A few words with some of the MTLSF scene’s most prominent players: continued!

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

We now resume our glimpse into Montréal, Canada’s vibrant Street Fighter scene: in Part 1 of this set of interviews, I featured Chi-Rithy, Snafoo, and Rami Rammal. To complete the set of six written interviews I conducted and compiled, this time we’re going to get to know Lord Jimmy Bones, WoolieWoolz, and commentator/streamer JakyoManor a little better! Lord Jimmy Bones (pictured in the feature image, above) in particular is already well-known for his Super Street Fighter II Turbo play, and is featured in the trailer for ST at the Toronto’s upcoming Canada Cup 2016:

Responses have been edited for clarity.

mushin_Z: Where are you from, and how long have you been involved with the MTLSF scene?

Lord Jimmy Bones: I’m from Montreal. I have been involved with the scene for 8 years now.

JakyoManor: Toronto, Ontario. Since June 2016!

WoolieWoolz: MTL! MTL! MTL!I first started tournament organizing weeklies in Montreal when vanilla SFIV was released in 2009, but I found out that I unknowingly had roots to the origins of MTLSF way back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. The most skilled players in Montreal all hailed from MIRA Amusement Arcade in Ville St-Laurent, a borough of the city that I was lucky enough to live in at the time. I used to come around MIRA with my high-school friends and burn quarters all evening on these Beast level players. I became friends with a few of them that were also Anglophone and went to my high school, but Montréal is a bilingual city, and at the time my understanding of French was pretty abysmal. The language barrier used to be a bit of a hurdle for me, so I kept my conversation to basically “gg” after playing.

After high school I moved away, and instead started visiting the downtown arcades. Little did I know until reuniting in 2009 that those MIRA guys went on to travel to US events and take on big names in SFA3, CvS2, 3rd Strike and Super Turbo over the years. It was awesome to find out it all started at that little hole in the wall down the street from my old apartment, and it motivated me to recapture the hype when I started up Tatsumaki Tuesdays at a sports bar in 2009. I’d lug my Xbox 360 down there and have $2 tourneys with friends over pitchers and nachos. Friends invited friends. Not too long after that, our Facebook group blew up from dozens to hundreds. At some point, Pierre “Crankypunk” and Vivek “MTLer” joined, and together we started organizing major tournaments. From there we moved to many different venues, from netcafés to barcades to our very own MTLSF HQ in an office building, crowdfunded by the community itself. The torch continued to be passed from one TO to another over the years, and nowadays, Pavel “Evo777” is the main guy.

[Tatsumaki Tuesday is streamed regularly on the Mixed Virtual Arts Twitch channel.]

mushin_Z: How long have you played Street Fighter games? How did you get started?

LJB: Since the first SFII on the SNES; I was 4 years old. It all started in 2007, I wasn’t into gaming at the time, because of school. One guy I used to talk to in my college days wanted to show me something cool on YouTube. He asked if I knew what Street Fighter was, and I said yes… Then he showed the “EVO Moment 37″ clip. At first, I have never played or seen 3rd Strike before this, it was cool a moment for me. But then I saw Daigo Umehara doing the parries–my jaw dropped, I couldn’t understand what was going on. And then the super ender–I was shocked! Then I replayed the vid at least 10 times to understand what happened. It was the greatest thing I had seen, and that changed my life. The day after I was excited to finish class, because I wanted to watch Daigo vids and other 3S vids to understand how the game works. While I was watching them, there was one dude who was watching me, and asked me if I was competing. I said no. He told me there was a scene here in Montreal–I was surprised and immediately I asked him ”How do I join?” He said I could find the scene here on SRK. And this is where it all started.

Jaky: Since SFII in 1992, casually–but 2016, competitively. In 2009 when SFIV came out, I went to a few tournaments–but one of my viewers purchased SFV for me, and I never looked back. Just went head-long into the scene.

JakyoManor

WW: Since SFII came out for the Super NES. I was 7 at the time, so “playing” was mostly just mashing and getting whooped by my older brother and teenaged cousins. Combined with the fact that they were old enough to also get practice in arcades meant it was hopeless from day one. But I was hooked on trying to make a little bit more progress with each round, because being the youngest means you take every chance you get to finally feel like you’ve outsmarted the older kids.

Street Fighter games were an important part of my household. It was a house filled with siblings and cousins, and we weren’t allowed to rent single player games unless everyone agreed. There was no way one person was going to beat Chrono Trigger while six kids just sat quietly and watched. Every game we got had to be multiplayer, and had to be something where we could share the controller as much as possible. What fits that description better than a fighting game?

mushin_Z: What is your favorite game in the Street Fighter series, and why?

LJB: Super Turbo. I always enjoyed the SFII series since childhood, but I hadn’t seen the ST version of it because it never was released on console at the time (SNES, or Genesis). When I joined SRK, I was trying out GGPO. They added ST in the game list. I wanted to take a look at it, and I was completely surprised at how it looked–I was not expecting a SFII game like this. It had supers, it had combos, the music was good, etc. Then I watched combo videos of it, so good. It became the first fighting game I wanted to be good at competitively.

Jaky: My favorite game is likely SFV; even though it is the newest, it has blessed me with many opportunities and friends.

WW: 3rd Strike. The pacing, mechanics and high-level play are infinitely appealing to me. Combined with the fact that I’m an Art and Animation graduate, so seeing Disney-quality animation coming from a series I followed religiously was a huge deal. And the fact that I’m a sucker for seeing time pass and characters age as new ones take up the torch–nothing does this in the series more than 3S. The hip-hop soundtrack finally reflected the urban arcade identity that I’ve always associated it with. It’s the perfect package.

mushin_Z: Do you prefer a fightstick, pad, or hitbox?

LJB: Fightstick. I was a pad player before. But then I tried stick, and I never looked back.

Jaky: Fightstick.

WW: Due to years of SNES pads and Dreamcast controllers (it was the only home port of 3S at the time!) I played better on pad than stick. But I fiended at arcades long enough to be fine on Happ sticks and Competition buttons. I had very limited experience with Sanwa-style balltop sticks and buttons–until just brute-force grinding it out on my MadCatz TE when SFIV dropped, every day for about a month, until it felt right. I then got into building custom sticks for the scene for a while. I recently tried a hitbox for the first time, and despite earlier misgivings, I get it–it’s just like back when you had no PC controller and had to use keyboard. It’s not for me, but I get it.

mushin_Z: Who do you main, and why? Is there a character you wish was selectable in Street Fighter V, but isn’t (yet)?

LJB: I play Balrog. He’s my favorite character of all, I play him in ST too, so I’m just keeping the tradition alive. I also play other characters depending on the match-up I’m facing.

Jaky: My main is Ryu. I picked him because I watched Daigo play 3S and I thought since Daigo is cute, I would use the same main as him. I wish Blanka was in the game, for my friend Woolie!

WW: In SFV, Necalli. In 3S, Makoto. In everything else, Blanka. I like raw, feral beast-mode fighting styles. And tomboys. And command grabs. In everything I play, I pick based on style before anything else, and I’ve stuck with them no matter where they end up in the tiers. If I like what I’m seeing when I use the character, I’ll never get bored with using them. True story, my day 1 team in CvS2 was Cammy/Blanka/Sagat, just based on digging the characters, before the first roll was ever cancelled.

Oro is a 3S favorite that hasn’t returned yet, and I think he’d have a lot of fun with the V system (He’d pull out both arms for his V trigger and power up his Critical Art!). I really want to see Q too, but the fact that Boxer exists makes me lean more towards the unique moveset of Oro. I also want to see a character built around having a single bar of V gauge. I think that could be interesting to experiment with.

mushin_Z: What’s your best match-up, in your opinion? Worst?

LJB: So far, I think my best match-up is Dhalsim. I also like fighting Chun-Li, because it’s challenging. My worst is R. Mika–I hate that character with a passion.

Jaky: I would say my best match-up is against Ken players! My worst is against the DLC characters.

WW: Best: ‘Gief. Necalli vs. ‘Gief feels like such an uphill battle for Zangief just to get in past the pounds, DPs, st.HKs and st.MPs. I feel kind of bad, but respect the ones who do immensely. Worst: Chun-Li. She has answers for every approach Necalli relies on. Playing the neutral means losing. Hard reads and insane risks are the only way to get any momentum.

mushin_Z: Where do you usually play?

LJB: I play at MVA [Mixed Virtual Arts], a nice gaming spot located in the southeast area of Montréal.

Jaky: I usually play on my Twitch stream, and at A&C weeklies in Toronto.

WW: Currently, MVA, the new console lounge in town.

mushin_Z: What can you tell us about Mixed Virtual Arts as a venue?

LJB: A real nice venue, has a lot of setups. Open seven days a week. And you have other communities like the Guilty Gear/BlazBlue and Sm4sh scene coming down as well.

Jaky: The MVA venue is extremely comfy. They offer you coffee or tea, have a wonderful lounge area as well as a viewing area, the setups are all clean, and the lighting is very pleasant. The owners are very welcoming and made sure I felt at home. Thuy is kind and runs a very smooth business. The SF scene in MVA is quiet, calculated and competitive. It is enjoyable to frequent MVA.

WW: It’s great! We’ve seen venues come and go, and I think this one has what it needs to stick around. Great setups, hosts, snacks, and even a stream station and projector. The location is accessible, and all in all, it’s a classy spot.

mushin_Z: Do you play online? Your thoughts on online competition?

LJB: I used to play online a lot, but now not so much. I think the online competition is great–some areas don’t have a local scene, so at least you have this feature, which is good in my opinion.

Jaky: I do play online often. I find it frustrating when it lags, but it does have its moments. The online competitions I’ve been in needed a bit of work, but I’m sure online will be viable soon.

WW: I dabble, but I don’t practice seriously online. There are too many variables to make it reflective of tournament play, and it isn’t going to make you a better player compared to regular live competition. It’s like learning an instrument alone, or playing in a jam session. Alone is better than nothing, but we gain more XP together in person.

mushin_Z: In your opinion, who are the players to watch in the MTL community?

LJB: There’s a bunch of talent here in Montréal. Players to watch are: Chi-Rithy, Snafoo, Rami, myself, FluxWaveZ, Coton, Yomi, TJ, and many more.

Jaky: The players to watch in MTL are FluxWaveZ and Coton. They’re very dedicated and I think soon they will really hit their stride. Chi-Rithy is also very good, but my opinions on him will obviously be biased!

WW: Henri “Chi-Rithy” has been the reigning champ for over a decade now. It’s generally agreed that he’s Canada’s best player. Similarly, Snafoo’s Dhalsim has been a staple Grand Finalist for years. But we’ve seen some new faces and secret weapons coming out to our weeklies, and many of us are really interested in seeing how they’ll do against international players. Rami Rammal and TJ are strong players that made names for themselves in the later years of SFIV. Coton is a relatively unknown player that’s been ripping through the brackets recently.

mushin_Z: How has the Montreal FGC impacted your experience with the game? Has your own skill improved through interaction with the MTLSF scene, and has involvement with MTLSF increased your enjoyment of fighting games?

LJB: The competition: so many good players you can learn from. MTLSF is one true family, they want you to get better, they want to you to beat this guy, they want you to win. The encouragement is there for the new players. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here playing, to be honest.

Jaky: The Montreal FGC has greatly impacted my experience with the game, since they’ve become family to me. We went to Evo together, we travel together, and we always keep in-touch and encourage each other. The Montreal FGC has also shown me how to train effectively instead of just mashing buttons, and very clearly and critically point out flaws in my game-play (there are a lot!). They’re really willing to help, if you show them that you want to be better. They can get a bit extra when they pop-off though–as being from Toronto and hearing “MTL! MTL! MTL!” can be cutely annoying.

I’m not sure if my skill has improved, but my insight into the game has improved a lot since speaking with the players there. Snafoo really helped my game mentality, as I usually feel like I’m actually dying when Ryu’s health gets low. He told me “Don’t think like that! You’re just piloting the character! It’s only a KO, not death!” I still don’t want him to die though, I panic! Being able to laugh with the scene has definitely increased my enjoyment of fighting games. One MTL player in particular, Checktrap, has made me laugh more than ever in one weekend than my entire life. He’s so invested in the game and the community, but has a really great way of being this friendly-antagonist.

WW: It’s the lifeblood that keeps me playing. I will always be a Street Fighter player, it’s a series that’s near and dear to me. But in the past there have been off years, years when I am a fan of the game, but not a competitor. This describes most of my non FGC friends: always down for some casuals, but not much else. MTLSF’s continued growth, in size and in strength, drives me to not fall behind. The community is thick as thieves. We’ve travelled and drank and chilled for years now. As long as there’s a setup, familiar faces will be there, pushing each other to get better. We’re not well-known by the stream monsters, but we’re known by the players. I want to be there with the community at my back chanting “MTL! MTL! MTL!” behind me, letting ’em know: don’t sleep on us!

[My skill has improved] by orders of magnitude. Quite simply studying hours of tournament footage and frame data on a given match-up are only a fraction of what you learn just sitting down and doing a first to 100 with Chi-Rithy, or sitting in 2P training mode with Snafoo. I learned to live the tournament player life, which in turn has taken my experience of all other fighters to another level. I would never have thought about competing in tourneys for games like Tekken, Guilty Gear and Marvel, with their respective local scenes, if I didn’t first learn to do so with MTLSF.

mushin_Z: Has any particular player acted as a mentor, or a rival for you?

LJB: Well, I do have one rival/friend/teammate. He beat me in my very first tournament in ST back in 2009, I was very salty [laughs]. His name is Song, previously known as AkumaMatata. He still plays today; he’s actually waiting for Urien in SFV.

Jaky: A lot of the Toronto players really helped me to come out of my shell and encouraged me. 50/50 Amato spent about two hours just helping me with one combo. The Toronto players are also a very big part of why I do commentary, and have a really great history in the scene. Starmie G has also helped me so greatly, as I was way too shy to even go to A&C for the TTT [Toronto Top Tiers] weeklies, and she came with me the first time I went. Another player that I look up to a lot is Drewface. He also plays Ryu, and has a lot of great insight into the match-ups. He also runs this great streetwear line, the fiftyxfifty, so I always look great at tournaments when I wear his clothes. They’re lucky!

WW: It’s changed over the years, but as far as mentors go in chronological order, huge shoutouts to guys like Kingsley from back in the MIRA days, to Phoun “PTS One” and Rameo in the SFIV days, and Snafoo and Drae “Yomi” currently. The rivals list is way too long for this article.

mushin_Z: Do you compete at Tatsumaki Tuesday? How would you describe TT’s atmosphere and competition? How well do you usually do?

LJB: Yes I do; Tatusmaki Tuesday is great. Intense, hype matches between two great players almost every week. I usually do well, mostly top 5/top 3 placings. But yeah, players are good, they want to get better. The competition is nice here.

Jaky: I have competed in TT #15! I also ran commentary! It’s very tense and a lot quieter than Toronto. The players here have a lot of heart. Usually it’s the same scrub taking the win in Grand Finals every week. (I say scrub, but Chi-Rithy is actually a very good player.)

WW: Every week! Brutal and unforgiving in the brackets, the best of times outside of brackets–just the way we like it. I’m having a rough time cracking top 16 in SFV, but I know it’s because of my lack of free time to practice like I did 5 years ago. I’ve never been a top player, but I used to do better than I currently am. Gotta stay hungry!

mushin_Z: What major tournaments have you attended? Have you traveled to tournaments outside of Canada?

LJB: I went to a lot of local majors like MAT (Montréal Annual Tournament), majors in toronto (The T series, Toryuken, etc.) In the US, it was Season’s Beatings V, Evo in 2014 and a lot of Big E tournaments (Summer Jam, NEC).

Jaky: I have been to Toryuken V, Evo, Red Bull Proving Grounds in Toronto. I mainly go to Canadian events, but I really want to go to the USA more. The players there are so fun!

WW: Evo 2016 being the most recent and notable, yes. I’ve travelled to the US for tournaments like ECT, NEC and Summer Jam.

WoolieWoolz (right) with Daigo Umehara (left) at Evo 2012

mushin_Z: How well have you placed? How would you describe the experience of traveling to compete?

LJB: At the time I wasn’t into SFIV too much, so it was more about Super Turbo. Best placing outside of Canada was 2nd place at Summer Jam 8. Memorable, especially Season’s Beatings V. The first US tournament I went to, it had everything: the games, the international players, etc. It was a great experience.

Jaky: I mainly do commentary, and live the 0-2 life in tournaments. At Evo I went 1-2! Travelling to compete is great. I’m usually the FGC mom. With me you’ll be fed, in bed on time, have breakfast, your stick will be packed, and you won’t forget your pass to get in. I really love to take care of the players, and make sure everyone is as ready as possible for pools.

WW: Not notably high. With the right group together, it’s the best. Not just for the tourney, but the money matches and late night antics always make for great stories.

mushin_Z: How often do you encounter players from other cities in Montréal? Do they fit in easily while visiting the MTLSF community?

LJB: Slightly often. It’s like they are already in the family; every time people come here they have a good time with us.

Jaky: In Montréal, a lot of players from Québec City and Toronto will come out! They fit in easily. When Toronto players show up, there is always a rivalry. We place side bets and call people out a lot.

WW: We clash pretty often with the Toronto SF community, multiple times a year as we attend each others’ events, but we also have had players come to town from NY, SoCal, Boston, Calgary and Québec City. Absolutely. We know that being in a French city can be jarring to some visitors, so we really go the extra mile to show them around town, introduce the culture in general and all in all have a chill experience. As an example, we invited and became friends with TS|Sabin, who had a good time with us and brought up Dieminion the next time, who in turn became friends and brought up Andre “Jago” Lambert with him the next time.

mushin_Z: Are there any players from outside Montréal you see/compete with regularly?

LJB: Not really.

Jaky: I compete regularly with the Toronto scene.

WW: Mainly Toronto. Their SF scene is smaller now that it used to be in the SFIV days, but we still host them, and they still have our backs when we travel together. Toronto guys like StDx|Blitzman just can’t leave us alone.

mushin_Z: Do you stream?

LJB: Yes, but not as much since school has started–but I’ll try find some time to stream regularly. Twitch: lordjimmybones. Twitter: @TRDJimmyBones.

Jaky: Twitch: jakyomanor.

WW: I do Let’s Plays and play all kinds of AAA poverty fighters on my YouTube channel: superbestfriendsplay. You can also catch our livestreams on Twitch: superbestfriendsplay.

mushin_Z: What games other than Street Fighter are you into, and why?

LJB: Other than SF, I also enjoy anime FGs too, because I like exploring other styles and gaining more FG knowledge.

Jaky: I really love all fighting games, they are the biggest part of my gaming collection. Other than that, I play a lot of Shin Megami Tensei, Pokémon, Monster Hunter, card games, and Animal Crossing. My favorite game is Shin Megami Tensei 3.

WW: I’m a fan of fighting games in general, so I will always have love for KOF, Tekken, MK, and GGXrd. Not to mention classics like Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Skullgirls. When it comes to non-fighters: games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Titanfall and Overwatch, because I can feel the competitive edge in them that reminds me of what I like in fighters. Also games like Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, Mirror’s Edge, Persona 4 and Jet Set Radio, because I value style, atmosphere, and art immensely.

mushin_Z, for JakyoManor specifically: anything you’d like to add about your experience interacting between the Toronto and Montréal scenes?

Jaky: My experience with MTL vs. TO has been great! The rivalry I think has cooled off a lot. I was very shy in 2009 so when I first encountered these players (TO vs. MTL) getting together in SFIV, it was extremely intense and loud… scary. In SFV, everyone is a little bit softer. Since I play a lot with MTLSF, I’ve now been known as the “TO Traitor.” I feel a bit sad, because I really love my local scene–but I also love to bully them and sign up as MTLSF in tournaments. Toronto and Montréal will likely always fight. Montréal seems to think they have more talent than Toronto, but they can’t get lazy! Toronto is placing very well at majors, and making a name for themselves again! I’m really excited to see where Toronto will go in the life span of SFV.

I was advised to also reach out to Twitch streamer Miss Harvey, for a word on her experience with the Montréal FGC scene. Her comments sum it up well:

I haven’t been around the boys for like a year now, but what I can say is that they are the most welcoming and supportive community ever. When I moved to Montréal I didn’t know anything about SF (coming from the Counter-Strike community) and I went to their weekly meet up just for fun alone–and they welcomed me like I was one of their own right away. They taught me the game and we became really good friends, people I can count on when things go right and go wrong. I will never forget the trips we took together in Toronto, Vegas (my first Evo was with them), etc. and what they brought into my life. I will be MTLSF for life. 🙂

Left to right: Emmanuel; Miss Harvey: WoolieWoolz; Chi-Rithy; Rami; GotNext

Additional Sources: Atari FGC; Mixed Virtual Arts; superbestfriendsplay