This quote seems appropriate right now.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill
Now, I don't mean to compare the situation of the second World War to our little Street Fighter league, but as we look to end our second season in the next couple of days & begin another season in over a week's time, it seems to make the most sense. The quick release of SSFIV:AE and the PSN outage forced the seasons to run right up to each other. No two month furlough this time around.
Nonetheless, as another quote goes, "no rest for the wicked..."
Super Brawl II Update
There are only 3 matches remaining in the Super Brawl II tournament. The Yellow Bracket final match has yet to be played between Fran_Gil's BALROG and Haduken3's RUFUS. The winner of this match advances to the Final Four to meet the European Champion, Cravin456's RYU. The winner of that match then advances to the SFCCL Super Brawl II Grand Champion Finals to face ModeType_Beast's T. HAWK.
The make-shift final four members still alive make for an interesting group. The last former Grand Champion still playing (Fran_Gil BALROG). The final European member (Cravin456 RYU) who has dominated the region since entering the league while nearly winning the second Ryder Cup on his own. Last season's tournament surprise (Haduken3 RUFUS) a step away from Final Four yet again. And finally, this year's tournament surprise (ModeType_Beast T. HAWK) reaching the finals by defeating respected members like Cuby's KEN, GuurenLagen's BLANKA, Ccinoone's Ken, and ElGeneral's GUILE.
I expect the final 3 matches to played within the next couple of days. Cravin456 has returned, and after playing in a Endless Lobby last night with Fran_Gil and other league members, I can atest that Fran's wrist is doing fine! Stay tuned for updates & watch the final matches come in. Anyone who has the replays for these final matches, please send them to me via AE Replay Channel or let me know a time we can meet so I can record & upload them to the site for all to enjoy.
Good luck to everyone!
I'm happy to report that all plans for season 3 are moving forward steadily. I've received some of the first mockups of artwork for next season courtesy of ShinNagakure. We are finalizing their appearances as I write this blog. The website will begin to change over the next couple of weeks with the beginning of season 3. Since season 2 and 3 are right up against each other, the transition will take place over some time. I wish I could have worked on the site for a month prior to the new season starting, but that just wasn't possible without taking away from Super Brawl II. So, bear with me over the next month.
As of this blog, 19 of the original 30 members invited back for next season have confirmed their commitment for season 3. In addition, one former member is returning next season after a short-term retirement. As seen in the Comments section of a previous blog, Skrface13 is returning next season! He has changed his screen name to Xenon5100 following the PSN outage. This bumps the number of members for next season to 31 total, but I don't expect everyone to return so we should still have an even 30 for next season. A special note to all of those former members that left in good standing. You are always welcomed back and I will make room for you next season if you want to play, like Skrface......I mean......Xenon5100. Below is a list of the members who have locked in their spots for next season:
1 . Capitolc ( Maryland , USA ) ( Chun Li , Dee Jay )
2 . Ccinoone ( New York , USA ) ( Guy , Oni )
3 . Chidoridillon ( Minnesota , USA ) ( Oni , Gouken )
4 . Crusader884 ( New Jersey , USA ) ( Ken , Yun )
5 . Cuby ( Florida , USA ) ( Ken , Sakura )
6 . DJ_ _C--4 ( Guatemala City , Guatemala ) ( Sakura , Evil Ryu )
7 . Elfonki28 ( Florida , USA ) ( Dee Jay , Zangief )
8 . Epedemicc ( New Jersey , USA ) ( Gouken , Zangief )
9 . Haduken3 ( Washington , USA ) ( Rufus , Cammy )
10 . Manwithnoarms2 ( California , USA ) ( Adon , M. Bison )
11 . RickyTocky ( Pennsylvania , USA ) ( Gen , Makoto )
12 . SFCCL-SALonghorn ( Texas , USA ) ( Ken , Fei Long )
13 . Shoryuken ( Washington , USA ) ( Cammy , Dee Jay )
14 . Sm00thCr1mals ( Michigan , USA ) ( Cody , Guy )
15 . SupremeKingQ7 ( Michigan , USA ) ( Evil Ryu , Balrog )
16 . Treyx1 ( Florida , USA ) ( Fei Long , Makoto )
17 . Welcome2Troyland ( Nebraska , USA ) ( Dhalsim , Vega )
18 . Xenon5100 ( New Jersey , USA ) ( Blanka , Ryu )
19 . xx_Von_xx ( Minnesota , USA ) ( Ken , Makoto )
20 . ZTI890 ( Louisiana , USA ) ( Cammy , Rose )
Until I have the final official roster set, I can't comment on who exactly will be in the Eastern or Western Conferences yet. Obviously, those living on each coast know where they will be, but for those in the middle states, it's a tossup right now until I have the final roster set. So stay tuned!
Below is a list of the invited members that have NOT YET locked in their spots for next season. Please note that the deadline to lock in your invite is this Sunday, July 10th. If I do not hear from you, then your spot will be given to a player on a Waiting List. My intention is to have 30 members for next season, so please lock in your spot now to avoid being left out in the cold. Remember, due to the format new next season, you have to give a 6-month commitment to the league from July t o December 2011. Everyone will have an open schedule to be played at their own pace which allows everyone to take care of things away from the game. Basically, everyone will have 24 weeks to meet up with 14 different opponents. Even if you can't play in the next couple of weeks, you still have plenty of time to play your matches with this new format.
1 . Alfredurst
2 . Brainswho
3 . Doctor_Rouse
4 . Domokun_Nomnom
5 . Feiinweltall
6 . GuurenLagen
7 . Kommander-Kev
8 . ModeType_Beast
9 . ND2130srk
10 . TrickyTewi
11 . Wild_X_187
With all that being said, I am going to push back the start of season 3 to Monday, July 18th. This will give me the weekend to update the site in preparation for all matches being posted on Monday. I'm expecting the season to move swiftly, so it is possible we end the season sooner than December. Season 4, however, wouldn't start until January at the earliest.
Thanx to an anounymous donation by a member, the website will have some additional features next season. Weebly allows anyone to host a site for free, and for the past two seasons, I've done so for the SFCCL. Weebly has been a big reason for the success of the league. Without a website, the league would be nothing but a few messages between a very small group of players. Therefore, with the generous donation, I will be purchasing a subscription to Weebly Pro. This subscription will bring a host of new features including my own video uploader, audio playback for music, embedded tables & documents, file uploading, and password protection. I may not use all of these features (like the password protection), but having the ability to upload videos directly to the site without going thru YouTube will allow me to post more videos of league matches. As long as you send me your videos via the new Replay Channel on SSFIV:AE, I can hopefully edit & upload SFCCL matches several times a week.
Also, as part of the free Weebly service, it is now possible for me to create sub-accounts for those of you interested in writing your own blogs for the league. You will have your own user name and passwords, and I can grant you the ability to post your own blogs. This was a feature I asked Weebly to create for a long time. I'd love to have members write their own blogs including strategy guides for each of their favorite characters. Then, everyone could comment on the blog including asking questions on how to fight or defend against a character. So, if you are interested in writing for the league, let me know!
As mentioned above, ElGeneral is one of the veteran members not returning for next season (although I am quietly hoping he re-consideres...hint hint). There are two other members that are not returning (although I hope they will) that I want to thank publically for their commitment. One of the current members still playing in Super Brawl II, Fran_Gil from the Dominican Republic, will not be returning next season due to time contraints. Fran has been part of the league since Week 21 of season one. He is a former Grand Champion and quite possibly the best Balrog in league history. If you get a chance to watch him play, do so. His combos with Balrog are beauty in motion. Unless, of course, you are on the receiving end...like ND2130SRK was in the video below (pay attention at the 4:28 mark). This match was a casual match recorded prior to season two when a few of us were messing around with the new online modes. Gracias, amigo!
Several people have posted comments and/or questions as to how season 3 will operate.
"Keep it up bro hopefully one day ill be able to return." - Jay19000
You're always welcome back, JAY. As I wrote above, any former member who left in good standing is welcomed back next season, and I'll gladly make room for you. Just be sure to signup ASAP as no new members will be allowed during the season.
"Looks like 28 matches in 24 weeks - thats doable. How flexible is the schedule? If we all play our games well before the 6mos, will there be a 5th season? If the cap is at 30 members, will the numbers be even across the conferences?" - CapitolC
Basically, there will be 24 weeks to play 28 matches, but you only have to meet up with 14 members. Since everyone has 2 fighters, you only have to meet up once with your opponents to play your 2 matches with them. Of course, if you choose to only play one at a time, then you'll have make plans to meet again later in the season. The season is very flexible as you can play all 28 matches in a week if you like, but then you'll have to wait around until November for the season-ending playoffs/tournament. I'm committed to playing a 4th season between January and June 2012. After that, who knows as I don't expect much interest in a game that is basically 3 years old. We may even have a new SF game by then. The goal is to have 30 members with 15 members in the Eastern and 15 members in the Western Conferences. If we smaller than 30, then we will have less than 14 matches. If we slightly more than 30 members, we will not have more than 14 matches.
"I would also recommend once you have everybody locked in for this season make it mandatory that they add all the opponents to their friends list they will have to face. That way at any given moment if they are both on they can possibly play." - Welcome2Troyland (formerly Sweet_Poison_)
A very good idea. Since we are going to be very small next season, I highly recommend all members add each other to their Friends List. While I can't enforce this policy outside of keeping me on your Friends List, this would make everyone's life easier in terms of playing your matches since you could see when your opponents are online all season.
"...looks like I'll have to apply for a green card...seriously though - great to see a much more flexible approach" - Heder1984 from Poland
"cheers sal for YOUR commitment!" - Shooryukenn from England
"I am ready for season three same characters please" - Cravin456 from England
Come on over, Hedr! Wish there was more support from Europe. If you guys can bring in some new blood, I'm all for running another European Region in this new format. We probably only need about 8 memebers total. Communication would have to be via PSN primarily since SF4Forums.com is always going down tho.
"I suppose thats why your putting a cap on the roster, I like everything your doing, your ideas and hard are always. On a side note i also agree we should all have each other as friends on PSN to run things smoothly. As is you usually make a casual training room with SFCCL members only so this should only make things easier." - ND2130SRK
The main reason why I am limiting the league next season to 30 members is simply because of the dying interest in Street Fighter 4. We lost a lot of members over the past couple of months, not withstanding the PSN outage. Just look at what happened to the European Region. Therefore, for the best interest in the league, having 30 members fully committed to a shorter 6-month season should still make for a fun & competitive season. I don't quite understand your comment about a "casual trining room with SFCCL members only". I'm open to all ideas regading having an area for members to meet. HOME is always an option.
"Care to take an old friend back? I created a new account with a new name. This is skrface13 btw" - Xenon5100 (aka Skrface13)
Look out everybody...the beast is back & hungry again! Glad I'm not on the East Coast.
"So are we having divisions or no?" - Manwithnoarms2
We are going to have divisions next season, but not the standard Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc. The divisions will be based on location and fighters will remain in those divisions all season long. At the end of the season (mid-November 2011), the top 8 fighters will advance to the playoffs/tournament to begin Super Brawl III. The format mirrors the NBA season.
Until next time...
SFCCl-SALonghorn