Sunday's Top 8 kicked off at a fast pace with HoneyBee going to town against Ketchup's Sorceror Quan Chi. Never looking daunted at any point, HoneyBee's agressive style kept Ketchup well out of his comfort zone, with HoneyBee making good use of D'Vorah's Ovipositor rush at key moments. The following match was one of the most highly anticipated of the year, with arguably one of the top US players in DJT going up against Europe's most storied player in Foxy Grampa. Since Mortal Kombat 9 in 2012, much talk has been made of Foxy's vanted Kung Lao -- and in a mirror of the two best, he showed that his ability backs up that reputation in spades.
Good decision-making, some tricky pressure that had Denzell guessing on when to escape, and a couple of teleport shenanigans, plud Foxy's strong command of the game's fundamentals , would hand him the win in convincing fashion. And with that, a situation was born that has never occurred in a NetherRealm game -- players from two countries outside the USA, facing off in Winners' Finals on the world's biggest fighting game stage.
In Losers, Milky Situation's Reptile had MIT's Tanya on the ropes, in a match that was his to take. But MIT exploited Milky's lack of knowledge of when to poke, armor, and jump out of Tanya's pressure, stealing the match back from the jaws of defeat in the corner. In the second game, MIT was fully in control till the end, and kept Milky from being able to get his offense started. Sonic Fox and Zyphox faced off next -- and Sonic repeatedly took advantage of Liu Kang's whiffed backfist overheads to deal significant damage. Although Zyphox adjusted in Game 2, Sonic stayed a read ahead at all times, and rolled on swiftly to advance.
After MIT made quick work of Ketchup, aided by some nerves and a tide of constant heartbreaking combo drops, two of the tournament's heavy favorites -- DJT and Sonic Fox -- woulf face off in Losers. With both of them having been pegged by many to potentially win it all, the prospect that one of the two would end up going home before Losers Finals was sobering. The set started at a breakneck pace with the pair dueling back and forth, until Sonic snatched game one with a clutch last-second X-ray. Sticking to his gameplan of using Kitana's fans to frustrate Kung Lao's mobility while running in to contest the neutral space and stymie Denzell's grounded offense, Sonic took the second game in exactly the same fashion, with the same X-ray in the same situation, as the crowd went wild.
In Winners' Finals, the set between HoneyBee and Foxy started off at 100 miles per hour, with each player taking turns cornering the other and barely letting him move. Although HoneyBee fought valiantly, Foxy seemed to have him figured out by the second game, catching him with constant jump-ins and jump back punches every time HoneyBee attempted to move in. And in Losers, the plot thickened as MIT's Covert Ops Sonya went head-to-head with Sonic Fox's Kitana. Although MIT started well, Sonic had compensated by Round 2 -- and in a juicy twist, sent MIT out the same way his brother went, with a late-game armored X-Ray.
Down to the final 3, Sonic and HoneyBee embarked on a nailbiter of a duel in Losers Finals. Matching each other read for read, each player was constantly an inch away from death as they fought to survive. In front of 164,000 viewers online and the thousands on the EVO floorWith fans white-knuckled and the audience on the edge of their seats, they traded matches evenly, accompanied by screams and shouts at every turns. Although Sonic seemed to be in danger at all times, he kept his wits about him, fighting down to the last second and untimately defeating HoneyBee.
And in Grand Finals, Sonic and Foxy put on a show, both looking prepared for each other in fine form. Sonic's battle was one to avoid the corner, as Foxy's pressure there proved to be relentless. And Foxy tried his best to stay grounded and interrupt the rhythm of Sonic's fans with timely runs into Lao's footsie normals. After Foxy went to his Buzzsaw variation to try to better open Sonic up, Sonic countered with Erron Black, mixing Foxy up for days and ultimately resetting the bracket. And an a decision that may have been inexplicable to many other than himself, Foxy chose to stick with Buzzsaw Lao through the final 3 games, as Sonic's Erron Black ultimately crushed his title hopes, removing his final pixel of life with impeccably-placed caltrops to win his first Mortal Kombat X EVO championship and his second EVO title in as many years.
If anything, Sunday's finals were a victory not just for young Sonic and his impressive run over the last two years, but for the game itself -- as in front of up to 188,000 viewers and the entire FGC, the diversity and level of fundaments on display was something we can all be proud of. And although the USA would ultimately win the day, both the UK and Canada showed up in a major, major way this weekend, and their competitiveness on the global level can no longer be denied.
So what's next? We'll find out soon -- in the meantime, congratulations to Sonic Fox, and to everyone who competed in the largest Mortal Kombat tournament ever held. We refuse to be held down, and the community's next chapter is just beginning.
TOP 8 RESULTS
1) cR Sonic Fox (Kitana, Erron Black)
2) PND | A Foxy Grampa (Kung Lao)
3) cR. HoneyBee (D'Vorah)
4) YOMI MIT (Tanya)
5) YOMI DJT (Kung Lao)
5) PND|Ketchup (Quan Chi)
7) YOMI Zyphox (Liu Kang)
7) Milky Situation (Reptile)
STREAM ARCHIVE
http://www.twitch.tv/srkevo1/v/7998938?t=2h28m45s
FULL LIST OF BRACKETS
http://evo2015.s3.amazonaws.com/brackets/index.html
Good decision-making, some tricky pressure that had Denzell guessing on when to escape, and a couple of teleport shenanigans, plud Foxy's strong command of the game's fundamentals , would hand him the win in convincing fashion. And with that, a situation was born that has never occurred in a NetherRealm game -- players from two countries outside the USA, facing off in Winners' Finals on the world's biggest fighting game stage.
In Losers, Milky Situation's Reptile had MIT's Tanya on the ropes, in a match that was his to take. But MIT exploited Milky's lack of knowledge of when to poke, armor, and jump out of Tanya's pressure, stealing the match back from the jaws of defeat in the corner. In the second game, MIT was fully in control till the end, and kept Milky from being able to get his offense started. Sonic Fox and Zyphox faced off next -- and Sonic repeatedly took advantage of Liu Kang's whiffed backfist overheads to deal significant damage. Although Zyphox adjusted in Game 2, Sonic stayed a read ahead at all times, and rolled on swiftly to advance.
After MIT made quick work of Ketchup, aided by some nerves and a tide of constant heartbreaking combo drops, two of the tournament's heavy favorites -- DJT and Sonic Fox -- woulf face off in Losers. With both of them having been pegged by many to potentially win it all, the prospect that one of the two would end up going home before Losers Finals was sobering. The set started at a breakneck pace with the pair dueling back and forth, until Sonic snatched game one with a clutch last-second X-ray. Sticking to his gameplan of using Kitana's fans to frustrate Kung Lao's mobility while running in to contest the neutral space and stymie Denzell's grounded offense, Sonic took the second game in exactly the same fashion, with the same X-ray in the same situation, as the crowd went wild.
In Winners' Finals, the set between HoneyBee and Foxy started off at 100 miles per hour, with each player taking turns cornering the other and barely letting him move. Although HoneyBee fought valiantly, Foxy seemed to have him figured out by the second game, catching him with constant jump-ins and jump back punches every time HoneyBee attempted to move in. And in Losers, the plot thickened as MIT's Covert Ops Sonya went head-to-head with Sonic Fox's Kitana. Although MIT started well, Sonic had compensated by Round 2 -- and in a juicy twist, sent MIT out the same way his brother went, with a late-game armored X-Ray.
Down to the final 3, Sonic and HoneyBee embarked on a nailbiter of a duel in Losers Finals. Matching each other read for read, each player was constantly an inch away from death as they fought to survive. In front of 164,000 viewers online and the thousands on the EVO floorWith fans white-knuckled and the audience on the edge of their seats, they traded matches evenly, accompanied by screams and shouts at every turns. Although Sonic seemed to be in danger at all times, he kept his wits about him, fighting down to the last second and untimately defeating HoneyBee.
And in Grand Finals, Sonic and Foxy put on a show, both looking prepared for each other in fine form. Sonic's battle was one to avoid the corner, as Foxy's pressure there proved to be relentless. And Foxy tried his best to stay grounded and interrupt the rhythm of Sonic's fans with timely runs into Lao's footsie normals. After Foxy went to his Buzzsaw variation to try to better open Sonic up, Sonic countered with Erron Black, mixing Foxy up for days and ultimately resetting the bracket. And an a decision that may have been inexplicable to many other than himself, Foxy chose to stick with Buzzsaw Lao through the final 3 games, as Sonic's Erron Black ultimately crushed his title hopes, removing his final pixel of life with impeccably-placed caltrops to win his first Mortal Kombat X EVO championship and his second EVO title in as many years.
If anything, Sunday's finals were a victory not just for young Sonic and his impressive run over the last two years, but for the game itself -- as in front of up to 188,000 viewers and the entire FGC, the diversity and level of fundaments on display was something we can all be proud of. And although the USA would ultimately win the day, both the UK and Canada showed up in a major, major way this weekend, and their competitiveness on the global level can no longer be denied.
So what's next? We'll find out soon -- in the meantime, congratulations to Sonic Fox, and to everyone who competed in the largest Mortal Kombat tournament ever held. We refuse to be held down, and the community's next chapter is just beginning.
TOP 8 RESULTS
1) cR Sonic Fox (Kitana, Erron Black)
2) PND | A Foxy Grampa (Kung Lao)
3) cR. HoneyBee (D'Vorah)
4) YOMI MIT (Tanya)
5) YOMI DJT (Kung Lao)
5) PND|Ketchup (Quan Chi)
7) YOMI Zyphox (Liu Kang)
7) Milky Situation (Reptile)
STREAM ARCHIVE
http://www.twitch.tv/srkevo1/v/7998938?t=2h28m45s
FULL LIST OF BRACKETS
http://evo2015.s3.amazonaws.com/brackets/index.html
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