Players Interview

The Legend Chronicles: Linkorz

author image by Tselelleb | 0 Comments | October 27, 2019

Overview

The next World Invited SOULCALIBUR VI fighter we will be covering is United States of America’s (USA) own (Particularly New York) Linkorz! This player, heavily considered as the Best Siegfried and Geralt player (also arguably the best Groh player by tournament success) in the SOULCALIBUR VI world, gave us his answers to some of our questions. Look below to find out!

LINKORZ Question and Answer:

His seven golden letter win against Sonicfox in East Coast Throwdown 2018 started the hype for the SOULCALIBUR VI tournament scene

  1. What is your full (real) name?
  • Nathan Mandell
  1. Age?
  • 20
  1. What’s the reason you got your gamertag “Linkorz”?
  • My handle (name) comes from the Legend of Zelda. The “orz” part is a really dumb story from when I was 12 in Xbox Live that I’d prefer not to repeat haha.

When he was only 15 years old, NEC16 was his first ever tournament he entered

  1. What was/were the previous SOULCALIBUR title you previously played competitively and some descriptions of you achievements in those past games?
  • I came into the SOULCALIBUR V scene rather late (around August 2015) at the age of 15. I attended every Big E event for several years, making trips to other tournaments when the opportunity arose. I started out playing Siegfried, eventually Algol as well to cover bad matchups, as Siegfried is rather weak in the game. I managed to win Summer Jam 11 and Winter Brawl 12, the former primarily with Siegfried and the latter with both characters, though in the top 8 I played more Algol.

  1. NEC19 was his most memorable tournament he won.

    In SOULCALIBUR VI, could you share to us your most memorable tournament performance?

  • My most memorable tournament win is easily NEC19 (Northeast Championships 19). NEC (particularly NEC16) was the first event I ever attended, and has always held a special place in my heart not only because how much Big E always supports the SOULCALIBUR scene but also because of how insane the competition at that event always is. To this day I still consider it as the most stacked tournament I ever won.

Meanwhile, his match (and win) against Bluegod during the Grand Finals of April Annihilation was his most memorable fight in his career so far.

  1. Which moment/battle (win or lose) was the most memorable for you in your career in SOULCALIBUR VI?
  • One very memorable match for me was my match with Bluegod at April Annihilation. I had very little expectations of winning at all, and managing to reset and win in the last round of the last game was extremely exhilarating.
  1. What is your inspiration to playing SOULCALIBUR in a competitive/tournament level?
  • I had wanted to attend tournaments for some time before actually attending any, but wasn’t very familiar with the tournament scene until a player from SoCal named MarKOed told me about which events to go to, which led me attending my first NEC. As for what sparked me wanting to attend, I just genuinely loved the game a lot and wanted to experience it in a new way and get to know other people who shared that passion.

Linkorz is a big fan and follower of Big E gaming tournament events

  1. Who is/are the characer/s you consider as your real main in tournaments?
  • I consider Siegfried and Geralt my mains. I’ve always particularly liked protagonist characters. What really stood out to me about Siegfried in SCV is how cool and confident he was, and I really liked Roger Craig’s voice acting. At first, I didn’t like Siegfried in SCVI because of his new voice actor and different personality, but I’ve actually grown to like a lot for these differences. As for Geralt, I’m a huge Witcher fan and had been saying since way before SCVI was announced how much I would enjoy him being in it! He also fits my style of play pretty perfectly so it works out quite well.
  1. If you could describe your style of play, how would you describe it?
  • On the topic of playstyle, I would describe my playstyle as very defensive and setplay oriented. I think I have a very strong knack for understanding people’s timings and counterhitting them right when they want to press a button. I think I’m also very good at keeping people out and playing neutral.

Although considering himself as a Siegfried/Geralt Main, he could also play Groh in a high level during tournaments.

  1. The World Invitationals is fast approaching, how do you feel about the tournament?
  • I feel incredibly honored to be invited. I’ve looked up to many of these players for a long time and to be on the same stage as them is ridiculous to me. I feel very motivated to just play my best, something I feel I’ve been struggling with lately due to my tournament nerves.
  1. How are you preparing for the event?
  • I’ve spent some time trying to work on Voldo matchup to prepare for Yuttoto, but I’m not certain it’s enough. I learn best by simply playing matchups and it can be hard to find against Voldo in the US. Aside from that, I’ve taken a step back from playing online, playing moreso at locals here in New York. I believe we have one if not the best local scene for SOULCALIBUR, so it’s not hard to stay on point while avoiding online tendencies and frustration.

He is most intimidated to fight Yuttoto while his dream fight is having a match against Keev.

  1. Is there any player you would like to fight against particularly? Or in contrary someone that you don’t want to fight against?
  • I honestly want to fight everybody in the tournament, but if I had to single out it would be Keev. We’ve never played in tournament and I have a lot of respect for his approach to the game, and I think our matches would be exciting to watch.
  1. Who is the player you are most threatened in the World Invitationals?
  • Big surprise, the player I am most threatened by is Yuttoto. Not only is he currently is the best player in the world (pretty much without question), but it’s very difficult to find high level Voldo practice in the US, so I am rather unfamiliar with the character. A player as talented as Yuttoto combined with a lack of matchup knowledge definitely intimidates me!
  1. Finally, this World Invitational is the best way to celebrate SOULCALIBUR VI’s 1st Anniversary and to move to Season 2. Can you tell us what SOULCALIBUR means in your life? How it had changed your life? Any final word to say?
  • SOULCALIBUR has brought me around the world to places I never thought I would go to and helped me make friends I never would have made otherwise. The game itself also completely changed my outlook in life, and made me a smarter, more logical person. I think it’s safe to say that SOULCALIBUR is one of the best things that have ever happened to me.

The Immovable Object

USA’s fortified tower

Contrary to SOULCALIBUR V where he got into the game’s tournament scene too late, he was one of the first players to pick up and play SOULCALIBUR VI in tournaments even before its intended worldwide release. Could be considered as USA’s Immovable object for his methodical, patient and strong defensive gameplay, Linkorz had entered the most tournaments (17 and still counting) out of all the world invited players, also one of the game’s most consistent tournament players (reached the top 8 in 15 of the 17 tournaments he entered all of which ended up within the top 4) and also garnered the most SOULCALIBUR VI trophies by far (a whopping 8 Major trophies which includes wins in big tournaments like NEC19 and Combo Breaker). With his long list of achievements despite his young age, knowledge of the game, and a diverse character pool to adjust his gameplay to different match-ups (Siegfried, Geralt, Groh, etc.); Its safe to say that this man can be considered equipped to win the tournament. Will this young man rise up and stand tall defending the USA from powerful invaders around the world? or will he be one of the victims? We’ll see on the World Invitationals on November 2!

Credits to Linkorz, Big E Gaming, Combo Breaker, The Mixup, Texas Showdown and East Coast Throwdown for the pics!

 

To see Linkorz’ biggest achievements, please watch the videos below.

Linkorz' List of Tournament Perfomance:

East Coast Throwdown 2018 Champion

  • East Coast Throwdown 2018 – 1st place out of 104 entrants

  • DreamHack Atlanta 2018 – 4th out of 177 entrants

  • NorthEast Championships 19 (NEC19) – 1st place out of 286 entrants

NEC19 Champion

  • Winter Brawl 3D Edition – 1st place out of 98 entrants

  • Final Round 2019 – 9th place out of 129 entrants

  • Norcal Regionals 2019 – 2nd place out of 63 entrants

  • April Annihilation 2019 – 1st place out of 101 entrants

A dominant Big E competitor, winning April Annihilation and Winter Brawl 3D Edition

  • The Mixup – 3rd place out of 104 entrants

  • Northwest Majors 11 – 1st place out of 60 entrants

  • Texas Showdown 2019 – 1st place out of 72 entrants

Even in other parts of the USA, his dominance is known by winning Northwest Majors 11 and Texas Showdown 2019

  • Combo Breaker 2019 – 1st place out of 258 entrants

One of USA’s biggest tournament – Combo Breaker, is one of this guy’s many accomplishments

  • CEO2019 – 4th place out of 166 entrants

  • Defend the North 2019 – 4th place out of 95 entrants

  • World Showdown of Esports 7 (WSOE7) – 4th place (8-player Invitationals)

  • EVO2019 – 9th place out of 746 entrants

  • Summer Jam 13 – 2nd place out of 72 entrants

  • East Coast Throwdown 2019 – 1st place out of 70 entrants

He was SOULCALIBUR VI’s first back to back champion when he won East Coast Throwdown 2019

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