WePlay Ultimate Fighting League Season 1 for SoulCalibur 6 was an incredible event. The final day offered us an awesome conclusion of this event with clutched moments, hyped matches and insane level of gemaplay!
This article was prepared in coordination with Boom and Zubaz.
Outcome
Observations
Boom
- Setsuka wins at her offline debut. Offline Calibur is such a joy to watch. Finally we have been able to see the character shine in her optimal environment, and Woahhzz played phenomenally this event. I’m not sure one offline event is good enough to tell the exact strength of the character, but she has a major win under her belt. It also speaks to the balance of characters in SCVI. Anyone can win with any character.
- Skyll’s electrifying run. Man, I wasn’t rooting for the EU for obvious reasons, but Skyll made that hard for me to continue to cheer against him. He is the world champion for a reason, and he showed that during this tournament. He played a LOT of games during top 8, and a majority of them went down to last game last hit situations. Talk about mental and physical stamina to be able to play for that long and do so well. Even though he came in second, he probably was the most fun to watch during top 8.
- The character diversity in Top 8. In top 8, there was no person who shared a duplicate character among the competitors. We saw a total of 11 characters played and N1ghtmare was only seen once from Akeopo. Tira, Amy, and Azwel were seen too, but other than that, the rest of the characters are generally seen as lower tiered characters. If that doesn’t speak to both the balance of the game and the skill of the players, then I don’t know what else can.
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- Skyll’s movement. Even when compared to the stacked cast of this event, Skyll’s movement is in a league of it’s own. I have no idea how he’s doing it but trust me – you can recognize his games just by seeing how his character moves. It’s simply incredible.
- Woahhzz’s Setsuka. This was offline debut for her (and Haohmaru and Hwang, who unfortunately didn’t had proper representation) and it was a blast! Woahhzz is awesome and Setsuka in his hands really shines. And you know what is the most insane part of his run on WUFL S1? That his Setsuka looks like still not be the final form. I suspect in his hands, she will evolve even more and reach even further!
- WePlay production. The production quality of this event was insane. I mean – INSANE. For this part, not even EVO can compare. At times, this was slowing the pace down what will probably not work for standard open FGC event, but for invitational (or top 8), it is OK. And the players intros / outros really made a lot in building the brand.
Best Games
AkeoPo vs TheKura (Quarterfinals)
This was the smallCalibur at it’s best. Strong, slow, poke-heavy, grindy neutral. One of the most beautiful games we saw all this weekend. No super hype moments or insane hard-read based clutch comebacks but “just” top level… top level everything.
Party Wolf vs Skyll (Losers Bracket Round 2)
Very neutral-heavy match with insane explosive moments and heavy changes of momentum. Add multiple insane clutches, fight till last round of last game, and you will get content worth of any mayor Grand Finals. Yet we where still in TOP 6 only!
Zubaz: This was the best match of the event. Actually, that is hands down the best SC6 match I’ve ever see. The players both played so well, and it was incredibly close. The poking back and forth, slight delays, string mix-ups, and amazing spacing. It was incredible to watch.
Woahhzz vs Linkorz (Winners Finals)
This was the only time during TOP 8 anyone find a recipe how to properly deal with Woahhzz’s Setsuka. After few initial adjustments, Linkorz and his Amy seemed to have Woahhzz back to wall. But that was not the end. Not at all! Woahhzz swapped to Taki and proved he is able to play multiple characters with high efficiency. It was a clutch set with clutch final game brought back to final round, final hit. Only there was Woahhzz able to take the game!
Yuttoto vs Skyll (Losers Semifinals)
Awesome presentation of two very strong players who both have their gameplan focused on movement, spacing and neutral. Also very close one – this was one of several sets Skyll won from the brink of defeat, clutching it out from the final game / final round / final hit situation!
Honorable mentions:
Linkorz vs Yuttoto (Quarterfinals) was super exciting to watch. It had one of the greatest comebacks in a round that I’ve ever seen. Definitely don’t miss that one!
VODs
Event playlist for you to check all the action you missed; or to remind yourself the hype moments you witnessed:
And full Day 4 replay: