At this point, IGAU at Next Level Battle Circuit is starting to look like a weekly allowance/rent collection/donation fund for Rico Suave. That's how dominant he has been as of late in Brooklyn, and he cemented his ownership of the tournament's top spot last night with his 6th or 7th win in 2 months time. Although Rico's victory has become the weekly story at Next Level, the tournament this week was anything but predictable -- as two players brought their Bane and Hawkgirl to NLBC to shake up the bracket, and will likely have more than a few people working on those matchups in these next few weeks.
The excitement started early on, as 'Grr' brought his Bane to bear on the competition. Seeded against KDZ in his very first match, many assumed that a crushing defeat was a foregone conclusion and destruction would be swift. But to the surprise of many, Grr used Bane's range and armor to take the first round from KDZ in less than 10 seconds of game time. With Arturo Sanchez joking to "normalize Bane", Grr stampeded through the first match, winning with about 140% life remaining and causing both the stream chat and the audience of onlookers to go crazy.
As Triforce looked on, KDZ was able to recover, and adjusted quickly in the next match, keeping Bane out of his comfort zone and working to a commanding win. Grr came back to make the 3rd game competitive at the start, but KDZ was onto him by this point and rolled on to a win. However, Grr eliminated NYC Fab next offstream, and was able to beat one more player before he was eliminated from the bracket.
Rico's victory dance after sending DragonGod to Losers
But the surprises for the evening were far from over, as Hawkgirl player Husky Brown (who had put Fab into losers in the first round) now faced KDZ in Round 2. It was apparent right away that something unusual was about to happen, as Husky used Hawkgirl's d1 and d2 to frustrate Superman's footsie attempts, and made great use of Hawkgirl's mobility, never staying in one place and controlling the air with Mace tosses and flying kicks. Gaining momentum as the match went on, he dominated the 2nd round and won with a life bar to spare. In the second round Husky started strong once again, forcing KDZ to switch to a defensive, zoning style in an effort to counter Hawkgirl's control of the stage space. But Husky was able to keep Superman pinned down with pressure, and battered him relentlessly to win the set 2-0.
With the bracket taking a brief pause for AE and Marvel, the resume of play found frequent rivals Rico Suave, EMP DragonGod, and KDZ on a collision course. With DragonGod putting Husky Brown in losers, KDZ and Husky found themselves face to face yet again. This time, KDZ set out to lock Hawkgirl down from the outset, and never gave her much room to breathe. Although the game was close once again, KDZ used his super to take the first game, and went up by an entire lifebar in the second, bating Husky into yet another super to advance. With DragonGod going up 2-0 over Rico in Winners Finals, but then losing 3 straight games to a surprising comeback, KDZ and DragonGod would face each other to vie for 3rd place.
DragonGod looked to be in trouble early on, as KDZ fully controlled the first game and shut down most of Black Adam's offense. But after being put on the ropes and cornered again in Game 2, a fortuitous combo drop from KDZ allowed DragonGod to steal the match. Carrying his momentum into Game 3, DragonGod used BA's jumping 2 to shut down Superman's f2 and come out on top. By the 4th game, DragonGod continued to walk backward and whiff punish all of Superman's advances, and then rush in with his trait for chip damage, taking the game and putting himself into Grand Finals with a 3-1 win.
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Grand Finals was an exciting set, as DragonGod looked stronger than in previous weeks, and went toe to toe with Rico in each match. With DragonGod building momentum and going up 2-1, the matches became closer and closer as the set evened up. But Rico regained his top shape in the last match, looking strong as he closed DragonGod out and earned yet another top placing at NLBC.
Rico's victory sets up a number of interesting questions; with Rico having defeated both KDZ and Chris G in recent weeks, does he have the tools to win it all at a major in the near future? Also, has Black Adam become the Kryptonite to KDZ's Kal-El? With KDZ having escaped the top level BA players at EVO, what does he need to do in order to regain confidence in the matchup? In recent weeks Chris G, Rico, and DragonGod have all posed problems for KDZ's otherwise unstoppable superman, and it will be important to see what adjustments he makes going into the weeks ahead.
The level of competition for IGAU is pushing higher as new players bring their characters to the forefront. With underdogs showing up at both the Break and NLBC and putting on memorable performances, the game is looking stronger than ever on the East Coast. What will happen next week? Tune in to find out.
Top 4:
1) Rico Suave (Black Adam, Doomsday)
2) EMP DragonGod (Black Adam)
3) EMP/VxG KDZ (Superman)
4) Husky Brown (Hawkgirl)
Stream Archive:
http://www.twitch.tv/nycfurby/b/432056178?t=36m1s (Part 1)
http://www.twitch.tv/nycfurby/b/432056178?t=3h40m40s (Part 2)
Bracket (Incomplete):
http://nextlevel.challonge.com/NLBC28INJ
The excitement started early on, as 'Grr' brought his Bane to bear on the competition. Seeded against KDZ in his very first match, many assumed that a crushing defeat was a foregone conclusion and destruction would be swift. But to the surprise of many, Grr used Bane's range and armor to take the first round from KDZ in less than 10 seconds of game time. With Arturo Sanchez joking to "normalize Bane", Grr stampeded through the first match, winning with about 140% life remaining and causing both the stream chat and the audience of onlookers to go crazy.
As Triforce looked on, KDZ was able to recover, and adjusted quickly in the next match, keeping Bane out of his comfort zone and working to a commanding win. Grr came back to make the 3rd game competitive at the start, but KDZ was onto him by this point and rolled on to a win. However, Grr eliminated NYC Fab next offstream, and was able to beat one more player before he was eliminated from the bracket.
Rico's victory dance after sending DragonGod to Losers
But the surprises for the evening were far from over, as Hawkgirl player Husky Brown (who had put Fab into losers in the first round) now faced KDZ in Round 2. It was apparent right away that something unusual was about to happen, as Husky used Hawkgirl's d1 and d2 to frustrate Superman's footsie attempts, and made great use of Hawkgirl's mobility, never staying in one place and controlling the air with Mace tosses and flying kicks. Gaining momentum as the match went on, he dominated the 2nd round and won with a life bar to spare. In the second round Husky started strong once again, forcing KDZ to switch to a defensive, zoning style in an effort to counter Hawkgirl's control of the stage space. But Husky was able to keep Superman pinned down with pressure, and battered him relentlessly to win the set 2-0.
With the bracket taking a brief pause for AE and Marvel, the resume of play found frequent rivals Rico Suave, EMP DragonGod, and KDZ on a collision course. With DragonGod putting Husky Brown in losers, KDZ and Husky found themselves face to face yet again. This time, KDZ set out to lock Hawkgirl down from the outset, and never gave her much room to breathe. Although the game was close once again, KDZ used his super to take the first game, and went up by an entire lifebar in the second, bating Husky into yet another super to advance. With DragonGod going up 2-0 over Rico in Winners Finals, but then losing 3 straight games to a surprising comeback, KDZ and DragonGod would face each other to vie for 3rd place.
DragonGod looked to be in trouble early on, as KDZ fully controlled the first game and shut down most of Black Adam's offense. But after being put on the ropes and cornered again in Game 2, a fortuitous combo drop from KDZ allowed DragonGod to steal the match. Carrying his momentum into Game 3, DragonGod used BA's jumping 2 to shut down Superman's f2 and come out on top. By the 4th game, DragonGod continued to walk backward and whiff punish all of Superman's advances, and then rush in with his trait for chip damage, taking the game and putting himself into Grand Finals with a 3-1 win.
---------------------------
Grand Finals was an exciting set, as DragonGod looked stronger than in previous weeks, and went toe to toe with Rico in each match. With DragonGod building momentum and going up 2-1, the matches became closer and closer as the set evened up. But Rico regained his top shape in the last match, looking strong as he closed DragonGod out and earned yet another top placing at NLBC.
Rico's victory sets up a number of interesting questions; with Rico having defeated both KDZ and Chris G in recent weeks, does he have the tools to win it all at a major in the near future? Also, has Black Adam become the Kryptonite to KDZ's Kal-El? With KDZ having escaped the top level BA players at EVO, what does he need to do in order to regain confidence in the matchup? In recent weeks Chris G, Rico, and DragonGod have all posed problems for KDZ's otherwise unstoppable superman, and it will be important to see what adjustments he makes going into the weeks ahead.
The level of competition for IGAU is pushing higher as new players bring their characters to the forefront. With underdogs showing up at both the Break and NLBC and putting on memorable performances, the game is looking stronger than ever on the East Coast. What will happen next week? Tune in to find out.
Top 4:
1) Rico Suave (Black Adam, Doomsday)
2) EMP DragonGod (Black Adam)
3) EMP/VxG KDZ (Superman)
4) Husky Brown (Hawkgirl)
Stream Archive:
http://www.twitch.tv/nycfurby/b/432056178?t=36m1s (Part 1)
http://www.twitch.tv/nycfurby/b/432056178?t=3h40m40s (Part 2)
Bracket (Incomplete):
http://nextlevel.challonge.com/NLBC28INJ
