World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc. World Beyblade Organization Beyblade Tournaments Tournament Reports

Toronto Beyblade Burst Tournament Report: BEY OR DIE II @ Unplugged Expo – 9/14/19

Sep. 28, 2019  11:28 PM
 
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TORONTO BEYBLADE BURST TOURNAMENT REPORT:
BEY OR DIE II


AT

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September 14, 2019 • Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Burst Format • Official Event Page

Video by MDK Shady

On September 14th, 2019 the Toronto Beyblade community gathered for “BEY OR DIE II” at Unplugged Expo for the first time in five years! The first BEY OR DIE was way back in 2014.

The venue for Unplugged Expo had changed since 2014 however, and we were actually back at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. This was the venue for one of the largest events in WBO history earlier this year: BEYBLADE SHOGATSU 2019.


Tournament Management


With the experience of BEYBLADE SHOGATSU 2019 and also BEYBLADE NORTH 2019 under our belt, I was fairly confident going into this one.

We took everything we learned from those events and also implemented a couple new ideas:

Registration Location
This was an idea which actually came from my contact at Unplugged Expo (who was also involved with Anime Shogatsu earlier this year). Instead of completing registration for the event at our designated play area/room, we did it right at the front entrance of the JCCC close to where people were picking up their badges for the day.

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This worked out quite well as it enabled us to grab people pretty much as soon as they walked in the door. I had JesseObre, Newtype, and Mitsu stationed there for most of the 1 hour 45 minutes we ran registration for, and had a rotating cast of other staff members standing at the front entrance of our tournament room on the second floor to greet people and ask if they had already registered (if not, they were sent back downstairs).

Match Queue System
This is something I had thought about for the Beytuber Brawl last year: finding a way to create a queue of upcoming matches so that there was less wait time from the point when a match ended to when the next one began.

My idea for Beytuber Brawl was to use a projector and display the upcoming matches on that, but it didn’t really work out.

The real problem this idea aimed to solve is simply to make more efficient use of time given the reality that it will always take a minute or two to find players and have them approach the tournament area once they have been called. To solve this, we added a row of numbered chairs (in pairs) along the back wall of the tournament area that corresponded to which stadium the player sitting in them was in queue for.

You can see this on our floorplan:

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Note: Generally this is what things ended up looking like at the event. Things did get changed around a bit though and we abandoned “Featured Matches” idea before the event started … maybe another day. :)

JesseObre and I ran the Challonge bracket throughout the day and because there was always some time between when matches were called and results being reported to us, we used the time in between to call queued matches so that the judge assigned to Stadium #1 for instance could report the result of the match he just completed and then walk back to the #1 chairs and grab his next pair of players.

Players were also given sticker nametags applied to their shirts so that it was easy for judges to identify them.

This was easiest to do at the very beginning of a round and we weren’t always able to keep the chairs full, but whenever there was time we did this and it helped to speed things up!

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Within Challonge’s “Stations” feature they have a “Queue match for this Station” option that helped us to keep track of which matches were happening and which were queued. The only thing I wish they would change is to have a different signifier for the first match that was assigned to a stadium (the currently ongoing one) and queued matches. But we kept the assignments to two matches at a stadium maximum at a time to avoid confusion.

Overall, the tournament ran quite smoothly and we received several compliments from the parents in attendance. Was happy about that!

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Click to view full size

First Stage


Coming off 1234BEYBLADE 100K (this is epic) and BEYSCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION which were dominated by the usual suspects as of late (Lord, Judgment, Zwei, Balkesh, Archer Hercules), I expected to see much of the same going into this event.

And I was right. With 54 total participants, there were plenty of other parts popping up like Cho-Z Valkyrie, Cho-Z Achilles, Dread Bahamut (especially stock since OldSchool had many of the Triple Booster Sets available), Revive/Perfect Phoenix, Slash Valkyrie, random Hasbro stuff … but none of those really made a huge impact.

During the first stage Balkesh B3 on Bearing, various Judgment variants, and Lord on Xtend Plus seemed to be the most common choices for the top players. After people saw I was using Pegasus on Lord it seemed to catch on quickly too.

I defeated Blader Shaun, Bija, originalzankye, and OldSchool to start the tournament 4-0, which was a nice bounce back after my 2-3 performance at 1234BEYBLADE 100K (this is epic). That tournament was frustrating for me, but also a good learning experience. It’s a fine line to walk between playing the meta because it’s what wins and trying to take risks or be innovative to separate yourself from the pack. I took the risks one step too far in that event, which I was aware of in the act of doing it. Knowing the nice cushion I have in the rankings at the moment, I was more driven to push the limits at that event … but nevertheless, losing isn’t any easier because of that!

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It’s especially difficult in the first stage of events due to the double-blind nature of the battles as compared to the most lenient and strategic Deck Format.

When everyone is playing high Life After Death Drivers (Xt+, Br), using stuff like Orbit or Atomic becomes more of a game of chance as to whether you’ll have the right spin direction or not. Using Judgment to try and have a chance against both spin directions also doesn’t always work out as you can come up against Zwei, which generally does well against it. And using Zwei is tough when there has been so much Archer Hercules going around lately. Nothing has really felt overly safe, which is a good thing … but has made it hard to navigate the first stage for me lately in trying to find something which is going to offer me an advantage. It’s why you’ve seen things like FA.Vn.Br on my winning combos recently.

In any case, after beating OldSchool, I lost to Justin TC in the fifth round. He’s really had my number lately! I tried Judgment on Variable’ after doing some testing and liking how controllable and decisive it was in KOing things … but it didn’t do so well against his B3.0W.Br. But I was 4-0 so I was OK with taking the risk in that situation; sometimes it’s OK to take risks like that if only to get a real sense for how something will do in a tournament environment. There’s only so much testing can tell you.

In the sixth and final round of Swiss, I was up against BladerBeast. I went with LP.Bl.Xt+ in right-spin and he chose JJ.7B.Qc’ Zan. I actually had a decent shot at winning, but ended up losing by a score of 3-1 due to my combo somehow instantly bursting after landing on top of him at the start of the third round. Crazy given how tight that combo is lol.


Final Stage


Advancing to the final stage we had:

1. Justin TC (6-0)
2. MDK Shady (5-1)
3. BladerBeast (5-1)
4. originalzankye (5-1)
5. Bladerbill (5-1)
6. Kei (4-2)
7. Newtype (4-2)
8. KnightRider2010 (4-2)

Quarter- and Semi-Finals
I didn’t catch all of the matches, but I’ll describe a few thoughts on the ones I can remember:

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MDK Shady vs. Newtype
MDK Shady was able to narrowly defeat Newtype thanks to both some mislaunches on his part and a strong deck: ZD.St.Om, LP.0C.Xt+, B3.00W.Br.

BladerBeast vs. Kei
This match initially began primarily as a Judgment Qc’ vs. B3.00W.Br match, but despite getting one KO on me, BladerBeast failed a few other attempts and chose to go for the mirror match against B3 instead. Luckily, I was able to OS him each time and ultimately win the match. I believe that I also used LP.Bl.Ds’ to win a round during the match as well.

MDK Shady vs. Kei
I was able to go up 4-1 thanks to MDK Shady's ZD.St.Om being unable to OS my B3.00W.Br, but then he switched over to his B3.00W.Br and I lost four straight rounds to lose 5-4. I had confidence in my B3 after beating BladerBeast and seeing Newtype win one round with it against MDK in the Quarter-Finals, but ultimately I feel like the issue may have been that I was unable to launch at completely full power because my Bearing was a bit worn down and prone to moving a lot, which caused Wall to scrape. Tough loss.

3rd Place Match: originalzankye vs. Kei
As a result of the previous match, I omitted B3 from my deck which in retrospect may not have been a good idea. However, despite still having a good shot at winning with what I had chosen, I ended up down 3-0 against originalzankye due to narrowly being OSed in the first round and then a back wall knock out in the second round in a Lord vs Lord match-up.

After that, I became more conservative and went pure stamina using the same combo I used to beat OldSchool's Lord Xt+ combo in the same match-up earlier in the event 3-0. Unfortunately, my hand slipped off the BeyLauncher handle (which doesn’t qualify for a relaunch) and I lost narrowly once again. I went back to it for round four and was knocked out immediately, putting the final score at 6-0 for originalzankye who placed within the top three for the first time ever!

Matches like these and the MDK Shady loss are difficult for me to process especially when I look at the winning combinations list and it is basically exactly as I expected.

In 1234BEYBLADE 100K (this is epic), I had a first stage selection problem. I solved that for this event through extensive testing and thinking about different matchups after that event.

But this time I ran into part wear, confidence, and launching problems in the finals. Some of the issues I ran into could be argued to be just “luck”, but I do strongly believe that although there is an aspect of that, there is also a failure on my part to think of how to prevent certain issues before the tournament (ex. using a new Hasbro Bearing, using gloves so my hands are less likely to slip, better launch timing/positioning etc).

I’m reminded after this event of the need to think about not only look outwards at your opponent and their equipment, but to look inwards as well at your own equipment, tactics, and mental state more carefully. It’s not enough to practice superficially looking only at objective matchups. Especially when you’re doing it alone, which is far away from the experience of playing with two people in a tournament.

The issues I am trying to minimize or solve are small, and I did do well to earn 4th Place, but 4th Place isn’t my goal. What often separates the real winners from everyone else are those who master these details. So, I will keep pushing myself to be the best that I can be moving forward!

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1st/2nd Place Match: Justin TC vs. MDK Shady
Justin TC has been on a hot streak lately, winning several events this summer. And MDK Shady was in the top three for the first time ever! This was an exciting match-up.

MDK Shady took the early lead with his B3.00W.Br being able to OS Justin TC’s LS.0C.Xt+ and B3.00W.Br, but Justin TC was able to mount a massive comeback with two straight victories over B3 with his JD.Bl.X’!


Acknowledgements


Thank you as always to everyone who helped to run this event!:

JesseObre, OldSchool™, OldSchool™’s Mom, Justin TC, henwooja1, henwooja1’s Dad, BladerBeast, MDK Shady, Mitsu, Newtype, originalzankye, and Lucas.

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Thank you to everyone involved with Unplugged Expo, to voice of Zeo Abyss from Beyblade: Metal Fusion Deven Mack for stopping by (and destroying me in Puyo Puyo Tetris afterwards), to originalzankye for his generous donation of prizes, and Bey Brad for a few of the prizes as well!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to post below.


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Top 8 Finalists

Winning Combinations


1st: Justin TC
Lord Spriggan 0 Cross Xtend Plus
Balkesh B3 0 Wall Bearing
Judgment Diabolos Blitz Xtreme Dash (Deck Format Finals Only)

2nd: MDK Shady
Lord Pegasus 0 Cross Xtend Plus
Balkesh B3 00 Wall Bearing
Zwei Diabolos Sting Orbit Metal

3rd: originalzankye
Lord Pegasus 0 Cross Xtend Plus
Judgment Spriggan Sting Variable Dash Sen
Zwei Diabolos Biltz Destroy


More Photos


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More Beyblade Tournament Reports


If you enjoyed this report, then you may also enjoy some of my other Beyblade Burst tournament reports:

Sep. 28, 2019  11:57 PM
 
(Sep. 28, 2019  11:28 PM)Kei Wrote:

Winning Combinations


1st: Justin TC
Lord Spriggan 0 Cross Xtend Plus
Balkesh B3 0 Wall Bearing
Judgment Diabolos Blitz Xtreme Dash (Deck Format Finals Only)

Thought you could only have one 0 in a deck
Sep. 29, 2019  12:03 AM
 
(Sep. 28, 2019  11:57 PM)Ravinchen Wrote: Thought you could only have one 0 in a deck

Be careful with your quotes! You quoted the whole report, so I just went in and removed most of it for you.

Anyways, the winning combinations list is a representation of what a player used to win a match (or round in a match they won during the finals) throughout the event; it isn't what was in their Deck in a single match necessarily during the finals.
Sep. 29, 2019  12:12 AM
 
(Sep. 29, 2019  12:03 AM)Kei Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2019  11:57 PM)Ravinchen Wrote: Thought you could only have one 0 in a deck

Be careful with your quotes! You quoted the whole report, so I just went in and removed most of it for you.

Anyways, the winning combinations list is a representation of what a player used to win a match (or round in a match they won during the finals) throughout the event; it isn't what was in their Deck in a single match necessarily during the finals.
oh whoops that the was their deck
Sep. 29, 2019  5:14 AM
 
I'm surprised you used Variable'. Is it really going to be better than X' or Qc'?
Sep. 29, 2019  12:34 PM
 
(Sep. 29, 2019  5:14 AM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: I'm surprised you used Variable'. Is it really going to be better than X' or Qc'?

It might be a little shorter and more stationary? It might not be overall better, but it is more controllable.
Sep. 29, 2019  4:36 PM
 
Wait Devon Mac? Who did he play?
Sep. 30, 2019  5:17 PM
 
Really awesome writeup as always Kei!

also jesse did nothing wrong do NOT arrest jesse
Sep. 30, 2019  8:25 PM
 
(Sep. 29, 2019  5:14 AM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: I'm surprised you used Variable'. Is it really going to be better than X' or Qc'?

I really liked how decisive the hits with it were on Judgment in my testing and how controllable it was. X' and Qc' (particularly X') are more versatile, but V' does have advantages.

(Sep. 29, 2019  4:36 PM)bladekid Wrote: Wait Devon Mac? Who did he play?

You mean in the anime? Zeo Abyss.

(Sep. 30, 2019  5:17 PM)Bey Brad Wrote: Really awesome writeup as always Kei!

also jesse did nothing wrong do NOT arrest jesse

Thank you!

LOL
Sep. 30, 2019  8:55 PM
 
(Sep. 30, 2019  5:17 PM)Bey Brad Wrote: Really awesome writeup as always Kei!

also jesse did nothing wrong do NOT arrest jesse

He's being arrested for asking for too many Re matches XD
Sep. 30, 2019  9:46 PM
 
(Sep. 30, 2019  8:25 PM)Kei Wrote:
(Sep. 29, 2019  5:14 AM)DeceasedCrab Wrote: I'm surprised you used Variable'. Is it really going to be better than X' or Qc'?

I really liked how decisive the hits with it were on Judgment in my testing and how controllable it was. X' and Qc' (particularly X') are more versatile, but V' does have advantages.

(Sep. 29, 2019  4:36 PM)bladekid Wrote: Wait Devon Mac? Who did he play?

You mean in the anime? Zeo Abyss.

(Sep. 30, 2019  5:17 PM)Bey Brad Wrote: Really awesome writeup as always Kei!

also jesse did nothing wrong do NOT arrest jesse

Thank you!

LOL
Oh man, zeo was cool.
Oct. 01, 2019  6:24 PM
 
(Sep. 30, 2019  8:55 PM)henwooja1 Wrote:
(Sep. 30, 2019  5:17 PM)Bey Brad Wrote: Really awesome writeup as always Kei!

also jesse did nothing wrong do NOT arrest jesse

He's being arrested for asking for too many Re matches XD

it was just a social experiment probably
Oct. 01, 2019  8:44 PM
 
Yeah probably.