Ranbat 1.4: Trouble in River City

This was the scene of Utah Ranbat 1.4 in our new location at Protocol 42, which represented the first time a Utah Ranbat was held away from the comfort and privacy of Andy's Sugar-house. Being referred to as "The Secret Garden" due to it's discreet (okay, freaking-hard-to-find) location near I-15, Procotol 42 provided what we have come to expect from the ranbats plus more: players, games, TV's, space...you name it, they had it. Form one end of the warehouse to the other, long, sturdy two-tier wooden tables drowned in power and network cables, with enough office chairs to comfortable seat all the troubled teens in River City. The main attraction: an HD projector high on the wall, perfect for showing future finals matches. And while we gamed, the sound system provided a thumping beat to keep the action fresh. Billed as a LAN center for computer gaming, Protocol 42 easily converted to a competitive SF environment worthy of continued future gatherings.

On to the action...finals are what they have always been, the two best in Utah slugging it out to determine the champion for the next two weeks. For all intents and purposes, it should be renamed the Andrew and Brian Celebrity Invitational. Andrew came out on top again with some "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!" by The Dread Pirate Phelps (Sagat), smoking Brian's Drago (Guile) like his now-familiar bong to claim the gold for a 2nd ranbat in a row. Both are now in a tie atop the Ranbat standings at 34 points. 3rd, 4th, and 5th place were held by Jacob's ShoryuLariat (Zangief), Dana's BlackRose (Rose), and finally Kelly's Bronze Boxer (Boxer). Jacob planted Dana's Rose into the ground in the losers bracket to hold 3rd place but was knocked aside for the 2nd time that night by Brian's Guile as Andrew was like his Lay's potato chip...he couldn't have just one game with the Muay Thai Master. The BlackRose set up the slip 'n slide for the Bronze Boxer, who tripped up and got knocked out, waking up in 5th place. I don't anticipate that happening again, as Tin Boxer doesn't have the same alliterative qualities as Bronze Boxer.

Starting off the night, the Girls Fight Night featured various female associates and players in the scene. Katie showed everyone who's boss by taking top honors in the event, showing her Cammy skills for all to see and emulate, especially as she almost took down two-time Ranbat winner Brian in the first round. Additionally, this ranbat showed off some sweet mike skills by various UTSF members, from TL, Andrew, Andy, Bobby, and Johnny. They provided some play-by-play commentary during the bigger matches of the night, and really helped provide a more exciting, competitive atmosphere. And for the OG in the group, hopefully you toured the facility and discovered the Virtual On arcade cabinet in the back. Yes, it works; I tested it out with my Apharmd, and didn't fare too badly. I'd go back just to play that!

As always, it's better to be live than LIVE. Work on it people--have a game, do not suck, and you won't get run. Turn it up at 1.5!

Tournament Announcement - RanBat 1.4

When: 5/23/09 (Saturday)
Time: 6:30 registration, begins 7:00 sharp
Where: 4119 S 420 West SLC, UT - MAP
Cost: $5.00 per player, Visitors free
Format: Double elimination, Best of 3
Food: Pizza, Cola
System: Xbox 360 ONLY

I hope to have 4 monitors running for this tournament. I really encourage everyone to stay 'til the end b/c I think alot of ppl missed the hype as there were alot of great matches towards the end. I believe the two best parts of these ranbats are 1.) To see how good you really are and have gotten, 2.) Getting into the excitement of watching crazy comebacks, heated rivalries, and high level play.


EDIT: I will post more details if need be. Be sure to check out the Utah Thread @ SRK as well (see link in right column).

Ranbat 1.3...or Rocky 4.1?

You could see a few more Hondas and Mazdas parallel-parked on the street. Nothing too out of the ordinary. A few more twenty-somethings in jeans and t-shirts milled around outside the house, talking about this and that. It's near a the U. Whatever. But if you had been passing by outside Andy's house on Saturday night, May 9, you would have heard just what the Utah Street Fighter scene is cookin'!

Ranbat 1.3 produced more cheers and celebrations than any other before. 27 people competed but well over 30 showed to watch old and new alike fight it out for first place and over $100 in winnings in Utah's third Ranking Battle, where in a surprising twist on Rocky IV, Drago (Brian) couldn't claw out of the to-him unfamiliar losers bracket to overtake Rocky (Andrew), who has now claimed his first gold medal finish. Andrew stayed undefeated up to the very end, using more aggressive Sagat play to overcome the solid and experienced zoning always exhibited by Brian's Guile.

Kelly and the Bronze Boxer nearly fought his way into the title match, exhibiting the in-your-face results of some serious time in the training room in keeping solid pressure on Brian, but fell just short of the Big Dance. Well, at least in this movie, Apollo doesn't really die; he just comes back in two weeks to try again. Rounding out the top 5 and back from hiatus was the return of Jacob "Bake a Pretty Cake" Bleyl and his monstrous Gief, and an oldie but a goodie, Andy "The Dokta" dispensed overdoses of Chun and Honda to his opponents, securing 5th place.

Every tournament offers something different, and Ranbat 1.3 did not disappoint. 8 people new to the Ranbats competed on Saturday: Eddy, Elvis, Greg, Pancho, Nico, Cesar, Gustavo, and our first female competitor, Katie. Brian, Wade, Thomas, and the Triplets even had extra family and friends on hand to get in on the action. Talk about bang for the buck; the fights lasted longer and at a cheaper entrance fee than Hatton v Pacquiao! The big disappointment would have to be not recording Thomas' Gen-stravaganza, but that's why it's better to be live than LIVE. There's definitely more to post, but in the end, you just had to be there.

To everyone that made it, make it back. Bring more of everything: people, game, good times. To everyone that didn't, what the hell is wrong with you. STEP YO GAME UP.

Ranbat 1.3's a comin' up!

(taken from Andy's post in the Utah thread at SRK)

When: 5/9/09, 6:45 pm signups, 3:00 pm casuals (maybe earlier call me)
Where: Andy's House. Ok dudes, shower before you come. Serious.
Entry Fee: $5 for partcipants, if you want to play and don't have cash pm me, we'll talk about it personally.
Format: Double elimin 2/3 except Winner's finals/Loser's final/Grand finals.
Food: Chips, Cookies, Drinks supplied by me. Alcohol is all you.
Setups: 3 xbox 360, please bring your sticks, all characters unlocked/legal
46" Sony, 40" Samsung, 26" Samsung
SPECTATORS WELCOME FOR FREE.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Respect my shit, I don't want ppl going into my bedroom or the basement at all. Please keep the bathroom somewhat clean. I do own a gun, no lie. So don't steal any of my shit. I've found evidence at the last ranbat that ppl were in my bedroom: I keep my checkbook, passport, cash there. So if you are in there or near there I assume you are up to no good. Please don't ruin this for yourself or the other cool guys here. Remember, I will have you arrested. That aside. I'm totally PSYCHED for this next ranbat. Ppl are getting better and more competitive.

Probably gonna be nearly 30 ppl. What to expect? Brian/Andrew dominance? Will the triplets step in and say fuck no? How about the new mexican Abel player that uses a pad? Inverse gonna show up? Will Renzo not choke? Will Andy finally say eat shit and win?

Only time will fucking tell. GET HYPE. Utah is on the MAP. We getting as many turnouts as Phoenix, Kansas City, St. Louis Ranbats.

EVO HERE WE COME. We talking about EVO this ranbat. If you serious, then stay a few minutes afterwards. If you're a bitch, then I'll call a cab for you.

Pics from Ranbat 1.2

(L to R) Brian thinking "I make this shirt look good...", Travis playing Matty on the PS3 setup, Phil watches intently from the back, and Zack practices his GG handshake. Holy joystick mania...count 'em. Close to $1000 in hardware right there.

Mike and TL get into a staring contest with Ryu.

(L to R) Finals match. Brian ponders the strategic benefits of Overpass vs Little Airfield while Mike (brown) and Andrew (red) look to the Lakers, not the tanking Jazz, for some possible inspiration in upcoming matches.

Some of the Ranbat attendees. This is certainly not all, as we had over 20 people.
(Back, L to R) Kyle, Zack, Nate, Matty, Kelly, Mike, Chase
(Front, L to R) Brian, Wallace, Andrew, Dana

This pic is the same as above, except with 100% more Andy (2nd from right in back) and 2000000% less awesome because Dana wasn't in it. Andrew (middle front) demonstrates proper hadoken technique.