2013 was the best year of my DOA career. I finally got over the hump in many mental aspects of my game and avenged some agonizing defeats. I dealt with a character crisis as well. It's a bit of a read but I hope you enjoy my post about my rise to becoming one of DOA's best players!
D-Town Beatdown (Dallas, TX)
I was coming off a lackluster performance at D.I.D. 8 losing to Perfect Legend on the last round and getting blown out by ElectrifiedMann. I was unsure of myself in DOA5 up to this point. I just didn't feel as explosive and up to par yet. ElectrifiedMann once again made my night a living hell as he sent me to losers 2-0. However when we fought again it was much closer although I still lost 3-2. I credit this match for giving me the confidence I needed moving forward.
WinterBrawl 7 (Philadelphia, PA)
This is still my most cherished tournament win to date. It was my first major tournament win and had the most opponents. Also I wasn't favored to win at all so it was a very rewarding experience. A month before this event I had been secretly practicing Sarah in hopes of catching people off guard with my pocket character. I pulled a colossal upset over XcaliburBladez who was coming off a win at NEC13 and had all the momentum in the world. I used that momentum to avenge my WCG DOA4 loss to Black Mamba. (I was up 2-0 and he proceeded to come back) This time HE went up 2-0 and I switched to my pocket Sarah and stormed back with clutch holds and a clutch power blow. I was on cloud 9 at this point. The crowd was hype and I felt I could not lose no matter who I had to fight. Which happened to be Xcal yet again. This time he went up 2-1 on my Genfu so I decided to reach in my pocket and pull out Sarah. This move proved right as I won 2 straight to win the tournament.
Texas Bar Fights (Dallas, TX)
I was feeling extremely confident after my first career major victory. Sarah was officially my new main and I felt unstoppable with her. However, one man brought me back to earth. MASTER proceeded to give me a 3-0 whoopin in winners final that nearly broke my confidence. However I quickly got up 2-0 in Grand Finals and was looking for a reset. He than proved his superiority by coming back 3 straight and beating me on the last hit last round.
Final Round (Atlanta, GA)
My confidence heading into this tournament was shaken by my defeat at the hands of Master. It brought me down to Earth and left me with one stunning realization. I was a very talented player who got in my own way most of the time and couldn't close the deal. But I made it out of my pool against Mr. Wah's bass (sarah bass is a HORRIBLE match up) and had to go up against Rikuto. I was feeling really confident against Rikuto. He typically struggles against me and Genfu in general. But I went with Sarah and he cleaned me out so i switched to Genfu. I tied up the set only for him to clutch it out. I wasn't ready for Baymans tank roll or his OHs at all. My next opponent was Julius Rage. I was clearly the favorite in this match but if I wasn't careful an upset could happen. After some start buttons, Zack beams, and Sarah 6ps, I advanced to top 8. I had to fight Master yet again. I used Genfu on Master because I felt more comfortable with him at the time. I sweeped the first match very quickly but unfortunately for me, Master settled down. The match went to the very last round, last hit and he clutched it out again. I felt progress was made despite my latest loss to Master however.
Norcal Regionals (Sunnyvalle, CA)
At the time the Cali scene was still trying to make a name for itself and it showed. I didn't lose a single match in the tournament and won the Grand Finals against Galen the Wise. HOWEVER, I know that if I were to run this tournament back TODAY, it would be 100x tougher to win. The Cali scene has showed IMO the most improvement and maybe one day can challenge the East Coast's dominance.
A-kon (Dallas, TX)
After my last matches against ElectrifiedMann and Master I was feeling confident I could beat them finally and stop getting third place at my local events. I started the day on fire. A 2-0 victory over E-mann set me up with a rematch against Master once again. However I would lose yet again to this man 3-1. E-mann also got his sweet revenge on me that day with a 3-1 victory as well. I was starting to switch back to Genfu as my main simply because people were figuring out my Sarah tricks. This tournament was still special to me because my buddy E-mann finally got over the hump and won his first tournament. Congrats buddy!
Summer Jam 7 (Philadelphia, PA)
I didn't have any real expectations for myself at this tournament. DOA5U was right around the corner and a lot of people sat this one out in anticipation for The Fall Classic. I made a huge mistake staying up until 6 a.m. playing casual matches with AFD Requiem. It exhausted me mentally and physically. I had to fight Kwiggles in my pool and he quickly beat my Genfu I switched to Jan Lee. This worked for one match. But he quickly adapted and sent me packing. Next up was Shade Swifteye. He picked Hayate and I had Jan Lee. I was in clear control of the first match so he decided to switch to Kasumi. It paid off for him. I couldn't deal with Kasumi's speed with Jan Lee so I switched to Sarah and it was more of the same so I was sent packing.
The Fall Classic (Raleigh, N.C)
This was the tournament where I felt like I started to become a better player. I decided for DOA5U to completely commit to Genfu and quickly learned tech and set ups that I should have been using from the start. One of Genfu's major additions was a reset from his air catch and standing kick. I fell in love with this strategy and immediately tailored my offense around it. It worked for the first half of TFC. Also TFC is where drinking a red bull became a pre-tournament ritual. SweetCaliPedo (Me, caliburbladez, and lopedo) won the tag event and I was feeling good about the actual tournament. I was matched up with Sonic Fox in my pool and blew past his Rachel 6 straight rounds (He still made top 8 and I didn't kudos to you man) I had to fight Xcaliburbladez in a rematch of WinterBrawl. I could tell he wanted this rematch badly. He came out with Helena and I quickly stuffed her with Genfu's ability to crush bokuho ducks. He made the wise decision to switch to Alpha and proceeded to run me over. It was after this I decided to learn how to fight alpha and what juggles I can use on her. I was once again matched up with Master. The first match was really close but he took it. I than tied it up at the house stage. He clutched it out yet again against me to move on to top 8.
Now this made 3 tournaments in a row where I started out on fire and then lost two matches in a row to be eliminated. But I went to the lab with Genfu hardcore after this tournament to perfect all my setups blenders etc.
D.I.D. 9 (Dallas TX)
This is the tournament where my practice started paying off. Determined to place higher than 3rd in my own state I quickly got to work. After a close 2-1 victory over Vanessa I was once again paired with Master. I quickly used new tech to go up 2-0 and felt good about closing him out for the first time in my career. However as fast as you could blink he tied up the set 2-2. I refused to switch characters and after some clutch defense finally overcame my long time nemesis in a tournament. The demons were released. E-mann than took out Master which gave us an MCkingz (doa clan) showdown. It was a very back and forth set. My patience and resistance on attacking after guard breaks paid off in the end as I took the set 3-2. I finally won a D.I.D. after years of trying and didn't choke when I was up on Master. Also it was rewarding to beat Emann in the finals as well considering he was taking me out of tournaments regularly as well.
NEC14 (Philadelphia, PA)
I was feeling extremely confident heading into this one. I felt like I was finally able to avoid choking on the big stage and that my WinterBrawl performance was a true indicator on how I should be playing. With that said I still had to go up against some tough competition at NEC. I made it through my pools and was matched up against Sonic Fox in a rematch of our TFC battle. He wanted revenge I could feel it. I quickly went up 1-0 but he switched to Christie. The round count was 2-2 and I made a critical error of going for a Power Launcher instead of Power Blow and he used that to his advantage and won the match. In past tournaments I would have folded and lost completely. But I shook it off and knew if I played my game I'd win. After a very good match with Sonic Fox I was pit up against my rival XcaliburBladez. I prepared very thoroughly against Alpha this time. And sure enough thats who I got. He mashed my head in the first game before I was able to finally slow it down and win the next two to force him to pick helena. The match came down to the last hit and I clutched it out and sent him to losers. I felt really good about this because I felt like I had to prove to myself that winning DID 9 wasn't just a fluke and beating the games most consistent player proved that to me. I was than matched up with him again in a Grand Finals rematch of WinterBrawl. He went with Helena at first and it was a close match but I took it to go up 1-0. He proceeded to wipe the floor with me with Momiji the next two games to go up 2-1. I slowed it down for the next game and the score was 2-2. Now the last match was one of my clutchest performances in my career (even better than my Mamba comeback) He had like 55% of his life and I just needed one more tap to be reset on. Genfu's 214t saved the day for me. I was ecstatic. I just won back to back tournaments against some of best DOA players the game has ever seen.
KIT 14 (Murfreesboro, TN)
Going into this tournament I was deemed as the tournament favorite after my back to back tournament wins. I never looked at it like that though. Shade Swifteye had beat me at Summer Jam 7, Requiem was on the rise, and Chosen 1 is always tricky with Brad Wong. I made it to top 8 to fight against Requiem in a battle for the ages. Him and I play on a regular basis and he knows all of my tricks and habits. We put on an excellent display of DOA mind games and it was easily the best match of the tournament. I thought my run as DOA champ was surely over. I than had to fight Shade Swifteye. He had been getting the best of me as of late. At TFC he took me out a few times in the team tournament and beat me at Summer Jam. But I had new tech with Genfu and despite a valiant effort from him I won 3-0. Shade made a promise that he'd see me again and sure enough there he was in Grand Finals. He proved his adaptation ability was swift. He had a quick 2-0 lead on me and was poised to reset the bracket. But I took advantage of a missed throw punish and used the momentum to win 3-2 giving me my third straight tournament win.
For all of you out there that are struggling with the game or lacking in confidence know this. If you put your work in to your game and practice with the right people YOU WILL get better. Results don't always show themselves over night but there is nothing better than seeing your hard work pay off. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully I see alot of you at Final round 17
D-Town Beatdown (Dallas, TX)
I was coming off a lackluster performance at D.I.D. 8 losing to Perfect Legend on the last round and getting blown out by ElectrifiedMann. I was unsure of myself in DOA5 up to this point. I just didn't feel as explosive and up to par yet. ElectrifiedMann once again made my night a living hell as he sent me to losers 2-0. However when we fought again it was much closer although I still lost 3-2. I credit this match for giving me the confidence I needed moving forward.
WinterBrawl 7 (Philadelphia, PA)
This is still my most cherished tournament win to date. It was my first major tournament win and had the most opponents. Also I wasn't favored to win at all so it was a very rewarding experience. A month before this event I had been secretly practicing Sarah in hopes of catching people off guard with my pocket character. I pulled a colossal upset over XcaliburBladez who was coming off a win at NEC13 and had all the momentum in the world. I used that momentum to avenge my WCG DOA4 loss to Black Mamba. (I was up 2-0 and he proceeded to come back) This time HE went up 2-0 and I switched to my pocket Sarah and stormed back with clutch holds and a clutch power blow. I was on cloud 9 at this point. The crowd was hype and I felt I could not lose no matter who I had to fight. Which happened to be Xcal yet again. This time he went up 2-1 on my Genfu so I decided to reach in my pocket and pull out Sarah. This move proved right as I won 2 straight to win the tournament.
Texas Bar Fights (Dallas, TX)
I was feeling extremely confident after my first career major victory. Sarah was officially my new main and I felt unstoppable with her. However, one man brought me back to earth. MASTER proceeded to give me a 3-0 whoopin in winners final that nearly broke my confidence. However I quickly got up 2-0 in Grand Finals and was looking for a reset. He than proved his superiority by coming back 3 straight and beating me on the last hit last round.
Final Round (Atlanta, GA)
My confidence heading into this tournament was shaken by my defeat at the hands of Master. It brought me down to Earth and left me with one stunning realization. I was a very talented player who got in my own way most of the time and couldn't close the deal. But I made it out of my pool against Mr. Wah's bass (sarah bass is a HORRIBLE match up) and had to go up against Rikuto. I was feeling really confident against Rikuto. He typically struggles against me and Genfu in general. But I went with Sarah and he cleaned me out so i switched to Genfu. I tied up the set only for him to clutch it out. I wasn't ready for Baymans tank roll or his OHs at all. My next opponent was Julius Rage. I was clearly the favorite in this match but if I wasn't careful an upset could happen. After some start buttons, Zack beams, and Sarah 6ps, I advanced to top 8. I had to fight Master yet again. I used Genfu on Master because I felt more comfortable with him at the time. I sweeped the first match very quickly but unfortunately for me, Master settled down. The match went to the very last round, last hit and he clutched it out again. I felt progress was made despite my latest loss to Master however.
Norcal Regionals (Sunnyvalle, CA)
At the time the Cali scene was still trying to make a name for itself and it showed. I didn't lose a single match in the tournament and won the Grand Finals against Galen the Wise. HOWEVER, I know that if I were to run this tournament back TODAY, it would be 100x tougher to win. The Cali scene has showed IMO the most improvement and maybe one day can challenge the East Coast's dominance.
A-kon (Dallas, TX)
After my last matches against ElectrifiedMann and Master I was feeling confident I could beat them finally and stop getting third place at my local events. I started the day on fire. A 2-0 victory over E-mann set me up with a rematch against Master once again. However I would lose yet again to this man 3-1. E-mann also got his sweet revenge on me that day with a 3-1 victory as well. I was starting to switch back to Genfu as my main simply because people were figuring out my Sarah tricks. This tournament was still special to me because my buddy E-mann finally got over the hump and won his first tournament. Congrats buddy!
Summer Jam 7 (Philadelphia, PA)
I didn't have any real expectations for myself at this tournament. DOA5U was right around the corner and a lot of people sat this one out in anticipation for The Fall Classic. I made a huge mistake staying up until 6 a.m. playing casual matches with AFD Requiem. It exhausted me mentally and physically. I had to fight Kwiggles in my pool and he quickly beat my Genfu I switched to Jan Lee. This worked for one match. But he quickly adapted and sent me packing. Next up was Shade Swifteye. He picked Hayate and I had Jan Lee. I was in clear control of the first match so he decided to switch to Kasumi. It paid off for him. I couldn't deal with Kasumi's speed with Jan Lee so I switched to Sarah and it was more of the same so I was sent packing.
The Fall Classic (Raleigh, N.C)
This was the tournament where I felt like I started to become a better player. I decided for DOA5U to completely commit to Genfu and quickly learned tech and set ups that I should have been using from the start. One of Genfu's major additions was a reset from his air catch and standing kick. I fell in love with this strategy and immediately tailored my offense around it. It worked for the first half of TFC. Also TFC is where drinking a red bull became a pre-tournament ritual. SweetCaliPedo (Me, caliburbladez, and lopedo) won the tag event and I was feeling good about the actual tournament. I was matched up with Sonic Fox in my pool and blew past his Rachel 6 straight rounds (He still made top 8 and I didn't kudos to you man) I had to fight Xcaliburbladez in a rematch of WinterBrawl. I could tell he wanted this rematch badly. He came out with Helena and I quickly stuffed her with Genfu's ability to crush bokuho ducks. He made the wise decision to switch to Alpha and proceeded to run me over. It was after this I decided to learn how to fight alpha and what juggles I can use on her. I was once again matched up with Master. The first match was really close but he took it. I than tied it up at the house stage. He clutched it out yet again against me to move on to top 8.
Now this made 3 tournaments in a row where I started out on fire and then lost two matches in a row to be eliminated. But I went to the lab with Genfu hardcore after this tournament to perfect all my setups blenders etc.
D.I.D. 9 (Dallas TX)
This is the tournament where my practice started paying off. Determined to place higher than 3rd in my own state I quickly got to work. After a close 2-1 victory over Vanessa I was once again paired with Master. I quickly used new tech to go up 2-0 and felt good about closing him out for the first time in my career. However as fast as you could blink he tied up the set 2-2. I refused to switch characters and after some clutch defense finally overcame my long time nemesis in a tournament. The demons were released. E-mann than took out Master which gave us an MCkingz (doa clan) showdown. It was a very back and forth set. My patience and resistance on attacking after guard breaks paid off in the end as I took the set 3-2. I finally won a D.I.D. after years of trying and didn't choke when I was up on Master. Also it was rewarding to beat Emann in the finals as well considering he was taking me out of tournaments regularly as well.
NEC14 (Philadelphia, PA)
I was feeling extremely confident heading into this one. I felt like I was finally able to avoid choking on the big stage and that my WinterBrawl performance was a true indicator on how I should be playing. With that said I still had to go up against some tough competition at NEC. I made it through my pools and was matched up against Sonic Fox in a rematch of our TFC battle. He wanted revenge I could feel it. I quickly went up 1-0 but he switched to Christie. The round count was 2-2 and I made a critical error of going for a Power Launcher instead of Power Blow and he used that to his advantage and won the match. In past tournaments I would have folded and lost completely. But I shook it off and knew if I played my game I'd win. After a very good match with Sonic Fox I was pit up against my rival XcaliburBladez. I prepared very thoroughly against Alpha this time. And sure enough thats who I got. He mashed my head in the first game before I was able to finally slow it down and win the next two to force him to pick helena. The match came down to the last hit and I clutched it out and sent him to losers. I felt really good about this because I felt like I had to prove to myself that winning DID 9 wasn't just a fluke and beating the games most consistent player proved that to me. I was than matched up with him again in a Grand Finals rematch of WinterBrawl. He went with Helena at first and it was a close match but I took it to go up 1-0. He proceeded to wipe the floor with me with Momiji the next two games to go up 2-1. I slowed it down for the next game and the score was 2-2. Now the last match was one of my clutchest performances in my career (even better than my Mamba comeback) He had like 55% of his life and I just needed one more tap to be reset on. Genfu's 214t saved the day for me. I was ecstatic. I just won back to back tournaments against some of best DOA players the game has ever seen.
KIT 14 (Murfreesboro, TN)
Going into this tournament I was deemed as the tournament favorite after my back to back tournament wins. I never looked at it like that though. Shade Swifteye had beat me at Summer Jam 7, Requiem was on the rise, and Chosen 1 is always tricky with Brad Wong. I made it to top 8 to fight against Requiem in a battle for the ages. Him and I play on a regular basis and he knows all of my tricks and habits. We put on an excellent display of DOA mind games and it was easily the best match of the tournament. I thought my run as DOA champ was surely over. I than had to fight Shade Swifteye. He had been getting the best of me as of late. At TFC he took me out a few times in the team tournament and beat me at Summer Jam. But I had new tech with Genfu and despite a valiant effort from him I won 3-0. Shade made a promise that he'd see me again and sure enough there he was in Grand Finals. He proved his adaptation ability was swift. He had a quick 2-0 lead on me and was poised to reset the bracket. But I took advantage of a missed throw punish and used the momentum to win 3-2 giving me my third straight tournament win.
For all of you out there that are struggling with the game or lacking in confidence know this. If you put your work in to your game and practice with the right people YOU WILL get better. Results don't always show themselves over night but there is nothing better than seeing your hard work pay off. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully I see alot of you at Final round 17
