Blading at the Lake 2022 5-28 Tournament Report

Hello Bladers!

First off shout out to froztz for hosting this I always enjoy going to other organizers events because I can chill a bit 😎. This is actually the first tournament report I will write that I did not host so I will try to do my best but keep it short and sweet.

The event started around noon or was suppose to start around noon. I arrived around 11:50am. It was a 4 hour drive from my home so it was a bright and early morning. I took 3 of the 4 kids and overall it was a nice road trip.

Once we arrived the picnic shelter wasn't packed but it definitely wasn't empty either. It looked like a decent amount of players had showed up. Once I spoke to froztz though it turned out that we only had about 12 participants who were scheduled to play. Thats a legit number, round robin for sure but sometimes we can get up to 30, so it was different for me to see 12. Then again I haven't been to that side of NC in a while. Speaking on that it was great to see some old friends. I knew almost everyone there from competitors to parents and some of the kids just running in the small field next to the park.

The weather was nice! It was a not too hot at all, at least of what I remember. The shelter kept us in decent shade. Actually I take that back just a little, it was kind of hot because I remember getting into my car later and almost passing out lol. 

On to the event, as I mentioned there were initially about 12 participants but once all was said and done we got to 18 I think. We ran Swiss and I helped judge along with 2 others. We ran 3 stadiums in total and things went fairly smooth. I definitely notice the tempo from playing with Maryland versus playing in NC. It is funny and the cliche southern mannerism versus the north. In Maryland everything is kinda, match done! onto the next, go go go go! haha and I am guilty of adopting that style at my events somewhat. At this tournament though it was bit more laid back. We moved but in a mellow southern pace and I kinda liked that. Like I said it was great to see some old friends so I didn't mind chilling a bit. 

The tournament ran smooth for the most part, I think we only had one "issue" and it was a player and I'm not naming names but they seemed a little upset at the outcome of the event. This was mainly due to, in my opinion, them having a extremely biased view on how tournaments should be. They felt that if they didn't win then everything was rigged but that was not cool, not cool at all. Thankfully almost all the players, older crowd, talked to the individual and let them know to not be so negative. Overall we are trying to build a healthy community. No one is being unfair or unjust, if you don't play well then we can help you prepare for the future. It's never cool to be toxic. Things worked out in the end.

As far as the game play went I had some tough matches. It was single bey and I don't do so well in that format. However, I did decent in this one. I honestly can't remember all of my matches but I do remember that I went against froztz. I was nervous I'm not gonna lie. He is on my list of players I definitely want to beat, I am competitive, we're friends, but this competitive lifestyle it was it is and I go for the win hahaha. Anyway, I did not know what to run. We both know the meta. Would he go with vanish or would he go with dynamite/devil, would he chance using drift, would he just use something Im not thinking of? All of these thoughts ran through my head. I figured to just go all out and get guilty and try for a KO. Once I arrived to the stadium we showed each other our combos and smiled, we both went with guilty. No need to play safe, just go all out for the KO and we were on the same page on that. The main difference was that he was on charge' and I was on reboot' (I love my reboot'). I won with  a bit more stamina but overall it was a fun and hard hitting battle.

The next match I remember was one I almost lost in the finals. I went against BladerMon, I think that is how it is spelled, and it was the first time I met him. I have heard about him of course and I knew he was legit. We had a 3 way tie for finals and he played to get in and he was my first opponent. I was a bit nervous I can't lie. Those nerves help me though. I can't remember all of his combos but all of them don't matter because what he had me terrified of was his Guilty on Xtreme'. Now I know on our podcast we talk about attack defense and methods to avoid it but when I say that this kid was legit with attack I meant that he was LEGIT!!!! I let initially with 2-1. He came back with 2-2, the 2-3, then I got a little nervous. I got KO'd back to back. I managed to get it to 3-3 and then next match, BOOM I'm KO'd again. 3-4 and I am sweating. Let's back up a sec, I went undefeated all day and now I am in the first match of finals and nervous about losing. That is a bad feeling when you do well all day, get to top cut and instantly get knocked out. It's sad 😩. I had to focus. I managed to get another point with an outspin, tied 4-4. Then the final match came, next point wins and advances. I'm worried about getting KO'd and then we launch, BAM!!!! BladerMon's guilty smacks my dynamite combo across the st so hard that it honestly hurt my feeling a little bit (like dang bro what did I do to you to make you hate me so much 😔), fortunately though I hit a wall and not the back pocket wall so I was legit. I lost a crazy stamina though but the impact from the hit also sent guilty out into the pocket. I won, barely, but it was a hard fought battle that honestly I don't want to repeat lol.

I got to top 4 and battled Questhebeast, I want to say this as a shout out to my area and all blader's who aren't in the top of the ranks but are LEGIT! Like BladerMon, Questhebeast is legit with attack and neither of them are in the top ranks with crazy high BR but they are solid bladers. If I could give any advice, and I have played all up and down the east coast, do not look at BR as true skill. Go all out with every opponent lol, cause if not you may regret it. Ques is legit and I have played against him a few times and it's never easy. I was able to secure a victory against him though and advanced to finals.

For finals I had to go against froztz again. I was hyped but also a wreck at the same time. I have a personal list of bladers I'd like to compete against and beat in deck format, I'm a nerd I know, but froztz in on this list. Last time I played him in finals, or the last 2 times actually I alway fell short. This time I felt a bit more confident and focused and I took that with me to play. We both had mirror combos pretty much. Dynamite on Tapered Bearing', he had the same but with devil. Vanish on Over, Hxt+', and guilty combo. I had guilty fafnir on reboot' and he had guilty Buhamut on drift. We started going back and forth with a trade in points but my vanish combo started doing some work for me. We like to talk a little junk at these events, against each other though not new players or kids lol, so we had fun with the mirror matches try to see who was the better with it. After my vanish won, froztz tried to go all out with his guilty and get a KO. He ended up self bursting and spoke out loud "that may not have been my best choice" lol. It was all good fun but I definitely felt great to get the win. Like I said I have my list, points are legit but achieving my personal goals on beating bladers I respect is what I am truly after. I have many more I would like to go after 😎

All in all this event was legit. Afterwards I hung out with froztz a bit and we chatted about the bey life. Our kids play well together also and have become friends through this like us so they ran in the field for a while also. Once all was said and done I had to get plenty of water because I felt a little dehydrated. Plus it was gonna be a long drive home, it was a well worth trip though. 

Thank you for hosting froztz and looking to playing with you and everyone else again soon!