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Name - EJ Williamson aka EGP Tyrant (Twitter - @EeeeJayyyy)
Age - 20
Fighting Out Of - River City, CA
Character(s) Of Choice - Jax
Major Accomplishments - Top 8 at EVO 2012, 4th at SCR 2011, 5th at MLG Spring Championship, 3rd at MLG Summer Fighter Arena
For those
who aren’t clear, is it true that you do not own a copy of Mortal Kombat?
Yes it’s
true. I do NOT own a copy.
Why is this?
Well I don’t
exactly live the luxury life so money is hard to come by. I have
responsibilities that come first before anything.
How are you
able discover new techniques or even practice in general without having
possession of the game?
I pretty
much know the game mechanics well enough to think of new tech when I’m not
playing. Then I test it out when I go play casuals with the WC crew.
Is it
difficult to rely solely on occasional casual get-togethers to improve your
abilities and maintain a high level of play?
It’s very
difficult actually. Luckily I play other FG's just to keep my skills mentally
up to par when I can’t play MK. Idk how I do it sometimes.
How long
have you mained Jax?
The first
week MK came out I wanted to main Sektor and have Jax as my secondary. I went
my first EGP tourney and met XBlades for the first time...he bodied my sektor
lol. Ever since that loss I’ve been using Jax 100% and I vowed to stick through
the bad matchups. I personally think it makes you that much more mentally
stronger when you use one character. It pushes you to the limit and your
victories are much more satisfying.
Is there a
correct way to use Jax? Or does it vary depending on the player?
Well Jax is
a very momentum based character in my opinion. You have to keep some sort of pressure
on your opponent whether it’s zoning or rushdown which makes him a versatile
character. Be sure to utilize all of Jax's strings since most are safe.
CD Jr has
recently stated on Twitter that, despite dropping Jax, he is still the best Jax
player. What is your response to this?
That cute ;)
Are you
familiar with DAB? If so, where does his
Jax rank among the rest in the Mortal Kombat community?
DAB is
beastly. He is definitely underrated in the community. I hope he's going to
Dallas so everyone can see his Jax.
Have you
found any new techs with Jax that will make you an even more lethal player at
MLG Dallas?
I do have
some new techs but I won’t reveal anything till after MLG Dallas. I haven’t
really been posting in the Jax forums but ill post everything I know to all my Jax
mainers. I promise you guys its actually NEW tech. Not stuff someone else found
and is taking credit for...
Not many
people thought you would place top 8 at EVO, what did it feel like to take Jax
all the way to top 8 and defeat some extremely talented opponents?
It felt
amazing. A certain someone (who will remain nameless) said I will never beat
Maxter's Cage...and I did. People said I wouldn’t make out of pools and lose to
Dizzy...I made it out in winners and beat dizzy. I honestly couldn’t care less
what people think about me but I wanted to prove everyone wrong who doubted me
at EVO.
You and GGA
Dizzy have consistently gone back-and-forth in tournament play, what is your
opinion on him as a player? Do you believe he is the best Johnny Cage player?
Most
definitely, He works so hard on his Johnny Cage and he only gets better every
tourney. I love playing him.
Looking
ahead to MLG Dallas, what are you most excited for going into this tournament?
I’m looking
forward to playing the Kombat Houston guys for the first time.
What is your
overall goal at MLG Dallas? What will you need to do to accomplish this goal?
I’m going to
go for the number 1 spot or at least top 3. My mind needs to be absolutely focused
on the tourney and nothing else.
What would
you say to the people going into Dallas that don’t see you as a major threat?
Don’t judge
a book by its cover.
Who do you
see as your biggest threats going into this tournament?
Perfect
Legend REO and Pig of The Hut.
Is there
anyone in the Mortal Kombat community who you have yet to play in competition
that you would like to?
I’ve always
wanted to play Showtime and CD Sr.
What is your
opinion on the future of competitive Mortal Kombat? Do you think it will make
another appearance at EVO in 2013?
I believe it
will be alive so long as the community shows love for the game. I'll still keep
supporting it no matter what.
Have you
been following the news about ‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’? If so, what do you
think of it? Will it be a game that you pick up?
Most
definitely, I’m so hype for this game.
What moment
in your competitive Mortal Kombat career would you say is your favorite?
I think it
would be my EVO'11 match with OnlineTony. Probably the most hype I’ve ever
been.
What
tournaments will you be attending for Mortal Kombat after MLG Dallas?
My next
tourney will probably be SoCal Regionals. After that I'll probably take a break
from traveling.
Where do you
expect to finish when MLG Dallas is all said and done?
I definitely see myself somewhere in top 8.
What is your
opinion on Tomlulsbrady?
He's my
number 1 fan since day 1. If I win has getting a shoutout.
Before we
wrap this up, is there anything you would like to add to this interview? Any
final words of hype or shout-outs?
I’m really
looking forward to Dallas. I’m going to give it my all. West Coast, EGP is
nothing to joke about. If you guys still underestimate our skill...you'll
regret it when you're in the losers bracket. I’m done playing around. Time to
take down these frauds.
Character(s) of Choice - Skarlet, Jax, Rain, Freddy Krueger, Kabal
Major Accomplishments - Top 16 at MLG Spring Championship, 1st at Insomnia, 1st at Texas Bar Fights 9
Hello to you KH Scar,
how have you been?
Ahhh I’ve been good bro just working gettin
this money, chillen wit my family and KH crew...the usual...:)
How is your training for MLG Dallas coming along?
It’s too good, Cat n Show been turning up the
heat lately, we won’t be playing around come Dallas we coming 4 a lot of ppls
heads, I pray 4 anyone who faces us because we will not be giving anyone room
to slack....u better come with it or prepare to be sent home plain and
simple....Especially Cat he's been playing stupid good lately, word of advice, don’t
let cat get comfortable in a matchup if u do, u might as well put your
controller down lol, plus pools don’t start till like 9? Lol shit that’s where
we at our best lol
You’ve come a long way since MLG Anaheim.
What have you done this time around to ensure that you will place top 8?
Lol make sure I don’t play on a fked up setup
and make sure I actually have a ref watching that knows what he’s doing...
Other than that, now that I know what the big stage feels like I can go in
confident, Made little tweaks to my playstyle wit Skarlet she will have 2
different styles for those "2 types of players". I’ve found Skarlet's
toasty boost oh the horror!!! But I won’t be releasing the inputs till after Dallas,
GGS everybody lol ;)
What exactly happened between you and m2dave a while
back?
Who??? m2dave....m2dave..."thinks....thinks" Oooh
yea u mean my bastard child of a son? He can’t be mine!, the ugly ass kid looks
nothing like me, had to cut his mother loose, damn kid doesn’t even speak good English
:/, Anyway the kid just got mad cause he found out that I was the
best Freddy, that’s all that was. It’s cool though he apologized he knows I’m
the truth, that’s why he won’t be at Dallas, he's on punishment 4 his disobedience
how dare he challenge my position of power, the fool! I have to save that kid
embarrassment of going 3-0 against me, having MLG shine the overhead camera on
his sweaty bald head, stressing him out and losing the rest of the last 3
strands of hair he has on his head...
What do you think of his Freddy? How does his
Freddy differ from yours?
His is
Fraud, mine is that Real Deal Holyfield...you’ll see come Dallas when I whip
him out.
Which character will you be using the most at MLG
Dallas?
Depends on the matchup, I would like to go Skarlet
but as we all know I have a nice amount of skill with other characters as
well...but if I had to choose it would be Skarlet...
How do you stack up against the top Kabals and
Kenshis of the world?
As far as Kabals I’ve only played one top Kabal
and that’s Cat that’s really all I need and I doubt other will be playing him
at the level and speed of cat, sometimes his Kabal is on point, and then other
times he just gets into a mode where he is feeling himself and starts doing crazy
shit that’s hard to stop, definitely all the Kabal exp I need, anyone else who
attempts to go Kabal vs. me I have their card, As far as pig ( cause lets be serious
there is only 1 top Kenshi lol), he's free I’m going to blow his back out come Dallas
( no homo) 3-0 I’m calling it now send his ass back to Atlanta salty as
hell..You’re going down old man, and when I beat you I'm taking your
blindfold.... =/
Which character will you be using in each of these
matchups?
Dream killers and bloody creations, with a few
hidden select surprises, y'all be on the lookout 4 that, a certain character
will be bringing some hype to Dallas :)
What do you have to say to the people who are
overlooking you going into MLG Dallas?
Please keep overlooking me, there’s nothing to
see here folks keep it moving :( The less attention the better. How confident are you against players like REO,
Perfect Legend and Pig of the Hut?
Pretty confident, in fact I’m hungry to face
all 3 of them, I’m capable of upsets against them all, no disrespect their great
players, but I can go toe to toe with them all...
Who are you looking to blow-up at MLG Dallas?
This would be the perfect forum for you to call
anyone out. 16 bit, I want that Kitana yo, Pig Freddy mirror me bro I
want u to, and I need to blow up at least 1 member of the zoning academy since
the bastard child is on punishment :p. I’m going to blow FOREVER KING's ass up,
go Skarlet against me bro I want u 2, I’ll make dat ass feel sorry u ever
picked up my character u bum :).
Which of your characters are you relying on the
most to get you through pools? Scorpion Subzero Sindel Jax Sheeva Reptile Noob Saibot
Kenshi
Rain
Skarlet
Raiden
Jade
Kitana
Mileena
Freddy
Stryker
Cyrax
Sektor
Baraka
Kano
Kabal
Cyber Subzero
Smoke
Liu Kang
Kung Lao
Goldfish <3
Are there any characters besides Freddy that you
plan on using at MLG Dallas?
Goldfish in that Mileena costume
"wink" wink" :p, I’m tryna see what that tech be like.
In your opinion, what KH player has the best
chance of winning MLG Dallas besides yourself?
The usual suspects Cat and Showtime, upset wise, Seraph, LumberZach,
King David, Shanxter, And Royale wit dat Kano? Lol
Will you be attending any tournaments after MLG
Dallas? If so, which ones are you interested in attending?
Nah more than likely u won’t see me traveling
anymore 4 this game after Dallas maybe NEC depending on how good I do here,
other than that will just be doing casuals n localstill
injustice drops...
What are some of your goals going into MLG Dallas?
Place top 8 or better, get breakout player, and
play on point.
Who would your ideal matchup be against at MLG
Dallas?
REO, Perfect Legend, CD Jr, Dizzy, Tyrant (yea
I want that salty runback) lol
Do you plan on popping off on your opponent if you
are able to defeat the REO’s and Perfect Legend’s of the world?
REO no because depending on who he uses I would
know how well I can take the set... PL maybe ;), I’m popping off on CD JR though
for sure since he said Dallas is going to be free lol...Oh I’m popping off on
16 bit just 4 the fk of it if I win just because he doesn’t believe Skarlet
dominates over the Edenian princess. I shall have her blood. I’m going to pop
off and then run over to the StarCraft side and break their game lol, fkn Asians
and their rockstar lifestyles -_-, why we ain't fkn signing autographs yo??? Lol
Do you think Mortal Kombat will make an appearance
at EVO 2013?
I hope so;
it would be dope seeing 2 NRS titles in an event of that size why not.
Do you think Mortal Kombat will be able to hang
with Injustice on the tournament scene? Why not?
Lol hell yea man MK will never stop being fun
especially since we got all this "toasty hoopla" going on right now, it’s
too good! It kind of rejuvenated the game, But injustice will be where it’s at,
its fresh its new and hopefully it won’t have some of the problems MK has,
people will be mostly on injustice when it drops though dissecting the game and
breaking it down finding the usual broken stuff getting it rdy 4 up to 6
patches lol, what I love about it is no jip combos and back to block, say goodbye
jip happy online scrubs :).
Who do you see making top 8 at MLG Dallas?
Since everyone else don’t wanna toss out names I
will, Pig, Reo, Wound, Cat, Showtime, Me, PL, Dizzy Lastly, is there anything that you would like to
add that I didn’t cover? Any last words of hype or shout-outs?
Say KH hittin the club when we take this!
poppin bottles! And goldfish if I make 1st your welcome to come back to the
suite sip some champagne sweet heart :), n let me show yo ass these ground
pound just frames its "damn good!" Beliiiieeve dat lmao! You gotta
wear the Mileena costume tho :0, Nah but shouts out to the whole KH crew Cat,
Showtime, Zach, Matt, Seraph,Starcharger, David, Royale the whole squad yo, and
shouts out to angel for these throwed ass KH chains we will be rocking at Dallas,
shout out to the whole MK community I luv it, I’ve only been playing on a
competitive level in fighting games since February grown so much as a fighter
since then doing so. Shouts out to PL for stating the truth on who the best Freddy
is, and the respect is likewise with him being top Kung Lao. Also shouts out to
the Emperor Clan, Shouts out to tan tan love u girl! Lol, special shout out to
Gametime I expect to see u making some upsets in Dallas bro. Shout out to all
my haters and doubters.
Good luck at MLG Dallas Scar, I hope to do this
again in the future. Thanks bro see you
around :).
Follow me on Twitter @NRC_CRUM for more interviews like this and coverage of MLG Dallas.
Video credit to TSTLP2 on YouTube photo credit to MLG
Character(s) of Choice - Reptile, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero, Nightwolf
Major Accomplishments - Top 16 at MLG Raleigh
It’s the combofiend
himself. Hello TylerLantern, how are you doing?
I am doing great. Just practicing as much as I
can for MLG Dallas.
How is your training
for MLG Dallas coming along?
It is coming along fine. I have been working
on a few match ups that I have had trouble with in the past, and I feel like I
am getting very comfortable with them. I have also been training with a couple
of characters that I have not really used in tournaments before. Maybe we will
see who they are at MLG Dallas; depending on if I feel like I need to pull them
out or not.
How many tournaments
have you attended for Mortal Kombat?
I have attended many offline tournaments, but
only 2 majors, 1 being Final Round, and the other being MLG Raleigh. To be
honest, the local tournaments, like Battle & Brew in Atlanta is where I
have really learned to control tournament nerves and concentrate on going for
the win.
MLG Raleigh was your
most notable tournament, how do you feel you performed at the tournament?
MLG Raleigh was great, I feel like I played
very well in most of my matches, especially with it only being my 2ndmajor
MK9 tournament. After it was over, I felt like there were things that needed to
worked on and addressed as far as match ups go, but for the most part, I was
happy with my performance.
You defeated some
tough opponents in losers bracket. How did this affect your confidence as a
tournament player?
The one thing I can say about the matches I
had in the losers bracket at MLG Raleigh, is that I go into every match knowing
in my head that I am going to win. You really cannot have any doubts in your
mind. You can’t think, "Wow, this is a tough match up, I might not win
this one". You have to go into it with the mindset that you are going to
take the win no matter what match up and no matter who you are playing. It is
all about confidence, and I had 110% confidence as I climbed the losers bracket
at MLG Raleigh.
Talk about your set
with KH Cat. Is Kabal a tough matchup for you personally? What do you think the
Reptile/Kabal matchup is number-wise?
Cat is an amazing Kabal player, plus Showtime
is one of his best friends, so he knows the Reptile match up very well. I, on
the other hand, did not have very much Kabal match up experience at the time.
We have 1 Kabal player here in Atlanta, and that is L0rd of the FLY, and while
he has an amazing Kabal, most of the time when we play, I play his Skarlet and
not his Kabal. As far as the match up numbers go for Kabal vs Reptile, I think
it is 6-4 in Kabal’s favor.
One of the biggest upsets of the tournament
was your 3-1 victory over KevoDaMan. Since it wasn’t streamed, give us a
rundown of what took place.Which characters did
he use and how were you able to come away with the victory?
Going into the match, Kevo used Kabal. I had
played Cat a few hours earlier, and I remembered my mistakes against him, and I
tried my best to not make the same mistakes against Kevo. The first match, Kevo
won, even though it was very close. At this point, I made myself calm down and
relax. I knew if I could get the momentum going in my direction, I would not
lose the set. I wanted Kevo to be afraid of my Reptile, and I knew the only way
that was going to happen was to calm down and get the upper hand. The second
match was again, Kabal vs Reptile. This time, I played the smartest I had ever
played in the Kabal match up, and won the match without him taking a round.
I could tell he was a bit frustrated as he
went back to the character select screen and chose Kung Lao. I knew if I was
going to win the set, I had to make him doubt himself. Going into the Kung Lao
vs Reptile match up, I was D4ing every chance I got, and I kept him right where
I wanted him for the entire match, taking the win against his Lao. At this
point, I could tell he did not know where to go character wise. He picked
Sonya, and I instantly knew I was going to win. I know the Sonya match up very
well. Two Atlanta players, Clint The Beast and Smarrgasm have mained Sonya in
the past, so it was an easy victory in that match. I turned around after winning,
and was surprised when it seemed like everyone had taken their eyes off the
stream match and was watching mine and Kevo’s match. I just wish someone had
recorded that set. I would love to go back and watch it.
Talk about your 3-2
loss to Crazy Dominican. Was it as close as the score would have us believe?
It was very close in my mind. One match, I
even got a Flawless, which had my confidence very high. I know CD is an amazing
player, and I have a lot of respect for him, so going into it, I was a little
bit nervous, but when I took the first match, and then in the second match
started it off with a Flawless, any bit of nervousness that I had going into
the match was gone. In the end, he just out played me was the better player
that day, that is all there is to it. He deserved the win for sure, but that
isn’t to say it could have gone either way in my opinion.
How long have you been
creating combo videos for YouTube?
I have been doing combo videos for MK since
MKvsDC. Even though a lot of people don’t like MKvsDC, I love it.
What got you into
doing something as innovative as creating inconceivably impressive combo videos
for Mortal Kombat?
It is actually funny how it started. I played
MKvsDC online, and a guy recorded himself beating me using the Superman infinite,
and he posted the video on YouTube and sent me hate mail on PSN. The next day,
I went out and bought a video capture device and recorded him and posted it
lol. After that, I started recording myself beating the MKvsDC Kombo Challenges
without making any mistakes, and I got great feedback from people saying it
really helped them beat the Kombo Challenge by watching my video. So, I thought
it would help people get better at the game if they saw high damage combos on
YouTube and could learn them and use them in real matches. After doing a couple
of videos, I started trying harder combos, and higher damage combos. Before too
long, it seemed like people really liked seeing combos they never thought were
possible, so I kept doing it. I knew most players could read between the lines
of insane combos and at least learn something from them. It has always been
about entertaining, but more so, helping the community learn from my videos,
even if they learn something small from the video, that is my purpose in doing
what I do as far as combo videos go. Back when I started, Check was the only
name in making combo videos that I can remember, but now, we have a lot of
amazing combo artists, and I think it’s so cool we have so many talented combo
artists coming together on a forum to help others with the game.
Is Mortal Kombat the
only game that you are interested in doing this for?
I have ventured into other games in the past,
such SF4 and MvC3, but it has mostly always been about MK. When Injustice is
released, I will definitely 100% be making combo videos for that game as well.
How much time do you
spend discovering these intricate combos?
In the past, I spent a lot more time doing it
than I do now. Like when MK9 was released, pretty much any free time I would
have, it would be in Training Mode trying something that seemed like it would
never work, but I knew I could get something out of it. Now, I spend more time
training than I do trying to discover combos, but that does not mean you will
not see combo videos from me anymore. I plan on doing many more combo videos in
the future.
Do you think you have
any sort of advantage over your opponents considering how educated you are in
the art of combos?
When it comes to a real match, you don’t
always see intricate or highly developed combos, but knowing what the
characters can and can’t do combo wise is definitely a plus. I feel like I can
usually tell when a combo is going to be dropped, and I try to take advantage
of that.
Have you ever considered some sort of combo
collaboration video with GamerBlake90?
Actually, yes, me and Blake have talked many
times about doing a combo video collaboration. Something like a Reptile/Sonya
collab video would be insane. To be honest, I think any time two combo artists
get together for a collab video is amazing. We have seen this with the TYMCP2
that I took part in a few months ago, and Tony-T and Check showed us amazing
stuff with their collab video also. All of us combo artists love what we do,
and we are all doing the same thing, so when 2 of us get together and make a
video, its always a great outcome.
Will you be continuing your combo videos when
‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’ releases next year?
As mentioned above, YES! I am very excited to
do combo videos for Injustice.
Is Injustice a game
that you are excited for? What specifically about the game has you interested?
I am indeed very excited for Injustice. What
has peaked my interest about this game, first and foremost is that it features
DC Universe characters. Growing up, I was a huge fan of DC and Marvel comics. I
even have tattoos of DC character logos like Green Lantern, Sinestro, Batman,
etc. I will always be a fan of these characters, even though I have not read the
comics since I was about 10 years old. Besides that, the game itself looks
amazing. The combo system has me very hyped to play it. The idea that NRS is
taking on an all DC 2d fighter…That is all I needed to hear and I was instantly
hooked.
How long have you
mained Reptile? What is it about the character that keeps you loyal?
I started off using Reptile in MK9 because he
has always been my favorite MK character. In MK1, my favorite was Sub Zero, but
as soon as I found out there was a green ninja at the bottom of The Pit that
you could fight, Reptile became my favorite. I was a kid, and already a huge
fan of Green Lantern and Green Arrow, so now there was a GREEN ninja in Mortal
Kombat. Instantly my favorite and has been ever since. Even if he was a terrible
character, I would still use him as at least a pocket character.
Do you believe you are
one of the top Reptile players in the Mortal Kombat community?
When you think of the phrase "Top Reptile
Player", the names that instantly come to mind are THTB, Showtime, Chris
G, etc. With that being said, if I am a "Top Reptile Player" or not
is not really something I can decide. It is to be decided by those I play
against. What I will say is, I don’t know any other Reptile who has beaten Pig
of the Hut once, much less twice in a tournament, or a Reptile that has beaten
Kevo at a tournament besides mine.
Let’s talk about MLG
Dallas, how are you feeling heading into the weekend?
I feel pretty good about it. As said above, I
have been training pretty hard, and am ready. I just wish the weekend was
already here, I am ready NOW!
What are some of your
goals that you would like to accomplish before the weekend is finished?
I want what anyone else wants. Top 8. I don’t
want to settle for anything less. I am not going to sit here with ego and say,
"Yeah I will be in Top 8 FOR SURE!". I definitely have that attitude
when it comes to my confidence, but there is no ego here. You don’t ever win
with ego. You win with hard training and confidence.
Would you label
yourself as ‘underrated’ going into MLG Dallas? What do you have say to anyone
who is writing you off as a potential threat?
I think I have been underrated for a while,
but it is understandable, I had not really been to any majors besides Final
Round when I went to MLG Raleigh, and any accomplishments I made by winning
local Battle & Brews were just shrugged off by some with the mind set of
"Yeah, he won, but that is just a local". By saying that, not only
are you underrating me, but you are underrating the Atlanta Mortal Kombat
scene, which has some of the greatest players I have ever played. I think it
surprised a lot of people when I got Top 16 at MLG Raleigh. Anyone who goes
into a match with me thinking it will be an easy win is going to regret it.
That is what Kevo did, and he got beat.
Is there anyone in
particular that you would like to get some games in with this weekend? Is there
anyone that you are eager to play in the tournament?
Honestly, there are SOOO many people I want to
get games in with. I want to finally play GamerBlake90 offline. I have known
this guy for almost 4 years and have never actually met the guy in person.
Besides him, it is too many people to name. Lets just say, I am down for money
matches and casuals ALL weekend with whoever wants to play. Also, I would love
to get casuals against Cat, just to see where I stand against his Kabal now. As
far as the tournament itself goes, I am ready for whoever I am put up against.
What do you think of
Madzin (Winner of the MLG Dallas Online Tournament hosted by Pig of the Hut)
coming to MLG Dallas all the way from Germany? Do you see him turning some
heads at MLG Dallas?
This guy is a beast. Coming all the from
Germany shows dedication. In the first online tournament, I was the only person
to even come close to beating him, and in the 2nd redo tournament, I put him in
losers bracket, and later eliminated him. In these matches, we both had to deal
with lag delay, so playing him offline will be great. There has been a lot of
speculation as to how Madzin will do at MLG Dallas, and to be honest, I think
he will cause some upsets for sure.
Are you planning on
attending any tournaments for Mortal Kombat after MLG Dallas? If so, which ones
would you like to attend?
I will be attending as many MK majors as
possible, but which ones I will be attending is yet to be seen. All I can say,
if I am able to be there, I WILL be there.
Do you think Mortal
Kombat has a legitimate chance of making the EVO 2013 lineup? If so, would you
make an effort to attend the tournament?
I really wanted to make it to EVO 2012, but my
business would not allow me to leave at the time. I hated not being able to go,
because I LOVE Vegas, and Mortal Kombat + Vegas would be a dream come true. I
really hope MK9 makes the EVO 2013 line up. If it does, I will do whatever I
can to make it.
Who do you foresee
making top 8 at MLG Dallas?
This is hard to say. We have so many beasts
coming to this tournament, predicting a Top 8 is tough. Names we could see in
Top 8 are Pig, CDjr, REO, Maxter, Showtime, Blake, PL, Cat…Too many people to
name. Expect to see some of the KH guys in Top 8, they are really showing out
in this tournament as far as numbers go. One thing I can say is Pig = 1st
Place.
It’s been great to
talk to you, is there anything that I did not mention in this interview that
you would like to? Any final words of hype or shout-outs?
I think you covered pretty much everything.
Shout outs to all of ATL MK crew, you guys are the reason this game is so hype
to me. Big thanks to you CRUM! Your interviews are always a pleasure to read,
and I thank you taking the time interview me. Final words…Watch out Dallas, I
am playing to WIN.
Thanks for the time
Tyler, I wish you the best of luck at MLG Dallas and I hope to speak with you
again in the future.
Follow me on Twitter @NRC_CRUM for more interviews and coverage of MLG Dallas.
Name - Carl White aka Perfect Legend (Twitter - @PerfectLegend)
Age - 24
Fighting Out Of - Toledo, OH
Years Competitively Gaming - 7
Character(s) of Choice - Kung Lao + Kabal
Major Accomplishments - 3x Evolution Champion (MK and DOA), 2nd at PowerUp 2011 (His 1st Major), The Self-Proclaimed Best Kung Lao Player, The Only World Champion for Mortal Kombat
It’s been a long time
since our last interview, how have you been since MLG Raleigh?
Yea man it has been quite a while! I've been
good just enjoying life.
Let’s talk about
Seasons Beatings, how was your overall weekend there?
SB was pretty fun. I wish it was still at
Momo's so I could drink boba tea all day but the environment was cool. Plenty
of room and space for set ups and for people to walk around. It didn't feel
overcrowded even though a lot of people were there. I think I did well in DOA
and MK. I didn't do well in TK or SF. I am way out of practice in SF and Tekken
still getting the hang of things.
Had you practiced
Mortal Kombat at all prior to the event?
Not really at all to be honest. All I did was
go into practice mode and looked to see if I could do gas blasts and that’s it.
What games did you
play at SB? Give me a rundown of your strongest victories and toughest defeats.
MK, DOA, SF, TK.
In SF I lost to Vangief in the Zangief Akuma
match. I still back then wasn't sure how to approach Zangief after knocking him
down. I was able to out play him of course until a wake up situation occurred
but that is just my lack of knowing the set ups.
DOA I felt good. It was almost a breeze going
through honestly. I had a great time playing against shimbori; I was really
pleased seeing as he knows how to play his game. It wasn't really till the
finals I felt kind of uneasy but that is because of some of the pressure but it
went away as soon as the match begun.
In Tekken I still don't know a lot about the
game so I won some matches based on my own fundamentals but when it came to
weird chars I got bodied for my lack of knowledge. Out of all the games I
entered I feel this is my weakest game so I have been working really hard in trying
to figure out what exactly I need to be doing.
In MK I will just basically come out and say I
was pissed. I will get into more later on why.
There is a question
that has plagued me since the event wrapped, why did you stick with Kung Lao
against Dizzy? Would a switch to Kabal have made much of a difference?
I stuck to Kung Lao because anytime I have
played Dizzy lately the games are heavily in my favor ratio wise and I know
exactly what I am supposed to do in the match up vs. Johnny Cage with Kung Lao
and I am more comfortable with that match than I am with Kabal. Especially since Johnny Cage can punish saw
and db2 with f33 nut punch combo forcing Kabal to have to use meter to breaker
then Cage gets in again it’s over and it’s not hard to get around Kabal's gas
blasts I don't care what anyone says. I don't get why people are so afraid of
2% chip but whatever.
I guess that answers your question if picking
Kabal would've made a difference.
Oh also let me touch on a situation. So the
stream set up for the tournament was lagging. I would go to EX teleport after
blocking EX fireball and nothing would come out or I would get the meter drain
glitch, but on a regular set up I get out of it 100% of the time which is a key
factor in this match up for Kung Lao vs. Kabal because Kung Lao basically gets
out of the pressure safely and doesn't let Cage build free meter so he can do
the trap again.
This alone was the biggest factor for the
match. Had we played on a regular non laggy set up I would've won and whoever
says I am just being salty or talking shit please try me I would love to fight
any Johnny Cage player on a non laggy set up and let’s see what happens.
Basically I would out play him for the match then end up getting caught in a
situation like that and not be able to get out of it cause of the lag on the
stream set up. If you want to try and say I'm too stupid or lack the timing to
do an EX move out of a frame trap you are ridiculous.
How much ‘Dead or
Alive 5’ have you been playing since it released? How does it compare to how much Mortal Kombat you have been
playing as of late?
I have been playing it but not as much I have
been playing more Tekken lately. The way it compares to MK though it’s better.
Here is why, Mortal Kombat has stupid shit like Cyrax 100% combos and pressure
where if you guess right you don't get much but if Cyrax guesses right you
basically die.
Does DOA5 have a large
following? Or is it more of a tightly knit community?
DOA5 doesn’t have a large following
unfortunately. As far as tightly knit community I can't say yes or no because it’s
weird. We have players that are dedicated to the game similar to how VF or KOF
does to their games but then we have a bunch of lazy players who don't want to
travel or support their game but scream all the time that they will and want to
but when the time comes they don't show up.
I’m going to throw out
a couple of Mortal Kombat characters, tell me who you believe is the best with
each:
Kung Lao – There is only one Kung Lao player
everyone else is just a bootleg copy of that player.
Kabal – There isn't really a best Kabal player
in my opinion. Everyone specializes in certain Kabal attributes for the
character. Some are better at frame traps, zoning, punishing etc.
Johnny Cage – GGA Dizzy
Kenshi – TFA Pig
Kitana – GGA 16bit
Freddy Krueger – KH Scar
Cyrax – I think GGA Han and Josh360 are the
best Cyrax players, but it is not hard to be a great Cyrax player. All you need
is one good read and the match is over.
Looking back on your
performance at MLG Raleigh, what exactly went wrong for you there considering
you didn’t place as high you would have presumably hoped for?
I had to fight Cyrax which is without a
question the dumbest character in the game and on top of that I didn't know the
matchup and Maxter admitted it to me himself that I should've won. I am pretty
sure I would've won the tournament had I got passed Maxter. Not being cocky but
does anyone think I am going to lose to Kabal or a Kung Lao player?
Only time I have ever lost to Kung Lao was
when I was forced to play on the MK Tournament sticks. I have also only lost to
Master D's Kabal when he put me in losers at console combat but that’s because
I couldn't hit any combos or punishes cause of my converter so at the
tournament I switched to stick and beat him 6-0 in the grand finals.
Let’s be serious here anytime you have seen me
lose it’s because of lack of experience in a match up or set up problems. All
the characters I have ever lost to in tournament were Cyrax, Sektor, Johnny
Cage and Jax. When I came back to the game Cage was dramatically different and
so was Jax. Cyrax and Sektor I actually don't even have anyone who will play
these characters to the best of their potential. I had to go all the way to Chicago
to play with GGA Han and he gave me a really good long session of games which I
appreciate but that was almost over a month ago so I am rusty in it and just
RECENTLY have been getting "some" games in with Cyrax players but not
enough. I still don't have a lot of Sektor experience but I have some tricks
and am aware of what I need to do to win.
Keep in mind; I am this dominant of a player
without a scene and without a human to play. I have to play in crap laggy
online matches to try to gauge while you have other people in scenes where they
have top players who play multiple characters and just be like "hey bro
could you play this match up on me?", and play for hours. While me nah I
have to go through tournament trial and error or spend money to go to a
different state just to play with people.
I think a lot of people who lose to me should
be ashamed of themselves especially since all I have is online and we all know
how AWESOME the netcode is and in WC, South, MW and EC all have someone they
can feed off of for good practice and no I am not counting myself in any region
cause I don't have any humans to play with.
MLG Dallas is just a
couple of weeks away, how have you been preparing for both Tekken Tag
Tournament 2 and Mortal Kombat?
I think I finally have a grasp on Tekken, I
just need more experience. MK I have been trying to get games in vs. robot
players but of course no one wants to play me for more than like 5 games which
isn't enough for me to be like, “okay I get it”. The matchup is basically stay
away from Cyrax and don't get hit by nets but I am not in the habit of doing
certain things in the match yet. I bet after this interview goes up no one will
want to use Cyrax on me. I think it’s funny one day I hit up Krayzie to play
and he pickings fucking Jade on me.............fucking Jade.............=\
Which game are you
more excited to participate in?
Probably Tekken. I doubt I do well because I
am still learning but I just want to enjoy myself.
How do you feel about
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as a competitive game? How are you enjoying it so far?
Tekken is a really fun game and a good
competitive game. I know how much people cry about high crushes but there is a
certain strategy involved to stop it. And keep in mind everyone has it. So I
feel like players should be more offensive with it and basically it will become
a game of who did it first. Just make sure you are the first to do your hop
kick lol.
Will you be using more
Kabal or Kung Lao at MLG Dallas?
Depends on what match ups I face up against. I
want to use Raiden for my own personal fun factor. I am also using Kenshi now.
When going to these tournaments, do you feel
the need to prove yourself in regards to your game play? Or do you go in with
the mindset that you will do anything necessary in order to win?
I don't feel like I need to prove myself.
Winning EVO puts in such a different mindset than any other player and it’s
just a few people who have won EVO so not everyone can really share that
experience so now I want to enjoy myself and put on a good show. However I am
quite competitive so I will do anything legally necessary in order to win.
Do you have your
sights set on anyone in particular going into MLG Dallas?
No
Let’s say you go up
against CD Jr? Will you be comfortable in a Kung Lao mirror match with him?
LET BE SERIOUS HERE. I’m the TWO TIME EVO WORLD MORTAL KOMBAT
CHAMPION HOLD THAT JR! My resume speaks BOUNDS as a player and as a
character. Jr is the Russian roulette character champion. He isn't an
innovative player he was a product of the buffs for the last patch for Jax and
since his Jax got exposed has been soul searching. Tyrants Jax is leaps and
bounds better than his. When was the last time Jr's Jax has done anything
significant in tournament? My point exactly. He’s better off picking Shang
Tsung at least then it will be a reflection of him since he has no character
soul of his own. He said Kabal was the best he would prove it that it’s so easy
to win he would beat me at EVO but got his head mashed in! It was by far the
easiest grand finals I have ever played in my life. He knew he reached his
demise when he sat next to me cause he felt my over flowing power level.
What’s a goon to a goblin?!!! Anyway onto the subject of the
mirror match of course I will be comfortable like lying down in a lazy boy
chair while getting massaged by Asian masseuses I will be quite comfortable.
I've already beaten all the other 2nd string Kung Lao players. He can get added
to that list too. I'll mark him off as another victim on the check list. I feel
Kung Lao mirroring me is quite possibly the dumbest decision he will make in
his MK career he would be better off picking Cyrax and trying to scrub me out
with that shit. Let’s be serious here I am the best he is not. He wants to play
me in a ft10 mirror money match. We all know mirror matches don't prove jack
shit but the track record with a character vs. all the top players of the world
will show who the best is but it’s too late for him because I have already
shown it twice. He will never catch up to that so he can hold that.
Do you have any
thoughts on DR Gross coming into this tournament after what took place between
you and him at the Video X Games?
My thought on Gross is he is going to get
bodied depending whose bracket he is in. I tried to tell him that everyone in
USA but I have hella Sektor match up experience. In WC they had Sektor players
but I forgot their names. In MW there is iKizzle and this one guy I played him in
Tekken at GGA but can't remember his name.
In South there is Pig who used him for a bit
and on the EC they have SwiftTomHanks and Maxter all playing the character to
the best of his abilities. Gross was able to take advantage of me not caring at
all about the tournament and going out partying and celebrating from winning
EVO the WEEK BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT and on top of that my lack of matchup
experience vs. Sektor. Anyway good job let’s see how you do vs. Kenshis,
Kabals, Sub Zeros, Jax etc that all know the matchup. Also he isn't going to go
to his pocket characters Cyrax and Smoke to do anything. I played his Cyrax and
he couldn't even beat me with his Cyrax =\. His Smoke is not even close to
Wafflez or even KT Smith lol.
Do you think MLG
Dallas is the proverbial ‘last hurrah’ for competitive Mortal Kombat before
Injustice releases in April of 2013?
I honestly can't even determine that it’s up
to the MK fans, Warner Bros, NRS and the competitive MK community to decide. I
just wish we could get another patch because there is still some stupid shit in
this game.
How did you think
Injustice will play out on a competitive level? Do you think it will be
received well by the Fighting Game Community? Or will it have a similar
reception to that of Mortal Kombat?
No idea I haven’t particularly played it
myself. It looks fun but at the same time I just want to use Batman. I hope
there isn't shit like Cyrax in the game.
I don’t believe you
discussed your departure from Empire Arcadia in an open forum, anything to say
about what exactly took place?
I could discuss it but I don't feel like arguing on twitter
with people after they read this and I don't feel like having to deal with call
outs on podcasts or anything like that because it’s in the past and I don't feel
it’s important or relevant to even go into detail.
If MLG Dallas really
is the last time we see Mortal Kombat at the highest possible level, what
memories do you recall from your time with the game that will always be with
you?
Winning EVO. Quitting the game then coming
back and winning EVO again after everyone trolled me for an entire year saying
it was a fluke and yada yada.
For people who think
players like REO, Pig of the Hut, CD Jr and others will finish first and not
you, what would you say to them to convince them that you will undoubtedly
finish first at MLG Dallas?
The only way either of them will finish first
is if I, by the time of MLG, am not ready for Cyrax, which as things look
probably won't be soon because I can't get the extensive match up experience
that I want.
Have I left anything
unsaid? Is there anything you would like to add to this interview? Any
shout-outs?
Shout outs to everyone who has signed up for
MK and showing great support to MLG. Shout outs to MLG for breathing more life
into the game and of course EVO for keeping it alive by having it again in
their circuit. If it’s there again I will play again.
Shout outs to all the doubters and haters. It
has been fun watching you all complain so much to have my character nerfed and
I still won despite that. Also shout outs to the constant trolling from
specific people but them and their heroes ended up losing to me when I decided
to get serious again.
As Eddy Pistons would say they got their backs
blown out lol. Matter of fact shout out to the House of Goons for helping me
fine tune my skills over the years.
I want to give a special thanks GGA especially 16bit, Dizzy,
Jeremiah, Soonk for allowing me to come stay with them and practice with them.
And I want to thank GGA as a whole for letting me enjoy myself very much there
and play with all of them I definitely feel like I am a part of their family
and am looking forward to future travels back to Chicago to play and hang out
with them. Despite my saltiness I feel like the GGA crew especially Dizzy in
particular have come very far since the beginning of this game and it’s a blast
to play with them. In the spirit of
Halloween, Jr wants to be Mortal Kombat World Champion Perfect Legend by using
Kung Lao and claiming he’s the #1 Kung Lao. On Halloween he can pretend to be
me. I apologize for not having a PL shirt ready to go for him to wear. Sorry Jr
We did this last time,
and I’ll ask you again, who do you see finishing top 8 at MLG Dallas besides
yourself?
The usual suspects.
Thanks for the time
Carl, good luck I look forward to watching you put on a show at MLG Dallas.
Thanks a lot man always a good time and I will
definitely be putting on a show.
