Top Player Exhibition Matches from the EVO 2011 Focus Fire Booth

Top Player Exhibition Matches from the EVO 2011 Focus Fire Booth
Keits by on August 4th, 2011 at 10:22 pm

I’m sure that many of you stopped by the Focus Fire booth at EVO 2011 to get warmed up or check out their awesome classic game tournaments. What you may have missed, however, is a recording station that a ton of high profile exhibition matches were played on. Below, you’ll find hours of epic showdowns in Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition (and a little Marvel vs Capcom 3). Here is just a short sample list of what you’ll see;

Poongko vs Latif
Latif vs Wolfkrone
Wolfkrone vs Gamerbee
Gamerbee vs Latif
Latif vs Starnab
Gamerbee vs Ryan Hart
Humanbomb vs Ryan Hart
Poongko vs Human Bomb
Poongko vs Gamerbee
G3RMAN LUG3R vs Big Marcus (aka Mig Barcus)
Humanbomb vs Aquasilk
Humanbomb vs Latif
Starnab vs Big Marcus
Starnab vs FlashMetroid
Poongko vs Aquasilk

Be sure to check out Focus Fire’s next event, Fighter X Shooter, being held in Chicago on September 2nd through the 4th.

  • Dingo Cheetobrows

    Ooh, I can’t wait to dive into these! Gotta do some reading though. Study, study, study…

  • _blank

    Lol don’t forget the hype that was the Serious Business HDR tourney xD. You know you wanna watch me get bodied by Zass.

  • damienjeffgomez

    poongko vs latif was probably my fav

  • level1online

    I hope someone recorded HDR matches.

  • Crysalim

    Some amazing sets here. Poongko x Gamerbee, Latif x Wolfkrone, Poongko x Latif (like another said), all highlights

  • Raion

    If German Luger is a top player…..

  • CraptacularOne

    The Poongko vs Gamerbee match was intense!

  • LKX

    Say what you will about Poongko (and his non-stop risk taking), he is always fun to watch.

    • Dingo Cheetobrows

      I agree. I always marveled and respected top-players. I had an immediate admiration when I first witnessed Valle, Choi, Daigo, and so on, in action… I liked Poongko when I saw him on Vanilla, but I wasn’t impressed or anything. However, his performance this year at Shadaloo Showdown really blew me away, and I enjoyed him more on a personable level, which I can’t say for other players. Not only is his style entertaining, but I genuinely enjoy the distinct art and personality he brings to a game.

  • TearsOfTheSky

    Wolfkrone and Latif are pretty much in my favorite vids, but Neo’s aggressive Juri is really awesome to just watch, props dude!

    And those are the selected MvC3 highlights? Really?
    Son, I am disappoint.

  • Ultimatekaos

    Am I the only one who doesnt care about the Noah matches?

    • kupo36

      if you go to youtube you will notice that baby videos have more views than anything else there..people just like seeing little kids do crazy stuff ;p

  • Budukai

    Liked Weirdo Neo’s play style with Juri. I’m trying to get a better understanding of her moveset, she’s very fun to play as. Especially with the projectile guessing your opponent has to deal with.

  • Sakura.Densetsu

    While it is obvious to see holes in Noah’s gameplay, it is also obvious where his strength is. He is super consistent at turning the slightest touch into 90-100% damage. With some patience and experience to help with his defense, he very well could be in the Top 8. Watching him is like watching someone like Justin Wong, it is obvious he sees things about this game nobody else does and he is playing a different game than you are.

    Noah is scary because while you are struggling for some BnB and tricks, he is just looking to land one hit and convert it into death. His team is designed to maximize this as well; Hulk, Wesker and Sentinel are all tanks health-wise. They also all fill different roles in his team in terms of what they are good against. He really is very smart in many very subtle ways. Even the fact he nails air exchanges even though people are looking for them because they know he is going to do them is very telling. His team is smart and does exactly what he wants it to. His ability to turn everything into death is brilliant. His ability to train his opponent to guess wrong on air-exchanges is also genius, and that is really what he is doing. He air-exchanges the way Daigo Shoryukens, he just knows. You are countering wrong because he has taught you to counter wrong.

    Anyone who doesn’t care about Noah isn’t really paying attention to him and why he is winning.

    • Man Town Mayor

      You seriously overestimate and over-analyzed this kid. Every video I’ve watched from him just shows me that he has learned how to make Hulk’s jumping S somewhat safe, he waits for it to hit, and he proceeds to do lots of up exchanges in his combo.

      Never mind that the guy he’s playing only countered the up exchange once in the whole video. The guy should be not pressing buttons in Hulk’s face anyway.

      His team is most certainly NOT smart. It is one of the most scrub friendly teams in the game. Hulk is the easiest character to play (strategy wise) in the game. Sentinel has some advanced stuff, but you’re not seeing any of it here. Both of these characters are extremely easy to deal with metagame-wise now (why do you think people booed when they announced Sentinel has less health in UMVC3?), but for some reason the people he’s playing against are still getting hit by the same stuff. I think every time this kid beats anyone who’s not a scrub it’s because they got nervous that they might lose to an eight year old. For example, in the first video, the guy’s level 3 X Factor Akuma hit Noah’s point character two or three times in a row (not combos, just random ground hits), but was so nervous he dropped his combo before it started several times.

      This kid is not a prodigy, he’s just good at the game for an 8 year old. An 8 year old that plays Mozart is a prodigy, an 8 year old that plays Marvel 3 is an 8 year old. He’s not mini Justin Wong, he’s not gonna win any tournaments playing like this. I hope he gets older and evolves as a player (maybe by age 12 he’ll be getting top 8 if he keeps at it), but that time is not right now. He is not brilliance in motion. I am impressed that a child of his age could be at a huge tournament like this and not be nervous, and I’m very impressed that he seems to play the game because he enjoys it, but he isn’t nearly as impressive as you guys are making him out to be.

  • Shishioh

    Noah is borderline autistic and the fact that he made it so far is a testament to how horribad most players at Evo were. He isn’t good at shit but some random X-Factor combo to kill one person. Outside of that quirkyness, he should have been outplayed 100% of the time by those who actually study the fucking game.

    Stupid ass combo kids losing to a child…

    • Eternal

      Go to EVO 2k12 then and show us who is the best.

      Put your quarter up or quit baggin on the kid.

      • Keres

        Amen.

    • Midersaw

      I agree that Noah still has a lot of growth to do as a player, and it seemed to me that Seth Killian and UltraDavid were covering up some of his mistakes by saying that he was going for extra damage or a reset when it looked like he just made an error.

      But when you, and people like you, say stuff like this you just come across as super salty because at the tender age of 8 Noah has already achieved something you never will. He made top 48 at Evo, losing to Chris G who was in the top 8, and he is getting widespread recognition for that. You sound jealous that Noah, who may or may not “study the fucking game” as much as you, has already accomplished what you can not.

      • Zmoney2006

        zing!!!!

    • Zmoney2006

      lmao (*shakes head*)

      It’s obvious through the straight-forwardness of his metagame, the lack of use in using each character to their absolute fullest, the non-use of assists, and the sheer amount of aggression in his attacks that Noah is not the most experienced player in the business. He has a lot more practice, research, and matches to come his ay before he can become a consistent threat to tourney players worldwide (which in time I am ABSOLUTELY sure he will.) He is no Justin Wong. But then again…

      He is 8.

      The reality that Noah made it as far as he did in the tourney despite being challenged by players from all across the world and players that have an intense amount of skill and experience and creativity in the game is just a testament to how all the practice in the world and all the knowledge in your head and all the hours of practice you ground through doesn’t mean anything unless you can execute and perform what you have learned when the time comes. Choking, dropping combos, falling for frame traps, making obvious mistakes, following a pattern, etc are all things that afflict many in a tourney scene and with the thought of hundreds maybe even thousands of people watching your match just can be too much for many to pull through. And I think that had a lot to do with many people’s losses this Evo.

      Noah on the other hand is young. While I am sure he felt anxious and nervous at times, due to his young age and lack of experience in the FGC, he went into Evo without fear and apprehension in his opponents that he was to face. He went in just knowing the important things of what he was taught and he went in full force. There was no “X-Factor” that certain High-level players such as Justin Wong and Daigo emminate when they play. In fact I would even go as far as to say that if anything, HE was the one “emminating” that “X-Factor” being only 8 years old and knocking people out left and right.

      People would come in thinking that this is just some random young kid and not wanting to be an asshole would go only half-way in when fighting only to get blown up. Then realizing the situation that they have just put themselves in, try to regain their composure in a panic and because they didn’t take their opponent seriously from the start, never took the time to read their opponent and learn from their mistakes (and there were mistakes) that they could have capitalized on causing them to lose out. That plus the fact that Noah’s team consisted of heavy hitters just made thigs all the more worse for any who came in his path.

      Noah was an anomaly that is very rare but does occur every once and while. He is no all time pro yet but starting at the age that he has he most definitely will be in the near future. And that is a fact.

  • Eternal

    Poongko plays SF4 like it was Marvel.

    Also on a less positive note, Seth, Ryu, Juri, and Ibuki all have AWFUL english voices :|

    T Hawks wouldn’t be bad for another character but it totally doesn’t fit HIM.

    • NyuBomber

      Juri’s ENG voice is sex, shut up your face.

  • Shishioh

    I’ll money match a child just for you.

  • Shishioh

    Stop playing nanny. You know as well as I know that he should have been sent packing if the other/older players would have just ask themselves “What would a kid do in this situation?”.

    Teach a kid something cool, like a combo, and they’ll try to re-enact the situation to get said combo the same way, every single time. In this case, it was Hulk St.M, St.H and a mix between anything with armor with Sent.

    Someone obviously taught him that “People can’t stop you when you press these buttons with these characters”.

    Props to him for making the fighting game community look god awful though. Trolling Evo was godlike.

    But yeah, I’m not on Noah’s Ark/Bandwagon.

    • Eternal

      Seeing as you can’t seem to figure out the “reply” button on the comments section. My hopes for your ability to blow up the MvC3 with your “mad skillz” and show us all who is “the very best like no one ever was” is slim to non-existent. Feel free to keep raging that you can’t seem to get the same respect as this kid though.

      • MastaKojo

        Gotta agreed with you. Noah’s play is nothing spectacular, simple combo simple gameplay, but the important thing is he is executing it very well. He clearly out smart most of the players to reach top 48 at evo. Simple combos don’t mean bad players, a lot of people think high execution = high skill which is not the case. Higher execution enables you to optimize damage per openings and give you more options. Simple combos and simple gameplans give you more consistency. Just look at Viscant, he doesn’t do any extended combos with any of his characters, but he plays a solid mixup games, made a lot of good reads and won the Evo, plain and simple.

        • takeurlife2

          he didnt really outsmart anyone. They pretty much beat themselves and ran into hulk and sent armor moves. I will admit that his play looks much more solid in these after hours videos, but many much better players just got unlucky and ran into good players before he had to. In other words, he played bad players up until Chris G.

          • Midersaw

            Royal Flush didn’t seem like a bad player to me.

          • Dingo Cheetobrows

            I agree with most of this little thread of comments have going, minus the completely negative stuff about Noah. I won’t say he’s “da shit” or anything, but I give him props and respect. Competing at Evo isn’t a small task, and considering its magnitude, you’re not going to run into a lot of free scrubs. Perhaps in your first 10 matches or so, but not after you’re top 100 deep. To get that far, with the pressure of a huge audience and the highly coveted Number One spot, it’s definitely no walk in the park to keep solidified and not crumble by these demands. Then you realize this kid is 8. What the hell did we know on a strategic level at the age of 8. Like, seriously, to see a kid perform like this at that age is remarkable, I don’t care what anyone says. Could he of made it farther? Maybe, and maybe not. However, he’s a prodigy nonetheless, which is something not so many people get, especially in this community. This kid is going to be hell as he gets older. And, just to reiterate, he’s 8. He’s got a ways away until 10 years old, 12 years old, and he’s still going to be considered very young and ahead of his skill curve. It’s an honor to have your skill recognized at any age in this community, and I really look forward to Noah’s future.

    • justiceg

      Shishioh, at 8 years old you were still having problems with pooping yourself. Maybe keep that in perspective.

  • KillaFox

    That shit would’ve never happened in MvC2. NEVER. Getting hit by up-tags every fucking time, you should be ashamed of yourself.

  • Noxe

    A lot of these people hating on Noah saying things he just got lucky, and everything he did was very basic are basically just hating. Was everything he did perfect? NO! OFC not but there were things he did that showed he had an understanding of the game above what most others have.

    In one of these videos, plain as day, he had just killed a character and wesker was on his way in, he did an empty jump into a command grab to open him up. I’m sorry if an 8 year old can pull off mind games like that, and actually understand what hes doing, hes a prodigy in my mind. Like I said, everything he did wasn’t brilliant, but there were things like that, you have to respect this kid because those types of things actually take some understanding to do.

  • Shishioh

    At 8, I already knew how to play Street Fighter competently enough to beat certain older people/idiots. But the minute you put me up against someone who just knew that I was going to do knee jerk reactions to things, I got squashed. It made me a better player overall and I wish I could thank most of the people who beat my ass today. You’re too busy saying “He’s a kid and he’s cute APADOOO!!!” too realize that he is pretty awful and anyone losing to him should fucking quit.

    If that kid got top 48 at Evo, and half of the people who made top 100 spots played the way they do, then what does that say about our community? We have a lot of work to do…

    I wish I wasn’t against the concept of Evo as a mainstream FG tournament. I like MvC3 but I don’t like the fact that everything I would play there would get no air time at all.

    If Noah comes to Texas Showdown or goes to Final Round, I’ll see if I can get an exhibition with him to expose him to his own problems. If the idiots saying “He’s just a kid!!!” would drop the mommy act and actually try to train this kid to be a killer, then I’d be impressed with him and the community.

    And the reply button only works in the thread, which I have yet to go into because I usually get caught up on looking at videos or studying guides/notes/practicing/playing. But when the sweeping consensus is that I’m shitting on him is so broad, it doesn’t matter if I use it or not. You fucking see it no matter what.

  • NyuBomber

    Noah is not great, but he definitely has some grasps of what one needs to be good at fighters. It’s not just throwing out the super armor moves that got him wins, he made some very legit tactical decisions that lead to big damage, such as that Sentinel empty jump on the incoming Wesker. At the same time, like it’s been said, his defense isn’t that good.

    He picked characters that played to his strengths and, simultaneously, played on the inadequacies/ignorance of his opponents. Fundamentals. They will get you far.

    I hope he keeps going, because he CAN be great. I give him props for getting where he got, definitely. But he’s not great now.

  • UTDC.Justin

    Obviously a lot of players are just nervous around kids, which is good. ChrisG looked extremely comfortable near an 8 year old, which was just scary.

  • Shishioh

    Nervous around kids? I’m not getting that one at all. If anything, I would be more than happy to play a child over a seasoned vet. Sounds like an excuse for them…

  • Nine

    Props to Neo’s Juri.

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