Photo by Alex Chavez.
Dreamhack Austin 2017 Results
Dreamhack Austin 2017, held in Austin, Texas, USA from April 28th through 30th, is in the books and USA’s PG|Punk has won his second Premier Event in a row! Punk’s previous victory was at NorCal Regionals 2017 two weeks ago. Following on in 2nd place is Japan’s GRPT|Haitani, who won the Ultimate Fighting Arena Premier Event held in Paris, France earlier this month. In 3rd place is Singapore’s RZR|Xian, who won the first Premier Event of the 2017 season at Final Round 20.
If you missed any of the action, be sure to visit our videos page, where we will have a playlist for matches from Dreamhack Austin 2017!
We will have more on Dreamhack Austin 2017 in a few days. For now let’s congratulate PG|Punk and take a look at the final results!
Dreamhack Austin 2017 Results: Top 64
| Placing | Handle | Characters | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | PG|Punk | Karin/Nash | 400 |
| 2nd | GRPT|Haitani | Necalli | 250 |
| 3rd | RZR|Xian | Ibuki/F.A.N.G. | 200 |
| 4th | BX3|Phenom | Necalli | 160 |
| 5th | ECHO FOX|Justin Wong | Karin/Chun-Li | 130 |
| 5th | RN|Alex Myers | Cammy | 130 |
| 7th | RB|Snake Eyez | Zangief/Akuma | 100 |
| 7th | CO|Go1 | Ibuki/Chun-Li | 100 |
| 9th | EG|Ricki Ortiz | Chun-Li | 70 |
| 9th | CJ Truth | Cammy | 70 |
| 9th | ECHO FOX|Momochi | Ibuki/Ken | 70 |
| 9th | CO|Dogura | Urien | 70 |
| 13th | Circa|LPN | M.Bison | 40 |
| 13th | Hx CYG BST|Daigo Umehara | Guile | 40 |
| 13th | EG|K-Brad | Cammy | 40 |
| 13th | YOUDEAL|Yukadon | Ibuki | 40 |
| 17th | Liquid|NuckleDu | Guile/Birdie | 20 |
| 17th | ZOWIE|GamerBee | Necalli/Cammy | 20 |
| 17th | Qanba Douyu|Xiao Hai | Cammy | 20 |
| 17th | ZOWIE|Oil King | Rashid | 20 |
| 17th | Flash | Vega | 20 |
| 17th | Commander Jesse | Dhalsim | 20 |
| 17th | PIE|Kami | Necalli | 20 |
| 25th | GOL|Ranmasama | Rashid | 10 |
| 25th | NOBLE|Vagabond | Necalli | 10 |
| 25th | DNL|Chris Tatarian | Ken | 10 |
| 25th | RB|Bonchan | Nash | 10 |
| 25th | Brian_F | Balrog | 10 |
| 25th | TS|Sabin (Arturo Sanchez) | Dhalsim | 10 |
| 33rd | Magneto1080p | Karin | 5 |
| 33rd | WCW|John Rog | Balrog | 5 |
| 33rd | Perfect Legend | Urien/Cammy | 5 |
| 33rd | PIE|Smug | Balrog | 5 |
| 33rd | VGP|Docta Afrikan | Vega | 5 |
| 33rd | UYA FightClub|UD | Cammy | 5 |
| 33rd | SPLYCE|Filipino Champ (FChamp) | Dhalsim | 5 |
| 33rd | EG|NYChrisG | Guile | 5 |
| 33rd | PandaTV|Dark Jiewa | Ken/Akuma | 5 |
| 33rd | UA|Saionide | Ken | 5 |
| 33rd | DCB|EliTheCurry | Laura | 5 |
| 33rd | CrescentMoonCMG | Balrog | 5 |
| 33rd | Ice | Guile/M.Bison | 5 |
| 33rd | Tommy2step | Urien | 5 |
| 49th | Stupendous | Zangief | 1 |
| 49th | Stealth | Rashid | 1 |
| 49th | Jan | Birdie | 1 |
| 49th | Shin (2) | Ibuki/Chun-Li | 1 |
| 49th | ROG|Kelvin Jeon | Urien | 1 |
| 49th | VGP|Integra | Ken | 1 |
| 49th | NS|Ludovic | Chun-Li | 1 |
| 49th | BurnoutFighter | Dhalsim | 1 |
| 49th | General Azad | M.Bison | 1 |
| 49th | PG|Coach Steve | Balrog/Karin | 1 |
| 49th | DL|FourWude | Akuma | 1 |
| 49th | Fubarduck | R.Mika | 1 |
| 49th | Mattypie | Ibuki | 1 |
| 49th | Rylander | Dhalsim | 1 |
| 49th | Happy Medicine | M.Bison | 1 |
Dreamhack Austin 2017 Highlights
Capcom Pro Tour Premier Events always draw large numbers of the best players from around the world, but few would fault anyone who expected a rematch between USA’s Liquid|NuckleDu and PG|Punk after their encounters at NorCal Regionals 2017 two weeks ago. PG|Punk did make it to Grand Finals after one of the truly great runs in the Losers Bracket (see below), but the rematch with NuckleDu didn’t materialize. NuckleDu finished just outside of top 16 at 17th place. There were plenty of other twists and turns at this event, so let’s take a look at some of the highlight players and matches from Dreamhack Austin 2017.
PG|Punk vs CJ Truth in Pools. CJ Truth pulled off a shocking win against the heavily favored Punk, putting Punk on a much longer and tougher road to Grand Finals.
RN|Alex Myers (USA)
RN|Alex Myers started hitting new levels late in the 2016 season with a 5th place finish at Canada Cup 2016, a Premier Event. At Dreamhack Austin he placed 5th as well, defeating players like RB|Bonchan (2-0), EG|K-Brad (2-0), and CJ Truth (2-0). He was knocked into losers by Singapore’s RZR|Xian (1-3) in top 8 and was eliminated by Norway’s BX3|Phenom (0-3). You can see that Alex Myers is putting in the work to improve, so it will be interesting to see if he can push to another level to crack into the top 3 at a Premier Event this season.
ECHO FOX|Justin Wong (USA)
ECHO FOX|Justin Wong is no stranger to the harsh spotlight and pressure of big events, having been one of the world’s best players for many years. Last year he won an impressive 7 Ranking Events! A win at a Premier Event still eludes him, but he’s got the competitive spirit to make it happen. He took 5th place at Dreamhack Austin and aside from CJTruth he was the only player to put up a credible threat to end PG|Punk’s run to the Grand Finals. His switch to Chun-Li in that matchup came very close to getting him a victory.
ECHO FOX|Justin Wong vs PG|Punk in top 8. This was a closer match than the 1-3 score indicates, and was the only credible threat on Punk’s run toward Grand Finals.
BX3|Phenom (Norway)
Norway’s BX3|Phenom has been one of Europe’s best players in recent years, and won a Premier Event last season. If you were to build a list of the top 10 players in the world, you’d be hard pressed not to include Phenom. At Dreamhack Austin he was beaten by USA’s ECHO FOX|Justin Wong and was to become one of PG|Punk’s many victims in the Losers Bracket (see below) and finished at 4th place.
RZR|Xian (Singapore)
Ibuki was barely an afterthought as a character at the professional level until Final Round 20, where Xian put on a clinic with her. Now Ibuki is taken seriously and is a much more common sight at Capcom Pro Tour events. Xian was putting on another Ibuki display here at Dreamhack Austin until he ran into the two players who would eventually face off in Grand Finals. Japan’s GRPT|Haitani defeated Xian 3-0 in Winners Finals, putting him right in the path of hurricane Punk in the Losers Bracket. In that set Xian was bested by Punk 3-0 as well, with the first two matches being such decisive losses that Xian tried going back to his Season One main character, F.A.N.G., to turn the tide. Xian put on a great performance at Dreamhack Austin and may already have enough points to qualify for Capcom Cup 2017. He finished at 3rd place.
GRPT|Haitani (Japan)
GRPT|Haitani had won his first Premier Event of the season at Ultimate Fighting Arena earlier this month. He placed just outside of top 16 at NorCal Regionals 2017 (17th place), but even so he is always considered to be a big threat to get to Grand Finals. He’s been one of Japans top players for decades after all. Haitani got to Grand Finals in the Winners Bracket and if his opponent had been anybody but PG|Punk he would have been a favorite to win. But Punk has been a force of nature in recent months, and at Dreamhack Austin he eliminated a string of the world’s best players one after another in dominating fashion. Even so, in Grand Finals Haitani had his opportunity to win (see below) but came up just short. Even though he could not best Punk here, Haitani already has enough CPT points to be virtually guaranteed a spot at Capcom Cup 2017, so he has plenty of time to find a gameplan that works against this new rival from the USA.
GRPT|Haitani vs RZR|Xian in Winners Finals.
PG|Punk Steamrolls Some of the World’s Best on Way to Grand Finals
After a big win at NorCal Regionals 2017 two weeks ago, PG|Punk was a heavy favorite to do well at Dreamhack Austin. In the finals for his pools, however, CJ Truth threw a big wrench into that plan by beating Punk 2-1, putting Punk into the Losers Bracket early in the tournament.
What happened next was extraordinary. Punk went on a warpath and defeated many of the world’s best players on his road to Grand Finals. What makes it even more impressive is that aside from his match against ECHO FOX|Justin Wong, they were all extremely one sided. Take a look at the table below to illustrate.
| Top 48 Opponent | Score |
|---|---|
| Magneto1080p | Won 2-1 |
| NOBLE|Vagabond | Won 2-0 |
| Qanba Douyu|Xiao Hai | Won 2-0 |
| Hx CYG BST|Daigo Umehara | Won 2-0 |
| EG|Ricki Ortiz | Won 2-0 |
| CYG BST|Snake Eyez | Win 3-0 |
| ECHO FOX|Justin Wong | Win 3-1 |
| BX3|Phenom | Win 3-0 |
| RZR|Xian | Win 3-0 |
| GRPT|Haitani | Grand Finals Win 3-1 and 3-2 (6-3 total) |
Grand Finals: PG|Punk vs GRPT|Haitani
Both PG|Punk and GRPT|Haitani had won Premier Events prior to Dreamhack Austin, and both are considered among the world’s best players. With Haitani being in Winners Bracket he would only have to win one set to claim victory, while Punk would have to win two sets coming out of the Losers Bracket. The first set was over very quickly with Punk scoring a 3-1 win. Haitani had some flashes of success but could never build any sustained momentum, as Punk would just come right back and win the next round handily. The second set looked to be a repeat of the first set, but Haitani kept making adjustments and eventually started finally getting momentum. Haitani tied it up 2-2. In the last match Punk won the first round and was one round away from victory.
What happened at the end of that second round was truly incredible. Both players were low enough on life that any hit would lead into a combo that would finish off the other player. Punk landed a combo that surely would have won him the tournament but somehow he missed his Critical Art, giving Haitani new life. Both players scrambled and within seconds Haitani connected with an attack and went into a combo, but he too missed his Critial Art! Finally, after Haitani lands a few more attacks, Punk dashes forward and catches Haitani in a throw. This ended the match and secured Punk his second Premier Event victory.
PG|Punk vs GRPT|Haitani in Grand Finals.
Top 5 Moments from Dreamhack Austin 2017
Here are some of Capcom’s Top 5 moments from Dreamhack Austin!