| The Arcadian Renaissance: The Final Round |
March 20th, 2009 |
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The Empire crushes Game Stop Round 3 and Final Round 12.
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Round 2
When we last left off from Round 1 of the Game Stop National Tournament, Justin Wong and Sanford Kelly had advanced to Round 2. When Round 2 started Sanford was absent from the event and was disqualified from competing. Justin had to continued onward without him and was able to knock out everyone in contention for round 2 at the 33rd and Broadway Game Stop. Justin was not alone in completing the Round 2 challenge; other members in the Empire such as (1). David “Ultimizer” Tyson, (2). Rahsaan "EvilRahsaan", (3). Ari "Floe" Weintraub, (4). Norman “Harlem Hero” Burgess, (5). Erik “SmoothViper” (6). Royal Lance and (7). Matthew “Glitch” Testini all advanced as well.
The players who won Round 2 received Xbox 360 Street Fighter 4 Fight pads, created by Madcatz. It would be only 2 weeks before the players would all have to meet up once again to compete in the third round of the Game Stop Street Fighter 4 National Tournament. At that time however only one player would advance to Round 4 of the tournament which would then be held in California in April. |
Justin secures New York City Game Stop.
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Justin leaves as the last man standing in New York City to head to the Final Round for the Game Stop National Tournament. |
Round 3
Round 3 of the tournament would be the most difficult for the Empire as (4) four members all had to compete in the same store. Only 1 would be able to advance to the final round out in California. As the qualifiers for Round 3 throughout various regions of the east coast all jam packed the 33rd and Broadway Game Stop for the a shot to advance to the final round, tension rose for the Empire as Erick, Norman, Justin and Glitch all knew that only one of them would move onward.
The tournament started and already bad news befell the Empire as Justin had to battle against a fellow member of the Empire; Glitch. Justin had no choice but to dispatch him and move on. Erik and Norman both fell victim to random opponents that got the best of them using Bison and Zangief. It was then up to Justin as he was New York City’s only hope for the Empire to move forward to the final round of the tournament. In traditional fashion Justin clutched the Empire’s hopes and took the grand final match in convincing fashion. In good sportsmanship Justin agreed with the finalist of Round 3 to extend the match to a best of 3 contest to give legitimacy to the finalist to advance to round 4. This way a random win would not be good |
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| enough to go to round 4; only by winning 2 matches out of three would the winner be granted passage to the finals. Meanwhile upstate New York "State", "Evil Rahsaan" defends the Empire State at the Game Stop Round 3 tournament at Irondequoit, New York.
Metaphorically speaking, the two locked up the Empire State and will be representing New York at the Final round of the Game Stop Street Fighter 4 National Tournament. For the Full Results of all Round 4 qualifiers please see: Game Stop National Tournament |
Final Round
Minutes after the Game Stop Tournament ended Justin’s gaming adventures were just beginning. Justin signed off on his paper work to advance to the final round of the Game Stop tournament and spoke shortly with TriForce before he sped out of the Game Stop on 33rd and Broadway and got into a cab to LaGuardia Airport. With only 2 hours to reach to Atlanta to compete at “Final Round 12” Justin had to make it to tournament in time before he would be disqualified. With over 240 players signed up for the regional Street Fighter 4 tournament, Justin reached the tournament in time despite a delay at the airport.
Justin climbed through the ranks of the tournament before he finally met up in the grand finals against an old foe which he was defeated by at Sinsation earlier this year. Gootecks vs. Justin Wong was the rematch that everyone was waiting for to see for sure if Gootecks win over Justin was more than just a fluke. The last time the two battled, Justin represented the East Coast in traditional fashion while Gootecks and his friend Combofiend represented the West Coast. Talks about Justin’s dominance in the East Coast was unresolved testaments of his |
Justin Wong heads to the Final Round.
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dominance until he battled against the some of the West Coast best players in the game.
At Sinsation Justin fell to Gootecks and gave rise to the West coast rights to brag their dominance over the East Coast. This did not sit well with Justin, as the King of Fighters planned his return to the top and set his chance to execute his vengeance at Final Round 12.
At Final Round there was a test that Justin had to first pass and that test was Mike Ross who at the time was considered one of the top West Coast players in Street Fighter 4. Justin took the challenge head on and defeated Mike Ross before advancing to the finals eventually where he faced off against Gootecks once again. Justin returned to his true form in the end and he defeat Gootecks 4 - 3 in the first set staving off a reset in the grand finals. It was business as usual for Justin as he finished two national Street Fighter tournaments in 1 weekend. Superman is back in the building ladies and gentlemen. |
