Although hdr isn’t exactly a completely new experience it is on the whole moderately different (for better or worse is NOT for discussion here) so do you think the balance tweaks and easier motions will affect placings at all? will that good blanka player who never made t8 have a chance against household names? will fake fb make daigo that much more of a beast?
Like I said back when hdr released I’m expecting sim, rog, or claw to comprise most of t8 and because sagat has been nerfed fairly I think we’ll see a sharp decline in how many people use him though he’s still one of the better characters and I’m sure we can all agree he’s more fun to use so who knows.
Before anyone derails this thread with bbqzomgwtf dr is broken dic is toptier! ask yourself how many times you’ve seen dic in top8 at any evo let alone top4.
i think everyone but damdai has already made top 8 for evo. so nope, hardly gonna be any “new faces” or so to speak of (sirlin or one of the wolfe brothers could probably take the remaining 8th spot)
i expect to see a lot of ryu for hdr, and judging by my top 8 list these would be their characters too:
Pretty much everyone thinks that T.Hawk’s new dive is worse than the Old dive and not just Gridman. Not only that but most people universally agree that O.Hawk > R.Hawk meaning there is little incentive for people to choose to play T.Hawk at EVO and even less incentive to switch from a proven character to play a lower tiered character like Hawk. Why choose a character like Hawk that was bottom tier and was nerfed, compared to a mid-tier character like Dictator who is near top now due to his buffs?
I predict more Dictator players, more Boxers, more Guiles, more Hondas, and way less Sagats. But I don’t expect to see the top 8 being filled with Cammy and Fei Long and Hawk.
I’m sure EVO will have a bit more variety in the SF2 department because it’s the first year of HDR and many new players or old hands will be trying out something new. But I don’t see T.Hawk being ‘murderous’ in anyone’s hands vs the competition that’s going to be at EVO.