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.
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