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Didn't make the semi, if I'd beaten Decopon I would've done! I used Leixia in the solo tournament, and I was quite confident when facing Decopon, but a combination of a little bad luck, poor throw mindgames and a lack of sharpness in the match meant that the FR forum was completely accurate when they said I got massacred!

[Bad luck because he started in Gloomy, bad mindgame because I only broke 1 throw, and I missed some whiff punishes even. His spacing game is totally amazing, as it was with all 5 Japanese players]

Tira is my favourite character but it is clear that my level is not good enough with her atm. In the UK I was losing a lot of matches with Tira, while with Leixia I am very hard to beat for most players, even some top players. But Tira, I still do not understand the character completely, which is a shame.

I used Tira in the team tournaments (we had other Leixia players in each) but I was always going to use Leixia in solos.

As for my performance overall, it was good, I got joint 9th I think and played especially well in the casuals, but only with Leixia really. But I will continue to persevere with Tira and try to reach a top level with her.

ah okay. Good achievement nonetheless. shame i cant watch any of the replays. ive noticed how lucky he was starting in gloomy for alot of the rounds lol. he fooled everyone with GS frame traps and was playing solid as always. did you get a chance to mirror match him in casuals?

Yeah he killed me 5-0. It was close at times, a lot of times he would come back at 2-2 with no health left and kill me. It was my first casual match of the whole trip, so I was not really focused and forgot basic stuff like "do not get hit my GS 3B". He used zoning pressure with backstep to get the 3B opportunities - simple but effective.

Also I wouldn't say he "fooled" anyone - a lot of players know the Tira matchup properly now - but it was more like, as with the other Japanese players, that he would pressure players into mistakes using aggressive play and aggressive movement. It's hard to describe here but you'd understand instantly if you played them.

Don't feel like you need to use Tira at top level. As far as im aware you already play Tira at top level. I like your Leixia though you should stick with her.

yeah i guess i need to choose my words. I know he didnt fool them, but as you said he persuaded/pressured players to play more aggressively. But yeah that was all done only on GS, hardly any work on JS. Although i do respect his risk while in JS (e.g. 66A/AA).

Lol thanks man but it's not true. Leixia though, I am very confident with my level and I suspect that I am one of the top players around. The French guys said some really kind things after some freeplay and FT5s which was great.

But I will continue with Tira as well because I really like the character. I find new things with her every time I go into training. She's really fun.

Yeah picking your times to use 66A /A is essential, it's a great move aside from the unsafety (obviously it would be insane if it was safe). But yeah he's better than me at remaining is GS, I am still coming up with little strategies but I need to keep working on it.