An offline Street Fighter V tournament was held at REDEE WORLD ( REDEE), Japan's largest e-sports experience facility, in Suita City, Osaka.
The venue for this event was REDEE's state-of-the-art facilities and the largest screen in Japan.
The venue for this event was the " Pro Gamer Experience Aren a" (finals and semi-finals only), where you can play games on one of the largest screens in Japan and state-of-the-art facilities provided by REDEE.
The event, which is free of charge for both competitors and spectators, allows gamers and non-gamers alike to enjoy e-sports.
Saiga NAK observed the competition held on Saturday, November 14, 2020.
A game being shown on one of the largest screens in Japan
The competitions held this time were as follows
- 1. team announcement
- 2. 1st round
- 3. 2nd round
- 4. semi-finals
- 5. final
The first and second rounds will be held in the " Boot Camp Pro Practice Room," while the semi-finals and finals will be held in the Pro Gamer Experience Arena, where a large screen will be used for the matches.
About 30 players participated in this event, and more spectators than players watched each match.
Among the 30 players were staff members who work at REDEE.
In an interview with Mr. Furukawa, manager of REDEE (see below), he said that the fighting game fans on staff made this event possible.
The tournament was a random 2-on-2 team competition.
Team pairings were announced before the matches.
Eight players advanced to the semifinals after winning their first and second round matches.
The stage was moved to the main arena, where the semi-finals and finals were held on the same scale as professional e-sports tournaments.
The Pro Gamer Experience Arena is one of the largest screens in Japan where visitors can watch e-sports matches.
The screen is 8 meters high and40 meters wide, and seats an impressive 258 spectators.
Team 6, consisting of " Kagetsuna & Zabeth " and Team 4, consisting of " Tsuji (Deadly Queen ) & WE-R1|Jimmy1 " advanced to the first semifinal round.
The results of the matches were as follows
- Game 1: Kagetsuna [Zangief] - Tsuji (Deadly Queen) [Gill
- Game 2 : Zabeth [Falke] - Tsuji (Deadly Queen) [Gil
- Game 3 : Xabeth [Falke] - 0 WE-R1|Jimmy1 [Dhalsim
and Team 6 won.
The second semifinal match was between Team 9, consisting of " Midoroku & HiFight," and Team 15, consisting of " Sirasu & Kocchan.
The results of the matches were as follows
- Game 1 : Midoroku [Cammy] - 0 Sirasu [Juli
- Game 2 : 0 HiFight [Blanca] - 0 Sirasu [Juli
- Game 3 : HiFight [Blanka] - Kocchan [Ken
Team 9 will advance to the final.
The final match was between Team 4 and Team 9.
The first match was played between Midoroku 's Cammy and Tsuji (Deadly Queen)' s Gill.
Middlok is a content manager at REDEE andTsuji (Deadly Queen) is a staff member at REDEE, and the fact that both of them made it to the finals shows how passionate the REDEE employees are about fighting games.
The winner of the workplace duel was Tsuji (Deadly Queen).
The next player from Team 9, with no more time left, was HiFight, a top 100 player in the SFV AE division at EVO Japan 2019 who is well known for posting fighting game clips on Twitter.
The match was between HiFight's Blanka and Tsuji (Deadly Queen)'s Gill.
The winner of the match was Tsuji (Deadly Queen).
Team 4 won the final match with consecutive victories over Midoroku and HiFight to take the championship.
WE-R1|Jimmy1, who teamed up with Tsuji (Deadly Queen), is also a professional e-sports player who belongs to the professional gaming team "WE-R1.
After the game, a group photo was taken in front of the screen.
Interview with Manager Hayato Furukawa
We interviewed the manager of REDEE, Mr. Hay ato Furukawa of Red Horse Corporation, who organized this tournament, about his thoughts on the event.
How did you come up with the idea to hold this event?
The number of game arcades in Japan is decreasing.
There used to be many tournaments hosted by game centers, but as the number of game centers has decreased, there are fewer offline tournaments.
Many REDEE staff members are fighting game players, and I myself have been playing fighting games in game centers for over 15 years.
That is why I had a strong desire to hold offline tournaments.
REDEE has the capacity to hold such tournaments, and they have also licensed us to use their IP.
These strengths made it possible for us to hold this tournament.
We handle a wide variety of game titles, and " Street Fighter " is the most well-known title among them, regardless of age or gender.
The rules and controls are very simple, so it is easy to understand for people of all ages who have been playing games for a long time, as well as for small children, which is why we chose it for this event.
What did you feel good about the event?
We were able to see issues that we can apply to the next round. This was a big benefit.
REDEE claims to be an e-sports facility, but due to the Corona disaster, we have not been able to hold events that are typical of an e-sports facility.
Once the spread of the new coronavirus was under control, we were finally able to hold a tournament using REDEE's facilities and staff.
The most satisfying part of the event was that the customers were happy with the event.
Recently, there was news that a major company withdrew from the game arcade business, and the number of game arcades themselves has decreased.
Furthermore, with the rise of medal and prize games, which are more profitable, the gaming sections are shrinking.
To begin with, the latest games can now be played at home.
The latest games can now be played at home, and people can play and connect with each other online using voice chat.
The space has become difficult to enter due to ventilation and noise problems, and parents do not want to let their children in.
As a result of these reasons, I feel that we are losing a place where the younger generation can experience fighting games, a place where they can have a first touch.
I hope that REDEE will become a place where the first touch can be made, where parents can let their children play in peace, and where everyone can get together offline.
Watching game tournaments together is a new culture.
We can watch the games on the big screen in the main arena and get excited together with everyone.
In addition to the main arena, the "Boot Camp Pro Practice Room" is a cool space where people can practice their game skills in a professional environment.
I was able to enjoy this kind of experience that can only be had offline, not only for the participants, but for myself as well.
Gamers and non-gamers alike can experience e-sports at REDEE!
Unfortunately, the event on Saturday, November 28, 2020 was cancelled due to the new coronavirus infection spreading unpredictably again.
However, we hope that the next event will provide an even better experience than the previous ones, as a preparation period to make use of the experiences and challenges gained from this event.
For more information on the REDEE e-sports experience facility, please visit the official REDEE website.