Originally posted at https://www.echofox.gg/news/socal-regionals-2018-recap
Echo Fox looks to continue their best year yet in fighting games. Players coming off championship wins like Justin “JWong” Wong and Dominique “SonicFox” McLean are continuing their momentum from EVO and Dreamhack Montreal. Even though EVO is behind the player’s minds, the year does not stop for fighting games. SoCal Regionals in Ontario, California took place last weekend for pride and points towards the Capcom Pro Tour, Tekken World Tour, and Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour.
Besides Dragon Ball FighterZ, SonicFox still participates in other games such as Injustice 2. There has not been huge news about SonicFox participating in Injustice 2 tournaments. But, he definitely showed he is still among the best. SonicFox qualified for top eight and tore through the bracket. He earned his way into the grand finals against Panda Global’s Alexandre “Hayatei” Dubé-Bilodeau. They went all the way to a final game in which SonicFox won and earned points towards the Injustice 2 Pro Series Premier Event. SonicFox currently stands in second place behind Noble Esports Tweedy. Scar also secured his spot in the Injustice 2 Pro Series Championship with his top eight finish.
Injustice 2 would not be the last we heard from SonicFox. He also qualified for top eight in Dragon Ball FighterZ. With a new patch in mind, SonicFox experimented with a new character in his team, Nappa. He made quick work out of NRG’s Steve “SuperNoon” Carbajal. When he met Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue in the winner’s final, it was a different story. It was a fierce set between the two and went to a final game five. SonicFox was not able to defeat Kazunoko, sending him down to the loser’s bracket. In the loser’s finals, he met one of his Japanese rivals, Ryo “Dogura” Nozaki. SonicFox defeated Dogura in the past in VSFighting for the championship. However, SonicFox could not emulate identical success last weekend. After a grueling five-game set, Dogura came out on top and SonicFox finished in third place.
Justin Wong looked to continue his momentum off Dreamhack Montreal to SoCal Regionals. He did not have the same push and had to face a fellow teammate, Victor “Punk” Woodley in the loser’s bracket. Punk came out on top and sent Justin home for the tournament.
Speaking of Punk, he qualified for top eight with fellow Echo Fox player, Yusuke “Momochi” Momochi. Momochi faced Chris Tatarian who’s had a phenomenal SoCal Regionals run. Momochi could not stall Chris T and had to pack his bags for the tournament. Punk had his own worries against Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi. Bonchan was on a run of his own in SoCal Regionals. Punk looked to find the success he did last year. However, Bonchan stopped him in his tracks. Punk finished seventh in SoCal Regionals.
The rest of the team had strong showings in SoCal as well. Saint fought his way to fifth in Tekken 7 with JDCR close behind in ninth. SonicFox added two more top eight finished to his resume in Soulcalibur VI placing second and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle alongside Punk in fifth place.
Echo Fox came off reasonable finishes in SoCal Regionals — with SonicFox earning the highest among the team in Dragon Ball FighterZ and Injustice 2. The year is almost to an end for fighting games as we head towards the Tekken World Tour and Capcom Pro Tour finals. Stay tuned as the team looks to fight to be the best for the remainder of 2018.
