This article is part of our FGC series.
The fight for regional supremacy is officially underway, as the first stop on the Red Bull Conquest circuit has come and gone. Taking place in the Windy CIty of Chicago, some of the best players in the region battled it out for a shot at the National Finals in Washington D.C. this Fall. Once it was all said and done, Marcus "The Cool Kid93" Redmond, Marquis "Shadow_20z" Jordan, and Duncan "Mr. K" Tonningsen were the top performers in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, and Guilty Gear Xrd REV2, respectively.
The Cool Kid93 makes his way to D.C.
While his wife didn't seem to make as much of an impact on the competition with her trash talk as she's done at previous tournaments, The Cool Kid93 was no less dominant in the SFV bracket at Red Bull Conquest. Using his powerful Abigail, The Cool Kid93 stood tall against the likes of Rob "RobTV" Burney and Chakotay "ElChakotay" Andrich, showing that he's much more than just trash talk.
While Cool Kid ultimately locked up the title, it wasn't without some stuff competition from RobTV and ElChakotay, who both pushed him to the brink during the winners' finals and grand finals, respectively. RobTV brought Guile to the table and put up a commendable performance against the gigantic behemoth that is Abigail, but he was simply no match as Cool Kid moved on to the grand finals.
Meanwhile, RobTV was bounced down to the losers' finals where he faced off against an ElChakotay that had just won four straight series in the losers' bracket (after being knocked down there in the first place by RobTV in the winners' quarters). ElChakotay was ready for RobTV as he ran roughshod on his opponent with his explosive R. Mika, picking up a lopsided 3-0 victory to move into the grand finals. There, he set the tone early and often, going up 2-1 and putting himself on match point for the bracket reset. Cool Kid remained cool (get it?) and collected, steeling himself to win two straight games to lock up the win. He'll now get to kick back and relax over the next few months as he awaits the rest of his opponents at the National Finals in D.C. this November.
Shadow_20z handles business in Tekken 7
Shadow has had quite the year that was capped off by his big win on Saturday. Exactly one year ago to the day, Shadow suffered an accident at his dorm in Michigan that left him with multiple broken bones in his spine and ribs. His family didn't know if he would ever walk again, let alone compete at such a high level. Here we are a year later and not only is he walking, but he just claimed victory over a stacked slate of competition in Chicago.
He managed to do so with impressive ease that is far beyond his 20-year-old stature. He waded through the entire tournament while only dropping a handful of games, ultimately taking out Sam "Beast Infection" Mercado in a 3-1 grand finals. The fact that he went up against a Beast Infection that was red-hot, having just won three straight series in the losers' bracket, including a hotly contested 3-2 win over Joseph "Jody Tha Great" Woods, shows just how on point Shadow was in this tournament. To put a bow on the whole thing, he even managed to claim bragging rights over his older brother, Joonya 20z. You can bet that come November, Shadow will be ready to show off his skills once more and represent Chicago at the National Finals.
Mr. K owns the Guilty Gear bracket
While the Guilty Gear side of things was a much more brief affair than both Tekken and SFV, the competition was no less exciting. There were plenty of close finishes to go around, but above all else, it was simply a treat to watch Mr. K absolutely body the competition from start to finish.
He started out in Pool B and only managed to drop one game throughout the six matches he played on Saturday. And that one loss came to Ken Griffey Jr. (not to be mistaken for the Hall of Fame MLB, who does not play professional Guilty Gear) in Mr. K's first match of the day. After that, he went 12-0 in the next five matches to claim the title and the first spot at the National Finals this Fall. He certainly has set the standard that others players will need to live up to over the next few months.
