So EVO 2014 happened. This is not the first time for me going to EVO. I have been going since… around 2008. This is the first time, however, that I would play the role of a tournament streamer for the following games: #aquapazza, #chaoscode, #MBAACC, #JojoASB, & #AH3LM. For those who may not know, these games are the anime fighters that are not made by Arc System Works, the makers of Guilty Gear and Blaz Blue, and are thus, less popular of the anime games. (GG and BB are being covered by Jyosua). This is my view and experience for Evo2014 as a streamer, as well as my experiences overall.
Streaming & TO Fun Times as a Whole
Friday was the day that we ran Aquapazza, Chaos Code & Melty Blood. Thanks to DJCream, we were able to get 2 tables to set up all our games at the corner of the exhibit hall. Aquapazza was the first game that we ran. Prior to that, I was prepared to just record the matches, but somehow, I got the tethering on my phone working. When i did a speed test, I found out that the upload of my phone was around .8 BPS, This was fast enough to run a a low bitrate 360p stream, good enough for others to watch.
For being a last minute announcement of me streaming on Friday, It all went much better than expected. My channel probably got over 200 viewers at its best time & ended with a little less than 100 around Melty top 8. I ran the Aquapazza bracket while DJ Cream & Dippy ran MBAACC and Chaos Code. We were absolutely surprised at the amount of entrants that joined, expecially Melty which had over 50 entrants while CC had 20 and AP had 25. For myself, running the stream & the Aquapazza bracket took a great deal of energy, so much so that I actually lost my voice on saturday. I enjoyed watching each Top 8, though IMO, Chaos Code was the most entertaining, mostly thanks to Abegen and his amazing Chef and DJ Creams commentary. As a whole though, I felt this as a huge accomplishment.
Then saturday came along, which blew my expectations out of the water. Again, shoutouts to DJCream for coordinating the table setups. There managed to be 4 setups for Aquapazza and 2 setups for Jojo’s All star Battle for the tournament. At 5p we started and I ran the brackets for Jojo’s while DJ Cream ran Arcana Heart. Running the brackets this time and running the stream at the same time went alot smoother this time around. I was surprised to see how long Jojo’s matches can take, but the folks were understanding and were good to work with. In the meantime on twitter, my twitch channel was being spammed all over the place by the JP. The largest I seen the numbers for my stream was around probably 1.1k, which is outstanding in my perspective since this is the most I’ve ever seen in my channel. Jojo’s Top 4 was quite surprising and exciting to watch, especially when Spinking completely owned the competition. Arcana Heart Top 8 was also a blast with Nadakaineko cheering for Yoriko in the stream chat and Bill doing amazingly well. Finals between Mabushin’s Mei Fang and Inuchiyo’s Dorthy was a sight to see for, while Inuchiyo’s Dorothy was dominating, Mabushin’s Mei Fang definitely put up a fight and had great moments.
Overall, from a streamers perspective, This time was an absolute blast. I am happy that I was able to muscle through this event, ‘specially since this was my first time streaming at a main event. I’m not sure how I will top this EVO in the future. All I can do at this point is take it a bit at a time.
Notable Moments & Shoutouts
Drinking with SoCal Melty
I heart you guys. I love watching y’all suffer at the Hash House. I also appreciate the help on the side with sign ups and random stuff.
Aquapazza Kumite in the BAR
When everyone got settled on thursday, my group was invited to a room, which was later dubbed the BAR (British Anime Room) since the ppl who owned the room were from ths UK, and the room itself was a freakin Suite. Right when i went in, it was announced that KOG (ko-gi) and Mabushin, both from Japan, were coming into the BAR to face everyone in Aquapazza. After some deliberation, i was convinced to get my video game capturing equipment and record this little event. The result was some very exciting matches between Japan and all the people in the BAR. See it yourself.
Mabushin VS the World: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBsbj_QbyY-HhKuNFGnRdAAMPNxbsEuUj
KOG VS The Wrold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Q5r7loFsA&index=2&list=PLBsbj_QbyY-HhKuNFGnRdAAMPNxbsEuUj
Short Version: US Got bodied, but goddamnit it was fun trying. All of us started chanting USA out loud in the room, that eventually we got a warning from the hotel to keep the noise to a moderate level. Only Lark was good enough to get a match off the JP.
Consolation Prize
Given to me by Bill703 after Arcana Heart 3 Love Max was finished. This really does mean alot to me. Thanks, Bill!
That God Damn Cloth
See the header Image. That was the first place prize for Arcana Heart 3, won by Inuchiyo. That was a sight to behold, & I’m glad i got it on my stream.
The Playstation All Stars Battle Royale Guys
It was amusing to help you guys last minute. I’ll have to admire you guys and your dedication to the game. Also props to Dopples for taking charge of brackets and Bam for his dedication. If you guys want me for some streaming projects, feel free to ask.
The British Anime Room
Such a great room. Aside from the drinkage and the Kumite, the moment that pops out was when I popped up some random game on the PS3 and then i hear Mr. E in the background say “Oh, is that Fighting Vipers?” That’s when everything became great. Thanks for letting everyone invade your place and have a good time.
DJ Cream
Thanks for organizing all these tournaments and for asking me to be the streamer for this. I had alot of fun doing it. I’m glad you had a good time down at SoCal and thanks for the Weiss cards. Kuud is Lewd. I’m also glad that, along with dippy and everyone else who helped run everything, that this side tournament was a big success.
Final Thoughts
Don’t know what else to say, really. I just had a great time overall. Each night after everything settled down, I’d have a nice drink to celebrate each day, and each night had a little adventure. I played games here and there and I did the best I could. All the event match vids are on my Youtube. Ev2014 is done. Everything is now done and settled.
And yes. Time to move on.
Here’s to my first amazing EVO Anime stream. I look forward to future endeavors with this crazy hobby of mine.
Evo2014 AnimEVO Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBsbj_QbyY-HhKuNFGnRdAAMPNxbsEuUj
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