the mirror match, but this is one match I'm looking forward to.
Reo is another challenge for me. There isn't any Kabal player out there that I will lose to except Reo. I've played just about every Kabal main out there and I've been successful against them, but Reo is just on a whole different level. As you probably already know, Reo and I had a VERY intense set at OW, and he ended up taking it 3-2 in a close match. I'm dying for a runback. I have no beef with Reo or anything like that, he's actually one of my favorite members of the community, but I hate that feeling of being so close, then it gets taken away from me. So after being down 0-2, then coming back to tie it, then losing was a heart breaker.
Finally, Pig is another challenge. I love the guy, as he is also one of my favorite members in the community, but he is also an obstacle I want to overcome. I've beaten every Kenshi I've played in a tournament, and I'm very familiar in the MU. Every Kitana wants to beat Pig, and I want to be the first one to do it.
10) What's it like to be a member of the Crazy 88's, and what has it meant to you?
I like being in the 88s. I've always wanted to be in the clan so now that I'm finally here, its amazing. I always thought of them as the elites, since they had/have members like Detroit, Pig, Reo, Sonic Fox, Wound Cowboy, Blake, Mr. Mileena, MIT, DJT, etc, and the fact that I'm in a clan like that is a huge accomplishment for me.
11) What advice would you give to players who are attempting to level up and climb the ladder?
Train and never give up no matter what.
I used to be a nobody, even when I thought I was a somebody. I was determined to not only become better, but I wanted to be recognized as one of the best. I'm a very motivated person, and I push myself to achieve my goals, no matter what hardships I have to go thru. I'm also a firm believer in seeing your hard work paying off when the time comes. So if there is anybody who wants to become known or one of the best at something, all I can say is work for it, no matter what, and your time will come. There will be haters out there, but use them as the gas to keep your flame going. Nothing feels better than hearing all the people who doubt you shut up after proving them wrong.
12) Do you have any tips for fellow players of the Princess?
Spacing, Ex Lift on Crossovers, and unbreakerables. Some Kitana players just like to throw out 21 or f21 at any range, and those strings are very easy to punish if it's whiffed. I'd suggest that they should learn the range of those moves, and know when to use the entire string or not. Since those strings have so much power behind it, a lot of Kitana players will use them, and a lot of opponents will fish for it.
Kitana was said to have a huge weakness against crossovers. That's not the case any more. Ex Lift is a very good option against crossovers. It's not as good as moves like Ex Cartwheel or Ex Spirit charge, but it can get the work done. I started using this tactic around OW time, and although I didn't use it much, the few players I did use this one were impressed, Crazy Dominican being one of them. I started using this move more and at worked wonders for me at WB, and many players were amazed at how well this tactic is.
Unbreakerables are a big portion to her gameplay IMO. She is one of the best in the game when it comes to this tactic, since its easy to do and it very damaging. I did an insane unbreakerable combo to Lulzlou in a tournament match that resulted in him losing +30% and keeping him in the corner. The crowd went insane when that happened.
13) Do you plan to play Injustice this year, and what do you think of the game based on what you've seen so far?
I cannot WAIT for Injustice. I'm beyond hyped for that game. I think the game will be amazing. NRS is clearly putting their hearts and souls into this game, and based on the feedback they got from MK9, they are pretty much obligated to make this game bigger and better than MK9. The character roster is very diverse and I like that, the gameplay mechanics are amazing, and I'm hearing the online play will be terrific. It's shaping up to become a huge and successful game, and I can't wait to be a part of it.
14) Any closing words or shoutouts for members of the MK community?
Shoutouts to Crazy 88s and PTH. My home and my family. I don't know what I'd be doing in MK9 without them. Also, shoutouts to all my supporters and everyone who's been behind my back since my rising in the scene. Also, shoutouts to the haters as well. All the talking does nothing but want me to work even harder, and its paying off. Also, seeing them shut up puts a huge smile on my face.
I truly think this year of MK is the new age of new top players. Of course, people like Pig and Reo will remain on top, but so far this year, we've seen beasts like Tyrant, Revolver, Wound Cowboy, Satsui, Lulzlou, and Astronout coming to these tournaments and playing at an extremely impressive level, and they could easily join in the ranks of the previous top players.
15) Thanks for taking the time to share with everyone and answer these. Looking forward to seeing a lot more of you coming up.
No problem man! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it. You will be seeing a lot more of me, and hopefully I won't disappoint.
