DXC2 was something we can call an “online major”. Something we would not even imagine to be a thing two years ago – yet it is a reality now. How was it? This and more were the questions for TOP3 placements – No Woe, Xephukai & Boom – as well as for the main TO, SabinDeus.

First, let’s talk with the TOP3 placing players about their experience.

Can you briefly introduce yourself as a SC competitor?

No Woe: Hello, everyone! My name is Timothy, and I’m from South Carolina. I’ve been playing SOULCALIBUR since IV, but VI is when I started competing. I’m always eager to play others and learn new ways to approach SOULCALIBUR to become a strong, well-rounded player.

Xephukai: My handles is Xephukai. Most people in the scene tend to call me Xeph. I have been competing in the SOULCALIBUR series since SCIV– so eleven years of competitive play with numerous accolades and victories.

Boom: Yo, my name is Michael Watkins, Jr. but most of you know me as ayob00m or Boom, and I have been playing fighting games competitively since 09, and SoulCalibur competitively since the release of SCV which was 2012.

How did you enjoy DXC2?

No Woe: I loved playing in DXC2. It was such a well-ran and fun tournament. It’s nice to have such passionate and talented people come together and run an event that can be enjoyed by both spectators and competitors alike. Events like these keep the game alive and exciting.

Xephukai: Deus Ex Caelo II was very fun. Definitely had a large number of entrants, and it’s been a long while since I have competed in a tournament setting with multiple pools. Also, I think the people behind the scenes making it run are invaluable to the progression and sustainability of the competitive SOULCALIBUR scene during this pandemic. So, thank you peeps.

Boom: I really enjoyed DXC2! It was extremely reminiscent of a major, and it felt good to have to play high profile matches with something on the line. My pool was the most stacked pool per usual, so it really hit home haha. I’d do it again for sure.

What was your personal highlight of the tournament?

No Woe: My entire top 8 run is easily my personal highlight. During the first DXC, I was eliminated before I was able to make top 8. So this time being able to make top 8 Winner’s, get to Grand Finals Winner’s Side and winning the entire tournament feels vindicating. It shows myself that I have improved since the first DXC and to keep learning to improve even more.

Xephukai: Personal highlight of mine for Deus Ex Caelo II? That one is a difficult question for me to answer, because I am a bit disheartened about my placing and general performance. I guess I could say finding out top 8 was on a Sunday and it all being FT3’s was a highlight. Also, making it in to Top 8 by having to fight/defeat OmegaXCN is kind of a classic for SCVI with me and him at this point. Maybe I’m a bit cynical in this regard, but a “highlight” of the tournament (or any tournament) I find humorous is seeing the amount competitors disregard sportmanship and complain about <insert complaint> but only if they lose. That, low key, gives me energy.

Boom: My personal highlight was the fact that I got to look cool in front of people with arguably the coolest character in the game. I got to showcase some sick Hwang gameplay and looks stylish while doing it. That’s the real highlight for me, having people go “Wow, that looks super sick!” and woo-ing the crowd. I love it every time. It was also fun to be competing again, and having the M A R Y L A N D chants behind me! They definitely powered me up. Top 3 was cool too I guess 🙂

How do you feel about your performance?

No Woe: After viewing my matches, I feel that overall I performed well. There were some mistakes that I made in some areas, but I was able to make good decisions where it mattered most and kept my nerves under control (for the most part). Hopefully I was able to put on an entertaining show for the viewers watching at home.

Xephukai: How do I feel about my performance? I am not particularly happy with my performance. I believe I dropped a few combos and punishments that were crucial to winning the winners finals set, which leads me to have the issue of “I lost to myself for not playing as efficiently as I am accustomed to.” This is disheartening, but on the other end of the spectrum, this is an easy fix for myself when the next tournament I compete in comes around and it’s important for my growth and success as a player to take accountability for my losses, learn from them and aim for the infinite grind of being the best I can be in this game.

Boom: I feel fantastic about my performance! Even though it was online, there were two things I was worried about. One, I haven’t really competed lately because of online, and two, I’m coming in with a completely new character. This means that I am not only continuing to discover situations with Hwang, but I am discovering what bad habits I go to when I am stressed or nervous and things like that. Having to overcome those things on short notice is difficult, and I’m glad I played well enough to earn top 3.

How was it to participate on “online major” – something we wouldn’t even imagine to exist two years ago?

No Woe: Being able to play in these online tournaments, especially the “majors”, have been a blessing for all of us who like to play and watch SOULCALIBUR VI. Especially with the help of tools like Parsec, being able to participate in professional level events at home is amazing. I believe it shows that, regardless of offline or online, fans of SOULCALIBUR VI are very passionate about the game and will support it anyway they can, and that tournaments like DXC2 do an excellent job at showcasing just how powerful the SOULCALIBUR community can be.

Xephukai: The consideration of Deus Ex Caelo II being an “online major” is fitting because of the times we’re in right now. By sheer number of attendants, winnings, support, and general skill level, I’m not against calling something like this an “online major.”

Boom: Eh, it’s a little weird for me. I get waaaay more nervous during online tournaments than offline. I really don’t know why, but I do. I also enjoy the ambiance of people in an offline setting. I’d do it again for sure, but I forgot how much competition drains you, so i might need a bit of time.

Do you think such online majors like DXC2 have it’s place even in post-covid feature?

No Woe: I do believe that both online and offline tournaments can coexist; they both have their own positives and negatives. Even though most would agree that nothing can compare to the thrill of an offline major, I think it would be fair to say that great online tournaments like DXC and others have definitely proven themselves able to bring the hype and get people excited to watch and compete.

Xephukai: Do I think “online majors” have a place post-covid? I believe that once the FGC starts opening and hosting events, a decrease in competitive online play will be seen. I think a lot of these online organizers have put in a lot of work to get these tournaments up and running and sustained, and definitely nothing but respect coming from me in this sense. But the likely hood of something (at least for SCVI) like Deus Ex Caelo happening again online and being as successful, during the revival of offline, is slim. I’d be more along the lines of expecting something like Deus Ex Caelo becoming an offline event when offline FGC is back. Though, I could be wrong and have been wrong before– The gravity and nature of Deus Ex Caelo is pretty heavy, and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing another one hosted online (even if there’s offline back). I would probably even join said tournament if time allowed.

Boom: Yes! There are players who cannot travel to compete due to circumstances, so online majors will always have a place if you ask me.

Is there anything else you will like to mention or talk about?

No Woe: I would just like to give my thanks to everyone who has been supporting me throughout these tournaments and as a player. It truly means a lot and is very motivating to keep getting better and do my best. I also would like to thank the organizers and the ones behind these tournaments. They always do a fantastic job and are very selfless. Lastly, I want to encourage everyone that is looking to get better at SOULCALIBUR to keep grinding. It is more than possible to do so if you are willing to put the time and effort in.

Xephukai: To close, again, like to shout out the NLBC crew. Specifically Sabin Deus and Sabin (Arturo). For not just DCXII but the unwavering support and love they give to our scene. Congratulations to No Woes for the impressive play and winning. He’s definitley one of my favorites in the scene that have come from online, and I fully expect him to do a lot of damage when offline returns.
Also, lastly, want to give some advice to some players. Start taking accountability for your losses. You’re hindering your growth as a player when you believe every time you lose it’s not your fault. A lot of good players, with good potential, scapegoat too much and run to an easy excuse that deflects blame and accountability. Winners and champions don’t make excuses and people need to learn what it means to lose with grace.

Boom: Thanks to everyone who supports me! M A R Y L A N D! Hwang is a good character!

Thanks a lot for the interview!

And with players interviews being concluded, it’s time to ask SabinDeus, the main organizer, few questions too.

We talked about DXC2 when it was announced. Now, the tournament is over. Does it meet your expectations?

Sabin Deus: Really we exceeded my expectations. Not only did we raise more money in the crowdfund than last DXC, but the level of competition this time was off the charts. I’m also really proud of how the stream art assets turned out. Everything looked pretty darn polished. My one regret was that using obs.ninja for the commentator cameras seems to have been a mistake and I’ll have to reconsider that in the future.

What does it take for you as a TO to put together “online major”?

Sabin Deus: A lot of stubbornness and friends in the community willing to help out. I honestly couldn’t have done it without all the folks that volunteered to help behind the scenes. Beyond that, I think the main thing I bring to the table as a TO is my software engineering skills. My logistics and people-wrangling skills are probably only average or above average, but coding is my day job and I am good at it. I put in a lot of work into the technology for running the games on cloud VMs to reduce the overhead of manual setup, as well as integrations for making the tournament run smoother over Discord and Smash.gg. There were a lot of lessons learned from the first DXC and I think I really managed to fill in a large percentage of the gaps that we had to just use manual effort for last time.

When it comes to tournament itself, is it harder or easier to have it online?

Sabin Deus: I’ve never tried to put together a full offline tournament. There are definitely things that are very hard about online, mostly around the technology for actually playing the game, as I’m sure everyone is aware. But also communication between players and from the players to the TOs is very difficult when you can’t just yell at people. Overall I think the difference is the cost and logistics of getting a physical space and putting a bunch of PS4s in the room, which is honestly very difficult, versus all of this software engineering I had to do to make Cloud Parsec run smoothly. I don’t know that either is more difficult than the other, just different skill sets and types of stress.

Do you think such online majors like DXC2 have it’s place even in post-covid feature?

Sabin Deus: I think there will always be a place for online tournaments. I also think there is no way the competitive scene will accept online results as “major” results without a world wide pandemic. Sadly this is just how it has to be. Playing over the internet introduces too many uncontrollable variables, even with Cloud VMs and Parsec in the picture. If running these tournaments and trying to work around poor netplay has taught me anything, it’s that fighting game companies must implement good netcode optimizations from the beginning of all projects using rollback concepts. Street Fighter V even before the pandemic lockdown was able to fill slots in their Pro Tour with online competitors and have it be reasonably competitive. I don’t believe Soulcalibur VI can do the same.

Are you thinking about DXC3? Or is it to early to ask?

Sabin Deus: Oh boy. We’ll see. It depends heavily on the climate with COVID and offline majors.

Any tips for anyone thinking about organising something similar?

Sabin Deus: I think a lot of what sets DXC apart is in the cloud tech setup. That I can’t explain in the context of this interview, but in terms of just being able to run an online tournament, the challenge is really in getting people to listen to you and do things in a timely fashion. My tip on that topic is to threaten and publicly shame players when they screw things up because they don’t respond to any other form of motivation. (Haha, just kidding, not really.)

In all seriousness, trusting players to do the right thing, and then reinforcing what the right thing is with repetition over weeks of running the NLBC weekly has made the tournaments run smoother and smoother over time. Writing procedure into like, rules documents, only goes so far. You will absolutely have to have a canned explanation for anything you want a player to do, whether it’s getting on a stream station or coordinating with their opponent.

Any closing words?

Sabin Deus: I already gave a long shoutout to everyone on Twitter. I want to repeat that this was a community effort and I couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone. Thanks also to SoulCalibur Portal for doing this coverage!

Thanks a lot for the interview!