They open the break up talking about NTT again, and interview someone at the NTT booth, and he will talk with the NTT representative. They keep it a bit secret, but standing next to him is Kagecchi, the organizer of Fighter's Crosover -Akiba- (the Wednesday night SFV event at Akihabara eSports Square) and Fighting Thursday more recently (a Bandai/Namco DBFZ/Tekken7/SC6 event on Thursdays at Akihabara eSports Square). Utahiroba acts super surprised that it's Kagecchi, who is super well-known in the community (like our own Alex Valle, or Spooky, or Arturo really). I made a snide tweet about it, because Kagecchi is always talking about how he's at work and someone starts talking about eSports and he doesn't want to be found out, or other things like that. I was surprised that he'd put it out in the open like that, but granted it is probably small viewership. So they talk a bit about the public viewing that NTT set up with fiber and remote cameras in Sendai. Then they do a quick FT1 match with MOV who is in Sendai against Utahiroba. MOV wins. The chat was surprised that it was Kagecchi too, and a lot of people were talking about how they use NTT. I have NTT fiber to my apartment, about $25 a month, and my speed is insane. It's great.

Nemo: I really, really don't want to fight Zangief, but I went begging to Kichi-palm and prepared for the match. Itazan: My opponent's theory is that if you play Zangief, you've wasted your life. I've played Zangief since Street Fighter 4 ten years ago, and I can't let all that be for nothing, I can't validate his belief.

Nemo Aurora comes out on stage, and they interview them. They start with Mami and she talks about how she'll do her best against Kimura. Inoue asks if Nemo gives her advice, and she says that he has, and other people on other teams are giving her support as well. Inoue asks if she's gotten used to the pressure, and she says she has gotten a bit more used to it. Inoue tells Anman that his friends said that it looked like his play was tight and that he was nervous at first, he says he thought things were ok with Sakagami but he was a bit late getting into it. When asked about the finals match, Anman says that "Everyone on Nemo Aurora hates every person on Itazan Ocean (gets some laughs) and that they want to lose to Itazan Ocean even less than the previous team." Inoue says that Itazan Ocean was watching the playoff match very closely back stage.

Nemo says that he really, really hates Zangief and doesn't want to fight him, but he went begging to Kichi-palm for help and prepared for the match, and wants to do his best to win. The chat is surprised that he went to Kichi-palm, and I am too - I really like his Zangief but feel betrayed! ;-) Nemo goes on to say that Itazan is the only person that beat him twice, so he's really pissed off at him.

Itazan Ocean comes out, and Inoue asks Itazan how he feels about the semi-finals result. They joke around a bit, and Itazan says how he expected to see Mago, or something. I didn't really catch it. Kimura says that today's fortune is that Blue is your lucky color, and that he will definitely win with the "New Kimura Command". Inoue says that Kimura's got more enthusiasm than the rest of his team combined, and asks if he is nervous, to which Kimura replies that he's super nervous. Kimura get all quiet and says he's super nervous and doesn't know what to do, when Itazan buts in and says "Please act normally!" Inoue says that Kimura's opponent is a woman, and Kimura says that isn't going to stop him. They cut over to Mami, who says "I don't really like Kimura anyway" to lots of laughs. Inoue asks Motchan how he feels, and he says "terrible". The chat is talking about how it looks like he's going to throw up. Inoue asks what he was thinking about watching the semi-finals, and he says he was hoping either one would win, and then saw that Anman won, and he's like aaaaaaah it's Anman I'll just have to do my best I guess. He really looks like he's going to throw up. Inoue asks about the matchup and Motchan says he thinks he can fight it, and will do his best. They talk to Itazan, who says that his opponent's theory is that if you play Zangief, you've wasted your life. I've played Zangief since Street Fighter 4 ten years ago, and I can't let all that be for nothing, I can't validate his belief. Inoue says that the other team says they hate every single person on his team. Itazan says that is the opinion of the "Violence White Company" (referring to how Hameko often introduces Nemo as the Violence President, since his Urien is so Violent, and going back to the long-running schtick of Nemo as the President of a terrible company, but this season turned around with the addition of Mami to a nice company.)

He says that his team has good teamwork, and all three of them have more wins than losses (ooh, Mami burn), have performed well, and grown individually, so all they have to do now is just keep doing what they've been doing. He says that while there's some joking around in there, they are going to really play to win. Inoue says that they came up all the way from the bottom, and Itazan says that is how they are going to keep going.

They throw to the commentary desk, who talk a bit about how needing ten points to win means that the Beginner's points can decide it all (3 points for Beginner + High Class, so some combination of that +3 points from the Extreme class to get to 9 points, then the pressure is on the Beginner for that last point.)

Kimura's Ken is super aggressive and gets a Perfect on Okumura Mami's Blanka in the first round. Mami comes back in the second round with a win, and the place goes nuts. She was down to about 40% vitality early, then got a slide, and a target combo (she's consistent with the target combo) into a throw, an overhead to get Stun up super high, and a slide for the Dizzy. She did another target combo, slide, and electricity when Kimura activated his V-Trigger for the win. Commentary went nuts, chat went nuts, the crowd was going wild, she's supported by everyone. Kimura takes the 3rd round to win 2-1. Kimura opens the second game with another perfect. The second round was a bit close, but Kimura takes it for the win 2-0.

Motchan has looked super worried all day. He takes the first round against Anman and looks super happy. He takes the second round too. He takes the second game 2-0, almost perfect on that last round, and looks surprised himself.

Two clips of Motchan's F.A.N.G. vs Anman's Urien.

A clip of Anman's Urien:

Nemo takes the first game pretty handily. Itazan brought the second game to 1-1 and had victory within his grasp but missed a combo into CA. He was able to recover to bring it to 1-1 in games. He took the second game 2-0.

In the break before rotating back to the Beginner class they interviewed the three other Beginner Class members who didn't make it into the Grand Finals. Misaki Kousei says that after having practiced themselves so much, they really want to be up on stage there too. Miyata Hidemichi says that Kimura has really improved since the start, and he's a bit annoyed by it (laughs). Nagashima Pineapple says that he's really worried about Motchan. He said that before the match, Motchan got his hair done, and Nagashima Pineapple told him that he was looking good, and thought he was maybe overconfident. Nagashima was sure that he would break down and lose, but he was surprised to see Motchan's good play get the win. Then Nagashima Pineapple says that he wants to see Motchan's crying face, so he hopes he loses one. They keep cutting to Motchan, who looks super anxious. Inoue asks them what they thought of the battle between the leaders, and Misaki Kousei says he thought Itazan looked super cool. Miyata Hidemichi says they look cool too, coming back from a near loss on such a big stage. Nagashima Pineapple says that as an entertainer (and he really is the star of these three - he acts like he knows what to do in front of a camera and talks like it) he wants to be able to show people his cool side too.

Then he goes into another prepared joke, he says for the sake of the staff, "Hen Shuu Ten" (sounds like Sho Ryu Ken) but in this case means "video edit point (e.g., cut)". You can hear the crickets. Inoue, part of an actual very famous comedian duo, says "Unfortunately, you just lost with a Perfect." Chat is saying that "Daigo still isn't laughing".

They rotate back to the Beginner match. Kimura takes the first game 2-0, and the second game 2-0 to pick up the point. Motchan had a great first round against Anman, went down early in the second round but pulled it back to lose in the end, and lost convincingly in the final round. You might notice that while they take a bit of time in between games, they keep up the commentary and talk about the match and the players. They don't cut to a Tostito's commercial. Motchan lost the first round in a close one, and lost the second round so Nemo Aurora could pick up their first points 0-2.

That leads into the Extreme match class, where if Itabashi Zangief wins they win the whole thing. Nemo gets the first round, Itazan takes the second, and Nemo takes the third to get the first game. In the second game, ItaZan takes the first round, Nemo takes the second, and ItaZan wins the third round to even up the games 1-1. ItaZan takes the first round in the second game, and closes the whole thing out in the second round off a regular throw.

Check out HiFightTH's Just Frame Analysis of Itabashi Zangief vs. Nemo.

Class Itazan Ocean Nemo Aurora Beginner B B High HH HH Extreme EEE EEE Score 10 2

Motchan is crying when the camera catches a glimpse of him. I like how someone in the chat said "You didn't waste your life for nothing!" going back to the Nemo - ItaZan rivalry. Inoue tells Motchan that he can take him time to calm down, but seems a bit out of sorts with that emotional outburst. He asks ItaZan about the victory. He says that "Nemo really put a lot of pressure on me, and actually he's a really high pressure guy. When someone who is that high strung really tries to scare you, it is really super scary. I was surprised at how scary he was! I was nervous, and actually my game plan was thrown off a bit, I was out of sorts and I actually thought I might lose." Inoue replies "but this isn't like a tournament, this is a team event! You can't win it on your own." ItaZan: "That's right. I was able to get my movement back, and my teammates both played very well, and I would have felt terrible if I didn't play well." (Something like that anyway.) Inoue says something about never having seen someone churn the butter so much in Street Fighter, and ItaZan says "I get that a lot". They keep showing Motchan, who is trying really hard not to cry, but failing.

Inoue asks Kimura how he feels, and I have a really hard time understanding what he says. Here is my best guess. "Okamura-san! Even if you hate me, please don't hate Street Fighter!" I think. Actually, I think I clearly hear "Even if I'm gay, don't think that Street Fighter is gay", but that doesn't make sense. I suppose his "gay" could be the first part of "geinin" - entertainer, but I really don't know. I suppose the intent is something like what I first said, but that's more of my interpretation than me really knowing what is going on there. Inoue says: "Since when have you been waiting to say that?" Kimura: "Since last night." The chat is going on about how that would have been cut out if the thing wasn't live, so who knows. They talk a bit about how the Beginner class members really improved, and put in a lot of practice, and asks ItaZan about that. He says that Kimura was really dependable, and actually performed better than expected. Then he also says that: "But he does act like this all the time, so it is hard to praise him. So I have to praise him in roundabout ways."

Inoue asks "Motchan, do you think you are about ready yet?" Motchan clearly isn't ready. He continues "What kind of pressure did you feel, how nervous were you? How do you feel now that you've won?" Motchan, fighting back tears, says "Thank you so much." Inoue talks a bit about how the pressure must be highest on the High class since they are on the cusp of becoming pros. Motchan says that he lost four games in a row during league play, and he was sad he cried alone in his hotel room. He breaks down a bit and apologizes, and said he didn't think he would cry so much. Inoue responds "Me neither!" He talks a bit about the league and the pressure, then says "How about you just give us a good 'I did it!'" Motchan puts his arms up and says "I did it!", still crying a bit. Very emotional. Inoue says he didn't think he would ever see such tears of joy because of game, and Ayako says that it really conveys the emotion of the situation. They thank ItaZan Ocean, and call up the other two teams.

昨日試合前ガッチガチに緊張してて「これは…流石にやばいかも…」って思ったんだけどザンギさんが「うーん…よし、もっちゃんの試合までは緊張してていいよ」って言われて最初「？」ってなったけど試合始まった瞬間手と足の震えが止まった、

こんなことある？？

あの時できうる最高のアドバイスや… — もっちゃん Motchan (@mottyann721) March 22, 2019

Motchan talks in this tweet about how he was super nervous before the Grand Finals for the JP Street Fighter League: 'I was super nervous before the match yesterday, and I really thought "this is ... terrible". ItaZan told me "Hmm. Ok, well, it's fine you can be nervous up until your match starts!" At first I was like "?", but once the match started my hands and legs stopped shaking. It was the best practical advice at the time...'

Mago Scarlet and Nemo Aurora come out, as well as the commentary team. Yamato says that it was really nice watching the league over the past four months, and seeing the development from the Beginner class. Hameko said similar things, and also talked about how the teams came together, and specifically how far Okumura came. They cut over to her, and she says she wasn't able to do anything, and tears up a bit herself. Nemo says that she put in a lot of work and practice, streamed a lot (she did), and in the finals her movement looked good. Different people develop in different ways, and she did her best. Inoue says that when he first came for this job, everyone told him that Nemo was really tough (Sadistic they said actually) but he's really a nice guy! To which Nemo responds - but it completely talked over by Utahiroba Jun who says "Don't be fooled!" He has a good sense for timing and drama, and this allowed Inoue to go over to ItaZan, who says "Well, that's just for today". Ayako gets in on it a bit, and Inoue is like "Will nobody defend Nemo-san?" Nemo then says that "Everyone is a bit different…" (calling back to his previous statement on how different people develop differently.) Inoue says "cut it out!" The exchange was funny and got a good laugh out of the crowd, thanks in no small part to Utahiroba Jun directing it in the right direction.

The move on to the award ceremony and Ono-san comes out. No character announcements here. The teams get some nice trophies, and envelopes with presumably the prize money in them. In Japan it wouldn't be uncommon for that to actually be cash in there. ItaZan Ocean gets a large trophy as well.

They talk to each of the teams. Kunisada was very happy to have been on Mago's team. Sakagami said it was fun, and thanks everyone. Mago says that he was glad he chose Sakagami and Kunisada at the draft, and while there were tough times over the three months, they had a lot of fun training together, and now he's surprised it's all over. Inoue asks if the team format is different from individual play, and Mago says that when you are on your own it all falls on you, and you can only be happy for yourself, but as a team you can feel the pain and joy of your teammates as well. Mago thanks everyone for watching. Inoue asks if he would like the same team if there is another run, and Mago answers of "Of Course!" (I don't see how you can answer that question in any other way in that situation.)

Inoue then speaks with Okumura Mami, and says the results might not be what she wanted, but how does she feel? She says that she's grateful that her two teammates supported her, and for the fans that cheered for her, and she wants to continue playing Street Fighter (which she has - she's done a stream or two since this happened.) It was an amazing four months, and she thanks everyone again. Inoue talks a bit about how it is nice to see a woman in the tournament as well, which annoys me a bit because that plays to the stereotype of women not enjoying video games. I would have preferred Ayako Hatta to talk with Mami, and I'm curious what her take would be. (She might say the same thing though.) Inoue asked Anman about his loss, and he said "After losing like that, I don't think I'll be able to show my boss my face for a bit. I'm glad I was able to get one set though." Inoue asks if he is happy with his play though, to which Anman answers that he didn't think he played as well as he could, and regrets that. When it is Nemo's turn, he says that things ended very quickly (or "time flew by" for the entire league.) He really enjoyed thinking about how to give advice to his teammates. When it is during the season and there are lots of tournaments overseas it is hard to help your teammates develop, so he liked the timing of it as well. Inoue asks if he would keep the same team for a second run. He says that he would like to be able to develop his teammates further (affirming the choice.) He also said something about maybe doing it later after he was salty - e.g., he wouldn't like, jioin again right now. Inoue says that everyone would like to see Mami win her first match. Nemo's like "Yep." (Sou desu ne.)

Finally, the interview ItaZan Ocean. Kimura says that it was lots of fun, he hadn't played many games up until now, but he's really happy he was able to join ItaZan Ocean's team. Inoue says that the Beginner Class might have had it the hardest, since they really needed to practice every day and get better. Kimura deadpans it and says "Yes, playing games every day was extremely difficult." Inoue: "You just said that it was fun!" They got him. He tried to walk it back with it was half fun / half difficult. He got some laughs. Motchan is finally able to talk normally, and he says first off he wants to thank ItaZan for choosing him at the draft, and Kimura for being his teammate. ItaZan says that Motchan was great. He looks like he's going to cry again, and Inoue says "They're back! They're back, aren't they? Is someone cutting onions around here?" Then he says it's ok, calm down. Motchan thanks everyone. Motchan says he is very happy. ItaZan says that joining with the Beginner Class and High Class was good, their team did well, and most of all he proved he didn't waste his life playing Zangief.

They asked for comments from the Commentary team too. Hameko said some interesting things: "Including the Beginner class was tough. We didn't know if their matches would be worth watching. Actually though, after watching it, the Beginner class was probably the most noteworthy thing about it. There are people that saw that and might think 'I want to try too!' I thought it was a really interesting four months. I hope that I can explain things in an easy way for people just starting as well. Thank you!" Utahiroba Jun makes an impassioned plea for someone to take him on a team if they do it again. heh.

There is also a special guest: Ono comes out. I tweeted a bit about it when it happened:

More Street Fighter League in the summer. Pro league 3 on 3 it looks like, with a 3 on 3 Japan - West All Star March too. I couldn’t watch until the end so hopefully someone else put out more details. https://t.co/mXcMqTbk4G — FuguTabetai (@DocFugu) March 21, 2019

There will be two more JP Street Fighter Leagues in Japan in Summer 2019: One Pro 3v3, and Trial, a league with three separate classes similar to this one. There will be more details announced later, which I'm sure will be all over twitter when it happens. There should be a one-off Japan vs. the West 3 on 3 team exhibition as well. The Trial League will have a Beginner Class, High Class, and Top Class. It looks like that will feed into the Pro class in a different league. He does mention that the US SFL is happening, and the winner of that might be involved in the "Dream Match". Ono says that they want to expand their activities so that people who are watching at home will have a way to participate as well (perhaps not in this - sounds like he's talking generally about expanding the types of things Capcom supports.)