FUUUUUUUUHHHHHHH…. 😭

Poe22222 vs Nero FT10 Recap @ChikoPS2 told me that he will post this set on YouTube, and if you would rather wait to watch it without spoilers, I would encourage that--it was a bona fide CLASSIC! Backstory: Nero and I have been playing marathon sets on Fightcade for years, before he'd even attended any American offline events or any of us, to my knowledge, had met him. We always got along great and had entertaining, competitive games. We were both "new" to 3S, and (unlike Unc22222 haha) he was very young, so we've been leveling up steadily alongside each other all this time. Then he started entering @SeThrowdown3S regularly, and we became frequent foes in those brackets. I almost always got the better of him, but it was never easy. Then we finally met offline, and he became an exciting new member of our NYC 3S community! He was competitive with great players and knocked off one or two more established beasts in the locals before really making some noise at "Brooklyn Last 3rd" IIRC. He was closing the gap on me and everyone else. A turning point in our competitive history came at "Brooklyn FINAL 3rd," a super stacked and huge local, when we met in winners finals (he won) and grand finals (he won 3-2 in final round). I was really sad to have barely missed out on winning the last ever 3S tournament at BKGA, but if anyone was going to beat me, I didn't mind that it was him, because he'd come so far and deserved his day in the sun. But he just kept getting better from there, and over the last six months, between some insane runs in Southeast Throwdown, achieving S rank on Fightcade (ranked is bullshit/stupid, but it's also not nothing), and a very impressive top 8 finish at Jazzy, it was clear that he wasn't the same player he was even just a few months before. The improvement curve is STEEP with this one! At some point in there, I told a couple of friends that I expected him to be the next "Top Player." Arguably, he already was one. Nero told me that he wanted to play me FT10, and I said that would be great. We both wanted to play offline, but when ChikoPS2 asked me to play an online FT10 as a guest on his stream, I immediately thought of Nero. After some scheduling issues and so many other events on the calendar, we finally locked it in for last night. I usually wish I had prepared even more, but my prep was pretty solid, and I felt pretty good going into it. Our recent FTDs on FC, though, have been extremely competitive, so I was also braced for a war and to face a lot of adversity, and that's exactly what happened. IIRC, there were a couple of close games at the beginning, but he got the right hits at the right moments to convert supers and close out rounds, so he shot out to a 3-0 lead. At 3-0, I was concerned but not panicked. I was mentally prepared for this kind of challenge. I had played pretty well even in the losses and just needed to try a few new wrinkles and execute a tiny bit better and things would change. And they did. I won 4 games in a row, and started feeling in control. But Nero wasn't done either, and he reeled off an amazing run of his own to go up IIRC 7-4 and then 8-5. My back was against the wall. I dug so deep. The self-talk I was feeding myself was epic. My focus was razor sharp, and I resolved to ignore the score, trust my game, recommit to my gameplans, and fight every round with 100% effort and see what could happen. And sure enough, I put together a sick run. I fought and fought, and before long I'd tied it 8-8 and then took the lead 9-8. Then I was on set point, and I had demon stocked, but I hesitated, and he won the game. 9-9. Final game. I won the first round, and in the second round, I landed a super to bring him to final hit. I had the post-SA1 mix on Chun, which is KILLER, locked and loaded. I made what I thought was the right mix-up decision given that I also couldn't afford to take a throw or an EX SBK or else I would die, but he blocked it. Then he blocked the follow up close MK. I went for a low forward, but I hadn't planned this far in advance. My eyes had been too big, seeing the victory right in front of me, and I hadn't thought 3-4 steps ahead for a follow up plan. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that his health was extremely low, and I just ripped the super. I guess I figured that he would either not block everything or get chipped out... but as soon as I supered, I looked up and realized that it wouldn't be enough to chip, and then I realized that he had super, too... very poor situational awareness. I used to make this mistake frequently and have worked hard to fix it and largely have done so, but it reared it's ugly head at a terrible time. And sure enough he blocked it and supered, forcing final game, final round. I shook it off and played pretty well in that final round, but after taking a couple of stray hits, I let go of block at exactly the wrong moment and he converted cr mk super, which left me on final hit and at a huge life deficit. Even so, I refused to give up and I still believed I could win the round. I made him earn it, and I stayed alive for what felt like an eternity, landing some stray hits and throws, stalking him from one end of the screen to the other, and whittling him down to 1-2 interactions from death while he frantically tried to build super... but just before I was able to capitalize, he indeed got his super, and he chipped me out with it. I'm gonna be honest, it really stung. I have always prided myself on my ability in long sets, and to fight SO HARD... I cannot overemphasize how hard I fought... to make that comeback and to lose it in the way that I did, it was really painful. Since Jazzy, I have had so many close losses... I have had some great performances, but a whole lot of heartbreakers and near-misses: losing 3-2 to one of the best of all time, losing in final game final round to Toronto's best, tying the eventual winner of the Triple Threat match but losing the exhibition anyway... It has certainly tested my mentality and my, dare I say, Resolve. It would have been easy after Jazzy for me to just hide and stroke my belt and bide my time until 3SO, but I haven't done that. I've put myself out there as hard as ever, maybe even harder. And over the last couple of months, I've played some of the best I've ever played, and I've also come up brutally, torturously short several times. But I'm hella proud of my effort, both in last night's set to give it absolutely 100% of what I had that night, and also overall, that I continue to push myself and travel and compete fearlessly, choosing challenge and community over protecting my ego. People say that heartbreaking close losses hurt more than getting whooped, and I see why people say that, but for the True Warrior, I don't think that's correct. I will take losing on final hit any day over getting blown away, and I the reasons why should be obvious Whenever, as a spectator, I am blessed enough to watch the rare treat that is a 10-9 FT10, I feel like both players gave the community a tremendous gift with their talents and their fortitude. It's a lot harder to feel that way when I was a participant and I was the "9," but I am trying to extend myself that same grace and self-respect. That thought is what kept me from crashing out. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME... lmao... Nero - you are the man, and I am happy and grateful to consider you a training partner, a friend, and, officially (lol), an in-game rival! I do believe that, among others, you are the future of 3S and the sky is the limit for you. As I said to you after you got me at Brooklyn Final 3rd, if there is anyone I wouldn't mind "passing the torch" to, it's you. BUT... 👹 I'm not ready to pass the torch just yet. And that's why Nero and I *WILL* be running it back OFFLINE, on CAB, when the time is right (Schedule completely TBA but hopefully soon!) I hope that, win or lose, we can deliver another epic showdown! MESSATSU

I hop on to play ONE game and I didn't even get a ggs, smh

Finished this #Streetfighter 3 #3rdstrike piece in time to debut at @Evo this year! See you there!

This Sunday, the 3rd Strike Chile 🇨🇱 community will come together to pay tribute to DED san. To honor his legacy and contributions to the game, we'll be holding an Only Ken tournament in his memory. 🕖📺 Stream: twitch.tv/3rdstrike_cl
⏰ Time: 7:00 PM (CLT) ❤️ Rest in Parry!

Finaliza @COMBOBREAKER 2026! Me reencontré con muchos amigos y conocí grandes personas, la experiencia de asistir al evento hay que vivirla al menos una vez en la vida!, recomendado! Además me llevo un lindo recuerdo!! Campeón Killer Instinct Arcade! #combobreaker

We r saved from all damnation now. Undamneds installed on the Egret 2s and AWSDs, as well as the already existing pair of h2h cabs in the middle of the arcade. Just in time for FFTF4!

¡Se acabó la espera! 🔥 Jazzy Chillán 2026 ya tiene fecha 🎮 El torneo de Street Fighter III: Third Strike más esperado del año en Chile. ⚡ Hardware original 🕹️ Arcade Candy Cabs 💰 Venue: $10.000 🏆 Torneo: $2.000 📍 Arauco 150, Chillán 🇨🇱 📅 7 de noviembre

Drew a flyer for the farewell weekend @ArcadeBrooklyn - this Friday through Sunday April 17-19 Friday: Tekken 8 Saturday: Fatal Fury CotW, KoFXV, KoF98 + BBQ Sunday: 3rd Strike + BBQ Doors open at 3pm Saturday & Sunday

@ChikoPS2 nos convidou a fazermos uma FT10 de exibição! Portanto, será Riddler vs Scarecrow no sábado à noite! Vejo vocês lá!