Re: It's the Finals time so...
I'd like to echo this. I know Biron said he'd have detailed notes after the results went up, the judges are not required to do so but I am not so subtly encouraging you all to do so.
EDIT: To help move things along, here's the notes Chrisanova sent me on the two matches he judged:
Joey Melton vs. Cameron Cruise
From the outset I’m a little uneasy here because we’ve got the classic uneven RP count dilemma to work through (Melton with 3, Cruise with 4). But I’m a Big Boy Judge, so I think I can handle it. I will say this might’ve been the closest match I’ve judged since Sean Stevens vs. Mike Randalls in the 2008 TEAM Invitational Tournament. Kudos to both handlers.
Joey Melton – First RP
Good intro for Melton. This has probably been harped on enough already (I don’t know, haven’t read much from the other rounds), but with Melton there’s a bit of a battle between the message and the form. Several careless grammar and spelling-related things detract a little from the presentation, but Melton’s message and personality always come through, and that’s where Steve is one of FW’s most seasoned writers: he has that knack for breathing life into his character so you can imagine what Melton is like away from the camera. That is a difficult thing to do. I enjoyed this first piece, though it didn’t give me the vibe of “This is THE Guy to Beat.”
Cameron Cruise – First RP
I love it when the characters in a battle like this have the history that these two have. As interesting as it can be to see total strangers try to research each other for a match, it just doesn’t hold a candle to two guys (or girls) who have a back-story they can bring to the surface. And that’s really what made this one stand out for me. Cameron’s first piece took a bunch of interesting shots at his former tag partner, and surprised me a bit, too. This was a really strong performance for Cruise. By focusing on more relevant and interesting character arguments instead of generalized bragging or sh*t-talking, Cruise really did himself a favor.
Joey Melton – Second RP
Throws everything back in Cruise’s face, and does so quite effectively. Some great lines in there…”Joey, why is my wife’s bra in your car?” HA! Joey apparently has an answer for everything, and I also like this is going more in the direction of Melton arguing that he created (and now has the opportunity to destroy) Cameron Cruise. The best parts of FW-format promo battles are the storylines that develop within the exchanges, and I like where this one’s going.
Cameron Cruise – Second RP
Another strong rebuttal from Cameron. It’s strange: while I feel like Melton is getting the better of Cruise, I also feel like Cruise wants to win more than Melton does, which naturally would be the case because Melton’s climbed this mountain twice already and Cruise is still searching for that accomplishment that will take him to the Next Level. What do I do with that enthusiasm, as a judge? I don’t know.
Joey Melton – Third RP
Throwing a change-up with the narrative format. I LIKES it. Specifically, I like two things about it: 1) Melton told an interesting story that I could get into, and picture in my mind, and which helped develop the character; and 2) it had a specific, articulable point that punctuated the RP: the loneliness Melton has always felt from abandonment (first from his parents, then Lindsay Troy) led him to create his own version of Cameron Cruise and devote energy into bringing that version to life, if not physically then through the stories he spread around the locker room. And now if he destroys it he’ll be more alone than ever. And that is a fascinating angle.
Cameron Cruise – Third & Fourth RPs
I’m lumping these two together because they’re the final entries. I won’t hate on Cruise for taking a stylistic cue from Melton with the narrative element (and to be fair, maybe Cameron had this planned already), but I will say I struggled a bit to get the same kind of clear message from the third Cruise RP that I got from the third Melton RP. I know Cameron is kind of at peace with who he is and what he’s accomplished. I get that. But there was a still a lingering feeling of “Apart from wanting to win, is there a…point here?” I dunno. That feeling extended somewhat into Cruise’s Fourth RP, though with the final one, I got the “This Is It, Here We Go” vibe that always comes out in a final tournament RP, and that was a good thing. One might even say it was a Reality Check that, actually, I liked.
Winner: Castor Strife
Billy really brought his A-Game with those two interruptive RPs…exposition, rising arc, climax, falling arc, resolution. The Great American Novel.
But seriously, this was a REALLY tight one. And I will say this is probably the best I’ve seen out of Siegel with Cameron Cruise. Very focused, less rambly and weird than a lot of the Cruise material I’ve read in the past. And it felt like Cruise gave it all and maybe Melton held back a bit. But going toe-to-toe back and forth, I felt like Melton gave better than he got against Cruise, and that third piece was really impressive in the kind of micro-story that it told. Cruise may have put up four to Melton’s three, but in this case, in my opinion, the three beat the four.
Winner: Joey Melton
Orphan v. Castor Strife
This was a hearty match-up between one of e-fedding’s premiere tournament competitors (Orphan/Almasy) and arguably it’s hottest property presently (Strife), and did justice to the semi-finals in an ULTRATITLE Tournament. Now for a blow-by-blow breakdown:
Orphan – First RP
This wasn’t that strong of an opener. Orphan has done his research, impressively so, but there’s a balance you have to strike when you do a lot of name-dropping in terms of characters and feds and so on. Lucky for Orphan I know what he’s talking about, but if I weren’t acquainted with ACW or NFW, this would bomb. The language is a little lofty for me…I know it’s the way Almasy/Orphan talks, but it tends to come across like it’s not well-constructed. It’s not a bad first RP, and against a lesser foe it wouldn’t necessarily even be a detriment, but I know Castor and I know what Almasy can do, and you’ve gotta come harder than this. I just didn’t get a sense of anything really special coming out of this first one. “You couldn’t hang in my fed, just go home and save yourself a beatdown.” I dunno.
Castor Strife – Phoenix Down
Castor lands a few blows here, eviscerating Orphan’s approach and delegitimizing the things that are important to him. I don’t have a ton more to say, but Castor wins Round One on a sharp, well-crafted reply that paints him as a confident champion.
Orphan – Second & Third RPs
I combined Orphan’s second and third RPs into one category because I felt like the third was an extension of the second…or maybe I was just still so happy from the second one that I deliriously breezed through the third. This second RP was VERY good. It’s like Orphan spent the first RP dishing out what he would’ve for a lesser opponent (maybe one of his previous victims?) and then woke up after Castor gave him what-for in Part One of this contest. Orphan comes across as much sharper and clearer in his mission (to rescue his beloved sport) and in his deflation of Castor’s bravado. I like the theme that develops of attacking Castor as a historical revisionist. I thought that was a MUCH stronger approach than “You wouldn’t last a week in ACW!” Orphan continued to dish it out in his third piece, and has re-asserted himself as a potential Final Four competitor. We got a contest, folks!
Castor Strife – And Now, the Deluge
Another solid effort from Castor. He doesn’t fully recover in my mind from Orphan taking some of the wind out of his sails, but he keeps on with the “I owned the sh*t out of all y’alls” approach and it works for him because he has the resume of wins to back it up. If I call it after two exchanges, it’s Orphan by a hair.
Orphan – Fourth RP
Orphan does a good job conveying the sense of desperation he feels at this stage in the competition. It’s a hard thing to translate how bad we as handlers want to win into dialogue from our creations, and he succeeds here. Do I feel the same sense of “NOW he’s on it” that I got in that second RP where he was focused on deconstructing Castor and doing a good job of it? Not quite. But this is a solid wrap-up to a strong overall performance by Orphalmasy.
Castor Strife – I Am The Astral King, I Can Do Anything, Parts 1 & 2
I’ll go ahead and say it here because it’ll become evident as I give my thoughts about Castor’s final relay: My vote as a judge is for Castor to move on to the Final Four. The first piece is good. I liked the scene change as another move from Castor to show how in control and confident he is, and how he’ll throw it in Orphan’s face that he doesn’t feel compelled to impress everyone. But the second piece…
…oh, my. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for parody done well in high-stakes situations, and this meets and exceeds all the criteria. Would it still have been hilarious if I was either totally unfamiliar with NFW or Final Fantasy VII? I’ll never know. I do know that I was sitting at my desk at work trying to keep my laughs to myself as I finished this up, and the stuff with Peter Windham messing the controller up had me ROLLING. Very well done all the way through, and more than enough to seal the win in my book.
Winner: Castor Strife
