Die Macht » on the seasons first piece of silverware -

In two days, over 15,000 contenders will gather to compete in the worlds largest fighting game tournament: the Evolution Championship Series (Evo). This year, the events set of nine titles includes Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mortal Kombat X, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Killer Instinct, Pokkén Tournament, Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator, and Tekken 7: Fated Retribution.This time around, multiple competitors will look to defend their titles from last year. While some have remained on top of their games, many others have faltered, and others have risen as favorites. But it all comes down to this weekend as hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money is on the line across all of the games.Looking ahead to the weekend, we ranked 10 competitors who are considered favorites going into the tournament, judging them based on recent performances or their legacies as champions of their game.1. Infiltration - Street Fighter VWhen Street Fighter V was released and the Capcom Pro Tour began, Team Razers Lee Infiltration Seon-woo quickly separated himself from the rest of the pack to claim the rank of the worlds best player. In a dominating start akin to his Year of Infiltration run in 2012, he took down the first two Premier Tournaments (Final Round and NorCal Regionals) with relative ease.His weapon of choice, Nash, was not one of the most popular picks among the community, but Infiltration played him in a style that could only be considered his own. Essentially, Infiltration is frenetic and active with his button and movement choices. Hes the only player to maneuver Nash, a heavy zoning and space-control character, into an unpredictable moving wall. Hes also the only player in the top 15 of the Capcom Pro Tour standings to play Nash.The second coming of the Year of Infiltration just may continue with an Evo title, as this world-class warrior possesses few weaknesses.2. SonicFox - Mortal Kombat XFor the past year, Mortal Kombat was dominated by one name: Critical Reactions Dominique SonicFox McLean. Hes the three-time ESL Mortal Kombat X Pro League champion, a two-time Evo winner (one for Injustice: Gods Among Us and for Mortal Kombat X), and the favorite in every NetherRealm Studio game tournament he enters. But, the most daunting fact about SonicFox is his character versatility. He wont just beat you with his signature Erron Black; hell crush you with a pocket list of characters that span from Alien or Mileena, and all the way to Jason.If that werent enough, no one in competitive Mortal Kombat can remotely figure out how to shut down SonicFoxs incredible gameplay. Hes a bully and a fearless risk-taker. Hes the most dangerous in the neutral space, as he harasses opponents with the best normal moves at razor-sharp precision. He refuses to be conditioned and marches to his own stubborn beat. To beat SonicFox would mean the greatest outplay of your career. Hes the Mortal Kombat juggernaut and an easy favorite for another Evo title.3. Mang0 - Super Smash Bros. MeleeAlready a two-time winner of Evo in Super Smash Brothers Melee, Joseph Mang0 Marquez wants nothing more than a third Evo trophy to add to his collection. He comes into this years Evo with all of the momentum of winning WTFox 2 earlier this month.In recent months, he has added Marth to his arsenal of characters to handle some of his weaker matchups. He is known for his relentless pressure to force his opponents into making bad plays, and now has developed a slower patient gear to throw off his opponents. His ability to play without fear in high pressure situations makes him a strong threat to win this years Evo.4. Anakin - Tekken 7: Fated RetributionCEO 2016 champion in June? Check. First place at Combo Breaker in May? Check. Circas Hoa Anakin Luu has earned his way into the Tekken Tour on more than one occasion, and despite being sent to the losers bracket at both of those events, he still walked out on top.That said, Evo is an international event, and with Saint, Take, Yuu, Kuro, JDCR, Knee and countless other international players coming to Vegas, this will be a bigger challenge than anything so far this year. Anakin is two years removed from his last Evo top eight; lets see if Fated Retribution and this years bracket is kinder than last year.5. ZeRo - Super Smash Bros. for Wii UThe Evo 2015 Super Smash Bros. for Wii U champion will return this year to defend his title. Last year, Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios dominated the competition throughout the entire year, taking first at Apex 2015 and CEO 2015 before Evo. At Evo, he continued to reign supreme, ending with a victory over Dutch player Ramin Mr. R Delshad in the grand finals.This year, however, has been a lot more difficult for ZeRo. In January, he took 2016s first super major, Genesis 3, and then took a break from the game roughly a month later. After returning from the break, he lost to Elliot Ally Bastien Carroza-Oyarce and Larry Larry Lurr Holland in a row. Last month, he took ninth at CEO. Despite the slump, dont count ZeRo out--because theres a good chance he could repeat and retain the title.6. KaneBlueRiver - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3Marvel is in an odd place right now. Many of the top players of old have shifted focus to Street Fighter V, but you never know if Justin Wong, Chris G or Filipino Champ will have have a run. You do know the kind of day that Nicolas KaneBlueRiver Gonzalez will have, however, and it involves a lot of smashing, a lot of drones, and the mayor lariating anything and everything.His focus has been firmly on Marvel, and despite all of the criticism hes received, hes won many of the larger events this year. Weve all heard about Zero, Doom, Morrigan, Vergil dominating the cast, but, somehow, big bodies are looking to get two years straight as Evo champion, thanks to KaneBlueRiver.7. Armada - Super Smash Bros. MeleeAs the reigning Evo champion, Adam Armada Lindgren embodies what it means to be consistent. His record against players outside of the top six has been flawless for the past six years.In every possible way, Armada is the ultimate competitor. He practices on his own for hours to perfect his movement and his combos. He evolves his game to stay ahead of his competitors by implementing new techniques and characters into his toolbox. His mental fortitude is top notch, rarely crumbling in close situations. If you want to defeat Armada, you have to earn every stock and every hit.8. Ogawazato - Guilty Gear Xrd: RevelatorAnime went mainstream last year, thanks to Guilty Gear Xrd and Woshige not keeping track of the game count in winners semis. This year, the newest version of Xrd returns, and last years champion is in the conversation still.Ogawa was the man that took Woshige and the field out last year, and fans of the series shouldnt be surprised by that, as the man is synonymous with Zato-1. Hes nearly won team tournaments single-handedly against some of the best in the world, but nothing is guaranteed. Hes been in a slump so far this year, and with Omito, Machabo, Dogura and others filling out a stacked field with a strong cast of characters, anything goes. Lets see if familiarity with the Evo stage can help him get back to his winning ways.9. Tokido - Street Fighter VThere hasnt been a more consistent player in Street Fighter V than Hajime Tokido Taniguchi. The man whos also known as the Murder Face will enter Evo as a odds-on favorite to take down the championship. His resume for the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour is nothing short of amazing: one first place finish at Community Effort Orlando, two second place finishes at Final Round and NorCal Regionals, and two third place finishes at StunFest and DreamHack Summer for just his Premier Tournament accomplishments. To say that Tokido will enter Evo in fine form is an understatement.Hes been the standard-bearer for Ryu players. Whether it was his abusing of Ryus jumping light kick or his beautiful use of critical art whenever available, he set most of the trends for the character. Hell come into Evo as the worlds number two player and a legitimate threat to take down the crown in Las Vegas.10. Dabuz - Super Smash Bros. for Wii USamuel Dabuz Buzby has never won a super major during his time in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, despite coming extremely close at Apex 2015, CEO 2015, The Big House 5, and CEO 2016. But despite a string of second and third places, Dabuz is something no other Smash for Wii U competitor is currently: consistent. The remainder of the competitors, including ZeRo, have placed highly or won at one tournament, only to falter weeks later. Dabuzs stability at the top makes him a threat at every tournament he attends.Evo might be his time to take it all, with Rosalina & Luma, his character of choice -- one only he has mastered at that level of competition -- by his side. To get to the finals on Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, hell need to weed his way through over 2600 competitors, including some of the best, like ZeRo, Nairoby Nairo Quezada, Jason ANTi Bates, and more.Robert Newhouse Cowboys Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. 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One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has revealed he gets butterflies in the build-up to big matches as the Argentine prepares to take on Liverpool in Sundays Capital One Cup final at Wembley.Aguero has competed in a number of major finals for club and country during his illustrious career, including the 2010 Europa League with Atletico Madrid, the 2014 League Cup with City and the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Copa America for his country.But despite playing at the very top of the game for several years, the forward still gets nervous in the days leading up to showpiece events - at least until the first whistle sounds. Sergio Aguero has played in many big games, including the 2014 World Cup final The butterflies are always there, Aguero told Sky Sports. Thats normal in any game. When it is a final, you just want to get the preparation over and play.Obviously you are wanting to do well, but as soon as you are out on the field that anxiety tends to go away once you start enjoying yourself in the game. Once you get on the ball, the nerves go.I like to have the same mental approach as when I was a kid. I like to enjoy it, whether it is training or a game. It is important somebody still has to win and lose, but the main thing is to enjoy it and that is the kind of attitude I take into training and into games. We will be going all out for some sort of revenge and hopefully we have learnt from that and will get our own back in the final Sergio Aguero Once Sundays encounter with Liverpool gets under way, Aguero says he will approach it like he does any other match in an attempt to relax himself.I try to play a normal game, forget it is a final, and do not make any special plans, he said. However, it is a funny one as sometimes the team that plays the worst in a final ends up winning.What it is all about is eliminating individual errors, ironing out mistakes as they can be costly in games. There is no forgiveness in finals like there can be in the league, you need to be 100 per cent focused and concentrated going into the game and do not make one little error that might cost us the final. Aguero believes mental as well as physical preparation is key in the lead-up to big contests.ddddddddddddHow you prepare mentally can dictate how you are going to perform in the final, he said. Focus on the game and the task in hand and what is in the head can dictate whether you win or lose or have a good game or not.You need to focus on what you have been doing well, give everything and leave everything out there as it is a final. Go in with a positive mental attitude to try and win the game, do not forget to try and enjoy it and almost get lost in the game, because sometimes nerves creep in and you can be a bit more anxious when going into a final. Liverpool beat Man City 4-1 in the Premier League in November The 27-year-old knows that City will face a tough examination against Jurgen Klopps side at Wembley, especially in light of what happened the last time the teams met.On that occasion in November, Liverpool beat City 4-1 in the Premier League, but Aguero hopes he and his team-mates will have learned lessons from that meeting at the Etihad.It is a final, so they will give everything they can, he said. It is probably their best chance of a trophy and they will want to make their fans happy by giving their best performance.We expect a difficult game bearing in mind the defeat earlier in the season, but we will be going all out for some sort of revenge. They played well, but hopefully we have learnt from that and will get our own back in the final. Aguero won the League Cup with Manchester City in 2014 And Aguero recognises just how vital it is for City to get their hands on the seasons first piece of silverware - as they also did two years ago under Manuel Pellegrini - especially after all the millions the clubs UAE-based owners have spent on the team.It is very important to win Capital One Cup, he said.It is an important trophy for us, the club have invested a lot to win trophies and it will be marvellous to win it again.Also See:Thiago rules out City movePogbas Pep talkHow local is your clubWATCH: Kompany ready for action ' ' '