WoundCowboy (Left)
Name - Ryan Gonzalez aka WoundCowboy
Age - 20
Fighting Out Of - San Jose, CA (NorCal)
Years Competitively Gaming - 1.5
Character(s) of Choice - Shang Tsung
Major Accomplishments - Winner of two locals, MLG Dallas Online PS3 Tournament, Winner of MLG Side Tournament
I’m here with the winner of the MLG Dallas PS3
Online Tournament, WoundCowboy. How are
you doing?
Pretty good, Crum. I feel ready and I can’t wait for this upcoming
tournament.
How is your training for MLG Dallas coming along?
Well- I have mostly been working on a couple of matchups and on my
execution and punishment. I have also been playing online with my usual
partners.
Let’s go back to the original XBOX Live MLG Dallas
Online Tournament you took part in (sort of).
For those who are unsure, what exactly took place during that
tournament?
It went like this: I signed up for the tournament when it was slated
to happen in early September, before I went back to school. But it got pushed
back to after I returned to school, and I was forced to play on a restricted
connection that only allowed me to connect to a small margin of people online.
It became a problem against a few people, and I was forced to either forfeit or
let somebody place in my place against those that I could not connect to.
Eventually it was just me, J360 and Shujinkydink left in the tourney. Both J360
and I agreed to postpone the tournament for a few days until I could get back
home and connect to everyone. But Dink refused to agree because the online
tourney was scheduled for “today”. Eventually J360 forfeited due to Dink’s
ridiculousness and I was forced to let Anti-Static play for me. Dink beat him
and “won” the tourney without having to play me.
Do you have any bad blood with Shujinkydink due to
what happened?
Yes, I was truly disgusted by what he did. LBSH, this guy RARELY
beats me when we play and his excuses for not wanting to postpone kept
changing. First it was “cheating the viewers” (virtually all of them were cool
with the delay) and then it was because he didn’t have time for the ENTIRE week
(even though he ended up on XBL all weekend after the tourney). He was so full
of shit and it wasn’t at all difficult to see through it. It was totally
uncool.
How disheveled were you when you found out he
wouldn’t be attending MLG Dallas?
I am not surprised, honestly. He knows that he can’t compete with
top players that can’t be gimmicked out by his low tier characters. I did want
to play him just to solidify what I said and did in the PSN tourney and prove
that his “win” deserved an asterisk.
Do you think you will ever get the necessary rematch
that you deserve?
Probably not offline, but it really doesn’t matter much in my mind.
There is no hype or drama in my mind because Me, Dink and everyone who is
non-STB knows what would happen if we played.
How confident were you going into the PS3 Online
Tournament Re-Do?
I was pretty nervous tbh. I love my XBL brothers but the competition
on PSN is definitely more intense and I was a little shaken after the Xbox
debacle. I just decided that I was going to play and try not to worry about the
skill of my opponents.
Talk about some of the better and more entertaining
matches that you took part in.
My best matches are usually against my online training partners such
as Mygod and Dab. They are always close because we know each other well. My
best match in tourney (sadly enough) was against Chris G at NCR. All of our
matches were pretty close but I was able to beat his Reptile and take the set. My
matches against 16 bit at EVO were pretty close but I made some critical
mistakes and missed combos and punishes.
What is your opinion of the online for Mortal
Kombat? Do you think it is reliable in regards to leveling up your overall
game?
The online is pretty bad overall and even worse on PSN. It isn’t
totally reliable but it is all that a player has when they are lacking a big
scene. I have gotten to my current skill level by playing online (and cramming
sets offline), so take that for what it is worth. You definitely can’t learn to
reliably punish or move properly online.
What makes you a character loyalist with Shang
Tsung? How long have you mained him?
Shang is my favorite MK character period. He is pretty much THE
villain of the series and is totally evil and awesome. I have mained him since
the game came out and I will never drop him. His playstyle never really
mattered to me because I had zero competitive experience before MK9, so I built
it around him.
Where do you think your Shang Tsung ranks among the
other greats in the community like DetroitBalln?
I think that I have one of the best Shangs in the country, maybe
even the best. Detroit is really good and is still the only Shang player to win
a major (up to this point). However, I don’t think his Shang is built to fight
every matchup like mine is. It is difficult to win with him, so it is
understandable why Detroit hasn’t stuck with him and also why there aren’t many
ST players. Lethal Legend, EMP Dark, and Khaotic Shang also have really good
Shangs.
Do you have certain strategies set for Shang’s bad
matchups? Or does it depend on who you are playing?
My Shang is built to fight every MU and I think I have a good sense
of a player’s tendencies after a round or two. I do have a couple of backup
characters if I need them, because some MU’s are REALLY difficult for him.
Give me a rundown of your time at EVO 2012
considering it was the last time you attended a major tournament.
EVO was great. I got to hang out with my Vegas friends (mostly Dab)
and meet a ton of community members. I was relatively satisfied with my
performance since I made it out of my pool, but I know that I could have made
it further. Pboard took me out with Lao. Watching PL win again was also
impressive.
Do you feel that you have leveled up since EVO?
Yes, I think I have gotten much better at the little things such as
proper counter poking and at controlling my movement. I have also grinded a few
MU’s and went in the lab with some new characters in order to gain a better
understanding of them.
Have tournament nerves ever been a factor in your
matches?
They were definitely a huge factor earlier in my tourney career, but
have dropped off recently. I still get nervous but not like before; now I can
focus. My biggest issue at tournaments is adjusting to the timing of the
console and the monitor. I will make a big effort to adjust once I get to
Dallas so that there is nothing stopping me from playing at my full potential.
There has been a trend of call-outs on my interviews
as of late. Care to add to the hype?
There are a couple of people that I need to fight against in Dallas,
but Showtime is high on that list. His arrogance is unbelievable, especially
when he tries to call a good player like mygod free. I respect KH and Showtime
but he is in for a rude awakening if he thinks good players are free. Also,
Pig: I’m coming for you!!
There have been a lot of people on Test Your Might
that are picking you to place top 8.
What do you think about all of this hype? How will it affect your game
play at MLG Dallas?
Since my nerves aren’t as high anymore I don’t think that I will
feel especially pressured. Really, I have high expectations for myself and
since I control my own tournament performance, everyone else’s opinion can’t
influence how I play. The hype is great and I love playing against the top guys
on a big stage; I will be ready and motivated.
For those who aren’t familiar with you, why should
people be convinced that you will place top 8 MLG Dallas?
I am a good player that can hold my own against other good players-
the results will speak for themselves. I am also dedicated to my character so
nobody will catch me in a MU that I don’t know.
Do you think EVO 2013 will have Mortal Kombat on the
lineup?
It would be really difficult for MK to make it again simply because
of the number of new games (including NRS’s Injustice) coming out. It might
appear as a side game though.
What is your take on Injustice? Is this a game you
will be picking up?
Injustice has amazing potential. I think NRS has really been doing
their HW and listening to the community, especially regarding balance and bug
issues. It should be even better than this game. The only problem is that I am
not particularly familiar with the DC universe beyond the big names.
Nonetheless, I will definitely pick it up because I love this community and I
have faith in NRS. I will definitely pick up a villain (probably Lex Luthor).
What are your thoughts about international players
like DR Gross and Madzin coming from across the sea to attend MLG Dallas?
It is definitely good to get international players involved because
they help add credibility to our scene and add to the competition.
How do you think their talent will stack up against
the competition?
Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any way that they can prepare
for the best that the US has to offer. Rarely in this game’s history has
anybody challenged the big boys and won. They are good players but they will
likely have an extremely difficult time and follow in the footsteps of their UK
counterparts.
Who do you see placing top 8 at MLG Dallas?
I will not make any specific predictions since I am in the
tournament, but I can say that there will be some surprises :)
Before we wrap this up, is there anything else that
you would like to add to this interview?
Any final words of hype or shout-outs?
I would like to thank my online training partners mygod, Blak Felow
(an underrated Reptile player), and my boy Dab. I would also like to thank Pig
of the Hut for giving me another shot in the online tourney and for giving me
the opportunity to take his money in Dallas ;) Shout outs to Blake and groups
like EGP that help keep this game alive. Thank-you for the chance to express
myself. See you all in Dallas!!
Thank you for the time WoundCowboy, best of luck at
MLG Dallas.
Follow me for LIVE updates during MLG Dallas and for the rest of my interview: @NRC_CRUM
Photo credit to MLG Video Credit to Test Your Might
No comments:
Post a Comment