I was quite successful in my previous tournament experience at Wednesday Night Fight, a pretty prestigious local around where I live. On my round one opponent, I lost to a top 20 player in North California. I was then immediately in the losers bracket.
My first opponent was relatively simple as he seemed like a newer player than me. All I did was play safe and punish the unsafe options he took against me. The plan was simple and my execution was good enough to win that best of 3 with ease.
My second opponent was more unorthodox. Prior to the set occuring, my friend Iceflame5 whispered into my ear “He plays wolf….” After hearing that statement, I expected to see him choose Wolf in the character select screen. He did not choose wolf and instead chose Game and Watch. I was surprised, but played well and won the first game. The second game, I played less safe and got punished for doing so. As a result, I lost the second game. In the third match of the best of three, I was losing. It was obvious that I was losing. My opponent made one crucial mistake and lost one of his three lives early, resulting in my win. This was the first of many lucky events.
My next opponent was a Mega-man player. I won the first match by playing safely. The second match was closer, but I managed to clutch it out as he also lost one of his stocks early.
The opponent after that played Terry, a character I had less experience with. To my surprise, I won the first match solidly. The second match ended up with my demise as he adapted to my playstyle. The third match was fierce with both of us adapting to each other. He ended up losing after accidentally killing himself.
My last opponent was a result of me using up all my luck. Going into the match I was feeling confident in myself. I felt as if I had a solid chance of winning. My controller, however, was feeling something else. After taking a stock solidly, I felt that something was off as if my shield wasn’t coming out. I soon realized my shield button was not working and got tilted. My opponent soon made a comeback and I got thrashed. I then continued having a bad mentality into the next match and lost the set.
Overall, I did well at the tournament through a combination of both luck and skill. It was unfortunate that my shield button was not working at the end, but it also possible that he would have beaten me regardless.
One thing to remember in a tournament, is that it is a tournament and that each victory is a victory. If one feels bad for one’s opponent, understand that sympathy may lead to a loss. Someone can always come back and your duty as a competitor is to punish them for making their mistake. If you see a punishable window during a match, you should punish it. There is no reason to not profit off their lost, especially if one is competing for money.
FutureGamingPro 