The glitz and glamour of the Evolution Championship Series or the Capcom Cup may appeal to a lot of up-and-coming fighting game competitors. Fighting against the best on a national stage with the chance to take home a huge payday is the goal, but some players may not realize that getting there requires putting the work in at local and regional tournaments. At Winter Brawl 12 this past weekend, I spoke to a few longtime FGC competitors on how they prepare for the smaller venues of the FGC, and what new players should do in order to prepare themselves.
The first thing to consider is where these smaller tournaments are taking place and which players may be attending from those regions. The location of the events means that for some, traveling to the competition is a lot easier than the majors, so a lot more of the competitors will be from that area. Skisonic, longtime commentator for the fighting game community, made this point clear when I asked for his advice to new players.
“You’re going to see a lot more local talent that you may not necessarily see at an EVO,” Skisonic says, “whether it’s due to a lack of funds or some brand new players just wanting to test the waters before they take a bigger step.” In Winter Brawl’s case, he continues, that means a lot of East Coast representation. “Since this is Philadelphia you’ll see strong Tri-State representation between New Jersey/New York and PA, but also players from down in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia and up in Massachusetts and Connecticut.”
That’s not to say top talent won’t appear, but the talent pool will definitely be more local in general. That brings up an interesting question: how do you train for those people? Josh “BXA KN J Kun Prime” Green makes sure to be on the lookout for so called “killers,” or people that just know how to match up against certain players. “At Winter Brawl you’re inclined to be training for a specific person rather than training for the game,” he says. “You’re more likely to run into people who have your number for whatever reason, know how to fight you, and know how to beat you. As such you tend to focus on more specific aspects of matches here, whereas at EVO you can take a more broad stroke of playing the game properly.”
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That influx of local talent does not mean the competition will be any less challenging than a worldwide event. Just ask J Kun, who’s more than willing to bring a new player’s expectation back down to reality. “When you come in here, don’t expect to win everything,” J Kun said when I asked about new players..”Your buddies down the block may have been good, but you are stepping into a whole new world here. You’re going to lose, you’re going to lose badly, but don’t get discouraged, learn from it and come back stronger.”
Still, the smaller regional tournaments definitely do have their perks, not the least of which is being able to build relationships that other tournaments don’t allow for. “Winter Brawl or the other smaller majors have a more intimate setting than EVO or CEO or any of those,” J Kun explains, “where it’s all about camaraderie and hanging out with your friends as much as it is about playing. When I’m at EVO I may see my best friend once the entire weekend, but here I hung out with him the entire time.”
Even within Winter Brawl some games are played in smaller rooms outside of the grand ballroom, and some veterans appreciate being able to play those games away from the commotion. Jumaani “Maestro” Haskins is a longtime Super Street Fighter II Turbo player, and he’s a firm supporter of the more intimate settings that smaller tournaments allow.
“I like the smaller rooms because I know the people in that setting are people I know and can give me tips immediately after my match”, Maestro says. “The people watching my matches in that bigger room, I might not know who they are and they might be more likely to just criticize my game instead.”
Maestro also admits he’s the kind of guy that needs to be able to zone out while playing, because “if things around me are chaotic it definitely gets into my headspace and shifts my focus.” Whether it’s a local tournament or the biggest event of the year, distractions are absolutely something veterans recommend being prepared for.
The fighting game community has been throwing down for a long time now, and as such players like Maestro and J Kun have been around the block a few times. What’s the best way to meet new friends and find new training buddies? Skisonic says it best: “Don’t be afraid to be friendly and talk to people. Don’t be turned off if someone seems to be busy or focusing on a game, because there’s a lot of people standing around watching between matches and you can absolutely strike up a conversation like it’s any other person.”
Take it from the people who have been here before: regional tournaments like Winter Brawl are just as much a part of the landscape of the FGC as the big time major events. Players that want to thrive on that stage can surely set those goals for themselves, but they’d better be ready to bring it at a local tournament first before moving up to the big time.
