May 25th I took part in what was the third ranking battle held by RRV in Dordrecht. There weren't as many players present as there were people that signed up. Though some were disappointed by it, I was happy to play anyone at 3S that would give me good opposition.

In the end I placed 3rd and was satisfied with the way I had played in the quarterfinals. I did not mind losing to the person that would eventually win the thing, but I did mind losing such a close match. I've noticed that I truly suck at winning clutch situations.

I played Chun-Li which was a change. I hadn't practiced at all, let alone Chun. So this was a bit of a last minute decision that I took because I wasn't confident I would do well. I thought I might as well play a second choice character that could make it fun even though I lose. Well, I ended up not having much fun losing in the group phase. I made it through winning only twice and then playing and winning a tie-break match. I found that I got better the more I played. It culminated in a very intense quarter-final match that I feel I could have gone either way.

One thing is clear, if an amateur Chun player like me can put up a show like that, it really proves how good of a character it is. Another thing is also clear: I can't, for the life of me, adapt on the fly. Not even between matches, I need like a whole 24 hours to process what happened and see how I can improve. Combined with the fact that I play at the most once or twice a month, this means my progression is extremely slow. You have got to read your opponent to SOME extent to be any good, and this is probably one of my great weaknesses. I can see things happening but in my mind I'm still trying to accomplish a specific task, as opposed to trying to predict and counter what my opponent is trying to do in the current situation.

I'm gonna have to expand on my "Getting in with Makoto" game, because it seems like I'm becoming predictable and her slow walking speed is really starting to piss me off.