Championship Mode

It’s been a while, as I’ve been busy with non-SF4-related activities, but I’ve also been consumed with Championship Mode.

I’ve finally achieved G1 ranking and the difference in competition between G1 and G2 is the same as the difference between night and day.  The level of competition is just through the roof, and to be honest, I was getting my ass handed to me consistently in the first few matches, to the point where I thought I’d dip below the 15K GP mark.

I’ve never had so much fun losing in my life.  Everyone knows the matchups and executes very well.  One really has to be on their game to just exist at this level.

That being said, I can’t imagine my game not getting better much quicker at this level.

Some things of note at G1:

• If you lose the first battle, you LOSE 5 GP.
• If you go below 15K GP because of losses in the first round, you will still retain your G1 status.
• Winning in the following rounds gains you at least the following points (can be more since there is a slight variation depending on the difficulty of the matchup):
  • 2nd – 10 GP
  • 3rd – 20 GP
  • 4th – 50 GP
  • 5th loss – 100 GP
  • 5th win – 160 GP

I find it odd that the win for the competition gives you only 60% more GP than a loss.  It seems disproportionate.  I almost wouldn’t mind losing at that level (as opposed to G2, where you only get half for a loss in the finals).

Boxer

A lot of Boxer players are using an outstretched palm (not sure which attack it is) which stuffs a lot of Sagat’s AA options.  Other than altering spacing/timing, I haven’t found a better AA option (with the exception of a Tiger Uppercut up close).

Chun-Li

Some Chun players have taken to throwing a fireball, dashing forward once, and then using cr.HK when the opponent jumps over the fireball.  The cr.HK seems to have very high priority here.  I think that a well-timed MP on the way down (or a LK if actually jumping over her) would help here.

Now, when I see that she has her Revenge meter charged for an Ultra, I completely shut down the projectile game.  Her Ultra can hit Sagat from across the screen on reaction.  The take away from this is when Chun has Ultra, only throw a Tiger Shot when you see forward movement.  The forward movement means that the charge has been lost so a Tiger Shot is safe to throw (but open to her jumping over it or throwing an EX projectile of her own, of course).

Gen

It just doesn’t seem right that his Super Combo sets up the Ultra Combo.

I’m feeling much more comfortable with the matchup now, as there are more Gens online than there were before.  The specific Gen that gave me so much trouble doesn’t seem to be around much, but I’m faring much better against him now.  Specifically, I figured out how to block the wall dive shenanigans.

Specifically, most Gens try to cross up on knockdown, and then if they knock you down again, do the wall dive from the opposite wall to try and get you from behind again.  The best advice here is being able to differentiate between him jumping to cross you up or going to the opposite wall.

What confused me the most till now was that it seemed like I was being juggled with the wall dive after the knockdown.  It seems like a stupid realization, but Gen moves in such odd ways that it’s hard to pick up if you don’t see it often, which, I don’t, since I don’t know many people online who play Gen.

Dictator

A common bait that I see is to charge a Focus Attack just out of range.  It actually pulls Dictator back a little, and then springs forward, so the sequence between Dictator and the opponent is typically:

1. Dictator charges Focus Attack, animation pulls him back in the process.
2. Opponent whiffs attack in response to Focus Attack charge.
3. Dictator’s Focus Attack finishes, landing and penetrating any block.

The key here is to not be baited into attacking when being zoned by Dictator.  In this case, I typically use the sounds of the Focus Attack building to remind me to not attack.

It’s analogous to MLB umpires calling a force play at a base, they will have an eye on the base, and listen for the sound of the ball hitting the mitt of the defensive player.  Whichever event occurs first (the foot on the base or the sound of the ball hitting the mitt) wins.

Dhalsim

If you see Dhalsim flash (which indicates he is telporting), flash the elbow (i.e. LP).  It will come out before any move he has after he appears near you.  It’s much safer than any other option, and with the low amount of health that Dhalsim has (only Seth and Gouki have less), it does enough.

It’s very possible that Sagat’s height plays a factor here, and that shorter characters (think Cammy here) would whiff because the offensive hitboxes are not high enough to hit Dhalsim out of the air when he teleports close.

Abel

I love grabbing him out of the Grab out of the Marseille Roll.  A LOT of Abel players still don’t know this.

Ken

If Ken does his Ultra Combo in reaction to Sagat’s Ultra Combo, Ken’s Ultra Combo will win.

C. Viper

When punishing a whiffed Ultra Combo with Sagat’s Ultra Combo, the response has to be timed so that she is not on the ground when the Ultra Combo Animation occurs.  If so, Sagat’s Ultra Combo could go right over her, as she crouches on one knee when she hits the ground.

Zangief

This beast can actually kara-cancel into a throw?!?!

Granted, he doesn’t have any more range on a throw than most other characters (frame data indicates that it a typical 0.9), but the fact that he is so dangerous up close (and this is a technique to get you in closer) makes anyone who knows it much more dangerous.

Blanka

Blanka’s Ultra Combo was the bane of my existence for so long when it was done close to my character. I would always get caught by it, even when I thought I was blocking.

Then I found out that you have to block down when Blanka is going up and then block up for the rest of the combo.

I consider this discovery to be a personal victory, it was that annoying.

A nice little loop with Blanka is to block a non-EX Rolling Attack, and then throw a Low Tiger Shot followed up with a HK.  More often than not, Blanka will jump foward, and can almost always be countered with a HK from Sagat.  The only thing to be careful of here is if he has EX meter charged, as his response can be to do another Rolling Attack but an EX one this time, which will go through the Tiger Shot.  The HK is quick enough in this situation to do it on reaction, which is key (I’d never recommend a reaction based purely on faith of the follow-up move).

If Blanka takes to jumping straight up after you throw the Low Tiger Shot HK, use the Tiger Shot LK instead, and he will land on it.

Sagat

For a long time, I haven’t used the cr.MK because of the frame advantage it has over the cr.MP and not wanting to be punished when crossing-up on someone with a j.LK.

However, I’ve found it very useful against Ken, Zangief and Boxer, in that when they try to zone you, you can use the cr.MP (at risk of punishment of course) to change the distance between you and them, which typically nullifies the moves they poke you with when you whiff.  I’ve found a good follow-up to the cr.MK is the cr.HP, as Ken, Zangief and Boxer will typically try to react, and the cr.HP has a quicker startup than most of the follow-up moves these characters present.

For a long time now, I always wondered why when blocking Blanka’s Backstep Rolling Attack I could counter with F+HK –> Low Tiger Shot and have it hit, while I couldn’t do the same combo after having a Tiger Uppercut stuffed without doing an EX move.

It turns out that you can basically juggle with two normal moves, and to get the third juggle you must use an EX move, Super Combo, or Ultra Combo.  So the following all work:

• F+HK –> F+HK –> EX/Super/Ultra
• Stuffed Tiger Uppercut – > F+HK –> EX/Super/Ultra
• Tiger Uppercut –> FADC –> F+HK –> EX/Super/Ultra

So the general rule is when juggling, the third hit of the juggle MUST be an EX/Super/Ultra.

Here’s an example of the first item in the list in a Top 8 Match at East Coast Throwdown between Gootecks (Boxer) and Long Island Joe (Sagat):

Another great thing to note is how he uses the LK –> Tiger Knee/Tiger Shot.  It’s a great tick move that I haven’t gotten down yet.  However, there are frames in between that can be punished, but in this case I don't know that Boxer has any response to it. I would NOT suggest using this against anyone that has a move with invulnerable frames on startup and doesn't require charge, as that move can probably be used to counter in between the LK and Tiger Knee/Tiger Shot.

Finally, because of the following Twitter comment by thenk83:

@manny7 rufus have any gap killers? with sagat, a kara tk will launch u across the screen. but i gotta catch'em when missing fireballs. #SF4

I didn’t think anything about it when I first read it, but it definitely stuck in my mind a few days later when I did it by accident.  Until this time, I had thought that the HK was the primary kara-able move, but it turns out that’s not the case.

The primary kara-able move is really F+LK.  All it takes to put it together is seeing it once and knowing that your move travelled a LOT farther than it normally would.  Then a little training in practice mode is all it takes to lock it down.

Here’s a great video showing how it’s done, as well as the differences in appearance and range of the moves when kara-cancelling them.

So what’s the use?  Basically, you would use it to close the gap when the moves in themselves won’t do it.  Here’s a great example of Long Island Joe using it in another Top 8 match at East Coast Throwdown:

Notice how after after Sagat throws Ken (from behind during the recovery of the Hadouken), he kara-cancels the F+LK into the Tiger Knee to position himself in front of Ken to throw him shortly after wakeup.

I’ve noted that you can kara-cancel the F+LK into both the Tiger Knee and the Tiger Uppercut.  From across the screen, it can be deadly.  The great part about kara-cancelling into the Tiger Knee is that if moving forward, you can anchor the beginning of the move in the F+LK which would make for a more fluid execution.  This is especially important against Boxer, where a Tiger Knee is very effective, but sometimes difficult to do on demand.

The other great thing about this is that it can be used as a deke, baiting the opponent into a reaction based on the F+LK, which is then punished by either the Tiger Uppercut or the Tiger Knee.  The sequence goes like this:

1. Sagat executes F+LK.
2. Opponent begins to counter.
3. Sagat executes Tiger Knee or Tiger Uppercut to punish (use Tiger Uppercut if you need invulnerability).

It’s also great when you need to close the distance on someone, particularly Dhalsim or Seth players that like to jump forward with outstretched limbs.  Also, it’s possible when someone jumps forwards to punish them with either, even from a distance, which is nice, because it really helps keep the pressure on.

Some other tricks I’ve done is to punish a fireball, but it’s VERY difficult to do, as you have to cancel with the Tiger Uppercut before the fireball hits you, but close enough to hit the opponent when executing.  A more effective tactic is to Tiger Knee over the projectile from across the screen so you are right in their face.  This is particularly effective against Akuma’s triple fireball if timed correctly, as well as his air fireball, as it allows you to get under them and then propel forward and limit his space (since people play him so defensively).

In the end, it’s a great move that catches a lot of people off guard, typically at the wrong moments.

General

Tonight was another total grind fest.  While I played about four-five hours, I went from +350 BP on the night, to –150 BP on the night, and barely eeked out with +50 BP at the end of the night (~3200 BP).

On the bright side, Blanka, Balrog and Cammy feel like more comfortable matchups for me, but all the familiars, and Ken and Ryu most notably, seem to have better players now on the other end.

My execution was particularly poor tonight.

As I kept losing, I let my attitude get the better of me and goad myself into games with a mindset that was not geared towards winning.  It was worse than fear, and my play suffered (most notably ripping Ultras when I had no business doing so).

I’m trying to figure out what i learned, but its not coming easily to me.

El Fuerte

Does anyone have a viable f@$king option when playing this flying rat?

Ken

I absolutely hate, hate, HATE losing to scrub Ken players, or any Ken player for that matter.  Then again, they are all scrubs.

This is quickly becoming an infuriating matchup for me.  A lot of Ken players are timing the j.HK in the air to stuff a good number of my anti-air attacks (HK, Tiger Uppercut, j.HP).

Ryu

Like Ken, this is another source of anguish.  On top of that, it seems that more and more Ryu players are rooted to the ground.

With Sagat, DO NOT do cr.HK 2x in a row.  Ryu can tag you with the LP Shoryuken on the second cr.HK.

Have to be very careful when he has Super/Ultra meter, as many of them are doing a LP Shoryuken and then juggling into the Super/Ultra combo in the air.

Zangief

Can throw him immediately after blocking the Green hand.

Always do the Ultra when he is doing the Spinning Lariat.

Boxer

Can do Sagat’s Ultra in between hits on the Boxer’s Ultra.

Abel

A lot of them just keep rolling.  I think that zoning would help here (and in general) and I think that part of my game was particularly weak tonight.  Abel can get dangerously close with the roll, and I’m not reacting fast enough to it.

Gen

The combo with his j.HK (I believe that’s it?) hits from behind when you cross-up (he literally turns in the air to hit your back) –> cr.LP (which knocks down?) –> cr.HK or cr.HP is a nice little combo.  It’s hard to block that first hit (although for some reason it seems easier to block when Chun-Li does it).

How does one block the straight down kick off the wall?  I think the option here is to move.

Sagat

How do I get players that are rooted on the ground to get in the air?  Given that SF4 is a much more strategic game than ST, its not easy to bait people into jumping.  The game is more forgiving if you can’t react instantly.

I’m also not following up with what can be done after a LP Tiger Uppercut.  There are combo possibilities with the EX version of moves (Tiger Knee EX, Tiger Shot EX) but I’m not following through.

I have to stop hoarding the Super meter hoping to get a cr.MP –> Low Tiger Shot –> Super Combo.  I’m not executing the cr.MP –> Low Tiger Shot now as it is, so I should use that EX meter for something else.

While the j.LK crosses up people better, I throw it out high so I don't always connect the cr.MP (the character is too high in the air and the hitstun is not long enough).  I have to get the j.HK out later.

General

Tonight was a total grind-fest.  It was one of those nights where execution was spotty at the worst times, and my BP just kept going up, then down, down, down.

In the end, after four hours, I might have made about 70-80 BP to end up at ~2500 BP.  I try not to focus on the number, but it’s hard to hover around a single point for so long (a few weeks is long?).

One really annoying thing was when I played someone without checking the match details.  He set the match to best of one round, and 30 seconds.  By the time I noticed it, he had won, and I lost 120+ BP.

Always check the match details before engaging.

Ken

I've come to the conclusion that I really think lowly of Ken players ever since I saw the flowchart which lays out his course of action:

(source: unknown)

While it is pretty true, I get pretty mad at myself when I lose to them, because I usually didn't punish the Shoryuken.

Ryu

His Ultra can hit Sagat’s Ultra when Sagat starts his Ultra right after his and he is a little bit past mid-range.  It was the only time I haven’t gone completely through his Ultra to punish.  I’m not concerned about it, yet.

Cammy

Felt a little more comfortable in the matchups.  I think that’s partially due to not putting myself out there for the Cannon Drill too much.

Sakura

On the other hand, the two times I played against Sakura, I got destroyed.  Her j.HK stuffed everything that I put up (HK, Tiger Uppercut, etc, etc), which leads into her nine-hit combo (I think it’s nine?) as well as some more nastiness if you are in the corner.

On top of that, the people playing her were great at zoning (whereas my zone game is suffering) so I was just off my game with her the whole night.

El Fuerte

I got slammed by him this evening.  The Tostada Press (I think?) just crosses me up every time, and he’s like a little rat scurrying around, it’s hard to get a bead on him.

Abel

Another annoying M.F., but not so much tonight.  Getting used to the odd high-low blocking for his three hit grab, but I don’t have an answer for the grab part yet.

Also, as fast as Abel’s Ultra combo is, Sagat’s Ultra combo can be executed to punish even when Abel is very close (as is the case with most Ultra/Ultra match-ups).

Boxer

I end up executing the Tiger Knee against him all night long.  It seems to be the only move he doesn't have a good
response to (although he has a response to everything else, it seems).

At least the SoCal Balrog army wasn’t out tonight.  I must have played ten ‘Rogs in a row the last time I was online.

C. Viper

At first, I was intimidated by her moves, as they are very flashy, but that’s really all they are.  They do damage, but they don’t have hitboxes that are the same size.

However, you do have to be aware of her jump angle, as her’s is more like an ST jump angle.  She also seems to be able to juggle pretty easily, and switch her trajectory in the air for some interesting combo/juggle opportunities, so it’s worth it to be cautious.

Blanka

When blocking an EX Rolling Attack, countering with a low EX Tiger Shot always seems to punish.  I’m still not so sure on a response to the regular Rolling Attack though.

While Blank’s slide is annoying, Sagat can do the LK Tiger Knee right over him, recovering before he will and usually putting him in good position to punish from behind.

Sagat

Sagat’s cr.MK seemed to be getting punished with a regularity I was uncomfortable with tonight.  I had a feeling that the cr.HP was faster, but I wasn’t sure it was the right alternative.

Here’s the frame data for the two moves:

Name	Startup	Active	Recovery	Block F.A.	Hit F.A.	Blockstun	Hitstun	Damage	Stun	Super Meter Gain	Block	Cancel Ability
c.MP	5	3	10	+1	+4	13	16	90	100	40	HL	SpS
c.MK	7	3	15	-4	-1	13	16	90	100	40	L	SpS

Hitstun, blockstun, damage, stun, super meter gain and cancel ability are all the same.  The startup is two frames quicker, and you actually get frame advantage on hit and block for the c.MP.

So the obvious choice here is to use the c.MP.

The problem is, I play on a PS3 pad and my MK is mapped to the R1 shoulder button.  I usually use this to combo from c.MK –> Low Tiger Shot or Tiger Knee (all three require only a kick).  Mapping the MP to the R1 shoulder button is an option, but I’d have to fiddle with my thumb on the pad for the Tiger Shot/Tiger Knee, or use the L1 shoulder button, which would be more cumbersome.

I guess I could put MP and MK on the right hand shoulder, with the Px3 and Kx3 on the left shoulder buttons, but then the Ultras would be more difficult to get out (they have saved my ass more than once and I’m not sure I’m willing to give that up just yet).

Maybe I’ll just get my left hand up to speed (I’m a righty) after all.  I don’t like fiddling around with the buttons, as there is too much muscle-memory built up over the years.

Hopefully, all of this will be moot when I get my Mad Catz Tournament Edition Fight Stick, if they ever come out that is (and I hear the Standard one is crap).

Sagat

On block, the Ultra Combo is vulnerable between the Tiger Knee part and the first Tiger Uppercut.  Akuma cr.LPed me out of it in a match.

Gouken

I’m still very unfamiliar with his move set.  I might have to unlock him and get a handle on his basic moves to get more comfortable playing against him.  I still get caught by his dash move when it goes through fireballs.

Abel

His grabs are very dangerous, need to play keep-away with him much like Zangief.

The high-low-grab sequence is also very annoying, but doesn’t do much damage.  I assume that his speed is what accounts for his lack of power when compared to Zangief.

The Ultra Combo is VERY quick, as in start it after a fireball comes out and hit you on recovery quick (it goes through fireballs).

Blanka

The cross-up potential of the Backstep Rolling attack is a bitch.

Guile

Can be punished on the second hit of the cr.HK with a Tiger Uppercut.  The window is small, but I believe it wins clean every time.

General

Tonight was one of those nights.  I had the confidence to rushdown and beast in most of my matches.

I feel like I'm going to have to start reading the SRK Forums too, as I think I’m at a point where I’ll be able to grok the information.

I guess it’s official that I’m maining Sagat now.

Sagat

I could swear that the Tiger Knee hit overhead at times.  My initial guess is the first attack frame of the LK version.

cr.MK inches Sagat forward.  That’s going to come in handy in close quarters when being ranged.

Linking LP ~ cr.MK is difficult, even in training mode I connected it once every ten times.  It’s not worth it at this point.

Was able to hit the F+HK –> Ultra (as observed previously in the Japanese National Tournament), and it is a MUCH better setup than trying to hit the Ultra in general.

While trying to figure out if the Tiger Knee is an overhead hit or not, I found this in the Gamespot forums:

http://www.gamespot.com/arcade/action/streetfighteriv/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-44705699&pid=943709

If Tiger Uppercut trades, Sagat gets a free Tiger Knee juggle.

I need to test that out.  It will be a good alternative if the Ultra is not available.

In the end, it comes down to three things, execution, execution, execution.

Zangief

It seems like he can grab me out of wakeup.  I know it’s not possible, but sometimes it just seems like that.  In general, my response time to throws is bad and I need to tighten that up.

Tiger Knee works well against the Lariat.  At the very least, it trades, which is the best result I’ve had so far.  I think the HK one probably works the best because it can get above the offensive hitboxes and attack from above (given it’s own massive hitbox).

Ultra of course also beats Lariat, but I need to remind myself of that.

Cammy

I don’t have a solution for an agressive Cammy yet.

Ryu

Sagat's Ultra Beats Ryu's Ultra clean.

Claw

Jumping at him at close range is a bad idea, every time I did it he was able to throw me out of the air.

I think the character is better than I initially thought, but still has inherent weaknesses (namely startup time on moves).

Abel

This was my first time fighting an Abel which seemed competent.

The low Tiger Shot seems to be the only special that works against Marseilles Roll.  One has to react fast when facing it, as it puts Abel in great position for a throw on recovery.  Tiger Uppercut, Tiger Knee all whiff against it.

Get in the habit of blocking up against Abel on knockdown, as the Wheel Kick is an overhead.

Guile

The F+HK isn't an overhead hit anymore.

Chun-Li

The recovery on the Hazan Shu is punishable by cr.HK (read: there is a LOT of recovery time).  Need to react to punish more effectively though.

Gouken

EX dash move (name?) has armor (shouldn’t be surprizing, it is an EX move).

His upward fireball will hit Sagat in the head on the ground when close.

Balrog

His range is deceptive, have to be careful when being zoned.