It looks about that time folks– the final of the three SRK Showmatches featuring Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 just aired– and the invitational’s roster couldn’t have been anymore stacked with killers. Eight of the strongest Marvel players descended upon Super Arcade in the heart of “SoCal” for that $1000 dollar prize reserved for the top spot. You guys already know the drill, but just to keep you on the up and up— here are the rules:
- Single Elim: No losers bracket. SBO, eat your heart out.
- Players must win 3/5 to advance.
- No Character Restrictions.
- Winner receives irrefutable bragging rights and $1000 to hold over the other players heads till the end of eternity, or at least till they spend it on something expensive.
The Stream went up at 9pm, courtesy of IEBattlegrounds. Now, for the definition of what a death bracket is, please consult the following:
If you need any further reminder of how ridiculously insane this bracket is– check out our player introductions. Then again, chances are you know who these players are, and understand that the line-up above is an EVO top 8 quality set of contenders.
Match Log below.
Stream below, courtesy of our friends from IE Battlegrounds– coming to you from the SRK Live Twitch.tv channel.
Watch live video from Shoryuken Live on XBL on www.twitch.tv
PRE-SHOW INTERVIEWS
DIOS X
- Wants to “lame it out” against Justin. Mainly because Iron Fist kills you in one hit.
- Would rather play Justin NOW rather than later.
JUSTIN W
- Running Iron Fist. Feels match against Doom is hard. When versing Dios X, “Pretty much my whole goal is to kill Doom.”
- Is glad people can see any character is playable.
- Doesn’t feel like he would pick Iron Fist for a big tournament. Feels he’s still playable though.
- “In this type of game, EVERYONE’S a threat.”
R1
Justin Wong(Iron Fist, Wolverine, Akuma) Vs. Dios X(Sentinel, Doom, Storm)
The match started with Justin’s patiently dominating the match. Strong calculated play kept Justin in the game, as he whittled down Dios’ team one by one. The second game had Justin dominating — gaining the lead with a Happy Birthday and finishing the match decisively after that. In game 3 however, Dios got his own Happy Birthday with Sentinel, killing Justin’s Akuma and Iron fist. Dios’ Doom closes it out quickly for a point. However, the third game had Justin take out Dios’ Doom OFF screen. However, Dios played patient and killed both Iron Fist and Wolverine with Storm. However– Justin’s Akuma fearlessly closed out the game with some more of those strong fundamentals. Justin takes it 3-1.
Fanatiq(Magneto, Storm, Sentinel) Vs. Marn(Captain America, Zero, Vergil)
A VERY strong match. The first game had Marn ripping through Fanatiq’s team with Captain America and Zero. One mix-up with Cap, and Marn’s trademark aggressive Zero took the first game convincingly for Marn. The onslaught didn’t stop there, as in the second round a bad super by Fanatiq cost him big– with Captain America throwing out his Charging Star and catching both STORM and SENTINEL in the crossfire. Fanatiq’s Magneto came back to kill Cap — but it wasn’t enough to stop Marn’s Zero from cutting up Mags VERY quickly. Round 3 was a change for Fanatiq, playing more caustically, choosing more carefully when to rush in and when to hold back. It paid off in Dividends, with Fanatiq winning the war of attrition against Zero and Cap, and finishing off Vergil quickly. Round 4 saw a close set between Fanatiq and Marn– with Storm killing Marn’s Cap. That didn’t last long though, as Zero ran circles around Storm, and with some smart play — chipped out Magneto. Sentinel came back to take out Virgil, but Fantiq wasn’t able to clutch it out against Zero– who threw some more chip damage at Sentinel, clutching the win out for Marn. 3-1.
Floe(Wesker, Nemesis, Strider) Vs. Cl0ckw0rk(Doom, Strider, Ammy and Doom, Ammy, Phoenix)
Floe’s Wesker ran a train through Cl0cks starting line-up, burning through Strider and Ammy’s low health quickly. Cl0ck made a surprising switch to Phoenix the second game– and though the game went stronger in Cl0cks favor– Phoenix wasn’t strong enough to take out Floe’s Strider, who capitalized on one vajra teleport to take Game 2. Cl0ck switched back to his original line-up, but despite stronger play– he wasn’t able to clutch it out against Floe’s Wesker. One level 3 later, Ammy was down– and Floe had one 3-0.
Viscant(Wesker, Doom, Phoenix) Vs. Killer Kai(Zero, Taskmaster, Wesker)
Viscant’s Wesker played strong all three rounds of the match, challenging Kai’s Zero to a set of strong aggressive rounds. All of the games started with a strong showdown between Zero and Wesker. But Viscant, still holding down Jean Gray with a strong string of loyalty, clutched it out consistently over Kai’s Wesker. Stronger mix up game edged out the match, taking the game for Viscant 3-0.
R2
Justin Wong(Iron Fist, Wolverine, Akuma) Vs. Marn(Captain America, Zero, Vergil)
Justin swiftly took game one against Marn– Iron Fist working over time. The set stayed strong for Justin, as he kept capitalizing on impatient passes from Marn, killing Zero quite quickly every change he got. Marn went up a point in the third round, picking up a Happy Birthday against Justin. But it wasn’t for long, as the fourth game saw Justin’s patience once again besting Marn’s aggressive rushdown. Justin takes it 3-1.
Viscant(Wesker, Doom, Phoenix) Vs. Floe(Nemesis, Wesker, Strider)
A strong back and forth set between both players. Floe’s using the Vajra assist to his advantage for some tricky pressure from Wesker and Nemesis– and Viscant pulling it out with Dark Phoenix when the chips were down. Speaking of Wesker, both players saw some even ground from the new self proclaimed king of UMvC3. Viscant’s conservative play, easily matching Floe’s with some slightly trickier mix-ups and strong fundamentals. Floe made some smart moves, capitalizing on Viscant”s weak Doom in the later matches. The last match remained close– but one Happy Birthday for Viscant sealed the deal for the Phoenix loyalist: 3-2. Great set.
R3
THIRD PLACE FIGHT: Marn(Captain America, Zero, Vergil) Vs. Floe(Nemesis, Strider, Wesker)
The match didn’t start out well for Floe, who choked a sure-win early on in the first game to give Marn the lead. Floe tied it up quickly the second, however, making strong use once again of Striders excellent Vajra assist. As the matches progressed, Floe’s Strider used some tricky mix-up’s, and interesting pressure to try to check Marn’s Zero– and for the most part it worked… however as the games wore on, Marn intensified his mix-ups, breaking through Floe’s defense, and eventually sealing the last game with a Happy Birthday. Marn wins 3-2.
GRAND FINALS: Viscant(Wesker, Doom, Phoenix and Wesker, Haggar, Phoenix) vs. Justin Wong(Iron Fist, Wolverine, Akuma)
Justin started out strong, taking out Phoenix in the early moments of the first game, then picking apart Viscants team little by little. Viscant came back in the second, playing Dark Phoenix quite aptly, bringing the game to a tie in strong fashion. From there, it was down hill for Viscant– as Justin started to play much more aggressively and started to bring out his Wolverine(still a beast), which ended up cutting through Viscants team with some strong use of X-Factor. And though it’s already been said countless times, Justin’s Iron Fist remained in top form, dealing out massive amounts of damage from any stray mistake. Viscant tried to salvage the third game, counter-picking back to his original EVO 2K11 line-up, but some sloppy mistakes gave Justin the edge enough to kill Viscant’s Phoenix and Wesker, leaving Hagger by his lonesome to face Iron Fist. A few short combos later, Justin took the tournament 3-1.
