Originally posted at http://www.echofox.gg/news/eleague-group-b-recap
With NCR finished, Justin Wong set his focus on last week’s ELEAGUE matchups.
The first week of group stage play in ELEAGUE saw Punk advancing to playoffs after defeating Brolynho and Smug. Our Fighting Fox Yusuke Momochi managed to overcome a loss to win two consecutive matches in the lower bracket, earning him the second playoff spot out of Group A.
Justin hoped to join his fellow Fox in the playoffs, but it would not be easy for him. His group contained challenging opponents such as Eita, Daigo Umehara, Gamerbee, Snake Eyez, and his former teammate PR Balrog.
Justin’s first opponent was Gamerbee. In this set, Justin used his signature character Karin against Gamerbee’s Necalli. In the first 2 games, Gamerbee used Necalli’s seismos to go on the offense, which made it difficult for Justin to take the initiative.
At the start of Game 3, Justin started to get the timing of the Gamerbee’s attacks and he used his V-skill to go on the offense. Once Justin filled his V-gauge, he used V-trigger to get in Gamerbee’s face again, but Gamerbee was able to escape by using EX Dragon Punch. Then, Gamerbee used his V-trigger to combo Justin and send him to the lower bracket.
Justin’s next opponent was Eita, who fell to Daigo in his first match.
In Game 1, Justin chose Karin against Eita’s Ken. Eita’s offense was aggressive and overpowered Justin’s defense to take Game 1. Before Game 2, Justin requested to go to player select and selected Chun-Li.
“I have always used Chun Li casually but lately I have been feeling confident with her because I believe she is one of the characters that really fits my playstyle in this version of the game,” Justin stated.
Justin played Chun-Li aggressively, hoping to catch his opponent off guard, but Eita was able to adapt to the new character matchup, taking Game 2. Before Game 3, Justin switched back to Karin. Like Game 1, Eita was aggressive put the pressure on Justin, defeating him and knocking him out of the tournament.
Though Justin did not advance to the playoffs, his performance at ELEAGUE showed the potential of his Chun-Li pick as well as his ability to play more aggressively. Justin commented, “The one thing I can take from facing Gamerbee and Eita is that I need to understand how to start brawling back instead of trying to defend most of the time.”
Later in the evening, PR Balrog advanced to playoffs defeating Eita and Daigo. After losing to PR Balrog in the winner’s bracket finals, Daigo climbed back from the lower bracket to beat Eita again and advance.
Group C will feature another Fighting Fox, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi. Justin’s thoughts on Tokido’s chances in making the playoffs, “Tokido has a really tough bracket but I believe in him because he is one of the 5 Gods of Fighting Games in Japan. He will be ready and be prepared for the matches he will face in the next stage.”
Mark your calendars for May 5 as Group C takes the ELEAGUE stage!
