clash of titans (SF4 gamestop tournament finals)

Just yesterday, the Street Fighter 4 scene witnessed the first major tournament hosted by Gamestop. The top players from around the world were invited to compete in the game we've all come to love and hate. To avoid possible spoilers, here is the link to vids of the tournament: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sakabot .

Justin Wong ended up beating out Mike Ross in the finals for the U.S. slot. Mike Ross's defensive play just didn't cut it this time around. The final top 4 line up was: Justin Wong (Ryu), Daigo Umehara (Ryu), Poongko (Ryu), and Iyo(Dhalsim). We have (probably) the best American Capcom player, Daigo "The Beast", the Korean national champion, and the Japanese national champion. I just wanted to say that Daigo's power comes from his ability to get into his opponent's head. When you watch him play, he is literally four steps ahead of his opponent, pre-emptively destroying them with his insane execution, reaction speed, and matchup knowledge. It was quite a thrill to watch. Props especially to Daigo vs. Iyo.

So what does this say about America?

Honestly, if you watched the vids, the grand finals was a bit dissapointing on Wong's part. I think he could have played much better, though Daigo was in complete, top form, reading Wong left and right. Wong never got a chance to push through a good offense, whiffed a lot of Messiah Kicks, and ate too many Shoryuken's for his own good. Daigo saw that shit coming from a mile away, knew the distance, and always punished accordingly. This is by no means America's final say. We have the drive, and now finally, the comp to push through to high levels of play.

On another note, excessive BB playing has left me a sour taste in my mouth. As much as I like the idea of playing Noel, her style may not be fit for me. Good chance I might move to Jin instead.