East Coast Throw-Down was imperative to Dead or Alive 6 World Championship competitors considering it was the final major before Team NINJA's Last Call Match and Main Event in Tokyo, Japan on the 23rd of November. You can spectate a paid replay of players in pools fighting for qualifying points and 5,000 USD prize pot at KPB, or watch the individual matches at KPB's YouTube channel for free. Witness the Top 8 & Grand Finals replay for yourself at Team Sp00ky's free Twitch video archive. Be sure to congratulate your Top 8 players and XcaliburBladeZ for winning ECT and read our full FSD report for all the details at your fingertips.
Even though he is already DOA6WC qualified, XcaliburBladeZ battled at ECT for his share of the prize pot, and had one more chance to test his plethora of characters offline before the Main Event. Black Berry, Black Moon Rising, Crazy Steady & Rikuto were all Top 8 competitors very close to each other on the DOA6WC leader-board and you can see their razor focus on winning those qualifying points even if the prize money was an attractive incentive. Ultimately, if you do not make it to the Main Event, you could miss out on a chance at competing for 30,000 USD and a beautiful trip to Japan.
Rikuto is in a interesting place with DOA6 because he's being called the mid-boss again, and most people know that Bayman is in desperate need of buffs to be considered viable to most. On one hand it's not good to feel like the underdog, but on the other - this is Rikuto and he's always at his best in these types of situations. Despite dabbling with faster characters, his Bayman is coming together as Rikuto has proven himself as the very best at this heavy, and had some of the most effective environment tech in Top 8.
The competitors fighting for points dealt with one more big problem other than BladeZ and that was top players that know they can't qualify and are just there for a chance at the money. Dangerous players such as Cyber, Jager, Lord Xav1err & Sly Bass were on the battering line to destroy the 8-month road for close qualifiers and created momentum for themselves going into next year's possible championship tour. It's also worth mentioning that Perfect 'Carl' Legend participated at this event after not paying close attention to DOA competition for months now, and his return to the scene ended up being the biggest ratings draw for KPB's successful pools stream.
Highlights from Pools
What's fun about East Coast Throw-Down is the wide range of high level DOA professionals showing up to it. We see players that are at almost every single event and with ECT we see the return of Perfect Legend and his epic Hayate-play. When backs are pressed up against the wall, it's not only a great time to learn the game, but it's enjoyable to watch these players squirm to round up last minute qualifying points before the Main Event.
Perfect Legend's return was extremely hype for the community as he was able to defeat Black Berry in their first pools set. Berry started his game with Ayane and after PL destroyed her with Hayate, Berry thought it would be a good idea to switch to his main, NiCO. While this was a clever idea, the new match-up did not effect the veteran player and she was quickly conquered by Hayate as well.
Later on in pools Teru Rock was able to show PL the effectiveness of Kasumi, throwing him off with her high kick string options and plethora of game-changing lows. This was an incredible set, and PL was playing in top form with Hayate for being gone for so long. His BT options, throw showcase and stun game are samples of proof that the Perfect Legend could still be one of the best in the scene, even if this set went to the more comfortable Rock.
Since PL suffered a loss to Teru Rock he will once again have to fight Black Berry who is now returning to his DOA5 main, Christie. PL has a lot of great spacing strategies, but he doesn't get away with finishing all of Hayate's unsafe strings as Berry has more time to scout for this with Christie and follows up with an onslaught of safer options. Berry makes mistakes in this set too, but he is able to redeem himself with her and out-speeds Hayate with a strong balance of stuns and precise lows that ended rounds.
Rikuto has been having the fight of his life understanding the new mechanics of DOA6, and when you include these back to back matches between him & Black Moon Rising, it creates a thorny path on his road to the Main Event. These two players know each other so well, and Rikuto gets matched with him so frequently in tournaments that one might assume that Black Moon has his Bayman completely downloaded with Leifang when you look at their offline match history. In a tremendous effort to throw off Black Moon, Rikuto switched to Kasumi at the end of their set and had some interesting gameplay to showcase with the runaway ninja, even if he didn't win with her this time.
LordXav1er and Cyber did their best to get into Top 8 with their characters and they did some serious damage to their opponents before going down in Top 16. Some of the world's best like Siologica & Rikuto were practically taken to their limits with these two serious contenders. Everyone loves seeing characters that aren't normally used in offline play and these guys were here to educate and entertain you to different match-ups that DOA6 has to offer and they did it well. It's not everyday that a fighter will get a single match on Siologica or Rikuto; so it's always worth noting when greatness is achieved!
'Video Games is Life' appears at ECT to sport yet another fantastic Kasumi for the community to enjoy spectating! His strings always seemed complete with the damage he could get from his launch heights, and he earned his way to Top 8 by outperforming Siologica with intensely long combos, plus he had destroyed through the entirety of his pool presence prior. While most experienced players agree that Kasumi is one of the strongest characters in the game, it is the execution of her play-style that means the most to her gameplay, and takes serious skill to operate on. VGL knows what he is doing with Kasumi, and he looked really cool & powered up dominating his opponents one by one in that gold morphing ninja costume!
XaliburBladeZ, Teru Rock, Video Games is Life, Black Moon Rising, Crazy Steady, Black Berry, Siologica & Rikuto are your competing Top 8 to conclude the DOA6WC point-trail before November's Main Even in Tokyo, Japan! These players have been on a long journey this year with Dead or Alive 6, and they all deserve a round of applause for their commitment to the game and the entertainment they have provided the DOA community!
Top 8 Highlights
XcaliburBladeZ vs Teru Rock
XcaliburBladeZ vs Teru Rock Teru Rock is in a comfortable place right now because he is guaranteed a spot at the Main Event, but Rock must now focus his attention towards BladeZ, and this tournament is a great place for him to scout his opponent. BladeZ doesn't allow Kasumi any space to zone and moves forward aggressively throughout the entirety of this FT3. The smaller stages combined with the walls make great stomping-grounds for Eliot, and he rips Rock's Kasumi apart after each initial wall-splat. Winner: XcaliburBladeZ
Video Games is Life vs Black Moon Rising Black Moon Rising had some mind-blowing defense prepared for his set with Video Games is Life, and he followed up his guard utilizing Leifang's advanced & offensive holds. These tools were also useful when dealing with VGL's long-ranged game plan that is often times a tedious chore for normal fighters, but for Moon, punishment comes naturally.
VGL responded to Moon's strategies by continuously pressing him with Kasumi's speed to make the right read and this completely overwhelmed Moon for the first two matches of the set. The player camera shots made it obvious that Black Moon Rising was taken by surprise so going into match three he went for a riskier approach, crushing and pecking away at VGL's health bar with short combos that end with Leifang's 46P. Moon was able to win his third try, but he wasn't able to do it as clean & quick as he would have liked being at a disadvantage.
It wasn't long before VGL was able to conquer Black Moon with longer, devastating combos. Some fighters believe that Leifang is in serious need of adjustments to her overall game and this professional set could bring some validation to that argument. Moon knows that she has a little bit of everything, but nothing she has is particularly powerful, and he believes he has plateaued with the character. Winner: Video Games is Life
Crazy Steady vs Black Berry
Berry is carefully planning all of his moves against Crazy Steady, and he commits to Ayane this entire set. Helena is hitting him hard and confusing him, but great reads coupled with bound combos result in a series of close hit finishes. Steady wisely switches to NiCO in order to throw off Berry's balance and the selection quickly produces results in his favor. Black Berry literally put his soul into these fights, showcasing his awareness of 'Road Rage' in the process, sporting a wide assortment of car-wrecking combos that left Steady in a daze.
Crazy Steady's usage of Nico's 6P string, electrifying 236P launcher, neutral throws, punishes & perfect reads barely won him this six match FT3 and it proves that when this much is on the line fighters will bring the best of themselves to the match. That's why having a great championship circuit with life altering prizes could be seen as necessary & vital to honor the hard work of dedicated DOA fighters that keep Koei-Tecmo alive in a competitive market. Ultimately, Crazy Steady was Black Berry's reckoning at ECT as he took $100 in a money set, knocked him out of the tournament and shutdown his chance at a ticket to the main event in Japan. Winner: Crazy Steady
Siologica vs Rikuto
Their first match at 'Zero Lab' proved to be a pinnacle Bayman showcase for Rikuto as he used every part of the stage to his advantage to knock Tina out of commission quickly in this set. Bayman blasted Tina into the electric walls with his famous 66T OH, and after the wall-splat reset, he performed the OH once more for staggering amounts of damage. Rikuto's intelligent and patient usage of 236K against the wall could cause you to believe it's actually a safe guard breaker, and after shocking defeat, Siologica switches to his main - NiCO.
Siologica quickly changed the momentum to his favor at 'Colosseum' bolstering zoning capabilities with the character switch and maximizing NiCO's damage output with sensational mix-ups & stuns. Even though Rikuto put on a worthy performance with Bayman, he decided that enough was enough and switched to his pocket Hitomi. NiCO was able to defeat this selection quickly, but Rikuto gave it his best effort with solid combo damage and delays on his moves. In a last ditch effort, Riktuo switched to NiCO, and the shock value wasn't enough to throw Sio off his game despite going into last round. Winner: Siologica
Black Moon Rising vs Crazy Steady Dead or Alive 6 separates itself from other 3D fighters with it's multi-tiered levels and plethora of interactive danger zones, but every now and fighters can resort primarily to fisticuffs, and other than a few rope hits in the tight wrestling rings, we see just that in these matches. Black Moon rising starts strongly against Crazy Steady, but Steady knows how to turn the tables quickly and easily burns past Moon's defense in the first game with a myriad of slaps and confusing setups.
Steady is cautious, but plays aggressively to counteract Moon's expertly applied defense. When Moon is able to find an opportunity to attack he takes it and gets damage from it before Steady inevitably finds his rhythm in the game once more. Black Moon is able to secure a win, but when Steady switches to NiCO the sheer frame advantage and combo damage comes through to net him another victory coming out of the loser bracket. Winner: Crazy Steady
Teru Rock vs Siologica These two have been fighting each other regularly for the entirety of the Dead or Alive 6 World Championship, and most of the time Siologica has Teru Rock figured out even if they have had some epic battles in the past. Siologica had the perfect offense in this set because of the delay he put behind his strings, and we know that all it takes to get damage with NiCO is her 6P string options even without the need of a prior stun - it's that fast & powerful. Teru Rock stayed alive as long as he did because of his zoning game, blocks and usage of SSA.
Siologica knew exactly what to do to Teru Rock this set and he wasted little time cracking his defense and took capitalized on all of his mistakes. Winner: Siologica
Video Games is Life vs XcaliburBladeZ XcaliburBladeZ is so confident at ECT that he begins this set with Brad Wong, one of the steepest characters in DOA6. He starts the first match against VGL with a taunt, and whether or not this was a nod to VGL's impressive performance at this event is unclear, but seems likely given the excellent characteristics & sportsmanship of BladeZ. Brad Wong proceeds to put some serious work on Kasumi with insane: lift-combos, back-turned combos and superb ground-play.
BladeZ worked hard to stay on top of his game with Brad, but VGL eventually took over with superior offense and commendable reads. The fact that he was able to win a game in this set put him on a whole new level in DOA6 because nobody in the community simply beats BladeZ at an offline event! After a single loss, BladeZ decides to switch to yet another steep character, M.I.S.T's own; Phase 4!
BladeZ begins to completely overwhelm VGL with insane neutral teleport combos, and he combines all of this effectively with the environment to generate even more damage on Kasumi. VGL tried his best against Phase 4, but was ultimately pushed back by a stronger and more effective offense. Given BladeZ skill level it makes sense that he showcases characters that normal fighters are afraid to pick up. Winner: XcaliburBladeZ
Siologica vs Crazy Steady These are technically the two strongest NiCO players in DOA6 and they are finally going to smash for the first time in the history of this game to find out who has the best. The early going of the set proved to be an even match between the two with both stunning & launching each other back and forth. Crazy Steady eventually takes the lead by changing his tactics regularly while observing Siologica closely.
Crazy Steady starts to dominate, and surprisingly, Sio concedes after the second loss of the NiCO mirror and decides to give Tina another go. This match is proof that just because Tina is considered a high tier character doesn't mean that she can be used on the level of Killy or SoSickNashFan without considerable amounts of practice! Siologica can't find an opening at all in this closing match of the set and goes home 0-3. Winner: Crazy Steady
Crazy Steady vs Video Games is LifeBased on their overall tournament performances, you may have expected a close match here, but Crazy Steady was all over VGL in this set! Crazy Steady has easily proven himself through offline fights that he is 3rd of 4th best in the world and no doubt belongs in the Main Event at Tokyo, Japan! Video Game is Life put on a performance of a life-time at ECT and if he was ever slept on before, he certainly will not be now. Winner: Crazy Steady
Grand Final
XcaliburBladeZ vs Crazy Steady
BladeZ shows throughout this tournament that he doesn't need to be loyal to one character as he has used a quarter of them throughout ECT! Crazy Steady understandably sticks to NiCO, and prepares to get started on BladeZ' Bass with an electrical arsenal of moves. Both players are among the best in the entire world, and this could be foretelling of the Main Event even though DOA6 will be running on Version 1.13 that could host a plethora of changes to the formula. XcaliburBladeZ vs Crazy Steady
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