Look at how Itazan is sitting next to Nemo with that Maniacal smile.

They asked each Captain for their thoughts going into the tryout/draft:

• Tokido: I really want to put in my full effort and do well this time. In the last RAGE Street Fighter League I didn’t do very well, and this time I really want to work hard and win the whole thing.
• Mago: I think the rules are really interesting this time, and I want to make use of that and do well.
• Daigo: I’ve been in this two times now, and I did a lot of coaching, but when it was my turn I lost a lot, so this time I want to train a lot with the people on my team.
• Fuudo: With these rules I think we have to think about who we choose and be strategic.
• Itazan: I think this draft phase is the most fun, I’m going to try to have as much fun as possible, and I want to hurry up and get started.
• Nemo: The rules are special this time, so I want to use that well, I have people that I want to choose already, but I’ll look at the results of the tryout and make my decision.

Hameko says that at the last two events, Itazan drafted his teams very well and won because of that, so he wants to ask about Itazan’s confidence going into this draft. He says that picking Kimura (who went 7-3) was a good job on his part (big laugh from the crowd), but this time because of the character ban, he’s got two characters and thinks things will go well.

Yamato asks about player development, particularly Kunisada and Sakagami, who were both on Mago’s team. Mago says that Kunisada was already very good, but he thought Sakagami grew a lot. (BTW, at the Asia Premiere Sakagami took out Bon-chan 2-0.)

They interview the captains a bit more, Daigo says something interesting: I’m going to choose people based on strength. I’m sorry, but if you aren’t strong, I can’t choose you. This is a departure from the last JP SFL, where there was a forced selection of a Beginner class member, and Daigo’s method of choosing was to get someone he would enjoy drinking with (and it was a good choice, IMHO.) He said he was very interested in Bon-chan, since he’s very strong. Fuudo also talks about he wants people two really strong characters. Nemo says he wants Kichipa-mu, who does not have a well known strong secondary, he says that for big bodies, their favorable matchups are very favorable, and so he thinks with the Ban rule Kichipa-mu would be good (I guess if he can force a favorable matchup?) Kichipa-mu does have a bit of an Abigail, but he really loves Gief and tries to stick with him. Nemo also says that the Captain’s matches are worth 2 points, which is new to me. He does say that if Zangief is banned, then Nemo is free to use the character he likes.

The tryout matches are first. They split up the tryout class into two groups, and have them play each other. The captain judge based on that. Then the six pro license holders are added to the pool and the captains can interview people from the combined group. They introduce the people in the tryout class.

They hold some matches between various people – heavily edited and cut. Fujimura won with Lucia. Fujiwara (from Rookie’s Caravan) beat Storm Kubo’s Abigail with his Akuma. The Captains were definitely watching closely, but looked like they were more interested in Fujiwara’s play than Storm Kubo. Later, the called up Yuji and Storm Kubo who used E. Honda, and lost a close set. The chat is going a bit nuts with Storm Kubo’s play and are surprised that he lost. The announcer (this is filmed earlier, and they cut heavily) says “Storm Kubo’s turn is done, without having won anything.”

Shuto (Bison) and Haku (F.A.N.G.) are up next, with Shuto showing his secondary off. They leave the captain mics on, which is a bit hard to hear with the commentary as well, but Daigo and others are impressed with Haku. Next is Haku (F.A.N.G.) vs. Machabo (Kolin). Haku beat Machabo’s Kolin (final match, final round.)

Comments from the Captains after watching the matches:

• Fuudo says it was important to see people that they don’t have a chance to see much fight.
• The MC asks them who they would like to see fight, and Itazan immediately says “Nemo-san will make the announcement!” Nemo wants to see Haku (FANG) and Motchan (FANG). The both of them in the crowd looked pained. Nemo says they need to know which FANG to choose. The studio gets a big laugh when one of the Captains says that Motchan looks like he’s going to cry. (See the previous JP SFL summaries for background on why that is funny.)
• Itazan again asks for Nemo to make the announcement, and he’s like “What? I have to do them all? We all decided on what to see, why do you make me look like the bad guy here?” Itazan has a maniacal smile. The next request is Fujiwara (Akuma) vs. Johnny (Karin). Mago said that while Fujiwara played well, it wasn’t enough to judge him, and while Johnny has a standard Karin, they want to see him give it his best (laughs).

Haku took the mirror match 2-1 in the FT2. During the match Nemo said that Haku has a steady style, and would be strong in FT2 matches. In the second match, Johnny took it 2-1.

The next phase is an interview phase. The Captain can interview people 1:1, as many people as they like, within a 30 minute period. The pool of 18 people from the tryout phase is supplemented with 6 Pro players (who won a tournament for the invite). The six pros are Takeuchi John, Moke, Gachi-Kun, Bon-chan, Dogura, and Kichipa-mu. A pretty high powered class to recruit.

They asked the Pro players what they thought going into the draft. Bon-chan said he was sure he would be selected, but would prefer to be chosen by Daigo, Fuudo, or Tokido. Kichipa-mu mentioned how he thought Urien and Zangief are a good combo. Takeuchi John really wants to be selected by Nemo, his Pro teammate and mentor. Gachi-kun says that while he is known for his main character, he also wants to show off his secondary character.

Talking to the Captains, Tokido rattles off a list of Pro players that he thinks will be difficult to get. If this is like the previous drafts, if multiple captains choose the same person, the people who had no conflict get their choices. Then the people who had a conflict choose again, and the process repeats until everyone has chosen one person. That means you have a strong incentive to not choose the same person as someone else: you then have to choose again from a reduced pool. So Tokido says he thinks Haku might be a good choice, though he wants Fujimura most. Mago says that it is possible that people will change their mind about who they want to select after having seen the Tryouts. He ranks Machabo highest. Itazan says that he was impressed with Fujiwara’s Akuma, though he didn’t know him well. He also talks about how lots of other captains are interested in Machabo, but he doesn’t think he’ll get a conflict if he chooses him first. Daigo has a lot to say but I think what stood out is that he thinks if Machabo’s Necali is banned, he won’t be able to win, but he doesn’t know how strong Fujimura’s sub character is, so Bon-chan is looking really good. Fuudo is interested in Bon-chan and Haku. Nemo thought that people’s secondaries weren’t that great, but also like Haku. He thinks Haku has a chance of beating other pros in a match. Nemo is interested in Kichipa-mu and Takeuchi John as well.

First up, Tokido interviews Fujimura. Tokido opens with: “I know you, so let’s skip the formal stuff.” He says he’ll definitely pick Fujimura, but wants to talk about who to pick up as their third. If they get Gachi-kun, he’s worried about Rashid getting banned, so he wants someone with a good secondary. They toss around some names, and Storm Kubo comes up. They think he’s really putting in effort in the CPT, and think that he can contribute to JP SFL as well. Tokido ends by talking about how he wants to choose people that are able to share their views on the game and have similar ideas about team structure (I interpret this as being at a similar high level for SFV tactics as him.)

Itazan calls on Machabo first. They were on the same team that won the last JP SFL, and he really wants Machabo. He also wants to talk about who should be their 3rd player. Moke (Rashid / Cammy) is high up on the list. The cameraman pushes on what would happen if Itazan can’t get Machabo, and he says that would be a great disaster. He thinks that choosing your team is critical for this league, and if he can’t get Machabo he will be in a tough situation.

Mago though, also called Machabo. Mago asks Machabo what he would think of the team balance if they were on it together. Mago says that people wouldn’t really want to ban Necali, and Mago’s got Karin and Cammy. They talk a bit, and Machabo says that Necali has good matchups with odd characters. There is more stuff in there, but nothing that really stood out to me. Next, Mago talks with Yuji (College route, Chun-Li and Karin). Mago asks him what he thinks about being chosen, and says he thinks he might have about a 20% chance of being selected. When asked about people he might have trouble with, he brings up Fujimura and John Takeuchi, but not Gachi-kun. He thinks his matches with others on the page that Mago showed him are about 50-50. Mago doesn’t think people would ban his Chun-Li, but he asks him to get some practice in (with? as? against?) Birdie. Mago says that he’s interested in Yuji, who is grateful, but then Mago says “As long as Gachi-kun still isn’t available!” They get a laugh and Yuji says that Gachi-kun was using Karin earlier, and looked super strong. Mago says “I’d say to use Birdie!” More laughs. Mago also calls up Fujimura. Mago says that others are interested in Fujimura too, but that he almost definitely will always get his Ibuki banned (hi, Shine!) He asks Fujimura about what happens if he’s banned. He says “that’ll be rough” (laughs all around.) Fujimura says he’ll look at the others on the team and decide which secondary to use. Mago asks how confident he is in his secondary, and Fujimura says that it’s tough, but he’s doing this seriously, and since he doesn’t have to go to many CPT things (he’s already in based on points) he can put a lot of time into training. Then Mago asks him would he like to be on his team, and Fujimura, with a big grin says “Of course I don’t want to be on your team!” He does say if Mago puts effort in, then he’s ok with it, and would like to have fun playing with him. Fujimura’s going to take it seriously though. They interview Mago afterwards, and he says that he’s really torn on Fujimura. He thinks his Ibuki will be banned every time, and that’s sad for Fujimura, but even if he goes in hard with his secondary (the graphic shows Lucia) then it’s still unfortunate for Fujimura. So he’s thinking of giving up on Fujimura.

Haku is called in by Tokido. Tokido says that whatever team Haku is on, the other teams will prepare heavily for F.A.N.G., and so it is up to whether Haku can show them that he’s able to take the game to the level of players, and not characters. Tokido says that with his F.A.N.G. level, he might be banned, but Tokido heard that he also has a high level Falke, and asks about that. Haku says it would be Falke. As they are wrapping up Tokido says that he doesn’t know if Haku will be on his team, but that he certainly with be in the JP SFL, and he looks forward to it. Really nice and professional mentoring atmosphere in those closing remarks. Haku is also called in to meet with Daigo. Daigo says that this was the first time he had seen Haku play and was impressed. He asked about the Ban rule, and asked about his secondary, and how he rates his Falke compared to F.A.N.G. Haku says he thinks he can take out grapplers, and other than Cammy, Guile, and Akuma he can probably do it. Finally, he speaks with Itazan. Itazan asks about which characters he thinks he can fight, and Rashid is up first. Cammy, Guile, and Akuma come up as the tough ones again. Itazan says the most important thing is the schedule for the league – and whether he can make it to America for the finals if they are in 1st or 2nd place. Haku is also called in by Fuudo who brings Moke, Fujimura, and Machao (win / draw / lose). (That’s what they wrote – Moke won in the clip, but I don’t know what else happened.)

Tokido interviews Kichipa-mu and then Storm Kubo. Tokido says without the Ban Kichipa-mu would definitely be chosen, but he asks about his secondary. Kichipa-mu says he doesn’t think it’s ready for top class players. Tokido asks what he thinks about how the rules don’t fit his style, and Kichipa-mu says he’s just got to practice with his secondary as much as possible before the league starts. Tokido says that he doesn’t think Zangief would always be banned, and one way would be for Kichipa-mu to go on that strength, but Kichipa-mu says that if he is banned, he wants to be able to fight and raise the chances that he could win. Storm Kubo is next, and says “I wasn’t expecting this.” Tokido says that there is a high chance he’d choose Storm Kubo for his ideal team. Tokido says again that he’s changed his view about how to build a team, and wants to choose people who agree with his view of making a team. Stork Kubo says that he’s desperately pursuing the CPT right now, and thinks that he was able to put on a good showing at EVO, but now he thinks this second half of the season is super important. He’d be very happy if Tokido would be willing to teach him things, and he would definitely like to join Tokido. Tokido asks him how he will split his will (efforts) between CPT and JP SFL. Storm Kubo has a really pained expression as he thinks about his answer, and he replies “You don’t think that those things can go together?” Kubo says that strengthening his main and sub characters for JP SFL also has an impact on the CPT. Storm Kubo continues that his team’s owner (Team iXA) has asked him to perform well, and also increase the awareness of Team iXA, and Storm Kubo interprets that as doing well in CPT to get results, and taking part in JP SFL to publicize Team iXA, and that they are both important. So, 5:5 he says.

The announcer continues that there is another leader who called in both Storm Kubo and Kichipa-mu, later revealed to be Nemo. Nemo said that he wanted to ask them about what would be tough matchups. He thinks that Kichipa-mu has a Gief and an Abigail, and would like to hear from Storm Kubo about his characters. With both them, if Zangief is banned, he thinks Storm Kubo can use Abigail, and he wants to know about tough matchups in that case, and vice versa. Nemo asks Storm Kubo why he thinks he’s there, and he says that it’s because Nemo doesn’t like grapplers, but actually think Nemo-san has some sort of scheme planned. Nemo explains that he thinks that under the Character Ban rule, big body characters are strong. When grapplers have a good matchup, he thinks it is a very good matchup. Kichipa-mu says he will use Abigail if Zangief is banned, and Nemo asks who Kichipa-mu does not want to meet up with. Number one is Fuudo’s Birdie, and he also doesn’t like Fujimura. Nemo says that he thinks Kichipa-mu can beat Fujimura, but he responds that while he has confidence, he also thinks he loses a lot. Nemo asks about matchups he doesn’t like with his Abigail, and he responds Blanka, Necali. Nemo asks if Storm Kubo can teach Kichipa-mu the Necali matchup. Like, right now. Nemo wants an Abigail specialist to “initiate” him (everyone laughs, and Storm Kubo looks off camera – “is this what he was after?”) Storm Kubo says he really thought this was an interview and was nervous, but now he feels like he’s just being used, and Nemo replies that he asked Storm Kubo to come to make Kichipa-mu stronger. Storm Kubo says that he’s been using G for Necali recently though. They discuss that a bit, and Nemo asks if there is anything else Kichipa-mu wants to ask Storm Kubo, who is just like “why don’t you just contact me on LINE (a Japanese SNS)?” They already are in a LINE group together. (Laughs.) Storm Kubo tells Nemo he wants him to use his limited interviewing time wisely, and Nemo says that this is very important! He wants to see how strong he can make Kichipa-mu.

Just a readout play by play of that interview isn’t really good at getting the feeling of the thing across. It is really funny, and the dynamic between Storm Kubo and Nemo (who were on the same team previously) is very interesting. Storm Kubo really wants to get on the JP SFL, and you can tell.

How does the draft work?

• Each leader puts in a secret ballot for a player they want.
• If no other leader chose that player, they get them.
• If more than one leader selected the same player, they all draw lots, the winner gets the player, and the others all start from the beginning until all leaders have a player.

So you can see that there is some strategy involved in the process. Note that there is no restriction on who the leaders can choose. It is all down to balloting process. In the first round:

• Fujimura: Tokido, Daigo
• Machabo: Mago, Itazan
• Bonchan: Fuudo
• Kichipa-mu: Nemo

When Nemo’s choice was announced, you could hear Itazan laughing his characteristic laugh, and Mago, Daigo, and Tokido were breaking as well.

Second drawing:

• Gachi-kun: Tokido
• Dogura: Itazan

The first round complete, the second round commences. They ask the people who were selected about their thoughts. Fujimura was surprised that Daigo chose him. Gachi-kun was confident that even with the Character Ban he’d be ok. Bonchan thinks that him and Fuudo cover the character ban well, and he says they will win. Dogura is happy to have been chosen, and he also says they both use two characters. Kichipa-mu was surprised that he was chosen on the first round, and that he will do his best with Zangief.

For the second round:

• Takeuchi John: Mago, Nemo
• Moke: Fuudo, Itazan
• Haku: Tokido
• Kawano: Daigo

The second drawing:

• yuji: Mago
• Shuto: Fuudo

I really like this draft format – there is anticipation in it, and some strategy. They asked some of the players who didn’t make it in afterwards on their thoughts, and Storm Kubo said he thought he just didn’t have enough appeal for the leaders, and says he wouldn’t like to reflect further on his feelings and to wrap up the interview. That’s rough to hear, I really like Storm Kubo. Sakagami says he wasn’t expecting to be chosen, but he’s happy that two of the people he advanced with from the Rookie’s Caravan were selected.

A bit later they present the full teams, but it was filmed after the draft. Haku wasn’t able to make it due to the schedule. Mago has a crazy swagger as he walks out. I hope someone clips that, it should exist somewhere.

So far I’ve really enjoyed the different incarnations of team battles that I’ve watched in Japan and the US. The character ban changes what is important in evaulating player capability. It adds an aspect of generality over being a character specialist. I think that is fine, although I’m personally more interested in seeing players play to the best of their capability. Since Capcom is involved in this, it seems that they are setting the precendent in valuing a player’s ability to play multiple characters.

One thing I have enjoyed seeing are the different focuses different seasons have had. The most recent JP Street Fighter League powered by RAGE had an interesting focus on players at different skill levels, and I thought it was very interesting to watch the Beginner class player improve over time. In the US Street Fighter League I’ve enjoyed watching character specialists play with secondaries and improve over time, although I would prefer to see more high level play. At a very high level I think players should have the ability to quickly pick up characters, at least faster than casual players would, but generally I don’t think the character ban has introduced much strategy into the choice of who to ban. I don’t think it has done much to improve diversity of characters played either, if that was the intent.

Still, I’m interested in seeing experimentation, so I’m not too worried about things.