B/R Weekly Rushdown: Marvel vs. Capcom 4 Rumors, SKT Roster Shake-Up
It got a bit dull for a few weeks there, but the Rushdown is back in the swing of actual events and news!
After what felt like an eternity of business-end news, the esports world is now staring down a double barrel of big tournaments in the Boston Major and the Capcom Cup. On top of those two big events, there are a number of interesting news stories folded within that are worth taking a quick look at.
So without further ado, here's your Weekly Rushdown of esports news.
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SFV Capcom Cup Begins This Friday
It's almost here.
For months, the world's best Street Fighter players have been trotting the globe and racking up points for a ticket to the Capcom Cup event. The field of 32 is set, and the competitors have converged in Anaheim, California, for one of the biggest fighting game events of the year, with their sights set on the $120,000 top prize.
The tournament will be contested in a double-elimination bracket, with each match being a best-of-five-sets series. The seeding is based on the total points acquired by each player during the season, with No. 1 facing No. 32, No. 2 facing No. 31 and so on.
It's an extraordinary field of players, including four of the "Five Gods" of Japanese fighting games, American standard bearers like Justin Wong and Ricki Ortiz and Korean juggernaut Lee "Infiltration" Seon-woo. That should make for an exceptional event, so make sure to check out the event's official site, and start getting hype by looking over the bracket.
Marvel vs. Capcom 4 Rumors Swirling
When's Mahvel? Hopefully in 2017.
The fighting game community has been gripped over the last two weeks by rumors of a possible Marvel vs. Capcom 4. The popular crossover fighting game series has long been one of the signature franchises for the genre in North America, but it seemed doomed to a quiet end, as nearly every trace of the series' existence was wiped from digital distribution outlets, and Marvel's parent company Disney began phasing out its console gaming presence.
Five years from removed from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's release, however, the game remains one of the premiere series in the fighting game circuit, and fan support endures. Those factors likely contributed to what could be a Justin Wong vs. Yipes-caliber comeback for the series in the form of a Marvel vs. Capcom 4.
According to a report from Shoryuken, there has been an uptick in chatter linked to a post on the NeoGAF forums (warning, NSFW language) that indicated an announcement was coming at December 3's PlayStation Experience event, which will host the Street Fighter V Capcom Cup event. Gaming website Polygon went a step further, reporting the rumor was indeed true and explained that "Marvel vs. Capcom 4's roster of Marvel characters to draw strongly from the cinematic universe."
While not necessarily a confirmation, this coincides with a Tweet from Street Fighter V director Yoshinori Ono, which hinted at an announcement at the event:
Needless to say, this is a colossal story for the FGC if true. Marvel is significantly larger in 2016 than it was in 2011, and an MvC4 would likely attract a tidal wave of new fans to the genre. The PSX kicks off this weekend, so make sure to keep a close eye on news from the event.
Visa Issues Shake Up Dota 2 Boston Major, Capcom Cup
Visa issues are an unfortunately standard part of the esports news cycles. Every week or two, news comes out that someone or some team won't be able to attend a major tournament because they were unable to obtain a visa. December's two biggest tournaments, Dota 2's Boston Major and Street Fighter V's Capcom Cup, have both seen their planned lineups shaken up due to issues with would-be competitors being unable to enter the United States.
According to a post on its Facebook page, the Philippines' Execration has been forced out of the Boston Major due to their inability to secure a visa that would allow them to arrive at the tournament on-time.
"Our visas were not denied, it's just Valve did not finish the petition in time for reasons we don't know," the team's statement read. "We will still get the visa but not in time for the group stage (December 3). The Main Stage Event is December 7 after the seeding will be decided."
That's a tough blow for the SEA standouts, who have since been replaced by China's LGD Gaming. The team received something of a surprise direct invite to the Boston Major in November despite washing out of the Wild Card tournament for The International 2016. Still, hopes were high for the team, and seeing them lose their shot at the $3 million prize pool through no fault of their own (and potentially through the fault of Valve Software), is absolutely saddening.
They're not alone, though.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Felipe "Misterio" Carvacho and Tse "Tse4444" Wa Ping have both withdrawn from the Capcom Cup. Misterio, who hails from Brazil, was forced out due to visa issues. It is not currently known what the issue was for Tse4444.
They have since been replaced by Kenneth "K-Brad" Bradley and Fujimara "Yukadon" Atsushi, who are certainly interesting additions to the tournament. Once again, however, it's disappointing such a great opportunity was taken out of their hands.
SK Telecom T1 Announces Major Shake-Ups to LoL Team Roster
SK Telecom T1 is less than two months removed from winning its third League of Legends world championship in the last four years. That, however, hasn't kept the South Korean squad from a high-profile roster shake-up.
According to an announcement by SKT, top laner Lee "Duke" Ho-seong, jungler Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong and coach Lee "PoohManDu" Jeong-Hyeon have all split from the team.
Bengi is one of SKT's most enduring talents, joining the SK Telecom T1 K team in 2013 and racking up dozens of first-place finishes during his time there. Alongside the iconic Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, he has carved out one of the greatest legacies in recent esports history and helped cement SKT's place as one of the most dominant organizations in the industry.
While PoohManDu and Duke aren't as synonymous with the SKT brand as Bengi and Faker, one need not look further than their World Championship win in October to see what they were capable of.
As Daily Dot's Sam Nordmark reports, some are expecting Bengi to be replaced by Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho. If true, there's no reason to expect this shake-up to be anything more than a speed bump for SKT. Still, this is the end of an era for one of the longest-standing one-two punches in esports.
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