Road to EVO 2K11: GACKT

ROAD TO EVO 2K11: GACKT

When Gackt heads to Las Vegas as Singapore’s representative at EVO 2K11 Super Street Fighter 4 tournament, he will have only one goal in mind and that is to secure a top 8 finish and do his nation proud. “I will do my best,” he says, “and make Singapore well known to the Street Fighter players worldwide.”

The road to EVO began last month at the Clementi Games Festival, which took place on the 24th of April.  It was the first gaming event ever to be held in a Community Center and it saw a total of 58 participants face off in games such as FIFA 11 and Super Street Fighter 4. The live coverage of the later on Justin.tv/sgfighter saw 19,335 views and attracted over 67 followers.

Gackt, who’s real name is Eng Ghim Kee, beat fellow SSF4 gamer Leslie in a standard best-of-3 match to take home first prize.  Since then, the local champ has been pumped for his trip and has already devised a game plan to keep him in tiptop shape for the competition.  “I will try to organize as many training sessions as I possibly can with top players in the next 2 months,” Gackt reveals, “on top of that, I will be studying videos of the top players in action, from there I hope to develop a good strategy to beat them.”

The EVO 2K11 line up is sure to be star-studded, but Gackt is sure he will not be overawed.  Having studied his opposition and Gackt has singled out a couple of gamers that he would like to meet at the event and his list includes the likes of Justin Wong, Tokido, Diago and Gamerbee.

This will be Gackt’s first visit to Las Vegas and apart from making a good impression at the games, the pro-gamer would also like to tour the famed casinos. “I always wanted to visit the world class casinos at Vegas as shown on television,” he recalls amiably.  In fact, should it be possible, he would like to drop by Disneyland and Universal Studios in neighboring state of Los Angeles, California. 

It may be Sin City, but Gackt would not be gambling his chances away at the tournament.  The win at the Clementi Games Festival was the stepping stone from which hard work and perseverance ensues and a seasoned gamer like Gackt is well aware of the expectations. As he points out, “console practice sessions will be intense.”

Previously using the character Ryu in his games, Gackt has recently switched to Fei Long as he feels this character is better suited to his aggressive style of play. “Basically Fei Long is a high risk-high return character,” he explains, “In a lot of situations the game would force a risky maneuver from you but you are rewarded with massive damage dealt to your opponent.” 

Recalling the Game Festival back in April, Gackt enthusiastically relates, “The competition was great on that day and I had lots of fun! The event was incredibly hyped, especially the final.” 

The Evolution 2011 tournament finals will take place at the Rio Casino and Resorts at Las Vegas on July 29th till 31st.  We wish Gackt all the best in his journey!