NorCal Regionals 2016
The big event in Sacramento, CA is over and we have the outcome! This is the second Premier Tournament of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour season, so there is a lot at stake and it was definitely exciting! Here are the NorCal Regionals 2016 Results.
The stand-out feature of this event revolved around Pool 16, otherwise known as the “Pool of Death”. At NorCal Regionals 2016, every player who missed the registration deadline and signed up to play late was put into Pool 16. This pool ended up having more than 50 players and at least 10 of them were top players, where every other pool had about 2 top players and around 24 players each. Only 2 players can make it out of each pool, so Pool 16 was like a final within a final and it was a thrill to watch it play out!
RZR|Infiltration Wins NorCal Regionals 2016, No Automatic Qualifier for Capcom Cup for this event!
For the second time in as many weeks, the Grand Final was between Japan’s MCZ|Tokido and Korea’s RZR|Infiltration. RZR|Infiltration looks like he’s just on another level, once again coming out on top, as he wins his second Premier Tournament in as many weeks! His Nash is seemingly unstoppable. Congratulations to Infiltration on the win!
Because Infiltration has already qualified for Capcom Cup 2016 last week at Final Round 19, there will be no player at this event that will earn the qualifying spot. This year there was a rule change (read more about it here) where instead of the qualifying spot passing down to 2nd place, there will be no automatic qualifier and instead another spot will be available to earn through Global Leaderboard Ranking Points.
If you missed any of the action, be sure to visit our videos page, where we have a playlist for matches from NorCal Regionals 2016!
More info on NorCal Regionals 2016 is below, but for now let’s congratulate RZR|Infiltration (once again) and take a look at the final results!
NorCal Regionals 2016 Results: Top 16
| Placing | Handle | Characters | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | RZR|Infiltration | Nash | 256 |
| 2nd | MCZ|Tokido | Ryu | 128 |
| 3rd | EG|Justin Wong | Karin | 64 |
| 4th | Marn | R.Mika | 32 |
| 5th | FOX|Julio Fuentes | Ken | 16 |
| 5th | Liquid|NuckleDu | Nash | 16 |
| 7th | MJS|Haitani | Necalli | 8 |
| 7th | EG|Ricki Ortiz | Chun-Li | 8 |
| 9th | Filipinoman | Chun-Li | 4 |
| 9th | RZR|Xian | F.A.N.G. | 4 |
| 9th | RB|Bonchan | Ryu | 4 |
| 9th | AS|Reynald | Necalli | 4 |
| 13th | GGP|Kazunoko | Cammy | 2 |
| 13th | RB|Snake Eyez | Zangief | 2 |
| 13th | Lamerboi | Rashid | 2 |
| 13th | MCZ|Mago | Karin | 2 |
NorCal Regionals 2016 Highlights
NorCal Regionals 2016 was a barn-burner of an event full of incredible matches. While the tournament didn’t have the sheer number of players that Final Round had to manage, it had so many great matchups that there was almost always something great happening on stream. Sure, Pool 16 (see below) and the drama that ensued had something to do with that. Here are just a few highlights from the event, but please do yourself a favor and hit up our videos page to see more matches. You won’t regret it.
Pool 16: The Pool of Death
One of the many big headaches for tournament organizers is dealing with late or last-minute registrations, and the solution that was put in place for NorCal Regionals 2016 to discourage this was certainly one of the hot topics of this event. They decided that any player who registered for the event after the registration deadline had passed would be allowed to enter, but they would all be placed into a single pool. As it turns out, there were many top players who failed to register on time (some of which live within hours distance from the event!) and were all placed into one pool. This pool, Pool 16 (jokingly referred to as the Pool of Death or something similar) ended up having a total of 52 players (all other pools had around 24) and included the following players: PG|Filipino Champ, iPeru, MOV, F3|Alucard, EG|K-Brad, MCZ|Mago, Marn, CJ Showstopper and Chris Tatarian! Almost every other pool is seeded with 1 or 2 top players each, and this one had more than ten! This pool was loaded with sharks, and only 2 players from each pool move on to the next stage of the tournament! Pool 16 was like a final before the finals, and it was thrilling to watch!
Marn
One of those players in the dreaded Pool 16 was Marn. Marn is a player of exceptional talent but largely dropped out of playing Street Fighter after the first year or two of Street Fighter 4, playing only in a handful of tournaments in later years. Of all the top players in Pool 16, many would not have put much money on Marn being one of the two to claw their way out. Not only did he make it out, but he almost seemed to be toying with each player he faced. His on-camera mannerisms were priceless and he pulled off incredible win after incredible win. His brutal R.Mika dispatched the following: CJ Showstopper, UA|Saionide, MCZ|Mago, EG|K-Brad, was finally put into losers by RZR|Infiltration (of course), then went on to beat WFX|801 Strider, GGP|Kazunoko, Filipinoman, EG|Ricki Ortiz, and finally Liquid|NuckleDu before he finally ran into his longtime friend and nemesis, EG|Justin Wong, who finally eliminated him. He ended up taking 4th place, which is unbelievable considering the sheer number of top players he had to compete against to get there. Whew! Do yourself a favor and hit our videos page to watch every match featuring Marn (aside from his loss to Justin Wong), you won’t regret it.
Top 5 Moments from NorCal Regionals 16
There are just too many highlights to possibly show in one post, here are 5 top moments! Lamerboi’s Rashid combo is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in Street Fighter. Also, one thing’s for sure, “Oh-Ho-Ho-Ho!” is here to stay!
Grand Finals: A Runback from Final Round 19 – RZR|Infiltration vs MCZ|Tokido
The Grand Finals for NorCal Regionals 2016 was a runback from last week’s Premier Tournament, Final Round 19. From what we’ve seen from these two events, it is fair to say that RZR|Infiltration and MCZ|Tokido are at the top of the food chain for Street Fighter V at this point in the season.
The Question: Can Anyone Stop Infiltration?
That’s the question. It seems like RZR|Infiltration is on another level above the other top players (save perhaps MCZ|Tokido, who is close). He hasn’t lost a single set in both Premier Tournaments he has entered, and what’s scary is that he has only used one character so far: Nash. By the end of Street Fighter 4’s life, he knew most of the cast of that game at a high level. You can bet he is working on other characters even now. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the competitors in the fighting game community rise up to challenge him.