For anyone who might have missed them, longtime SRK community veteran Koop has begun writing an excellent series of tournament survival guides. He explains in great detail how to travel for major tournaments. To complement his efforts, this article will explain why traveling to major tournaments is worthwhile.
First of all, Evo is simply an awesome event for people who care about fighting games. It’s hard to describe the unique atmosphere inside that hall. There’s a constant buzz in the air, like sitting in the stands at a pivotal playoff game, surrounded by other equally passionate fans. There’s always something going on – whether it’s a marquee matchup played on the big screen, or news about a recent upset, or floating rumors about certain underrated characters wrecking shop. There’s always someone to talk to and always something to look forward to.
Setting aside the sheer experience of attending Evo, let’s look at the value of participating in a major tournament on that scale. Being surrounded by competitive players for an entire weekend will improve your game, guaranteed.
There’s no question about it – you’ll walk away a better player. Even focusing solely on preliminary matches within your own entry pool, you’ll see things you’ve never seen before and face opponents you’ve never fought before. Every single victory will build your confidence and every loss will teach you something the hard way.
While local tournaments can certainly give you a taste of real pressure, they’ll always be skewed toward the dominant play style of your hometown. Anyone who’s been around this scene long enough will tell you that every major geographic region has its own characteristic approach to fighting games. For instance if you live in SoCal, the strongest local runaway player is usually nowhere near the strongest runaway player nationwide, simply because that particular style isn’t popular in the area.
At a major tournament, all these different styles collide over thousands of matches. It’s no accident that players who have done some traveling in the past tend to survive deeper into their brackets. From pools to top 8, you’re bound to run into a capable proponent of almost every style. It’s difficult to adapt quickly to gameplans you’ve never had to deal with before.
Now i know some of you are thinking, “I play online against opponents worldwide so I’ve seen every style.” Well, not quite. That statement might be true if there was no network latency. Unfortunately, lag transforms online play into a style of its own. Rushdown with lag is different from rushdown live; and so on. Let’s not forget that playing in your living room is an entirely different atmosphere compared to playing against strangers face-to-face at a tournament.
And yet, traveling outside your comfort zone to attend a major tournament will improve your online game as well. It all boils down to the level of competition you’re facing. The average player at Evo is more dedicated than the average player online. The average player at Evo makes a stronger effort to bring their A-game to the floor than the average player online. Combine these two factors and it becomes obvious why there’s nothing like the majors.
Please forgive me if i’m starting to sound like i’m pushing Evo every chance i get. I can only speak from personal experience, and i’ve had a blast every single time i’ve gone – regardless of whether or not i entered to play.
Evo ftw, man. I plan to go. Already have a room reserved. Can’t wait!
As a person getting into the fighting game community, I’ve driven about trying to get in some tournament play (I went to a team tournament yesterday and I’ll be going to one later today). It’s a learning experience, but as a shy newbie it’s hard to work myself into the existing network of friendships and hard to justify spending $35~ (as I did yesterday) to go two and out.
It is pretty damn fun, though!
just curiouss, where is evo? i’m in UK so doubt i’ll be attneding anytime soon :P
@Pokey86
Damn, we should steal evo and pop it down over here.
Evo World Finals have been held in Las Vegas for the past several years, but since like 2006 there have been other major qualifier events leading up to it. NeoEmpire ran Battle of Destiny in England last year and the winners of each game were provided with airfare to attend Evo in Vegas. They’re running Super VS Battle in London this year. World Game Cup was a major tournament held in France this year, which Daigo and Eita attended.
Evo’s not the only major tournament to draw players from all regions. It’s totally understandable if you can’t make it out to Vegas, but if you live within 3-4 hours of any major tournament, just get a bunch of people together and carpool. It’s not that expensive if you share a hotel room and stick to a strict budget. That’s what Koop’s tournament survival guides cover.
I’m 15, my mates play cod, I live 6 hours from London, I live 3 hours from anywhere big-ish, I’m skint, my parents wouldn’t take me to play video games, I’m screwed.
I’m 14, my friends play TF2, I live in BC, Canada; I live an hour from Vancouver, I worked constantly to get the cash, and I’m going to EVO this year with my best friend. It’s touch, but if you really want to go man, you have to work your ass off.
*tough
Either way though, 14-15 is really young. If you can make it out to a major, of course it’s gonna be an awesome experience. If not, no big deal. You’ve got plenty of time ahead of you.
Awesome article, see you guys at the event! Just entered today… good luck to everyone!
Hey Maj, just wondering, how old are you? seems like your older than twenty or so.
I dunno, if it’s to personal, it’s fine.
Yeah i’m 28 actually, which i guess is pretty old by SF4 standards. Back in SHGL days, i would enter tournaments as well as make combo videos, but obviously i don’t have time for both anymore. Making these combovids and keeping this website updated takes up all of my free time, which is the reason i don’t play online or actively participate in tournaments anymore. Evo has turned into a reunion event for me (and many of my friends), and we all have a great time every time we can make it out there.
Maybe now, Maj, you can write a piece on how to afford flying out to Vegas for someone on the East Coast! ;-) I’m really trying to make it happen, but as it stands I’m looking at $1k easy for my GF and I to attend. (note: I think she’s more excited about it than I am!)
Haha sorry sir, you’re on your own there. Though at least you’ve got the advantage of a two-income Evo household, right?
Hotel rooms aren’t that expensive if you book ahead, but yeah, it’s better to have money left over than run out of funds while you’re halfway across the country. I live in LA (and i’m not into gambling or any other Vegas vices) so it only costs me a few hundred bucks to drive there.
Even if you can’t make it though, there are two or three majors held on the East Coast throughout the year. Maybe look into one of those?
Haha, I wish I was the same… but I’m a gambler, and I’m only 21! It’s like a party inside of a party for me when I go there… I’ll have -some- self control eventually. Lol.
Heh, I’m up in San Francisco. God, it’s like a two day drive down to Vegas for me. Haven’t been to Evo yet though.
Isn’t it a 9-hour drive? You could cover that in a day with ample rest stops, or half a day if you carpool and rotate drivers. Or you could take the wiser option and pay around $150 for round trip airfare. If you ask the other NorCal players for advice, it’s not too late to find a decent bargain. And there’s always next year.
@Maj
Yeah flying to EVO is quite expensive, especially for two people, but I am determined to make it next year. I’ll most certainly be looking into the East Coast majors and intend to hit one smaller one in Baltimore later this summer. Thanks for the tips!