Seriously? No discussion on top 8 for Japonawa 2014?
The level of play in top 8 was insane and it sounded like the pools were stacked. Does anybody know if there was a challonge bracket for this event? I heard Koopa was in attendance and he didn't make top 8 so just interested in who peaced him out. My thoughts on top 8.
So we all know that the best team in KoFXIII is EX Iori, Mr. Karate, and Kim. There were also a lot of debates on which of these characters is the best in the game and it was usually a back and forth between Karate and Kim. After watching Japonawa top 8, I've got no doubt in my mind that EX Iori is the best character in the game but only if the player is capable of doing consistent rekka loops. EX Iori is a top tier character without them but the majority of the players in top 8 could do a few reps of the rekka loops with Violent Kain being the most consistent at doing the actual infinite. Being able to turn stray hits from CH j.CD, anti-air rekkas, or anti-air DPs into the rekka loops is insane and gives huge damage output, corner carry, meter and drive gain. Its also one of the most execution demanding infinite I've seen. I've seen some people complain about the infinite and while I can understand why, I can also respect the skill it takes to perform it.
I was really impressed with Violent Kain's play regardless of his execution consistency. His fundamental play and his hit confirms off of stray hits was ridiculous. He was making short work of strong players like Huevo who's a consistently amazing player in Mexico. I was shocked to see Violent Kain OCV Huevo multiple times.
To top this off the grand finals match between Violent Kain and Luis Char was a treat. Luis Cha is one of my favorite players since he's a fundamentals type of player. He's not an execution monster like Kain or Ren, he doesn't make over the top reads like Bala, he's just a solid fundamentals player and to see him win a tournament is really encouraging. He's a player that proves that you can win against other beasts with fundamentals. I've always questioned his team order since the optimal order should be EX Iori, Shen, and Kim but he definitely made this order work out for the best.
I think the only disappointing thing was that BALA wasn't in attendance since he won last years Japonawa beating Koopa in an extremely close set. I like watching BALA play because he's probably got the best reads but he also uses a ton of characters at such a high level. He's similar to Luis Cha in that he doesn't always use top tier but if he does it's usually in an order that you don't expect.
In any case, Violent Kain is looking like a contender to winning Evo this year if he can keep this level of play up. I'd also like to see more of the stronger Mexican players show up for Evo this year. Koopa and Huevo couldn't attend last year and I always thought they could have made top 8. Seriously, my dream top 8 for KoFXIII would be Koopa, Bala, MadKOF, Tokido, Violent Kain, Toshi, Reynald, Luis Cha, and a toss up between M'/Romance/Lacid/Pako/Javier.