Well another east coast tournament in the bag and for me this was one of the funnest ones yet. Winter Brawl 5 marks my 1 year anniversary since I started going to Big E tournaments, my first obviously being Winter Brawl 4. So much happened and I had so many great moments with so many great people that Im gonna have to really take my time writing this so I can remember it all.
First and foremost, Big Eric and Hubbs. Without you none of this could ever happen. You guys bend over backwards every single time to support MK and to have us at your tournaments and you'll never know just how much we appreciate what you guys do and how much the MK community is in your debt for everything you do to support us.
Shock! In a single word, just Shock! Shock is the foundation upon which all of this has been built. He started with nothing and built what we have from the ground up. His love for the MK community is unparalleled and we all love him back for never giving up, even when no one was playing Mortal Kombat at tournaments and for striving to make every tournament better than the last and get MK the respect it so rightfully deserves. Look how far weve come because of Shock.
But heres the thing about Shock, hes not looking for a medal for what hes done. Hes done everything for love of the game and the community. The best way any of us can thank Shock for everything hes done for us is to simply come down and play in a Mortal Kombat tournament, because thats all he ever really wanted in the first place.
Love you bro, your an inspiration to us all.
9.95(Phil). If Shock is the foundation, then Phil is the workhorse. Phil is the one that "makes shit happen" He brings order to chaos and turns dissonance into harmony. Its easy to imagine that if we did not have Phil we would likely go to these tournaments, get drunk and play casuals all day lol. He is absolutely THE most essential person we have in the community when it comes to running tournaments. There seems to be no limit on his ability to juggle multiple tasks at once and get them all accompished as well.
When we have a question, want to know something or get anything done at all, the person we all turn to is Phil. He is a natural leader and indispensible to the MK community, and he once again made sure everything went smoothly at Winter Brawl. Hes also one of my best friends. Thank you Phil and much love bro.
Storms! Bro your becoming old hat at this by now. Its always great to see you and I was glad I was able to mod your stick and give everyone a chance to check out the awesome MadCatz MK T.E. The roundtable discussion was a great idea and I think we all had alot of fun doing it. And as always thank you for lugging that giant UMK3 mega cab to the tournament. The new sticks and buttons felt great and just have to be broken in a bit more and they will be good to go. Also huge thanks for everything you do with regards to media and filming of the tournament itself. Without you we wouldnt have the thorough documentation of everything that goes down at these events.
Aure. Im really glad you came bro. Anytime you want to come to another one Il always be happy to give you a lift. You have a hysterical sense of humor, and your very laid back and intelligent. The drive home just flew by because of the convo we were having and I hope everything we talked about actually happens. Also thanks for all your tips and encouragement. Also thanks for going on all the food runs bro. If it wasnt for you I dont think I would have eaten once all weekend.
Reo. Reo has become my regular travelling buddy, as I think this is about the 4th tournament Ive brought him out to. To me Reo is the definition of what it means to be a high level player. He learns and adapts faster than any other player Ive ever met, and I still dont understand how the hell he does it. Its like magic watchng him do it. Reo does more than just play the game, he plays the player. I cant wait to get on some MK9 with him. Im gonna camp outside his house with a Playstation lol
Krayzie Bone! Man of all the people I had been dying to meet, I had been looking foward to meeting you for the longest time. When I first joined the MK community you were one of the main people I looked up to and respected I learned alot from you and still continue to. You are just as chill and cool in person as I had always hoped. And I had a great time any moment I got to chill,play and just hang out with you. Thank you so much for the supreme dedication and flying all the way from Cali to come to Winter Brawl. It really made my day to have you there and to have you be apart of the roundtable discussion to because youve done so much for all of us over the years.
Tom Brady. Tom has been going to touraments since the time of the dinosaurs. His first tournament win was against a T.Rex I think lol. But seriously Tom is another one of those people who sees so clearly the direction the MK community needs to keep moving. He is also a natural leader and spokesperson. Its always great to see you bro, and I think come MK9 your gonna get to see tournament MK take off like youve always dreamed it could. On some of the forums I think Tom is often misunderstood, but when you meet and talk to him in person it becomes instantly clear how much he loves the community and how much he wants it to succeed.
Gerchap. Man, what a nice guy. In fact I was disarmed at first by how nice a guy he was.(snappy dresser to
) It was really great that you drove all the way down from Massachussets to support the tournament scene for Mortal Kombat.
Look I know there has been alot of history between TYM and MKU, but if I can go to a tournament and meet Gerchap, shake his hand, hang out with him, have a good time and talk with him and come away from it feeling good and knowing I had met a genuine and cool guy then I believe there is hope for us all. And I hope one day soon that the history between TYM and MKU can be just that, history. And that we can all begin working together for the greater good and prosperity of the MK community. All of us.
Sweet Johnny Cage. Man of all the moments, I will never forget the epic tourament match I had with SJC in UMK3. For me it was hair raising and a real nail biter. John loves MK and has ALWAYS been one of our biggest supporters. And I know he has huge plans for MK9 at ECT3. All around John is one the coolest guys I have ever met.
Li Joe. Joe is a world renouned fighting game player. Hes known all over the world as a great player in Street Fighter. But his roots are in Mortal Kombat and he has never forgotten that. Thank you so much man for being part of the roundtale discussion and givning us your insights on what we have to do to make MK9 succeed and make it the biggest tournament MK yet.
DanCock. It was great to see you again bro. You did a great job running the MKDC tournament and your a diehard supporter of tournament MK. I hope you keep coming out to these and having a great time as well.
MarkMan. Dude, great freaking job on the "Ultimate edition combat panel" Thanks for the Madcatz T shirt as well as everything your doing to support MK and to support MK9's future at tournaments. As someone who has actually gotten to play on the new Madcatz MK stick, let me tell you guys exactly what Madcatz has done. Its no secret that the original Madcatz SF4 T.E. stick is the most popular, most used and best selling arcade stick in the history of arcade sticks. You cannot go to a tournament without seeing them everywhere and in nearly everyones hands. Now with the "Ultimate edition combat panel" Madcatz has given every player that already has one and wants to play MK9 and easy way to turn they're T.E. into an MK stick. And it WORKS. It works really well. Take it from me because Ive played on it. No one will be dissapointed and it will work excellent for MK9. Just remember for MK you gotta put a battop and a circle gate on the stick for even more authenticity.
Btbb,Dookiebrain,David Gem and DCI guy. ClassicMK all up in Winter Brawl and handlin buisness in MK2. It was great to again see ClassicMK make its dominance in MK2 felt and a tremendous performance between Btbb and David Gem in the grand finals. Congratulations to David Gem on the win. Great showing guys. We did it right this time. MK2 was up early and then we got it blasting on the projector for all to see.
Summoning. One of my favorite guys. The purest player out there. He plays to have fun, he doesnt care what place he comes in or how well he does in tournaments. He just wants to play and have a good time and thats what hes all about. I can sit and play casuals with Summoning forever whether in MK2 or UMK3 I dont care I just have a great time playing with him. Come MK9 Il be on XBL every night with this dude.
AC1984!!! The champ! Simon showed what he was made of this weekend. He played one of his best tournaments ever and walked off with the championship at the top of a very tough bracket.
No Doubt Arion. Man how good is this guy! A tremendous showing in the UMK3 tournament coming in 2nd. And this all from someone who has still been only playing the game for far less than a year. No doubt is a future champion in the making. A year from now no one will be able to touch him.
Riu 48. I had a good time talking to you when you came to my room for some UMK3 casuals friday night. Great stuff man and its good to see you coming out to tournaments more and more.
Arturo "Sabin" Sanchez. I had a really good talk with you outside the hotel about MK9 and it was really great to see a top Street Fighter player so excited for MK9 I really like your idea about having a get together whn MK9 gets released and streaming it.
Arez GOW. Eric Im so glad we were able to get you down bro. You had a really solid performance in the UMK3 tournament and I was glad to see you do so well. Our H.Smoke vs Ermac matches afterwards were also a high point for me. Alot of fun my man. And your just alot of fun to be around. Much love bro.
Im sure Im forgetting tons of people and If I remember I will add them later. But so much happens it such a short span of time its overwhelming trying to remember everything. So please understand If I forgot you it wasnt intentional or malicious. Its just so much information to process at once.
Last but not least I want to give a shout out to everyone on the stream from TYM,CMK,MKU,UMK that watched the stream and supported us and Mortal Kombat at Winter Brawl. Thank you guys.
and Thanks for making an MK shirt!!! 
