KIL vs. Big Phuh [SFIV Competition]

So finally got into a player match with HC13's big bro, who, for lack of originality, I will call Big Phuh.

To cut to the chase, I did well. I won every match I played as Zangief or Balrog (Boxer). Big Phuh has a fondness for shotos, and I fight more of them online than anything else, so I'm pretty accustomed to countering their tactics. Gief and Mike Bison both have excellent anti-projectile games, which proved very useful.

I didn't jot down specifics, so bear with me. Can't recall the first match too well, but I'll guess it was Akuma vs. Balrog, and I managed to throw him off by TAP'ing his hadoukens, spamming jabs and catching his back jumps with fierce headbutts.

Second match was an interesting one, only in terms of applied strategy. Phuh selected Seth, and Zangief was my natural counter. I've mentioned Gief's vertical jump headbutt (the one that does a ridonk amount of stun damage, enough to dizzy Akuma or Sakura in merely two consecutive attacks.) Well, I was aware that Seth's impressive moveset was balanced for competitive play in a manner similar to Akuma's: an extremely low health coefficient and pitiful stun resistance. First round started with the vertical headbutt to counter Phuh's jump-in, which turns out is enough to dizzy Seth in one hit(!). A walk up fierce SPD follow up, and Phuh was already at half health. He caught me with his Ultra on wakeup, but he was already fighting an uphill battle. Second round started exactly the same as the first and ended in a similar fashion.

I believe I played Ryu vs. Zangief after that wherein I took advantage of my familiarity with Ryu. More than a couple times I was able to jump over an incoming Shinku Hadouken (or whatever the Ultra version is called) and land with an UAB to end the round. You have to be pretty familiar with Gief to avoid his cross-up special throw games, and I wasn't surprised I had a lot of success with it. After a few setups, I just walk up and bait the wakeup Shoryuken, block it, and catch the descending shoto with another SPD.

I experienced a string of losses when I strayed from my mains. Phuh's Sakura handily defeated my Fuerte in a very fun match. His Ryu absolutely violated my Akuma, and my Guile couldn't pin down his Ken. Returned to the Red Cyclone for a couple more matches and kept up the consistent record.

Definitely trying to avoid any dickish gloating here, by the way, just trying to be factual. Phuh definitely had a solid style, and I had the advantage of having played the game longer, and, again, I have a lot of experience against Ryus. I don't see a ton of Zangief's out there, and his powerful throws can put you in a tight spot fast if you're not expecting the setups. Oh, and my Balrog is straight wicked. Lego can't even touch him. Found that instead of trying to master the kara Roundhouse I just pick Balrog and fucking punish.

Been having a strong run online lately, having peaked at over 2100 BP last night before dropping a little. Hopefully Big Phuh will be energized for a rematch soon.