obligations. This year, the timing was perfect.

A lot of big names were in attendance this year. I was also able to get in a lot

of casuals offline and for me, that's one of the most important

things about tournaments.

Being able to play people without the lag, to share information,

and to support your friends during their matches.

Finals for both Marvel and AE were enjoyable, thanks to the crowd's enthusiasm.

Hearing the 90s Xmen theme everytime Wolverine was on screen during Marvel was pretty fun.

Also betting on "first hit" "first focus" ect. in AE was just as much fun. 

Special thanks to Madcatz and Eventhubs for being awesome sponsors for DMG and myself.

I'm excited and can't wait what's in store for next year!

And also to Big E. NEC was the second "Big E" event that I've attended

(SummerJam being my first.) Hopefully I'll be able to attend Winter

Brawl in February 2012 as well. He's always

running around, making sure everyone is taking care of

and things run as smooth as possible.

Even though there were some setbacks; power outrages

and marvel teams delaying AE singles, the tournament was still exciting to attend.

Now as for my performance, things didn’t go as expected. While placing top 32 in the first UMvC3 and top 5 in teams major is good, it definitely isn’t good enough for me. The same goes for AE as well. Apex and Winter Brawl are right around the corner and I expect to do very well in both events. Overall this weekend I had a blast and am looking forward to the future!

Oh and just a couple of more shout outs. If I forget your name I sorry!

DMG
OMG itz Andre, Shakugan and the rest of DRS,
Demon Hyo, Dr Chaos and everyone else at AG,
Pr Balrog
Lionheart
RDK
Rooms 417 and 235

And everyone from the east coast that came though, you guys are great! See you all very soon!

I knew from the get go from Eduardo himself, that the weekend of Youmacon was the last weekend he would represent the brand. The topic started right after Evo and I knew I had to make sure that he didn’t leave. We had long talks about how “I would make sure he would be taken care of.” Even if it meant by “breaking my own back” or “selling my soul.” Yeah I know the second part is a bit much but I meant it.

Ed and I talked the same night when we arrived to Detroit for Youmacon about “what he is going to do?” He explained to me what is the “best option for him” and I understood his choice full heartily. I never once tried to talk him out of it during our stay in Detroit for Youmacon. It wasn’t about that. I knew I wasn’t going to make some sort of an attempt in trying to change his mind.

I had my opportunities to make that happen prior to Youmacon. I did everything in my power to make sure he would stay. Unfortunately, they were other forces working against me, that prevented that of happening. I don’t blame him for leaving. It’s a sweet deal that he is getting from his new team. And yes, I know who the other team is but I gave Ed my word that I won’t say anything to anyone about it, except those who are instrumental in running DMG with me.

I’m a man of my word!

I did what I could, and from what I had to work with, to make sure he was taken care. I know we did the best we could and that alone is something I shouldn’t be ashamed of. Plus, I can take what I have learnt from this experience and use it as a guide for the future. People really don’t know who I am and why I do what I do for DMG. A select few know my intentions and what motivates me to make DMG the best team in the FGC. In that same regard, I have a nasty habit of doing things the right way and no one can take that away from me.

Ed was extremely grateful for what DMG did for him and vice versa. I can honestly say that Ed never ONCE complained about the funds he was receiving and he truly understood where we stood at as a team. He was able to bring something to DMG that I will never forget and that was a chance to compete with some of the bigger well known teams. He was able to give us momentum, so we can really shine through and bring in other opportunities that would help other players within DMG.

He will be missed within the halls of DMG but we will always cheer for him as he was instrumental in the success of DMG.

I want to thank Ed for what he has done for us, for what he brought to the table helping DMG, reaching great heights and being my friend.

Ed, you already know what I am about to say but I am going to say it again anyways: good luck with everything and thank you for everything.

It is something that will not be forgotten. See you at the next tournament friend.

Youmacon is Detroit’s biggest Anime Convention. I also heard it was, if not, the biggest Anime Convention in the Midwest. Being that I was born and raised in the Midwest, I was surprised at the amount of people that attended. I heard over 10,000 were there the entire weekend!

I arrived in Detroit Friday morning and headed straight for the gaming room, where I was told that PR Balrog was already making other players mad salty. Besides him and me, Inthul and Kor were in attendance along with Jose, Andre from Bifuteki, and Skisonic. I played a few matches before heading back to our suite.

The hotel was pretty big and huge. There was a nice size food court below, several stores, and a movie theatre in the hotel. In the elevator my ears popped. I believe the hotel had 70 floors. The hotel sat near a river and on the other side was Canada. I managed to take tons of photos the entire weekend. There were, let’s say, some interesting outfits at the Con. By far, the best outfit I saw was a guy dressed up as Robot Chicken.

I was basically in the game room all day Friday and Saturday. Besides playing SF, I played Rock band and Mortal Kombat vs DCU. I wanted to try Catherine but there was always a long line. They also had other games like Starcraft, Blazblue, Tekken, and I believe Starcraft just to name a few. I expected the game room to not be as big. I was impressed on how good some of the Blazblue players were. Some of the SF Detroit players were actually good themselves. Even in casuals, they were so determined to “beat DMG” (I heard this several times when any one of us was playing.) Those were some great matches.

During the weekend, there were several tournaments. On a jump, I entered the Tekken tournament and got bodied. However, during Tekken casuals, I racked up a few wins with King. I haven’t played Tekken seriously since Tekken 3 but I still remembered some of his moves and grabs.

I entered the SF Teams tourney but I didn’t enter the singles. I teamed up with PR Balrog and surprisingly enough, we were eliminated by an El Fuerte player. One match was just not enough for me personally to adapt to the randomness that is El Fuerte. But it was a fun game nonetheless and props to the El Fuerte player who didn’t want to money match afterwards lol.

Inthul and Jose ended up winning. In SF singles it came down to a Rog mirror match; PR Balrog vs Antwan Ortiz. Eduardo won but the match was really intense.

Sunday came with a surprise. I was told that Reuben Langdon, the voice actor for Ken in SF4 and Dante was going to play fans on the DMG stage. I didn’t even know he was at the Con. I jumped at the chance. The match was set on only one round but we played two matches. After owning him PR Balrog played him one match, it was nasty to watch Reuben get bodied. But he was really cool and down to earth.

Afterwards Eduardo and myself stayed on stage, playing other attendees who wanted to play us. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and ready to crash. Instead, I went to the green room to join Inthul who was playing Marvel3. I don’t play Marvel3 but I’m interested in Ultimate Marvel 3. I decided it was the best time, at that moment, to learn what I could about the game. Eduardo and Skisonic came up later and I played Eduardo-well he bodied me for over an hour. I learned a lot from just playing, watching. Ski also gave me some tips that’ll hopefully help me when I start really putting time into the game.

Overall, I had a great time. The staff was great, making sure we were taken care of. The green room and its vast amount of liquor was awesome too.

My only complaint was Spirit Airlines, which had NOTHING to do with the Con. I advise anyone to think twice before booking a flight. They were unprofessional. I would NOT recommend them to anyone.

Shoutouts to Willow Piper, Mistah Jay, and others I met at the Con whose names I can’t remember at the moment.  Shoutouts to Chris Carey and the Detroit crew. Let’s just say after our money match, Chris paid for my happy meal lol. You guys were hilarious and kept things hype. I hope that you guys will be at NEC as well!

It’s interesting that a Convention as big as this one is willing to expand into the fighting game community. It has the resources, dedicated individuals, and most of all hospitality. I heard they are interested in having top players attend next year and are they are willing to spread the word about the con to others in the FGC. Hopefully next year the dates won’t conflict with any other majors like it did this year with Canada Cup. Next year should be really interesting.

http://www.youmacon.com/

That Wednesday night I hung around the bar in the main room with other members of the fighting game community;  VOA Q, Gootecks, Haunts, AG Dr. Chaos, TS Min, TS Nerdjosh, and many others that I met for the first time.  Even LI Joe stopped by. I spent that night enjoying myself. Thursday night I went to Insert Coins and I managed to play Latif. I got one round on him and was almost close to winning.  I’ve played Wolfkrone before but I never had the chance to play Latif. That was fun. But I went back to the hotel room early after that. I knew the next upcoming days would evolve around grinding it out in the game that I came there for; Super Street Fighter IV: AE.

My pool was in the afternoon but we had to be up at 7am in the morning to meet up with Markman from Madcatz, one of the sponsors for DMG. This wasn’t my first time meeting Markman. I met him back in early 2001 when I lived in San Diego and I tried playing Tekken 4 with the San Diego Tekken crew.  As usual Markman was very comforting and so were all the people who were working at the Madcatz booth. That was the first time I was able to get a good look at the board they had up, showcasing just some members of Team Madcatz. I was on that board, along with Daigo, Tokido, Mago, Kayane, Ryan Hart, Inthul, Perfect Legend, and PR Rog.  I hung around for a little before deciding to head back to the hotel room to train and get ready. I was still trying to adapt to the timing on the PS3 and I was finding karas difficult to do on the PS3 than Xbox.

My first match was a no show. My 2nd match was against an El Fuerte. I ended up winning 2-1. My 2nd match was against a Rufus player. I was a little uncomfortable because I really didn’t come across a Rufus since AE was released. But I believed that I would be able to adapt. However, I ended up losing and was placed in the losers bracket.

My 3rd match was against a Blanka player. As a Ken player, this is one of the many matches I hate to play. There are a lot of things that Ken can’t punish still against Blanka. Not to mention that, even though the hitbox on Ken’s light punch was increased, it still somewhat misses a crouching Blanka at a certain distance. He ended up winning the first match. I gathered myself and I tried to keep my combos as simple as possible the next match; pokes, a lot of crouching medium kick, crouching medium punch, and jabs.  The match was pretty boring but I managed to out turtle the turtling Blanka and I ended up winning.

The next match was the deciding factor on who would make it to Losers finals. I had to play against a Bison. I was hoping that the Bison player wouldn’t space out Bison’s knee presses because I personally knew it was hard for Ken to punish. But he did exactly that. A lot of chip damage and counters and I lost. However, the Bison player was phenomenal and it was a good match. I was a little disappointed on not being in the losers finals. I was so close yet so far. However, I was content with the fact that I did not go 0-2 or 1-2.

The next day I signed many autographs, took tons of pictures, and hung around.  Inthul, Kor, Atrocity, and myself were interviewed by Alex Verrey, Global PR and Communications Manager for Madcatz. I played a few people who worked in the Madcatz booth. They eventually decided to open up the casual station. I was to sit there and play anyone who wanted to play me, best 2 out of 3. If I lost I didn’t have to leave.  If I won, I didn’t have to leave.  I ended up getting a 5 win streak when LLL Kayane walked over and wanted to play.
I watched her play a few matches before she lost to a Dan and decided she wanted to go eat. I took over and had a 14 win streak before the casual station was closed down.

That night I headed to the money match room Gootecks was in. There were several international players there and I wanted to play one of them. It just so happened at that time Poongko was taking money matches but those around were refusing to play him. I then told Gootecks I wanted to play him best 2 out of 3. I wasn’t looking to win, believe it or not. I was trying to see if I could hang with him. I’ve watched his Seth plenty of times and he looked pretty beast.

So we ended up playing and I personally got to find out how beast he really is. I did get one round and was close to getting a match but I dropped my combo. One round he literally command grabbed me about five times. The priority on the command grab is too good. His set ups for Seth’s command grab was too good. I went for an ex dp but that didn’t work. So I had to sit there and take it. But it was a rush playing him and I’d love to play him again. The next day I played EMP Dieminion in the DMG hotel room. I managed to get a few rounds but never a match. Again I was close but so far away.  His Guile is really good and really annoying but it was soo much fun.

This EVO was perfect for me. The best EVO by far and better than last year. Congrats to DMG KOR for taking Tekken and DMG Perfect Legend for taking Mortal Kombat. And I can’t forget DMG PR Balrog for taking 2nd in Marvel3 and DMG Atrocity for making it out of his bracket :)

Special thanks to DMG sponsors for believing in what we do: Madcatz, Focus Attack, Event Hubs, The Traveling Circus, Uvixo.

And to all DMG members. Thanks for your help and for grinding to be your best in your perspective games. You guys did great this year. DMG did great this year!!!

Friday started off the tournament and the Street Fighter action. DMG was up and ready by 7 as we met up with Mad Catz to have a little meeting with Markman. Once the tournament started, Rob, Craig and myself went off to our pools. I made it out of pools BARELY as I swiped a round from a rufus player in losers finals. Now after I won this match, I was so hype I couldn’t help myself. This is something I really wanted to do. I made it out of pools and it was time to celebrate until 6 where I had to find a way to make it through another. Thanks to everyone who called and blew up my cellphone. I think I had 4 voicemails, about 10 missed calls and a few facebook notifications. Thanks for the support. I believe from DMG other then myself, Perfect Legend and Pr Rog were able to make it out of pools. After getting out of pools, the next bracket was insane. Tokido, Momochi, Dieminion, Sanford, and Clakey D were just a few players who were with me in the next bracket. I got a free game first round because my opponent was a no show, and won my second match against a yun. Clakey D ended up losing to Sanford and eliminating me in our match. The tournament was amazing and I was excited to continue watching top 32 after my elimination.

Marvel on Saturday brought a lot of hype to the crowd as everyone wanted to see the action going on. DMG really didn’t have many players in this tournament. Me and Perfect Legend failed to make it out of our pools both losing in losers of our pool. Sanford and Masta CJ were able to make it out of my pool which was a pretty tough one. Marvel top 32 was hype to watch, especially since a local that flew to Vegas with me was in it. The crowd really got into it with side bets and cheering that was insane.

Watching and cheering on for fellow team mates Perfect Legend and Kor as they went on to become the champions of their respective games was exciting. Being there for your team mate and letting them share their celebration with you was a great feeling. Congrats to both players on becoming world champions. The top 8 for Marvel was amazing, but Street Fighter stole the show. Every match was so exciting and nail biting, congrats to everyone who played their best and took home with them a top 8 medal from EVO.

I would like to thank all our sponsors for everything they have done for DMG and believing us from the beginning. Mad Catz, Focus Attack, Event hubs, and The Traveling Circus supported us since the beginning and we proved at EVO that we are the real deal. Congrats once again To Carl aka Perfect Legend, Rene Kor, and PR Rog for such a great performance. Can’t wait till next year!

I played a lot of casuals against some who wanted to test me and others who just wanted to play. I’m glad to say that I was dominate in about 95% of my casuals. But besides the point, I took my losses and wins in casuals as a learning experience. I was also excited to get feedback from my teammates on what I still have to work on and what I need to improve to better my game.

I was also able to get a few other girls to get past their fears of playing. It was odd to me but understandable how they felt in the environment. I’ve been there. I decided to team up with these two lovely ladies in AE teams. Happy to say that I reversed ocv’d one team and got close to reverse ocv another. I attempted to coach them to the best of my ability and I saw some of the coaching pay off. They were close to winning their matches several times and most importantly, they had fun playing.

Throughout the whole weekend I was able to chat with Spooky and congratulate him on getting to stream EVO this year alongside Iplaywinner. I also passed time chatting with several other players; known and unknown, about the fighting game community, the fighting games themselves, and how the scene can improve to be considered a worthy scene. It was great to hear their points on how the fighting game community is and where it might be heading to. Shoutouts to Spooky, Arturo, Nerdjosh, Min, Gootecks, Mike Ross, Sherry, Atlanta crew, Jebailey and others who I can’t remember at the moment. There were soo many.

I also managed to play Tokido and Banana Ken. First, I know they are levels above my skill however, I wasn’t afraid or nervous. I wanted to see how I would react to their characters. Tokido is mad good. I know the Akuma Ken matchup is 6-4 but playing him it felt like 7-3. I had never played an Akuma with so much expertise and crazy reactions. We talked a little afterwards and he gave me some tips on the matchup which was very helpful. With Banana ken . . . I have never been soo frustrated in a Ken mirror match like I was when I played him. He shut every option that I had down. Afterwards he gave me advice in Ken mirrors and with Ken in general. It was soo much information that I should’ve known but never thought of. I’m going to try to incorporate his advice into my game play from now on. I did tell him that I wanted a salty runback at EVO and he obliged. I didn’t get to play Gamerbee unfortunately but hopefully I will at EVO.

The highlight of the whole tournament is the announcement that Jason made during the opening ceremony. With PerfectLegend joining DMG and Madcatz now sponsoring DMG, I feel like now I really have to step my game up. I can no longer be content with “almost.”  I don’t want to be bad apple of the bunch and I don’t want anyone to carry me if I were to team up with my teammates in teams. I know I need to hold my own and that’s what I plan on doing.

I want to say that I am sorry that I cannot to be part of the festivities that Jabailey have in store for you guys. I don’t doubt it’s going to be one hell of an event and a history making tournament. Make no mistake; I will be watching the stream at work and at home.

First I want to thank a few people and forgive me if I forget a couple; however I will try my best not to mess this up.

First thing first I want to thank Jabailey for hosting this awesome event for the FGC and welcoming DMG so warmly to your event.

Big thanks for Deuce for taking care of my players and willing do what he did, thank you.

Thank you to Spooky who always gives us the best streaming experience possible. Your hard work is truly inspiring.

Nick from SF4/MVC3 answers. This is someone who is hidden within the shadows but does so much for the FGC. Thank you dude!

To Peaceful Jay, IFC Ricky and Doommafia, for looking out for us from day one and your support will never be forgotten.

To Big E, for always looking out for us, for the advice you have given me and the support you have shown us and allowing to make your tournaments DMG’s stomping grounds.

Thanks to all of the fighting groups out there for always keeping us hungry. It’s time to step it up a notch, we will be waiting!

BossLogic for truly making awesome work for the FGC and thank you for the help you gave us! You sir are GDLK!

Jampeacelive, here is a guy who has supported us since day one, more than I could ever ask for. Thank you Jam!

To our sponsors;

Cesar from The Traveling Circus, thank you for the sick shirts, for the unlimited support you have shown us over the months. We cannot wait to see what we have in store for 2k12!

Jon from Event Hubs, you took a chance on us, this is something we will never take for granted nor forget and I look forward in growing together for a bright future.

Jaleel from Focus Attack, you took on us from day one and never looked back. You gave us something that many never brother try when we first started; an opportunity. Thank you!

Alex from Uvixo, we look forward to in working with you in the near future and thank you for the support!

Last and certainly not least; Markman and Nicki from Mad Catz. To sum it up in words of what means to us would be pointless but if I had to, it would sound something like this. For Mad Catz to take the time out to hear our story, to feel our passion and to see our drive means everything to us. I want to thank you in behalf of DMG; thank you for believing in us.

To my DMG players whose work hard have paid off. From day one I made a promise and that promise was, I will do my very best to take care each and every one of you. I want to thank you of giving me the one chance to prove my worth. Thank you. It’s been a hard road but we showed everyone exactly why we are the premiere fighting group in FGC. Every single one of you, are the reason why how far we came. Thank you believing in the brand, believing in me and trusting me. To willing go as far as you all have, words cannot express the level of gratitude I have for each and every one of you.

Jason, please by all means, please take a bow, you are a huge reason why I was able to type this up to be read. A huge part of our success is because of what you have done for the brand. This is something I can’t express with words, but I can sure try. Thank you my friend.

Thank you to the FGC for the love and support. Thank you!

~Hyena