Evo 2013 SSF4 AE: Tokido not ready for Xian's Gen
Evo 2013 has come to an end, with Xian taking out the event's most coveted prize as Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition champion.
It was hard not to cheer for Tokido; the determined competitor won through the losers bracket to reach the grand final, having participated in ten top eight brackets in his time. His last finals appearance was in 2007. That said, Xian had supporters, having failed to secure a title in several appearances. Xian also drew respect by fronting Gen, not considered a top tier tournament character.
In the first match, Xian took the first round, with Tokido playing a slow Akuma fireball game to take the second round from Xian. The third match ended in victory for Xian in a spectacular turn around which saw health bars almost reverse.
In the second match, both competitors ended the first round with almost no health, but Xian's patient, surgical strike won out over Tokido's high-pressure approach. The second round was over much more quickly, with Xian landing a super to devastate Tokido and take the second set.
On third match, the crowd roared as Xian used a super to storm through. But on the second round, Xian got too aggressive with dashes, and Tokido took him down.
But Tokido's victory meant Xian started the next round with a full super, and he took the tournament in style.
Evo 2013's Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition tournament drew 1,600 competitors.
Other results
Although Super Street Fighter 4 is considered the main event of Evo 2013, there were several tournaments in the build up to the grand finale.
On Monday, CafeId’s Knee emerged victorious from a hard-fought Tekken Tag Tournament 2 final against Bronson Tran. Tran fought a close game, focusing on throws and large characters, but Knee took out the first game in three rounds using Ogre. In the second game, Tran changed his playstyle markedly, eventually managing to win three rounds to one. By the third round, the pair were back to their usual styles and in the final found of the third match Knee hit his form, with Tran folding quickly.
The Mortal Kombat finals were also held on Monday; it was a tournament of surprise twists and ups and downs, with eventual champion Crazy DJT 88 a clear crowd favourite throughout. His final opponent, REO, faced elimination multiple times but hung on tenaciously to face Crazy DJT 88's Cyrax.
On Saturday, the Street Fighter x Tekken tourney concluded with the winning spot going to Infiltration, last year's champion. His opponent, the popular Justin Wong, favoured Hwoarang and Chun-Li but was outmatched by Jin and Alisa. The match was tense and Wong's strong start in the second match had many of Wong's supporters excited; Infiltration pulled some smooth moves to recover, but Wong managed to take a round in the third match, too. By the fourth bout, though, Infiltration was in control, barely giving Wong space to move.
The Smash Bros. Melee tourney finals were watched by over 100,000 eager fans, which was rewarding after the stream came so close to being shut down. The final match up saw Wobblez going up against Mango, who won crowd approval by securing his slot through the losers brackets. The underdog came out on top, winning two straight sets, playing with such panache that Wobblez was unable to maintain a lead for any considerable time.
The Injustice: Gods Among Us final saw the return of Crazy DJT 88, this year's Mortal Kombat champion, coming up through the winners bracket to face KDZ, who managed a perfect win streak through the top eight pools. Pitting Green lantern against KDZ's Superman, DJT did his best but was eventually forced to switch to Doomsday; this didn't stop KDZ from taking the crown for a near-flawless victory.
The Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 final was probably the second biggest single event in the Evo 2013 schedule, and viewers were rewarded with tight, exciting competitions. The final came down to Flocker and Justin Wong, and the latter was once more handed a second place award as Flocker powered through, settling an old score between the two rivals.
In other matches, Reynald took out the King of Fighters 13 crown, facing down Hee San Woo, while Yume beat out Lord Knight to take the Persona 4 Arena championship.