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The only thing I never expected in all of this, was how much I would regret the things I could have done. It's not that I've done anything to be ashamed of; on the contrary, I'm intensely proud of what I've accomplished. It's the thought of all that I missed that makes me regretful.

I was so scared. Walking into that ballroom for the first time, seeing the giant stage, the hundreds of people all crowded around various monitors trying to get a glimpse of what was going on… It left an impression on me. One that, to this day, I still relive whenever I enter the doors to the Evolution tournament. Along with that impression, I always have a single thought that goes through my mind, no matter how I try and prepare myself for it:

"I'm in my over my head. What am I doing here?"

And then I remember.

This article is about entering my first tournament, how I got there, and my journey to actually winning my first tournament. It is my deepest hope that this factual account will inspire some to take that leap of faith - faith in yourself, in your abilities and dedication - and try it. No matter what the outcome is.

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INTRO:
Tournament finals, Axl v. Slayer. It's just a regional, but both players are bringing their A-Game, and everyone in the room is hype. It's down to the wire, the last round of the last match. Both players are about halfway down their HP bar, and a single combo can decide the outcome. Axl gets a lucky knockdown, and throws down a 2H to oki Slayer at the last second. But the Slayer's seen this before. He pulls out a perfectly timed reversal super. It's going to be a counterhit, and the combo after will end the game.

But right before the superflash, there's a smaller, familiar blue flash. Axl has FRC'd the 2H, and blocks the super. The Slayer yells “You bastard!” as he takes a big anti-air combo and loses the match. What happened there? A psychic reversal gets beat by an even more psychic bait? Nope. What happened there wasn't a coincidence, and it wasn't anyone being psychic. It was operant conditioning in action, and it's an important part of higher-level mindgames.
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For those of you that haven't been keeping up with this year's Super Battle Opera qualifiers, all the spots for the BlazBlue:Continuum Shift 2v2 and Guilty Gear XX:Accent Core 3v3 tournament have been filled out (except for the last one for both games, which will be determined on the day of the event as the Last Chance Qualifier spot), and it looks like this year's tournament is shaping up to be as intense as ever! On September 18-19, all the questions will be answered. Will a Bang/Litchi duo take home the crown this year? Will the Miami Heat team of the GGAC world (Shounen/RF/Ogawa) fulfill expectations and go all the way?
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