Vic_Sage
2009-10-10, 10:07 PM
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For those of you that don't know Bar Fights is a big tournament between the best Street Fighter IV players on the West & East Coast. So far for the big team even the players are
East Coast:
Justin Wong (2nd Place Evo 2009, #1 player in USA)
Sanford Kelly (4th Place Evo 2009)
Arturo Sanchez (beat Daigo in a money match at Evo)
Martin "marn" Phan (1st Place West Coast Warzone)
Joe "iloveu" Ciaramelli (2nd Place East Coast Throwdown)
West Coast:
Alex Valle (2nd Place West Coast Warzone, SBO 2009 Qualifier)
Ed Ma (3rd Place Evo 2009)
Combofiend (SBO 2009 Qualifier, 9th Place Evo 2009)
Mike "The Boss" Ross (2nd place House of Streetfighter 2009, SBO Qualifier)
The remaining three spots will be filled by the winners of three qualifying tournaments, one at Arcade Infinity and two at Denjin Arcade, which will be held the weekend of Bar Fights II, October 9th and 10th.
This match has been brewing for quite some time now because of the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry. At Evo 2009, a regional 5v5 exhibition tournament was held, with 8 regions across the country sending their best players to compete for bragging rights for best in the country. The grand finals was expected to be the SoCal team vs. Empire Arcadia, but that didn’t happen because SoCal lost to the Wild Card team. Empire Arcadia ended up beating the Wild Card team so nothing got settled until just recently.
At West Coast Warzone, Marn, one of the East Coast’s best players blew through all of the West Coast and beat Street Fighter legend Alex Valle in the grand finals to win 1st Place. Bar Fights II is a chance for both coasts to prove who is at the top of the game right now as well as a chance for Alex Valle to get his revenge on Marn.
Aside from the main event, we have a very exciting undercard with matches involving several of SoCal’s rising stars such as UTJ and NorCal’s Filipino Champ, both of whom play Dhalsim and placed Top 8 at Warzone.
In addition, we will be streaming the entire event for free via UStream so that people who can’t make it out to the event can still take part in the hype.
Arcade Arcadia
Throughout the years, the state of California has ruled the Nation’s fighting game scene since its inception back in 1994. Fighting Legends such as Alex Valle, Mike Watson and John Choi have dominated the virtual battlefield for over a decade. Traveling over seas to the “Land of the rising Sun” these legends experienced a new level of fighting and used it to honed their skills throughout the years, keeping true the West Coast dominion over the US fighting game scene. Years later Alex Valle, John Choi and company have inspired a new generation of West Coast champions such as Combofiend, Ed Ma, Ken-I and more, to keep the tradition of the West Coast dominance alive.
It is said that no Empire lasts forever or can it rule dominion over all for long. “When the pendulum swings in favor of one it will eventually swing back in favor of its opposites and thus the balance of the universe is maintained.” –Fist of the North Star
In 2002 an Empire was forged in the east and over the years it has rapidly grown in strength; significantly! Moving from fighting game to fighting game, this Empire has brought together some of the East Coast most talented fighters under one banner to turn the tide. Throughout 7 years of conflict, Empire Arcadia has fought against the West Coast “Tide of Domination”. Match by match to the East Coast broke the West Coast tradition of being the dominant Coast in fighting games. Now in 2009 lead by the Empire’s greatest fighter “Justin Wong” the East Coast Empire Arcadia looks to forge its own tradition in a new era of fighting competition.
Justin Wong has established himself as the greatest United States Street Fighter 4 champion for 2009 by not only winning North East Championships 10, Final Round 12 and Devastation 2009 but he also won the Game Stop Street Fighter 4 National Championships and took 2nd place to Japan’s Daigo “The Beast” Umehara at Evo 2K9. However Justin Wong alone will not be enough to defeat the West Coast and keep true the new tradition in the fighting game dominance now forged in the East Coast. Thus a force of fighting champions was assembled to bolster the East Coast defense against the West Coast.
Very few players can be put in the same category as Justin when it comes to Street Fighter 4 however of the few Marn accomplishments in Street Fighter 4 compliments Justin the best. Marn travelled with Justin to France to win the SBO qualifiers after LI Joe and Arturo lost the Empire’s opportunity at the hands of Combofiend and Alex Valle who are fittingly on the West Coast 5 man team. Marn is also the winner of East Coast Throw Down and champion of West Coast Warzone.
Next on the list is Arturo Sanchez who has no doubt established himself as one of the top Street Fighter 4 Players in the Nation. Currently in Japan honing his skills at SF4, Arturo has travelled the United States looking for competition wherever he can find it. After winning and placing top 3 in many tournaments across the Nation, Arturo beat Daigo in a grudge match at Evo 2K9 which fed his desire to improve and become one of the world’s best SF4 players. He has now heard word of the East vs. West and has returned from Japan to take up arms against the West Coast.
Then you have Joe “iloveu” Ciaramelli who resides from Long Island NY. One of the East Coast best kept secrets, Joe has been a solid contributor for the East Coast and has won many tournaments including his most recent win at Summer Jam and BattleField Arcadia #3, where he came back from the brink of elimination, winning 8 games straight in the Grand Finals to win the tournament. Powered by “Sagat”, Joe is a very dangerous opponent as any mistake by his opponent will result in unimaginable loss of energy by Sagat’s traditional “Look at the Damage” combo.
Finally the last component of the “Machine”, is Sanford “Santhrax” Kelly; 4th place finisher at Evolution in SF4, Sanford even defeated one of Japan’s Ryu player, Dan. Sanford has raw untapped, uncontrolled power that has yet to be recognized. This behemoth has had the shortest time among the 5 to learn the game and is arguably one of the most skilled players in the Nation. Champion of China Town Fair Arcade “Road to Evolution” tournament and BattleField Arcadia #1, Sanford is not to be underestimated.
Can NYC’s Empire Arcadia of the “East” continue to preserve its newly found tradition or has the time come early for the pendulum to swing back in favor of Southern California Empire of the West? History will be made BarFights II, October 11th, 2009. Be there!
About So Cal
lex Valle, Ed Ma and Combofiend are three of the five members of the SoCal team that were on SoCal’s 5v5 team at Evo 2009 and they will represent SoCal again against Justin Wong’s team of New York’s finest. Valle and Combofiend most recently represented America in Japan over the summer at Super Battle Opera. They qualified in June at one of SoCal’s hottest fighting game arcades, Denjin Arcade, where they defeated one of their teammates in this match, Ed Ma.
Ed Ma and Ken I lost in one of the most exciting and intense matches in Street Fighter 4 history. Ken I’s Rufus had Combofiend’s C. Viper down to a sliver of health, but Combofiend managed to pull off the comeback of the year and won. This was a heartbreaking loss for Ed and Ken because they had trained together for months and had won previous tournaments as a team.
After SBO Qualifiers, the Street Fighter 4 community’s focus shifted towards Evo 2009 in July where Ed Ma showed why he is one of the best players in the country, placing 3rd behind only Justin Wong and Daigo the Beast. Ed’s Akuma skills gave the crowd something to cheer for during his match with New York’s Evil Rahsaan, where thousands of people in attendance chanted “Ed Ma! Ed Ma! Ed Ma!” during a decisive win for Ed.
Also at Evo 2009 was a regional 5v5 Exhibition Tournament, with eight different regions sending their best players to compete for best region in America. The two teams that were favored to be in the finals were SoCal and the Northeast team. SoCal’s team was made up of Alex Valle (Ryu), Combofiend (C. Viper), Ed Ma (Akuma), somuchdamage (Sagat) and gootecks (Balrog). On the Northeast team was comprised of Justin Wong (Rufus), Marn (C. Viper), Arturo Sanchez (Seth/Dhalsim), Sanford Kelly (Akuma) and Joe “iloveu” Ciaramelli (Sagat). Unfortunately for the SoCal team, they were defeated by the Wild Card team who ended up losing to the Northeast team in the Grand Finals. This was a crushing defeat for SoCal, who now has an opportunity to even the score with the Northeast.
With the first year of Street Fighter 4 in the books after the conclusion of Evo 2009, the West Coast’s next major event was West Coast Warzone, held September 5-6 in Irvine, CA. With a huge turnout of over 270 entrants, three of our main eventers were left in the Finals: Ed Ma, Alex Valle and Martin “marn” Phan. After a close match in Winners Finals with Marn, Valle’s Ryu was sent to Losers Finals to battle Ed Ma, with the winner advancing to Grand Finals and the loser going home. Valle beat Ed and then went on to face Marn’s Rufus in Grand Finals.
After beating Marn three games in a row to win the first set, Valle had Marn on the verge of defeat when suddenly Marn made a comeback during what could have been the game-ending round and went on to beat Valle to win the tournament.
The Main Event at Bar Fights II is SoCal’s opportunity to even the score!
Jakes Bar
38 W Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105
For those of you that don't know Bar Fights is a big tournament between the best Street Fighter IV players on the West & East Coast. So far for the big team even the players are
East Coast:
Justin Wong (2nd Place Evo 2009, #1 player in USA)
Sanford Kelly (4th Place Evo 2009)
Arturo Sanchez (beat Daigo in a money match at Evo)
Martin "marn" Phan (1st Place West Coast Warzone)
Joe "iloveu" Ciaramelli (2nd Place East Coast Throwdown)
West Coast:
Alex Valle (2nd Place West Coast Warzone, SBO 2009 Qualifier)
Ed Ma (3rd Place Evo 2009)
Combofiend (SBO 2009 Qualifier, 9th Place Evo 2009)
Mike "The Boss" Ross (2nd place House of Streetfighter 2009, SBO Qualifier)
The remaining three spots will be filled by the winners of three qualifying tournaments, one at Arcade Infinity and two at Denjin Arcade, which will be held the weekend of Bar Fights II, October 9th and 10th.
This match has been brewing for quite some time now because of the East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry. At Evo 2009, a regional 5v5 exhibition tournament was held, with 8 regions across the country sending their best players to compete for bragging rights for best in the country. The grand finals was expected to be the SoCal team vs. Empire Arcadia, but that didn’t happen because SoCal lost to the Wild Card team. Empire Arcadia ended up beating the Wild Card team so nothing got settled until just recently.
At West Coast Warzone, Marn, one of the East Coast’s best players blew through all of the West Coast and beat Street Fighter legend Alex Valle in the grand finals to win 1st Place. Bar Fights II is a chance for both coasts to prove who is at the top of the game right now as well as a chance for Alex Valle to get his revenge on Marn.
Aside from the main event, we have a very exciting undercard with matches involving several of SoCal’s rising stars such as UTJ and NorCal’s Filipino Champ, both of whom play Dhalsim and placed Top 8 at Warzone.
In addition, we will be streaming the entire event for free via UStream so that people who can’t make it out to the event can still take part in the hype.
Arcade Arcadia
Throughout the years, the state of California has ruled the Nation’s fighting game scene since its inception back in 1994. Fighting Legends such as Alex Valle, Mike Watson and John Choi have dominated the virtual battlefield for over a decade. Traveling over seas to the “Land of the rising Sun” these legends experienced a new level of fighting and used it to honed their skills throughout the years, keeping true the West Coast dominion over the US fighting game scene. Years later Alex Valle, John Choi and company have inspired a new generation of West Coast champions such as Combofiend, Ed Ma, Ken-I and more, to keep the tradition of the West Coast dominance alive.
It is said that no Empire lasts forever or can it rule dominion over all for long. “When the pendulum swings in favor of one it will eventually swing back in favor of its opposites and thus the balance of the universe is maintained.” –Fist of the North Star
In 2002 an Empire was forged in the east and over the years it has rapidly grown in strength; significantly! Moving from fighting game to fighting game, this Empire has brought together some of the East Coast most talented fighters under one banner to turn the tide. Throughout 7 years of conflict, Empire Arcadia has fought against the West Coast “Tide of Domination”. Match by match to the East Coast broke the West Coast tradition of being the dominant Coast in fighting games. Now in 2009 lead by the Empire’s greatest fighter “Justin Wong” the East Coast Empire Arcadia looks to forge its own tradition in a new era of fighting competition.
Justin Wong has established himself as the greatest United States Street Fighter 4 champion for 2009 by not only winning North East Championships 10, Final Round 12 and Devastation 2009 but he also won the Game Stop Street Fighter 4 National Championships and took 2nd place to Japan’s Daigo “The Beast” Umehara at Evo 2K9. However Justin Wong alone will not be enough to defeat the West Coast and keep true the new tradition in the fighting game dominance now forged in the East Coast. Thus a force of fighting champions was assembled to bolster the East Coast defense against the West Coast.
Very few players can be put in the same category as Justin when it comes to Street Fighter 4 however of the few Marn accomplishments in Street Fighter 4 compliments Justin the best. Marn travelled with Justin to France to win the SBO qualifiers after LI Joe and Arturo lost the Empire’s opportunity at the hands of Combofiend and Alex Valle who are fittingly on the West Coast 5 man team. Marn is also the winner of East Coast Throw Down and champion of West Coast Warzone.
Next on the list is Arturo Sanchez who has no doubt established himself as one of the top Street Fighter 4 Players in the Nation. Currently in Japan honing his skills at SF4, Arturo has travelled the United States looking for competition wherever he can find it. After winning and placing top 3 in many tournaments across the Nation, Arturo beat Daigo in a grudge match at Evo 2K9 which fed his desire to improve and become one of the world’s best SF4 players. He has now heard word of the East vs. West and has returned from Japan to take up arms against the West Coast.
Then you have Joe “iloveu” Ciaramelli who resides from Long Island NY. One of the East Coast best kept secrets, Joe has been a solid contributor for the East Coast and has won many tournaments including his most recent win at Summer Jam and BattleField Arcadia #3, where he came back from the brink of elimination, winning 8 games straight in the Grand Finals to win the tournament. Powered by “Sagat”, Joe is a very dangerous opponent as any mistake by his opponent will result in unimaginable loss of energy by Sagat’s traditional “Look at the Damage” combo.
Finally the last component of the “Machine”, is Sanford “Santhrax” Kelly; 4th place finisher at Evolution in SF4, Sanford even defeated one of Japan’s Ryu player, Dan. Sanford has raw untapped, uncontrolled power that has yet to be recognized. This behemoth has had the shortest time among the 5 to learn the game and is arguably one of the most skilled players in the Nation. Champion of China Town Fair Arcade “Road to Evolution” tournament and BattleField Arcadia #1, Sanford is not to be underestimated.
Can NYC’s Empire Arcadia of the “East” continue to preserve its newly found tradition or has the time come early for the pendulum to swing back in favor of Southern California Empire of the West? History will be made BarFights II, October 11th, 2009. Be there!
About So Cal
lex Valle, Ed Ma and Combofiend are three of the five members of the SoCal team that were on SoCal’s 5v5 team at Evo 2009 and they will represent SoCal again against Justin Wong’s team of New York’s finest. Valle and Combofiend most recently represented America in Japan over the summer at Super Battle Opera. They qualified in June at one of SoCal’s hottest fighting game arcades, Denjin Arcade, where they defeated one of their teammates in this match, Ed Ma.
Ed Ma and Ken I lost in one of the most exciting and intense matches in Street Fighter 4 history. Ken I’s Rufus had Combofiend’s C. Viper down to a sliver of health, but Combofiend managed to pull off the comeback of the year and won. This was a heartbreaking loss for Ed and Ken because they had trained together for months and had won previous tournaments as a team.
After SBO Qualifiers, the Street Fighter 4 community’s focus shifted towards Evo 2009 in July where Ed Ma showed why he is one of the best players in the country, placing 3rd behind only Justin Wong and Daigo the Beast. Ed’s Akuma skills gave the crowd something to cheer for during his match with New York’s Evil Rahsaan, where thousands of people in attendance chanted “Ed Ma! Ed Ma! Ed Ma!” during a decisive win for Ed.
Also at Evo 2009 was a regional 5v5 Exhibition Tournament, with eight different regions sending their best players to compete for best region in America. The two teams that were favored to be in the finals were SoCal and the Northeast team. SoCal’s team was made up of Alex Valle (Ryu), Combofiend (C. Viper), Ed Ma (Akuma), somuchdamage (Sagat) and gootecks (Balrog). On the Northeast team was comprised of Justin Wong (Rufus), Marn (C. Viper), Arturo Sanchez (Seth/Dhalsim), Sanford Kelly (Akuma) and Joe “iloveu” Ciaramelli (Sagat). Unfortunately for the SoCal team, they were defeated by the Wild Card team who ended up losing to the Northeast team in the Grand Finals. This was a crushing defeat for SoCal, who now has an opportunity to even the score with the Northeast.
With the first year of Street Fighter 4 in the books after the conclusion of Evo 2009, the West Coast’s next major event was West Coast Warzone, held September 5-6 in Irvine, CA. With a huge turnout of over 270 entrants, three of our main eventers were left in the Finals: Ed Ma, Alex Valle and Martin “marn” Phan. After a close match in Winners Finals with Marn, Valle’s Ryu was sent to Losers Finals to battle Ed Ma, with the winner advancing to Grand Finals and the loser going home. Valle beat Ed and then went on to face Marn’s Rufus in Grand Finals.
After beating Marn three games in a row to win the first set, Valle had Marn on the verge of defeat when suddenly Marn made a comeback during what could have been the game-ending round and went on to beat Valle to win the tournament.
The Main Event at Bar Fights II is SoCal’s opportunity to even the score!
Jakes Bar
38 W Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105