Wong Factor, Trophy Stealers and more at Southeast Asia Major 2017
Eyes of fighting game fans around the world were locked on Singapore this past weekend as Southeast Asia Major 2017 took place. SEAM is widely considered as one of the toughest proving grounds among fighting game competitors. It was a hype and action-packed weekend as players across Asia competed for prestige in various games. Here’s our full rundown of SEAM 2017.
Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite – Wong Factor
The Wong factor was in full effect over at SEAM 2017, with Justin Wong winning Marvel vs Capcom Infinite convincingly over Asian opposition. Marvel is considered to be America’s game, and he made sure the world knew that was still the case in its newest iteration. Justin’s team of Ultron and Nova decimated the competition, with nigh inescapable block strings and expert use of the Reality stone.
In the grand finals against Ryouta “Kazunoko” Inoue, Justin’s streak continued without pause. He overwhelmed the Japanese top player to take the set 3-0.
Injustice 2 – Pinoy172 defeats Singaporean sensation Xian
Injustice 2 over at SEAM ended with a Singapore versus Philippines match between Playbook Esports’ Matt “Pinoy172” Javier and Razer’s Ho Kun Xian.
Xian initially started strong, taking game one after outlasting Matt in the clutch. Matt would best him in the next two games however, keeping him out with Superman’s zoning while punishing Xian’s attempts to get in with well timed anti-airs. Matt also made good use of Superman’s armor to tag Xian several times throughout the set. One final mistake from Xian in game four gave Matt the opening to end the set 3 – 1 and winning the championship.
Blazblue – Singapore wins the title
For the first time since its inception, Blazblue grand finals came down to two Singaporeans.It was Seo in losers side going up against Tinkle. Seo had a bit of a streak going as he defeated last year’s champion Alden Jacob to enter the grand finals.
Their first set went down to the wire, with both players fighting on almost equal footing. In the final game, Seo managed to overwhelm Tinkle with Es’ strong corner pressure and get a perfect on the board. In the final round, Seo caught Tinkle with a loose jump in, winning the first set and resetting the bracket.
Unfortunately for Seo, Tinkle managed to step it up in the final set. The bracket reset ended with a one-sided victory for Tinkle.
Guilty Gear – Kazunoko domination continues
If America has Marvel as its staple game, then for Japan its perhaps Guilty Gear. It has long been recognized that Guilty Gear players from Japan are on a different level compared to the rest of the world. It was put out on full display by Kazunoko. The Raven player went virtually unopposed throughout the tournament, sweeping each match he had with the greatest of ease.
Going up against Seo in the grand finals was no different. Kazunoko took the championship with a clean 3-0 sweep, clutching out the final game.
Tekken – Qudans takes JDCR’s Trophy
Mun Son “Qudans” Byeong was definitely the star of Tekken this past weekend. He was riding a hot streak coming into the grand finals, most notably eliminating the current no.1 player: Echo Fox’s Hyun Jin “JDCR” Kim. Though momentum was definitely on his side, he was up against Japanese Jack player Noroma. Both had met earlier in the winner’s finals, and Noroma won it convincingly after a clean 3-0 sweep. It was anybody’s game as both players prepped on stage for one last bout.
Qudans’ momentum carried him to a clean 3-0 to reset the bracket, putting him in prime position to take the championship. However, Noroma answered back and won the next two games just as convincingly as his Korean opposition. Qudans refused to back down, and made two amazing comebacks in a row to tie the set two games apiece. Noroma wouldn’t be able to answer back as Qudans took the final game 3 rounds straight.
During the awarding ceremony, there was some fuss with regards to showing the plaque on camera. It’s rumored that JDCR’s initials were already engraved on the trophy.
Street Fighter V – Tokido the Gatekeeper
For many hopefuls, the Last Chance Qualifier for Capcom Pro tour this past weekend was the make or break tournament. If they didn’t take the tournament, then they can kiss their Capcom Cup dreams good bye.
For those who already qualified, the kind gesture would have been to sit this one out and allow others the opportunity at entering Capcom Cup. Unfortunately, one lone individual – a demon – decided otherwise.
It was a busy weekend for Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi. It started Saturday night, where he won Asia’s Last chance qualifier over Chinese phenom Zhuojun “Xiao Hai” Zeng. Xiao Hai had initially sent him to losers bracket with a convincing 3 – 0 sweep, only for Tokido to beat him 6 games straight in grand finals. Tokido winning the tournament meant that no new names from Asia would be qualifying for Capcom Cup Finals later this year. In short: Tokido just played gatekeeper to an entire continent of players.
Things were barely any different the next day during the Capcom Pro Tour Asia Regional Finals. If anything, Tokido was all the more dominant as he won every set convincingly all the way to grand finals. Taiwan’s Li-Wei “Oil King” Lin made a good attempt to stand up against Tokido’s onslaught, but the Murderface would not be denied. After a grueling exchange and several jaw-dropping plays, Tokido took the title with a final score of 3-2 over Oil King.
