PAX East was the first Pro Tour ranking event held at a trade show and it was a resounding success. Players from around the country came out in full force to Boston and filled out the 64 man bracket within a few hours. Even more surprising were the character specialists such as Manny Fuerte and LGI Salesman who did quite well with El Fuerte and Hakan respectively. At the end of the day however, it was EG Justin Wong’s strong performance throughout the event that led him to another first place finish and 128 ranking points.
PAX East Top 16 Results
| Placing | Handle | Characters | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | EG Justin Wong | Rufus | 128 |
| 2nd | EG K-Brad | Cammy | 64 |
| 3rd | RG Rico Suave | Abel | 32 |
| 4th | RPD MCZ Gridman | C. Viper | 16 |
| 5th | Manny Fuerte | El Fuerte | 8 |
| 5th | RPD MCZ Weaksauce | Sagat | 8 |
| 7th | Colon Divider | Zangief | 4 |
| 7th | Mean Saltine | Zangief | 4 |
| 9th | Dusty Feets | M. Bison | 2 |
| 9th | RPD MCZ Alex Smith | Abel | 2 |
| 9th | UVG Noel Brown | Vega | 2 |
| 9th | WA Murda | Guy | 2 |
| 13th | Rocwins | El Fuerte | 1 |
| 13th | IGS Alex Jebailey | Balrog | 1 |
| 13th | LGI Salesman | Hakan/El Fuerte | 1 |
| 13th | ERGZ Bunch | Balrog | 1 |
A few states over in Virginia, Civil War happened the same weekend. EG’s Ricky Ortiz, Team PIE’s Smug and Zeus, and a slew of other heavy hitters all battled it out for an amazing Civil War Era sword replica and Pro Tour ranking points. When the smoke cleared it was EG’s Ricky Ortiz who took home the gold, thereby giving team EG victory at two events this past weekend.
Civil War Top 16 Results
| Placing | Handle | Characters | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | EG Ricky Ortiz | Rufus | 128 |
| 2nd | PIE Zeus | Vega | 64 |
| 3rd | PIE Smug | Dudley | 32 |
| 4th | PZP BIFU Insaynne | Blanka | 16 |
| 5th | Damdai | Fei Long | 8 |
| 5th | TS Min | E. Honda | 8 |
| 7th | Darkchild | Balrog | 4 |
| 7th | EDC TrueLionHeart | Sagat | 4 |
| 9th | DSC Sonyono | Ibuki | 2 |
| 9th | PIE Poem | Balrog | 2 |
| 9th | Coin Up Lud | Chun-Li | 2 |
| 9th | T2A Diaphone | - | 2 |
| 13th | ShinLad | - | 1 |
| 13th | Aquasilk | - | 1 |
| 13th | Guiseppe | - | 1 |
| 13th | Ace Unlimited | - | 1 |
The inaugural round of online tournaments run by Virgin Gaming in North America, South America, and Europe also reached their conclusion, with many online warriors earning their first set of ranking points. Look for more and more players to try and augment their position through these events as the months go by.
On the standings front, there has been something shuffling in the rankings after this busy weekend:
This Weeks’ Top 5
1. Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart – 320 Points
Ryan remains in the top spot despite being inactive on the Pro Tour circuit for over a week. This won’t last much longer though, as the rest of the field is quickly catching up.
2. Justin Wong – 290 Points
Justin’s recent tournament victories at Texas Showdown and this past weekend’s PAX East have vaulted him into 2nd place, just 30 points shy of 1st. He’ll look to continue his winning streak at Norcal Regionals this weekend.
3. Kenneth “K-Brad” Bradley – 226 Points
While falling short of top placement at recent events, K-Brad has still managed to place in the top 8 consistently; giving his point totals a significant boost. The newly minted team EG member will need to overcome his teammate in order to continue to climb the rankings.
4. Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez – 193 Points
Another team EG member, PR Balrog did not participate in Civil War or PAX East, but will be looking to make some noise at Norcal Regionals this weekend. Having just returned from a long trip to Japan, he might be the favorite to win the entire thing.
5. Ricky Ortiz – 146 Points
Ricky rounds out the top 5 with his win at Civil War, making it 4 EG members in the top 5 of the rankings! The rest of the field will have to step up to avoid continued dominance from this elite team of players.