SOULCALIBUR World Invitational results, story highlights and summary

This event is a special global invitational which highlighted the best and the brightest players of the game during the 1^st year run of the game. Held on November 2, 2019 in the beautiful SOULCALIBUR VI themed-stage at the HyperX Esports Arena in Vegas Luxor hotel & Casino, this historical event featured two tournaments, the LCQ (Last Chance Qualifier), who’s winner will determine the 8^th participant to the finale of the night, and the World Tournament, which is a battle between the most successful and most decorated tournament players of the game so far.

The Stage of History

Party Wolf is the last man standing of the stacked LCQ tournament

As a warm up of the World Tournament, the LCQ received an entree number of 89 players which had notable top players like Saiyne, Party Wolf, RichSticks, Sandman and notable legends like former SoulCalibur V World Champion OmegaDR and EVO2013 Champion Kinetic Clash. After a grueling series of matches in the pools and the competitors in the top 8, it was Party Wolf’s Kilik who stood as the victor against Saiyne’s Ivy  in the Grand Finals despite the latter managing to make a commanding reset!

Okubo and the best players of the SOULCALIBUR VI scene

After the 8^th player to participate in the World Tournament was determined at the end of the LCQ, the competitors for the biggest SOULCALIBUR VI Tournament is now complete and ready for action! The 8 top SOULCALIBUR VI players of the World tournament comprises of champions which includes LCQ and DreamHack Atlanta Champion Party Wolf; SOULCALIBUR Asia League No.1 Pointer and VSMasters 2019 Champion Shen Chan; Final Round 2019 Champion LoloMx; CEO Champion Bluegod; NEC19 and Combo Breaker 2019 Champion Linkorz; The MIXUP and WSOE7 Champion Skyll; EVO Japan 2019 Champion Keev and EVO 2019 Champion Yuttoto. With such a stacked cast of players, we would be witnessing history for this monumental event. Without further ado, let’s start!

A Royal Entrance (left to right – Shen Chan, Linkorz, Keev, LoloMx, Skyll, Yuttoto, Bluegod and Party Wolf)

To determine who goes to the winner’s and to the loser’s brackets, the competitors were matched up randomly against each other. First off was between Linkorz and Shen Chan of which the former’s Geralt survived a rugged match against the latter’s Cervantes. Second match was between SOULCALIBUR legends Keev and LoloMx in which the latter proved the victor when he stayed with Seong Mi-Na to counter the match-up against the former’s Nightmare. Third match was an EVO winner’s finals rematch between Skyll and Yuttoto wherein the former’s Mitsurugi got his sweet revenge in dominating fashion when he literally 2-0’d the reigning EVO Champion’s Voldo. Last but not the least, the fourth match was between Bluegod and Party Wolf of which was unsurprisingly dominated by the former due to the considerable gap between his top-tier character Azwel against a lower-tiered Kilik.

Proving that this special event is unlike any other tournaments in terms of competition and difficulty, it was shockingly seen that EVO Champion Yuttoto and EVO Japan Champion Keev found themselves in the loser’s bracket right at the first round of the tournament. Will they find they advance? We’ll see.

Shen Chan’s Cervantes vs. Keev’s Nightmare

The loser’s top 8 bracket started off between Keev’s Nightmare and Shen Chan’s Cervantes. With both competitors having a 1-1 rivalry set against each other (Keev defeated Shen Chan 3-0 in the GF of EVO Japan while Shen Chan eliminated Keev 2-0 out of SEAM 2019), this match would settle on who will tip the scale in his favor within the rivalry.

First round of the 1st match, the two started slow countering up each other with pokes until Shen Chan hit Keev with a launcher followed by a gunshot and iGDR to Ring Out the latter. Next round, the same poking game occurred which unlike the first match was heavily in favor of Shen Chan interrupting Keev’s attempts to make big swings. The round ended with a Shen Chan sidestep dodge into a launcher and continuing the combo with a gunshot and ending it with a Critical Edge. On fire, Shen Chan continued the pressure hitting Keev with each of Cervantes’ attacks ending the round with a Perfect RO finish and sweeping the first match 3-0.

Unfazed, the calm and collected Keev chose a new stage to continue the fight. Getting the frozen mountain stage, the two continued the 2^nd match close with Shen Chan again in advantage of the poking game. However, Keev tried to make a hard comeback but with a slither of health left in him, Shen Chan risked an exchange of blows and won the round. 2^nd Round, another high level of exchange of blows occurred but with Keev having an advantage. But despite having a life lead with more or less 10 seconds left, Shen Chan got close, baited Keev to attempt a Guard Impact and was able to hit him with a launcher combo to clutch out a win. In the next round, it turned out to be the finale of their match after Shen Chan GI’d Keev in the corner of the stage and continued it with his iGDR to RO his great opponent. Not only did Shen Chan have a 2-1 carreer set in his rivalry with Keev 2-1, he did so eliminating the reigning EVO Japan Champ in a 6-0 straight dominating round wins!

Shen Chan dominating and eliminating the great Keev

Yuttoto (far left) vs. Party Wofl (close right)

The next match of the loser’s bracket top 8 was between EVO Champion Yuttoto and LCQ Winner Party Wolf. 1^st round, Yuttoto started strong hitting Party Wolf with Voldo’s mixups but showing his great defense and poking game, Party Wolf slowly but surely chipped Yuttoto’s health down into minimal. With a few seconds left, Yuttoto got aggressive and although hitting Party Wolf with a lethal hit, the same proved in vain as the time was up and he lost the round. Continuing his momentum, Party Wolf started the 2^nd round attacking Yuttoto, getting a considerable health lead. Not backing down, Yuttoto made his own offensive onslaught after a well-timed dodge to Kilik’s vertical. However, Party Wolf was able to hit Voldo with Kilik’s rising B and continued it with a combo to win two straight. 3^rd Round, not wanting to lose to another sweep, Yuttoto attacked with asunder dominating Party Wolf’s Evil Kilik and winning the round. Showing why he is the reigning EVO Champ, Yuttoto continued his dominance in the 4^th round confusing Party Wolf with Voldo’s unpredictable moves. In the final round, Yuttoto started out strong when he broke his Opponent’s guard and continued it with a damaging Lethal Hit combo. Party Wolf then used Kilik’s Soul Charge to give him some life and managed to hit Yuttoto 4 times to close the distance between their healths. Now with both player having low health, Party Wolf guarded a low from Yuttoto and countered it with Kilik’s rising B again continuing it with a CE combo to win the very close 1st match!

Party Wolf displayed his great defense against the EVO champ

First round of the 2^nd match, the two had an even exchange of blows exhibiting high level of skill. The standstill stopped when Party Wolf hit Yuttoto with a Lethal Hit in order to win the round. The 2^nd round continued to be an equal display of performance between the two, but again it ended in Party Wolf’s win when he hit Yuttoto with Evil Kilik’s Critical Edge after a successful GI attempt. Despite his back on the wall, Yuttoto displayed a flawless display of Voldo’s moves whiff punishing any of Party Wolf’s attempts to attack and winning an almost perfect round. In the 4^th round, Yuttoto continued his aggressiveness against Party Wolf. But the latter, reading Yuttoto’s pattern, manage to GI his opponent and continue it with a lethal hit combo. He then hit Yuttoto with Kilik’s AA and made a jumping A to counter Yuttoto’s attack. Following a low kick to Yuttoto, Party Wolf waited for his opponent to attack and dodged it with a side-step, activating Kilik’s Critical Edge to end the match and getting the biggest surprise of the tournament by eliminating the favorite and the man to beat in the World Invitational, the EVO Champion Yuttoto. (Maybe Yuttoto should’ve practiced particularly for this tournament right? Ehh…Who knows)

Party Wolf did the biggest upset of the tournament by eliminating the EVO Champ Yuttoto

Surprisingly, the first competitors out of the tournament are EVO’s Champions which showed further just how high the level of competition the World Invitational is which demands a whole lot of preparation with all this high caliber players around. With Yuttoto’s elimination, the World Champion trophy is now open for anyone left in the World Tournament.

Continuing on, we are now going to the winner’s semis of the competition where its four competitors have the highest chances of winning the tournament with their two lives before elimination still intact. Who will reach the winner’s finals next round? Let’s find out!

One of the youngest world competitors Linkorz (left) fighting off against the oldest competitor LoloMx (right)

First off, a match between young vs. old commenced wherein the talented 20 year old Linkorz, faceed off against the oldest competitor in the World Invitational and a SOULCALIBUR legend himself, the 38 year old LoloMx. First match, Linkorz’s chose Siegfried in fighting LoloMx’s Yoshimitsu. 1^st round started an exchange of pokes between the two until Linkorz was able to hit Lolo with a reversal edge. Winning the RE battle, LoloMx pushed Linkorz into the corner and pressured him putting his health down considerably. However, Linkorz took advantage of Lolo’s pogo-jumping over him and hit him with a devastating combo. Despite that though, LoloMx ended the round after hitting Linkorz with a perfect GI, hell sweep and an enhanced AA. 2^nd round, an exchange of blows brought the two competitors into the lowest of health. Linkorz then attempted a Critical Edge finish but was guarded by LoloMx, who then followed with an attack who caught linkorz stepping back to win the round. 3^rd round, after some blow exchanges, LoloMx continued to outwit Linkorz hitting the latter while in vulnerable stance. He then continued the pressure by hitting his opponent with a grab. Although Linkorz, after a DL explosion, tried to fight back hard to get a comeback, Lolo’s low hit him and he was swept 3-0 in the first match.

Experience over Talent

Finding his Siegfried ineffective against his opponent, Linkorz opted to use his more defensive-oriented Geralt. 1^st round, the match-up gave some positive signs when Linkorz won the said round after whiff punishing LoloMx with Geralt’s Agni despite a very close match. 2^nd round, LoloMx was aggressive not giving Linkorz time to react and won the round. In the 3^rd round, LoloMx was in rhythm confusing Linkorz with his classic Yoshimitsu gimmicks. Although Linkorz took his turn in pressuring LoloMx, such was in vain when the latter activated Yoshi’s Soul Charge and made sure to beat him with an unblockable attack. With his loss getting close, Linkorz turned up his gear and displayed high level spacing game in punishing LoloMx to dominate the next round. In the final round of the 2^nd match, Linkorz got into a disadvantage early when he missed an Yrden counter which LoloMx punished with a combo. Fighting back, Linkorz tried to slowly chip LoloMx’s health away with pokes until the latter activated his Soul Charge and ended the match. At the end, it was LoloMx’s experience who won over Linkorz’s talent and made him advance to the winner’s finals.

The Blue one (left) vs. The Skylled One (right)

With Yuttoto officially out of the tournament, the next match in the winner’s side will be a battle between the next two favorites to win the tournament, that is – EVO’s runner up Bluegod and EVO 3^rd placer Skyll. With this rivalry having a 1-1 career set (Skyll defeated Bluegod in WSOE7 while the latter exacted revenge against the former in EVO’s losers finals) against each other, this match will definitely be close.

Bluegod won the 1st match

First round, Bluegod started off strong after hitting Skyll with Azwel’s Weapon Arts and following it with attacks which threw his opponent’s health down to a third. Skyll then found a chance to counter and slowly withered his enemy’s health with Mitsu’s pokes. Both players in the same low health, Bluegod won the round after punishing Skyll catching the latter while in a vulnerable stance. Next round, Skyll’s turn came up starting the round strong and interrupting any of Bluegod’s attempt to fight back. He then won the said round after a rising B lethal hit the following it with a powerful jumping attack. 3^rd round, Bluegod immediately brought Skyll’s down again to a slither after weapon arts, a grab and some good hits. Skyll then activated his character’s Soul Charge and could have almost got a comeback where it not for Bluegod activating Soul Charge and ending the round with an jumping A+B. The 4^th round turned out close again which featured an exchange of Critical Edges between the two. Skyll won it though after hitting Bluegod with 2KB. In the final round however, Bluegod stood tall as the victor when he first activated his Soul Charge to dish out huge amounts of damage before his opponent could react to anything.

Skyll taking back the 2nd match in dominating fashion

On to the 2nd match, Bluegod continued to pressure Skyll in the first round. Although Skyll fought back, he lost the round by a Bluegod whiff punish. Next round,  Skyll took advantage of combo drop by Bluegod and was able to steal the match from him. 3^rd round, a poking contest commenced between the two. But Skyll, proving he was far more superior in that kind of contest, dominated Bluegod with ease. Next match, Skyll was on another whole level in the match dominating Bluegod again with Mitsurugi’s Soul Charged attacks. The series now tied at 1-1.

Final match, Skyll got an early lead hitting and countering Bluegod but that immediately changed when the latter hit the former with a weapon arts and a wallsplat. However, Bluegod’s follow up combo whiffed which Skyll wasted no time to punish to win the round. 2^nd round, Skyll showcased unbelievable gameplay starting the match hitting Bluegod with Mitsu’s running knee twice and a lethal combo. Continuing the pressure, Skyll ended the round with an AA after a failed GI attempt by Bluegod. In the final round, despite Bluegod activating Azwel’s Soul Charge, such was useless in stopping Skyll’s momentum that not only made a fool of his SC form, but ended the match with a picture perfect CE finish. In the end, Skyll’s skillful display of his Mitsurugi stood tall over Bluegod’s powerful Azwel (and their career set moving into 2-1 in favor of Skyll).

With USA’s hopeful Linkorz and Bluegod going down into the loser’s semis of the tournament, facing them in the said placement are Party Wolf and Shen Chan, respectively.

A USA Bout – Linkorz vs. Party Wolf

First off, Linkorz is matched up against Party Wolf who notably never won against him completely in their many tournament matches in SOULCALIBUR VI (Linkorz defeated Party Wolf in ECT2018, NEC19 Winner’s and Grand Finals, NWM11 Grand Finals and Texas Showdown). But with Party Wolf’s momentum of winning the LCQ and eliminating THE EVO Champ, will his streak finally get him through such a big hump that is Linkorz?

First round, Party Wolf did not waste time to win the match by attacking Linkorz head on with Kilik’s quicker moves and whiff punishing whenever the latter’s Siegfried tried to hit back. The subsequent 2^nd round was much closer match between the two which Party Wolf clutched out when he followed his successful Critical Edge with a rising A to hit a jumping Linkorz. In the 3^rd round, Linkorz made adjustments using more of Siegfried’s just framed aB to outpace Kilik’s quicker attacks. This proved very effective as he won the round hitting Party Wolf with 3 of his aB’s and continuing it with a Base hold K to end the round. 4^th round, now in his momentum, Linkorz started strong hitting Party Wolf using his Siegfried stances to dish out big damage. To stop the pressure, Party Wolf activated Evil Kilik and was able to hit Linkorz with a very damaging wall combo. However, Linkorz dodged a bullet when he got away from wall pressure and defeated Party Wolf with another aB. In the final round, Linkorz showed his dominance when he continuously countered Party Wolf’s attacks and defeated him without need of any meter to end the 1^st match.

Party Wolf stayed with Kilik and immediately chose a rematch. The first round of the match had been a close dog fight between the two in which Linkorz got out with another aB win. Second match, Linkorz dodged Party Wolf’s attack with Base hold and countered it with by pressing B following it with a critical edge. He then hit Party Wolf again with Base Hold’s B to push Party Wolf into a corner. There he managed to hit Party Wolf with a devastating wall combo to get the perfect win. In the final round, Linkorz put the nail in the coffin by again dominating Party Wolf and ending the match with a Critical Edge Finish. Unfortunately for Party Wolf, history was retold and he got another loss against Linkorz despite a valiant showing and great performance during the event.

History retold, Party Wolf failed yet again to beat Linkorz

Moving on, Bluegod will face Shen Chan, who has a long standing of notable losses against top Azwel players across the world, some of which was against Bluegod (Bluegod defeated Shen Chan in CEO and eliminated him in EVO). But with his many experiences of losing against such a powerful character, one will think that he adjusted and learned the MU to finally break this curse.

Shen Chan (Cervantes) vs. Bluegod (Azwel)

Azwel overwhelming Shen Chan

Right off the 1^st round, Shen Chan attacked with no regard of making Bluegod play as he continuously and successfully hit the latter with Cervantes’ attacks which gave him a dominating win. The 2^nd round was close between the two but was turned into Bluegod’s favor when he activated Azwel’s Soul Charge and hit Shen Chan with a damaging combo. In the 3^rd round, after a short exchange of blows, Bluegod managed to overwhelm Shen Chan and won the match quick via a Ring Out. In the 4^th round, the fight started looking like another loss for Shen Chan with Bluegod dominating him despite his Cervantes in Soul Charge form. However, a rare chance occurred for Shen Chan when he managed to push Bluegod to the wall and continued it to a wall combo leading to an iGDR Ring Out. In the final round, Shen Chan made a roaring effort to win the match against Bluegod. Unfortunately for him, Bluegod broked his guard and followed it with a Critical Edge to finish the match.

Azwel applauding Shen Chan’s efforts

Staying with his best pal Cervantes, Shen Chan continued the fight. 1^st round, another poking battle occurred between the two which immediately got into Bluegod’s favor and win due to connecting Azwel’s more powerful attacks. Next round, everything is happening in Bluegod’s way as seen when almost all of his attacks are hitting Shen Chan cleanly which he ended with a Lethal hit finish. In the last round, Shen Chan could not do anything anymore to stop Bluegod’s onslaught and was hit by the latter’s Critical Edge to finish his run in the tournament. Like Party Wolf against Linkorz, his time of getting over his hump (beating a top player Azwel) had not yet come to pass.

Next up is the winner’s finals between French Samurai Skyll and the Manji Legend LoloMx. Boasting samurai type mains, this two would then have a match to show who is the better samurai player…that is…until LoloMx decided to use Seong Mi-Na instead against Skyll.

Winner’s finals – Skyll vs. LoloMx

First match, to counter Seong Mi-Na’s superior range, Skyll got aggressive and up close to LoloMx to finish the first round fast. Finding the strategy working, Skyll applied the same during the second round. However, a well-timed side step and counter by LoloMx resulted into an RO loss. Learning from his mistakes, Skyll returned playing his neutral game and after a lethal counter to LoloMx, he brought the fight in the corner and won the third round with a wall combo. In the 4^th round, both players got up close and personal with each other which slowly favored LoloMx by making more right decisions. To try a come-back, Skyll tried to CE punish but was excellently guarded by LoloMx who countered with his own Mi-Na Critical Edge. A Lolo jump and low kick then evened up the match set. Final round, with 2 full gauges, Skyll wasted no time to activate his Soul Charge. However, LoloMx whiff punished him with a launch followed up by a Critical Edge to have a big health disadvantage. His character SC still active, Skyll took back the health gap to LoloMx to make it close. With both characters in low health, a good launch by LoloMx sealed him the win in the 1st match.

LoloMx taking it to Skyll during the 1st match

The Second match then occurred in an all wall stage. Despite this however, LoloMx won the first round using Seong Mi-Na’s longer reach to keep Skyll out at bay and damage him from such distance. A close match was then waiting in the next round as LoloMx managed to hit Skyll with a Critical Edge punish. However, Skyll countered back hitting him with a Critical Edge punish and a following attack to give him a loss. Keeping the same strategy for the 1^st two rounds, LoloMx kept Skyll in control by transitioning Seong Mi-Na’s horizontals and verticals to counter the latter’s side-steps and backdashes, respectively, in order to secure the round win. Next round, Skyll’s defense and patience to counter LoloMx with Mitsu’s faster attacks got him a crucial Lethal Hit which gave him big advantage to win the round which ended with a BB punish. With both players having 2 full gauges each in the final round, they each used their character’s Soul Charge which Skyll immediately got the advantage when he hit LoloMx with a launch Lethal hit continuing it with a devastating combo. To stop the pressure, LoloMx activated another Soul Charge. However, Skyll’s back dashing LoloMx’s attack left the latter open for a Critical Edge finish by the former to win the match and even the set 1-1.

Skyll bringing it back against LoloMx in the 2nd match

The 1^st round of the 3^rd match started very close between the two with LoloMx leading by first activating Seong Mi-Na’s Soul Charge. The unfazed Skyll though won the round by preemptively BB-ing while LoloMx is pusuhing forward, hitting his opponent in the 2^nd attack. Next round, the two again got it close. But LoloMx won it after managing to hit Skyll with a big counter hit combo.During the start of the following round, Skyll activated his Soul Charge to dish out considerable damage making his opponent lose half of his life. Although LoloMx activated his own SC to counter, the big gap in their life was just too big to make a come-back which gave him another loss. 4^th round, LoloMx was in advantage early with Seong Mi-Na’s Soul Charge and managing to break Skyll’s guard. However, a great side-step to dodge Lolo’s attack was what made Skyll end the 3^rd match with a Mitsurugi Critical Edge win.

In the 4^th match, A LoloMx combo win stopped Skyll’s attempt to make a come-back. 2^nd round, Skyll slowly but efficiently took the round by patiently waiting for LoloMx’s moves and punishing it with applicable counters. In the 3^rd round, LoloMx started strong, but Skyll caught back making big chunks of damage with Mitsurugi’s Soul Charge form. Considering he still has 2 full meters, LoloMx used one as a Soul Charge to attempt winning the round. Skyll stole the round away though with a BB counter after a good dodge to his Seong Mi-Na’s unsafe “you’re open” move. One loss away to going to the losers, LoloMx played cautiously in the 4^th round to avoid being countered by Skyll. He then made sure to use his two full meters to give him another life in the set. However, Skyll made sure to not make any mistakes anymore in the final round using his 2 meters to beat LoloMx to guarantee his place in the winner’s side of the Grand Finals.

Not wasting any opportunity, Skyll made sure to finish the job to reach the Grand Finals

Another classic Linkorz vs. Bluegod battle

Surprisingly, the loser’s finals featured a match between Linkorz and Bluegod, two of USA’s best SOULCALIBUR VI players and arguably the country’s biggest rivals who usually go head to head in Grand Finals of tournaments they both entered (and interestingly have a 2-2 set in said Grand Finals Meet-ups). Regardless, whoever wins this match will be left with USA’s hopes of winning the tournament.

The match ensued with a classic Siegfried vs. Azwel match-up of which should be heavily in favor of Bluegod since Linkorz never completely defeated Bluegod using his Siegfried in major tournaments (his only most notable achievement with Siegfried against Blue in major tournaments is his reset during Summer Jam 13 Grand Finals of which he failed to finish the job). Regardless, his many experience and knowledge of the match up against blue might change the outcome of the match set.

Down 0-2, Linkorz made three straight clutch wins to take game 1

First round, Linkorz immediately got the lead using Sieg’s fast aB input of but was immediately evened up by Bluegod after he was hit with a lethal. In the closing moments, a good duck into a Critical Edge by Bluegod against Linkorz’s grab attempt won him the round. 2^nd round, Bluegod exerted his dominance in the match-up by perfecting Linkorz with Azwel’s axe attacks. 3^rd round was a close match between the two of which was clutched out by Linkorz without using any meter to avoid a sweep. 4^th round, another close match occurred between the two which was in advantage of Bluegod after punishing linkorz with an Azwel Critical Edge. Despite the fact he has no more meter and with a slither of health, Linkorz clutched out another victory by making a move jumping over his opponent’s low and dunking it home. Final round, Linkorz started strong by pressuring and hitting Bluegod with aB and Siegfried stances. However, Bluegod took back the damage with Azwel’s Soul Charge form. With the closing moments close between the two in terms of health, a well-timed side stepped into a Critical Edge was Linkorz’s needed opportunity to make a third straight clutch win over Bluegod to take Game 1.

Bluegod then made clutch wins of his own to even the set 1-1

Second round started with Linkorz aggressive towards his opponent. Bluegod though immediately returned the favor and after ducking another Linkorz grab attempt, his subsequent punish and weapon arts to the latter won him the round. Continuing the same aggressive nature, Linkorz dominated Bluegod in the second round with Siegfried’s attacks and stances making delays here and there to confuse his opponent in order to even up the set. Bluegod then made a strong start in his own in the 3^rd round. But after activating dark legacy, Linkorz fought back making it even in the health category. A perfect read by Linkorz hitting Bluegod with Siegfried’s Critical Edge made him the winner of the said round though. Desperate to not lose, Bluegod immediately activated Azwel’s Soul Charge to put the hurt against his opponent. After his SC expired, a good jumping A to hit his opponent avoided him losing the set. In the final round, Linkorz played cautiously hitting Bluegod with pokes and aGa’s. When Bluegod activated Azwel’s Soul Charge though, his enhanced Beyblade not only caught Linkorz but also cancelled his CE attempt. Bluegod then made Linkorz waste his second meter by guarding the latter’s wild CE attempt and hit him with AB after a skirmish of hits.

In the third and final match, Linkorz displayed his mastery of Siegfried making like 100% of the character’s just frame aGa and aB to make quick work of Bluegod in the first round. Bluegod then displayed his own mastery of Azwel in the second round by dominating Linkorz hitting the latter with almost all of Azwel’s powerful axe attacks. Another close match between the two started in the 3rd round which was in favor of Linkorz, but a weapon arts punish by a Soul Charged Azwel into a wall splat combo was all Bluegod needed to win the match. Making sure to end the match, Bluegod dominantly ended  the next round with Azwel’s Critical Edge against his worthy rival.

Bluegod made his rival feel his love to end another chapter in their long rivalry

The loser’s finals was then between Mexico’s finest LoloMx and USA’s best Bluegod which will decide who will face France’s yet unsurpassed Skyll in the Grand Finals.

The loser’s finals is between Bluegod and LoloMx

Starting off, LoloMx chose his Seong Mi-Na to fight against Bluegod which gave him a dominant win right off in the first round. Although an awkward bug occurred in the 2^nd round, the same was irrelevant as LoloMx continued his dominant streak against his opponent. Bluegod then countered his opponent’s streak by making a fast perfect win in the 3^rd round. At the start of the 4^th round, Bluegod activated his character’s Soul Charge  and with it, whittled LoloMx’s health down below 50%. He then ended the match with an Azwel grab and weapon arts. In the final round, although LoloMx made good work of defending Azwel’s Soul Charge form to hurt him, Bluegod unfortunately was able to launch him with Azwel’s sword mode attack which led to his Ring Out loss.

Bluegod’s display of dominance

First round of the 2^nd match, Bluegod’s use of Azwel’s fast sword modes overwhelmed his opponent. 2^nd round, LoloMx got an early lead with two pokes and a grab to start the match. Bluegod then started his usual dominating streak which LoloMx stopped with a launch into a combo to finish the round. Bluegod’s early dominance was in display in the start of the third round. LoloMx though fought back despite Azwel  still in Soul Charge. However, an AB followed by a B by Bluegod made him lose his streak. In the 4^th round, LoloMx decision to not use any of his 2 meters during the round cost him the match as it was heavily dominated by Bluegod’s Azwel again.

LoloMx relying to his Yoshimitsu for the rest of the fight

Finding his Seong Mi-Na not enough to beat Bluegod’s Azwel, LoloMx returned relying on his real main Yoshimitsu to turn the tide to his favor.  First round, although his Yoshimitsu fared better against his opponent with the character’s quicker attacks, Bluegod’s made better decisions in the final seconds to win the round. Next round, Yoshimitsu took advantage of Bluegod’s red guard gauge to break it and continue it with a punishing lethal hit combo to even up the round set. Although Bluegod dominated his opponent early in the next round, a fierce counter pressure by LoloMx surprisingly made him lose via ring out. In the end though, despite LoloMx’s valiant efforts to win the next two rounds, Bluegod’s Azwel was just too powerful for him and his great tournament performance in the World Tournament was ended by his opponent’s weapon arts. Bluegod then advanced to the Grand Finals where the opponent who put him in the losers is waiting.

A Muscle Buster to end LoloMx’s problems

After all the high calibur level action between the world competitors, two players were left to fight it out on knowing who the best SOULCALIBUR VI player in the world is (Season 1 atleast) – France’s Skyll and his Mitsurugi or USA’s Bluegod and his Azwel. After both players sat on their stations, the Grand Finale commenced!

Skyll outwitting Bluegod in RPS

Bluegod made his early statement in winning the 1st match

First round of game 1, Skyll started the round hitting Bluegod with pokes but an immediate counter-attack by the latter resulted into a fast Ring out loss to the former. Second round, Skyll dominated it by making perfect whiff punishes and counters against Bluegod’s attacks despite the latter in Soul Charge form. Right at the start of the third round, Skyll was able to hit Bluegod with a big lethal hit which he continued with a grab to dish out big damage. However, Bluegod made his own barrage of attacks which immediately whittled Skyll’s hp into a hit left. Not giving up, Skyll guarded a weapon arts attempt by Bluegod and countered it with a Critical Edge. However, Bluegod was prepared with Skyll’s following attack and countered it with AB to win the round. Next round, Blue started out strong dishing sword attacks which his opponent can’t counter. To stop the pressure, Skyll activated Mitsurugi’s Soul Charge and was able to dish out high damage combos. In the final moments, Skyll outwitted Bluegod with a feint to bait the latter to put his guard down which the former took advantage to even up the set. In the final round, Bluegod activated his character’s Soul Charge immediately but found it unproductive due to Skyll’s defense. Despite the expiration of Soul Charge, Bluegod made a good side step and hit Skyll with a good damage combo. Cornering his opponent, Bluegod used his next meter into another Soul Charge to apply pressure. Skyll then used up his own Soul Charge to counter but loss the match when Bluegod punished him after his low attempt was blocked by the latter.

Skyll’s counter statement

Next match occurred in the stage where Skyll defeated Bluegod during winner’s semis. First round, Skyll started out playing aggressive. However, Bluegod showed Skyll he can’t be beaten in his own game of firepower when he immediately turned the tide to his favor ending the round with a weapons arts. Although Skyll started out aggressive again in the next round, he calmed down mid-way and played his game of whiff punishing his opponent to earn him a win. To have an early advantage, Bluegod activated his Soul Charge at the start of the first round which proved useless as Skyll was unfazed and countered every of his Azwel’s big damage attempts. Skyll then ended the match with a jump kick. During the final round, Bluegod was able to hit Skyll with Azwel’s Critical Edge. However, it was the only thing he could as Skyll dominated the remainder of the with perfect reads and reactions to even up the series 1-1.

Skyll’s faster reaction earned him the 3rd match win

Right off the bat of the 3^rd match, the two showcased an even clash of hits but Skyll, using a grab, survived the close bout. In the 2^nd round, Skyll got some first few hits against his opponent. Bluegod then, after a grab, continued to hit back Skyll and made sure to win the round using Azwel’s Soul Charge. With 2 full gauges to start the 3^rd round, Skyll activated his Soul Charge to put up some decent damage against Bluegod. Never to back down, Blue countered back using Azwel’s sword attacks to keep up with Skyll. However, a streak of right decisions by Skyll in the final moments pushed Bluegod to activate his character’s Soul Charge despite having a slither of health. Succeeding in making his character waste a meter, he immediately got close and hit his opponent with a low kick to win the round. Early into the 4^th round, Skyll was able to hit Blue with a lethal hit. To avoid being in disadvantage, Bluegod activated Soul Charge which made Skyll activate his own also. But cornering his opponent, Bluegod applied pressure against Skyll which made the latter attempt a wild Critical Edge to waste his second meter which the former successfully guarded. With a close exchange of hits, Bluegod won with a AB hit against his opponent. In the final round, Skyll applied immediate pressure against Bluegod despite being in the red guard gauge. This then prompted Blue to get into Soul Charge which Skyll was prepared for interrupting Azwel’s moves with Mitsurugi’s faster pokes. Although Bluegod was able to guard a CE counter by Skyll, the latter’s fast response against the former’s attack lead into a Lethal hit punish which won him the match.

Despite losing two straight losses in the stage, Bluegod stayed in the same for a rematch. Possibly adjusting to Skyll’s gameplay, Bluegod played cautiously during the 1^st round in whiff punishing and countering his opponent. This prove effective as he dominantly won the said round. Claiming his previous loss was a fluke, Skyll controlled the whole second round exhibiting his own perfect counters and whiff punishes against Bluegod resulting into a dominant win. During the early seconds of the 3^rd round, the two activated each of their character’s Soul Charge but both did not manage to dish out big damage against each other. However, a Reversal Edge win by Skyll gave him a pressure window to hit Bluegod with a wall combo which broke the wall of the stage and lead to a Ring Out win. Not wanting to give Skyll a chance to finish him off, Bluegod started the 4^th round hitting Skyll with 2 combos to have an early lead. However, his weapon arts attempt was guarded by Skyll who immediately made continuous hits to close the gap and corner Bluegod. The Blue one then activated his Soul Charge to avoid a Ring Out loss. Skyll then activated his own Soul Charge to continue applying pressure. Despite the two being in their enhanced form, no one again was able to make a big damage combo until Skyll’s Soul Charged 2KB was able to hit Bluegod. To finally end the match and the finale set, Skyll ran up in Bluegod’s face and hit the latter with a running B and continued it with BB’s to win the Grand Finale and the World Tournament!

Exhibiting Peerless gameplay and flawless execution, Skyll won the SOULCALIBUR World Invitational!

SOULCALIBUR World Invitational Top 3

With the World Invitational ending, the days of the Season 1 is coming to an end into the new life that will be coming in Season 2. We, the players and the community, together with our beloved Motohiro Okubo and Project Soul, have all fought to make the game we all love have a second chance in life. As regards the future, we will leave it to the producer and his team on giving us new things to experience and to keep the love for the game afresh. As truth as it is, THE LEGEND WILL NEVER EVER DIE!

The beloved Okubo giving his speech and farewell for the night

Ebonic Plague & AliciaXLife

I did it ! I won the #SoulCaliburWorldInvitational for SCVI ! GGs to everyone in those super stacked finals !
I'm waiting for my returning flight to France right now and it's the first time I don't feel the pain of the upcoming super long travel ahah ! https://t.co/I7v88ENfWY

— OPL | Skyll (@Skyll_13) November 3, 2019

Match after match, @Skyll_13 tore thru his opponents to get to the top! Congrats to this year's #SoulCaliburWorldInvitational Champion!

Follow the link to replay the event footage from last weekend: https://t.co/vGT5PR2IOe pic.twitter.com/DOiHV4qBtT

— SOULCALIBUR (@soulcalibur) November 6, 2019