ESL's first offline Street Fighter V event, The Brooklyn Beatdown, brought over 270 of the world's best online fighters in one place. But only one stood victorious above the rest and that was Zhoujun "Xiao Hai" Zeng.
With the exception of the grand finals, every match played out on the first day in a unique twist to level the playing field. With such a massive field of world-class players, there was bound to be upsets and the first day was chock-full of them. Razer's Lee "Infiltration" Seon-woo was beaten by Thomas "Brolyinho" Proença without winning a round and then eliminated by Kenryo "Mago" Hayashi after using Balrog. Even players like Red Bull and Twitch's Daigo "The Beast" Umehara, Razer's Kun "Xian" Ho and Huomao TV's Johnny "HumanBomb" Cheng experienced short tournament runs.
Regardless of standing and skill, no player was safe from the potential of losing to their opposition. The Capcom Pro Tour and the evolution of Street Fighter V is entering a point where upsets in tournaments are now a given. The players and the development of advanced tools and option selects within the game's engine continue to provide underdog players the opportunity to contend with the world's elite.
The grand finals: Qanba's Zhuojun "Xiao Hai" Zeng vs. Evil Geniuses' Yusuke "Momochi" Momochi
As a player, Momochi is an opponent's nightmare, with a midgame that rivals the best to play the game, unpredictable wake-up options and reversals, excellent defensive reactions and an unflappable resolve. On the other hand, Xiao Hai was a momentum-based player that overwhelmed opponents only if his confidence was high and if his reactions and footsies scored a knockdown.
Despite Momochi's standing in the loser's bracket, he was the player with more experience on the grandest fighting game stages and he was the player that won more games and sets through momentum than anyone else. In addition, the grand finals were set on another day, separate from the main tournament, to add a new wrinkle of pressure to the chagrin of Xiao Hai, whose biggest weakness is his ability to calm down his nerves and come through in the clutch.
When the matchup started, it was the Momochi show. But then the Chinese star woke up. The combos started to connect, his throw game worked and his patience in the midgame paid off with hit-confirm after hit-confirm. Xiao Hai's greatest improvement from game-to-game was his defense. Momochi did not get the same damage and potential from his v-trigger activation that he did in the first round and it cost him. The winner would take home $30,000, while second-place took home $10,500.
Surprises of the tournament: Brolyinho and Jesse "Commander Jesse" Espinoza
It would be difficult to give the MVP title to any other player but Brolyinho and Commander Jesse. Both of these players were hardly on anyone's radar entering New York and came out of it with the tournament run of their careers.
Their success provided a solid blueprint to defeating both top domestic and international talent. Commander Jesse took down his opponents with a combination of unique offensive maneuvers, movement and airtight meaty setups to keep the lockdown. He was the only Dhalsim in the top-8 and it appeared to be an unfamiliar character for most of the international opposition.
As for the points leader for the Capcom Pro Tour Latin America region, Brolyinho, his success was still a surprise when considering the level of talent in the field. His Necalli was a frame-trap and offensive-crazed maniac. He pressured and walked up with impunity and forced disadvantageous situations for every opponent he faced, top name or unnamed.