K-JI: Another round and another Golden Controller winner as round four of the PSU Marathon Trophy Competition draws to a close. I’m your master of ceremonies, K-JI with the man with the plan, Saikou Hakkin. The first two rounds showed consistency while these past two rounds have been a jumble of craziness as the leaderboard from top to bottom has been re-arranged heading into a pivotal round five.
Saikou: New faces shone in the top five and some top ten regulars fell from their positions as the battle and rivalries start to intensify. Before you show the top ten this week, our reporter on the floor Angelika Velda was able to get some comments from Jmargraves just after the round three results were posted two weeks ago. His comments set the tone for a highly charged, highly competitive round.
Angelika: The results were shown and you are still in third place. What are your thoughts about your position in the competition so far?
Jmar: No matter what happens in the remainder of these rounds, at least I’ll be able to hold my head high and actually walk through the public streets knowing that I never sank to the depths that Supra has.
Saikou: For the record we still don’t know what he was referring to but it reasonable to believe it involves game selection. Even though we preach this is a marathon, K-JI, some games are more valuable than others in the grand scheme of things. Supra has not been shy about admitting he platinumed Hannah Montana, which is a line some gamers will not cross even for the sake of a tournament.
K-JI: Supra’s first place finish last week must have supercharged Jmar because he becomes the third Golden Controller winner this tournament, and doing it over Supra. Here is the top ten results brought to you by MATCH vitamin drinks, for when you need to strike up a fire under your game.
Jmar 5595
Supra 3405
Blazikiller 3090
Forrma 2595
Tim 2460
Brenden 1935
PS3Freak 1590
Ace 1335
Beast 1275
ThatSonyGamer 1185
The usual suspects are there but in different positions. Tim barely survives slipping out of the top five as his game has been devolving compared to earlier form. Brenden and Ace remain the most consistent in the top ten for those that haven’t regularly been in the top five, and ThatSonyGamer makes his first appearance on the list. Blazikiller takes third place this round, cementing his status as the top performer for The Outsiders.
Saikou: The drama is how will Supra respond to being called out and then losing his Golden Controller? The GC is more than just an award as it is also symbolic. Much like the yellow jacket in the Tour de France, there is a physical golden controller they receive to use. Lose that first place spot and the right to use the controller in the competition is also lost. Tim had it, Supra had it, now we’ll see if Jmar can walk the walk and defend the position.
K-JI: Cloudja was on the receiving end of your advice and criticism last show and he did not follow your advice at all. A 45 point showing was all that could be mustered in 14 days leaving many to wonder, and question, his skill level and commitment to the competition and his team.
Saikou: It is sad because the kid has potential. We get a lot of rookies every event. Some prosper, some become a flash in the pan, and some fail miserably. I’m a straight shooter, K-JI, I don’t hold back and Cloudja is becoming a handicap for his team.
K-JI: Speaking of teams let’s look at the scoreboard for the team portion of the event.
The Outsiders 43215 (12510)
Neo-Collective 37485 (7845)
Eurocorp 34785 (4110)
The Establishment 20250 (4350)
New Epoch 18630 (2355)
A huge round by The Outsiders gives them an increasing lead as Eurocorp is sucking wind by being overtaken by the Neo-Collective. The Establishment and New Epoch are still trailing badly behind. A few players as individuals have more points than New Epoch as a team which shows how much ground they need to make up.
Saikou: Experience is dominating. I’ve been saying it round after round but The Outsiders have the edge in experience and it is showing. Jmar is doing his best to win the overall title but he has a lot of consistent help from his teammates. Ace and Brenden have been in the top ten since the beginning and Blazi gave a third place finish this round.
K-JI: What does the New Epoch need to do to come out of the gutter and put a scare into Eurocrop for third place?
Saikou: That is the perfect question to lead us into this round’s Saikou’s Gameplan. New Epoch, have a seat and get your pens and pencils ready. We need to have a serious chat. You’re rivalry is with Eurocorp and they are beating you right now. You need to temper that steel will and so the first part of the game plan is to communicate. With one team member at the bottom of the standings and not one of you making it into the top ten this round, the batmobile blew all four wheels. Mondofish, you’re the captain so command your team. Next you need to get Lee back into the competition. Maybe if two of the team were in the top five then having a bottom dweller would not be as bad, but that is not the case. He is the weak point of the team and is not pulling any weight. Fix him and you fix your handicap. Lastly, rebound this round and have one person break into the top three. Eurocorp is living and dying off of Tim’s performance right now. This is the optimal opportunity to take advantage of his mental fatigue and crack the top three to overtake them in the standings. With a very fluid team standings one round can easily be the difference between fifth and third.
K-JI: Forrma has strung together a good couple of rounds to pull himself from the bottom of the listings to looking into the window of the top ten. Two rounds of obscurity and now two rounds of ability, will this be his legacy throughout the tournament or can he become more consistent player with time?
Saikou: Forrma is an enigma. He is a wild card on his own team outside of this event. I had a chance to talk with his manager and he is on the bubble. The talent is there, the ability is there, but it is the consistency that is wreaking havoc with coaches.
K-JI: Saikou, you talk about consistency and steel will a lot. In a baseball game or a chess match viewers know what they are seeing and understand it. But for trophy hunting how is it quantified and viewed?
Saikou: Skip and Max liked to talk about these concepts a lot during last year’s event. Consistency is the easier of the two to explain. It is simply putting up a large enough number to keep pace in the top ten or top five depending on an individual’s skill. If the competitor is always placing 6-8th every round then he is consistent. If one week he comes in first and the next is not even in the top ten then he is being inconsistent. A steel will is how well the individual keeps putting up similar numbers each round or surpassing those numbers. In addition it is also about bouncing back when there is a disastrous round. Surpra and Jmar are showing the most consistency and steel will of the top competitors and it is paying off for their team. Tim is at a crucial moment to prove he has that elite willpower as he keeps slipping farther and farther down the top ten each round.
K-JI: To add a little excitement for round five the competition is unveiling showdown mode. How it works is each member of a team has been matched against another opposing team for bragging rights. Win the showdown and it is one point. The most points wins the showdown for their team. Due to size differences Eurocorp and New Epoch will be pitted against each other and The Outsiders, Neo-Collective and The Establishment will have a three-way showdown.
Saikou: Rivalries make competitions exciting and this just gives the competitors even more incentive to work as a team. Here are the showdown match-ups:
Lasombra vs. Mondofish
KyleontheRun vs. LeeMillington
Tim vs. Gagluash
Ghost-Rhayne vs. Chille
Fenix vs. WilltoGame
Jmar vs. Beast vs. Surpa
Brenden vs. PS3Freak vs. Forrma
Jakintosh vs. Lavzee vs. Beasley
Ace vs. Maxdamo vs. Medicdog
Blazikiller vs. Lethal vs. ThatSonyGamer
Patrick vs. Cloudja vs. PSGamer28
For this showdown each pairing was made to match their individual point totals as closely as possible. The most intriguing match-up is obviously Jmar vs. Beast vs. Supra. All the pressure is on Beast again as he has to win his showdown for his team to have any chance. Cloudja, Maxdamo and Lavzee have been ghosts the entire tournament. This would be a huge opportunity for redemption for them and to rise up like a phoenix to help Beast get a moral victory over the other teams. Fenix has a challenging match-up against Will, giving him an opportunity to rebuild his reputation. He was touted as one of the pre-game favourites to win his bracket and instead has been under-performing.
K-JI: The viewers at home and on the internet have an exciting round five to look forward to. That is all the time we have this week. As always I’d like to thank Saikou Hakkin for his in-depth commentary. I’m K-JI saying swing for your dreams, live from the Nagoya Dome. Who will win their showdown? Can Fenix rise from the ashes and shrug off his under-performing ways? Will we finally see the super trio usurped from first place and a new Golden Controller winner be crowned? All these questions and more will be answered soon so don’t turn that channel as the round is about to begin.
Missed a round of the toughest competition in e-sports or want to see the overall scoreboard? Check out the marathon thread and cheer on your favourite comeptitor!
Dane Smith is the Japan editor for PlayStation Universe. When not out on the streets of Nagoya wondering why no one is looking for a Yakuza-style showdown, he can be found cracking open the newest RPG to hit the shelves. You can follow him on Twitter or read some of his past musings.