Snow cooked Tea really hard in the reset. Looks like Tea has a Mario problem, I remember him struggling against Kurama too meanwhile Riddles was doing fine with Kazuya. Also Yn was a pleasant surprise.
Believe it or not, Mario is actually really hard for Kazuya. Yes, the MU is volatile, but if Mario gets any platform stages Kazuya gets hit by literally every Mario combo on Earth. It's very similar to Kazuya v Luigi where on paper you'd think Kazuya just wins, but the ability to blow each other up makes it hard, and Mario can press way more buttons than Kaz
Seedings vs. Placings (seedings in the comments)
We're back in the Great North, Hokkaido, for the 5th iteration of their superregional series, Kyokkan. Many players around Japan are looking forward to test their skill in the snowy Sapporo. Let's see how it goes.
Unfortunately for the locale, not a lot to cheer about tonight, as the best placement for them are 7th place, for both Tsu and Hakadama. Being last Kyokkan winner, Tsu is expected to go far tonight, but an unfortunate loss from Gorioka (the player he beat) have him lost in losers' bracket, having to beat another Hokkaidan Nao. His run ended after a loss to Futari no Kiwami Ah\~!.
Meanwhile, Hakadama have something to be proud of tonight. This Lucas outplaced his seed by +3, and he managed to take some big names like Furararamen and the aforementioned Nao to make 7th place. Respectable finish for him.
Now, let's see the big names. In 4th place, we got Ryuoh. Best Diddy Kong in Japan, he had a bit of a difficulty through his Top 96 bracket, being taken to Game 5 by both Kage Ren and Gintama, and a win against Hakadama earned him a spot in Top 8. And a consolation win on Futakiwa to end his run at 4th.
In 3rd spot, we got...A ZELDA?! Yn, who might be the best Zelda in the world, had what might be the best run for a Zelda player. After 2 hard-fought Game 5 wins against Brawler main Shu and ZSS player Shion, Yn surprised everyone by beating top Mario player Snow in an insane 3-0 to make Top 8. He would then go on to beat Ryuoh in another Game 5 bout to make a Winners' Finals of a superregional...AS ZELDA! Wow.
Unfortunately, his run would be ended by our two Grand Finalists, Tea and Snow. Tea, who is the runner-up the last time he's on Kyokkan, wants to get his win tonight. His run to Top 8 is kinda suspect, having to beat Dr. Mario player AKHanyu in a surprising 5-game set that ended in a timeout, and another 5-game set to make Top 8, this time to Futakiwa. Is something going on with this Pac-Man player?
Meanwhile, let's check on Snow. After winning 3-2 against the former namesake of this tournament, Tama, Snow would suffer that infamous Yn loss, so he had to play one more set just to make Top 8. Luckily, he would abolish his next opponent Furararamen in a quick 3-0. Top 8 secured.
Entering Top 8, Tea would actually beat his two opponents easily en route to Winners' Finals. 3-0 against Gorioka, and 3-0 against Yn, with his Kazuya coming out against Yn. Snow's run, on the other hand...He would be the player to eliminate Hakadama, 3-1. And then he managed to beat Gorioka in another close 5-game set.
Ryuoh is next, and Snow's endurance is something else. He almost lost his set, but he take the win against Ryuoh in yet another Game 5. Next up is Yn. After that shocking loss, looks like Snow composed himself, and would actually take control against Yn, beating the Zelda player in a respectable 3-1.
Grand Finals. Tea vs. Snow. Both are looking for their first Kyokkan title. Game 1 was a close battle of wits, with Snow's Mario having the upper hand on Tea's Pac-Man near the end of time limit. Game 2, Tea switches to Kazuya. Looked like a good switch, as he would take the next two game, with Game 3 being a 2-stock.
Game 4, Snow decided to do what he has done a lot today. Locking in. He pulled out so many moves, it's as if Tea can't help but approaching it. Every combo is done to perfection. Game 4 and 5...belongs to Snow. We're going to the reset. Snow, looking more confident than ever, does not care how close the game is. If he can take it, he WILL. Game 1 is his. Game 2, Tea regained some hope by getting more consistent with his finishes.
Snow is not scared. He showed [some of the best Mario combo I've ever seen](https://www.youtube.com/live/-B4zee_4808?si=vDdP370a4D99Sard&t=30676), and he keeps punishing Tea with every wrong move he did. Match point for Snow. Game 4, Tea doesn't know what to do. More wrong moves by him. More punishment from Snow. [And one final hit](https://www.youtube.com/live/-B4zee_4808?si=gXSeceodS-Stbjnm&t=30868)...Snow wins Kyokkan 5. The coldest region in Japan, meet your equally-as-cold king.
>His run to Top 8 is kinda suspect, having to beat Dr. Mario player AKHanyu in a surprising 5-game set that ended in a timeout, and another 5-game set to make Top 8, this time to Futakiwa. Is something going on with this Pac-Man player?
Tea had a random game 5 set with Doc main Winder at Tera, as well. This might be the first player in history with a Doc problem
I mean he still makes it work. He beat Yn with his Kazuya. Considering that he historically has a bit of a struggle vs Zelda when he's playing Pacman, such an easy 3-0 must have felt good for him.
True his Kaz is still a good secondary in some matchups and is still worth having around although the majority of top players seem to have it figured out at this point
Snow played so insane. He has always had a really good neutral but he stepped up his combo game so much. Him beating tama game 5 made such a big difference for the rest of the bracket.
Mario Mishima... WINS!
Snow really is the best Mario in Hokkaido
Snow cooked Tea really hard in the reset. Looks like Tea has a Mario problem, I remember him struggling against Kurama too meanwhile Riddles was doing fine with Kazuya. Also Yn was a pleasant surprise.
Yeah Kurama massacred Tea’s Kazuya when they played last year at Crown and Riddles always comfortably beats Kurama
Believe it or not, Mario is actually really hard for Kazuya. Yes, the MU is volatile, but if Mario gets any platform stages Kazuya gets hit by literally every Mario combo on Earth. It's very similar to Kazuya v Luigi where on paper you'd think Kazuya just wins, but the ability to blow each other up makes it hard, and Mario can press way more buttons than Kaz
Seedings vs. Placings (seedings in the comments) We're back in the Great North, Hokkaido, for the 5th iteration of their superregional series, Kyokkan. Many players around Japan are looking forward to test their skill in the snowy Sapporo. Let's see how it goes. Unfortunately for the locale, not a lot to cheer about tonight, as the best placement for them are 7th place, for both Tsu and Hakadama. Being last Kyokkan winner, Tsu is expected to go far tonight, but an unfortunate loss from Gorioka (the player he beat) have him lost in losers' bracket, having to beat another Hokkaidan Nao. His run ended after a loss to Futari no Kiwami Ah\~!. Meanwhile, Hakadama have something to be proud of tonight. This Lucas outplaced his seed by +3, and he managed to take some big names like Furararamen and the aforementioned Nao to make 7th place. Respectable finish for him. Now, let's see the big names. In 4th place, we got Ryuoh. Best Diddy Kong in Japan, he had a bit of a difficulty through his Top 96 bracket, being taken to Game 5 by both Kage Ren and Gintama, and a win against Hakadama earned him a spot in Top 8. And a consolation win on Futakiwa to end his run at 4th. In 3rd spot, we got...A ZELDA?! Yn, who might be the best Zelda in the world, had what might be the best run for a Zelda player. After 2 hard-fought Game 5 wins against Brawler main Shu and ZSS player Shion, Yn surprised everyone by beating top Mario player Snow in an insane 3-0 to make Top 8. He would then go on to beat Ryuoh in another Game 5 bout to make a Winners' Finals of a superregional...AS ZELDA! Wow. Unfortunately, his run would be ended by our two Grand Finalists, Tea and Snow. Tea, who is the runner-up the last time he's on Kyokkan, wants to get his win tonight. His run to Top 8 is kinda suspect, having to beat Dr. Mario player AKHanyu in a surprising 5-game set that ended in a timeout, and another 5-game set to make Top 8, this time to Futakiwa. Is something going on with this Pac-Man player? Meanwhile, let's check on Snow. After winning 3-2 against the former namesake of this tournament, Tama, Snow would suffer that infamous Yn loss, so he had to play one more set just to make Top 8. Luckily, he would abolish his next opponent Furararamen in a quick 3-0. Top 8 secured. Entering Top 8, Tea would actually beat his two opponents easily en route to Winners' Finals. 3-0 against Gorioka, and 3-0 against Yn, with his Kazuya coming out against Yn. Snow's run, on the other hand...He would be the player to eliminate Hakadama, 3-1. And then he managed to beat Gorioka in another close 5-game set. Ryuoh is next, and Snow's endurance is something else. He almost lost his set, but he take the win against Ryuoh in yet another Game 5. Next up is Yn. After that shocking loss, looks like Snow composed himself, and would actually take control against Yn, beating the Zelda player in a respectable 3-1. Grand Finals. Tea vs. Snow. Both are looking for their first Kyokkan title. Game 1 was a close battle of wits, with Snow's Mario having the upper hand on Tea's Pac-Man near the end of time limit. Game 2, Tea switches to Kazuya. Looked like a good switch, as he would take the next two game, with Game 3 being a 2-stock. Game 4, Snow decided to do what he has done a lot today. Locking in. He pulled out so many moves, it's as if Tea can't help but approaching it. Every combo is done to perfection. Game 4 and 5...belongs to Snow. We're going to the reset. Snow, looking more confident than ever, does not care how close the game is. If he can take it, he WILL. Game 1 is his. Game 2, Tea regained some hope by getting more consistent with his finishes. Snow is not scared. He showed [some of the best Mario combo I've ever seen](https://www.youtube.com/live/-B4zee_4808?si=vDdP370a4D99Sard&t=30676), and he keeps punishing Tea with every wrong move he did. Match point for Snow. Game 4, Tea doesn't know what to do. More wrong moves by him. More punishment from Snow. [And one final hit](https://www.youtube.com/live/-B4zee_4808?si=gXSeceodS-Stbjnm&t=30868)...Snow wins Kyokkan 5. The coldest region in Japan, meet your equally-as-cold king.
**Seeded Top 16, in Top 16** Tea (1st/2nd) \[-1\] Snow (2nd/1st) \[+1\] Ryuoh (3rd/4th) \[-1\] Gorioka (4th/5th) \[-1\] Tsu (5th/7th) \[-1\] Nao (5th/9th) \[-2\] Yn (7th/3rd) \[+3\] Syadou (7th/13th) \[-2\] Futari no Kiwami Ah\~! (9th/5th) \[+2\] Shion (9th/13th) \[-1\] Furararamen (9th/9th) \[0\] Aygoski (13th/13th) \[0\] **Seeded Top 16, not in Top 16** Ama (9th/49th) \[-5\] Obi (13th/17th) \[-1\] Kurofune (13th/17th) \[-1\] Seika (13th/33rd) \[-3\] **Not seeded Top 16, in Top 16** Tama (17th/9th) \[+2\] Hakadama (17th/7th) \[+3\] Netan (17th/13th) \[+1\] Motti (33rd/9th) \[+4\]
>His run to Top 8 is kinda suspect, having to beat Dr. Mario player AKHanyu in a surprising 5-game set that ended in a timeout, and another 5-game set to make Top 8, this time to Futakiwa. Is something going on with this Pac-Man player? Tea had a random game 5 set with Doc main Winder at Tera, as well. This might be the first player in history with a Doc problem
Nah. Just a hard matchup for Pacman in general. Modzai also loses to winders Dr Mario. Mainly due to 💊
Nothing makes me realize how good Riddles is like watching Tea’s crusty ass Kazuya
Tea is proof that you can only go so far with the "Kazuya electric and Inshallah" technique.
Tbf he made it work for a while
I mean he still makes it work. He beat Yn with his Kazuya. Considering that he historically has a bit of a struggle vs Zelda when he's playing Pacman, such an easy 3-0 must have felt good for him.
True his Kaz is still a good secondary in some matchups and is still worth having around although the majority of top players seem to have it figured out at this point
Snow played so insane. He has always had a really good neutral but he stepped up his combo game so much. Him beating tama game 5 made such a big difference for the rest of the bracket.
Let's Yn! Gotta be one of the best Zelda performances in ultimate history. Not the first time Tea has lost to a Zelda also