DBFZ. SFV, and More: Five Takeaways from Michigan Masters 2018
By Jason Fanelli ·
Michigan Masters 2018 gave the fighting game community a look at some lesser known players that could make a huge impact at a major very soon. We take a look at the five biggest stories coming out of The Wolverine State.
Michigan Masters 2018 is in the books, and while it’s not the biggest tournament in the FGC circuit this year’s festivities gave us plenty to analyze as we enter the summer’s smackdowns. Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter V, and more all featured heavily with hundreds of players coming from all across the country and Canada. Here are five big takeaways from Michigan Masters 2018.
The Teemo is Now in Dragon Ball FighterZ
After making a huge splash in the Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite Battle of the Stones tournament, Luis “Teemo” Gomez looks to have changed his focus to Dragon Ball FighterZ. If Michigan Masters is any indication, we’re all going to have to keep an eye on this youngster. Teemo rolled through the 100+ entrants in the DBFZ tournament, not losing a single match on his way to the Grand Finals and a dominating 3-0 victory over Dawn “Yohosie” Hosie. Both players captured the spotlight in this tournament, but Teemo has plenty of momentum going into the busy FGC season.
Even at smaller events, DBFZ reigns supreme
125-62. Sounds like an embarrassingly one-sided basketball game, but this was the player counts for Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter V respectively at the Michigan Masters event. Dragon Ball FighterZ continues to dominate attendance figures, this time doubling Street Fighter V’s entries (plus one). This could become a small indicator of what could happen at future major events. Imagine that same ratio at an event like EVO: Street Fighter V had 2,625 entrants in 2017, which if this hold would mean 5,251 DBFZ players at EVO 2018. That would be a massive turnout, placing the game firmly on top of the fighting game community.
The “Hidden Gem” shines
On “ElChakotay” Andrich’s Twitter bio he calls himself the “Hidden Gem In The Midwest.” At Michigan Masters the free agent proved it, soaring through the Winners Bracket with ease and taking the Grand Finals from longtime player Joshua “Wolfkrone” Philpot three games to one. His adept R. Mika play was the highlight of the entire Street Fighter V tournament, including a very exciting final set that showed off some dominating corner play. Keep an eye on ElChakotay in future tournaments, as we suspect this “hidden gem” won’t be hidden for much longer.
Azure leaves the Tekken 7 competition feeling blue
Brian “Azure” Collins entered Michigan Masters looking to prove himself in the Tekken 7 world, as he missed the Top 16 at Frosty Faustings X back in January and needed to recover. There’s no better way to recover than winning the whole tournament and that’s exactly what Azure did, defeating Lenell “LtrainLocomotive” Dinkins both in Winners and Grand Finals to take the crown. This is a huge win for Azure in his own backyard, and we’re hoping he can take some of this hometown magic to a future major and make a splash.
Hotashi REVs his Guilty Gear engine
Julian “Hotashi” Harris is a CEO mainstay, placing in the Top 8 of Guilty Gear the last three years. The Michigan Masters crowd were treated to that high level play all weekend as he took the Guilty Gear REV 2 crowd in convincing fashion. After being sent to Losers by Havoc_Noah in Winners Semis, Hotashi didn’t lose a single game again until the rematch in Grand Finals, where he reset the bracket three games to one then swept the reset to take the tournament. This is a big win for the Florida native, one that should carry him to CEO 2018 in June and even EVO in August.