Hello all,
My name is Myung Kim. I will be overseeing part of the SBO quals this year. I suppose that there aren’t a lot of people who know me (and rightfully so), so I’ll take this opportunity to fully introduce myself. I will be opening an arcade is San Mateo, Gamecenter EX. I have been trying to develop this project for almost a year now, and have run into every conceivable problem imaginable. Originally when I made the arrangement to host the SBO qualifiers, I had a lease ready to sign, and all my merchandise lined up. Well, the landlord backed out on the lease, so I was left with my merchandise and a distinct need to find a place to open my business. It’s been an absolute roller coaster of a ride (which I will be happy to chronicle in a separate post, if anyone is interested). Fast forward to today, I am in lease negotiations with a couple landlords in San Mateo, and I hope that I can get a lease signed by the end of this month. After that, I’ll be making another post, hopefully about a big grand opening party. 
In the mean time, to be safe, I have booked out the Play-n-Trade from my friend Orlando (the owner of the place) and he has been gracious enough to allow us to run the quals there.
Location:
Play-n-Trade
206 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401-4018
(650) 343-1155
Play N Trade :: SAN MATEO
Time: August 8th (day after my birthday!). The tournament will start at 11am, so please come EARLY.
Games: Street Fighter 4 (arcade, NOT Super) and Tekken 6 BR (arcade as well).
The format is as follows:
SBO tournament format is single elim with 3 man teams (think King of Fighters). My interest lies in qualifying the strongest 3 man team possible. To that end, we will run a double elim tournament with all the 3 man teams. If you do not have a team, I still encourage you to come ready to compete. We will most likely have quite a few individuals or teams missing a member, so we can more likely than not fit you in a team! If you absolutely do not want to be in a team, you can enter as a handicapped team. However, be warned that you do not get to play the same person more than once, so when the one or two members of your handicapped team lose, that’s it. The winners will be the qualifying team sent to Japan, while the second place team will be the backup team, should the winners find themselves unable to go.
The registration fee will be $20 per person per event. The money will be pooled and then split among the two winning teams, to help them pay for the costs of going to Japan. The goal is to furnish each team with around $1500 ($500 per person) to help them pay for the ~$1000 ticket they will need to fly to Japan. ALL registration proceeds will go toward this. In the event the registration proceeds cannot cover this, it will fall on me to cover the difference. Needless to say, every dollar I put toward this effort will be one dollar less I have to open my arcade with. To that end, I implore everyone to come, and help by contributing. If you come to spectate, please consider donating at least $5. The full afternoon of entertainment you will get from watching the best West Coast players duke it out will be more than worth it. We will be selling concessions and drinks as well. If time permits, we might also have an exhibition of sorts. Perhaps “celeb” money matches where the proceeds go toward the ticket fund. Every little bit we can get will help the teams go to Japan and rep the US. If we collect more than our target, that will go to the teams as well. I personally only stand to lose from this endeavor.
As for transportation and lodging, I can try to help organize carpools and transportation, but it would be best to state your needs and proactively organize amongst yourselves as soon as possible.
One last note. I know that many of the people you would expect to come to this tournament seem like unbeatable monuments of the fighting game world. I highly encourage you to come and compete anyway. THEY ARE HUMAN! The beauty of fighting games is that anyone can win against anyone else. Even if you don’t end up winning, the most valuable aspects of tournaments and gatherings like this is the chance to MEET people. So come out, meet some new friends, and play some games. That’s what it’s all about in the end.
As questions and clarifications come up, I’ll be updating this post, so keep an eye on it. Also, if you have any suggestions on how we might be able to make this a better event, please post a comment or pm me.
Thanks,
Myung
UPDATE:
So my life (mostly regarding the arcade) has kind of exploded at the seams for the past few weeks. I’m putting out a call to 3 or 4 able bodied folks who will be willing to help me rearrange the PlayNTrade store Saturday evening and Sunday morning to prepare for the tourney. If any kind souls would be interested, please PM me here.
UPDATE 2:
I’m having some issues with my equipment vendor, but spending a weekend in a suffocating San Jose warehouse seems to have fixed the issue. I am still looking for a couple people who can help me set up Saturday evening or Sunday morning. I will provide all meals. Also, I have 1 Tekken 6 BR arcade board on order for the event. If anyone in the community has an extra one they would allow us to use for one day, that could help things go a lot smoother. If you don’t have one, please ask anyone who might have one.
I have heard some talk of a few things, and I figured I might be able to address them. Mind you, this might not be a remedy for you. But I want you to know that I did consider this, and I want to tell you why I chose what I did.
Concerning the space, I understand that the Play-n-Trade might be smaller than some people would like. Honestly, that is because it was the only venue I could get in San Mateo on such short notice. On top of that, the owner has been gracious enough to let me use it free of charge. He wants to see excitement and hype as much as I do. The alternative would have been to find someplace else, farther away from where I originally told everyone it was going to be, and have to rent it out. In that case, people would have to pay a cover fee just to come in and watch. If money is coming out of your pocket, I want it to be in support of the players going to SBO. To that end, I will say the following:
Yes, it will be crowded. Yes, if you register to play, I will guarantee you will have space to be in the venue. No, if you are a spectator, I cannot guarantee you will be able to say in the venue at all times. Yes, in the rare event that the fire marshal comes and raises issue with our gathering, we will have to follow his instructions. HOWEVER, there are ways in which I am working to mitigate this. We will be cloning the video feed from the arcade cabs to monitors around the store, and hopefully one or two facing out from the storefront windows. That way everyone can have a decent view of what’s happening. Also, there are plenty of places to eat and walk around downtown San Mateo. In the rare event that we are told we need to reduce the number of people in the building, you can certainly come back later and still see the action. Half the fun of the event will be the casuals that will be happening after the tournament. The videos of the matches will be posted online for all to see, so you won’t be missing anything.
In the end, this is a very exciting opportunity for not just the competitors, but for the community as a whole. Please come and compete. If you don’t want to compete, please at least come and show your support. And while I am doing everything I can to make this as accessible and successful event as possible, this opportunity can only be maximized with your good faith and cooperation. I hope to see everyone there.
