Last weekend the Winter Brawl X, one of the first big tournaments to feature Street Fighter V, proved that both old and newer players in the fighting game community could succeed. After the dust settled, the final eight players were: Joe "LI Joe" Ciaramelli, Julio "Julio" Fuentes, "TA|Moons," Arturo "TS|Sabin" Sanchez, Emmanuel "TSC|CD Mani" Brito, Ryan "PG|FilipinoChamp" Ramirez, "3K," and Brentt "r/SF|Brenttiscool" Franks.

Julio "Julio" Fuentes looked for his match in the bracket. He was very confident. His only worry for the rest of the tournament? TS|Sabin and his Dhalsim. It presented a tough matchup, but he could always surprise him in a tournament set.

He scanned his next match in top-8: TS|Sabin.

LI Joe took a deep breath.

"Make sure you adapt and don't get stubborn in your play," he whispered to himself.

He was going to face up against one of the best United States' players, PG|FilipinoChamp and his Dhalsim. He popped a small candy into his mouth and chewed slowly. The sugar rush kept his eyes focused and his mindset clear. Just stay calm and focus on the match. He sat down and took a long drink from his water bottle. One more check on his buttons and a deep breath before his opponent selected the stage.

FilipinoChamp plays so different from Sabin. As he thought and adapted to the match, he threw out a moonsault and clutched out the first round. The second round began and it was another chase. One missed opportunity and FilipinoChamp took full advantage to even the round score. A restless crowd watched the stage with chants of "Joe!"

"Dude, Joe is scaring Champ right now," Victor "Spooky" Fontanez commentated on the stream. Ciaramelli took advantage of the space given and threw Dhalsim four consecutive times before ending the round with a fake-out. The crowd erupted in cheers.

"The mix-ups are too real for Champ right now," Fontanez continued as the next game began in Ciaramelli's favor.

With one confirm into critical art, the match was over. Ciaramelli stood up from his seat immediately and dashed over to the other side of the stage in jubilation. As a crowd of players embraced him, he broke off and hugged his training buddy, TA|Moons. Editor's Picks Around the World - Fans and League of Legends

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Fuentes took the stage, his fight stick in hand, and sat down first. His eyes concentrated on the screen as he tested out his buttons before TS|Sabin took his seat next to him. A brief handshake and smile and his eyes reconnected to the screen.

The round began and Fuentes immediately entered into the space of his opponent's Dhalsim. Never let him breathe and punish everything he does, He thought. Never let him have a chance to escape. He went over the checklist of steps in every round -- if he went to the air, check him with a step kick, whiff punish far pokes, and suffocate him when up-close.

"Wow, it's over. Julio, please!" Fontanez commentated. "He played that match like he was ready to be a Dhalsim demon."

The match was over and Fuentes took off his headset, unable to hide his beaming smile. This was the best run in a major tournament for him and he needed to keep everything in check. He belonged in the top-8. All the hard work and how much time he put into the game was paying off.

Take a step back, Fuentes thought. Just stay cool and confident and don't get too far ahead. I just have to take every match as they come and think it out when I fight.

The stage was set between the east coast's best hope in Ciaramelli and the upstart young fighter from the west coast, Fuentes. It was winner's finals and the winner would advance to the grand finals of the entire tournament with the victor's advantage.

Fuentes took his seat first and practiced his attacks and combos while Ciaramelli took his time to unwrap his fight stick before finally taking a seat. The crowd was firmly behind Ciaramelli as he closed his eyes, his head tilted down, and took a long breath before whispering, "Ok."

Fuentes struck first. He was relentless in his pressure, pinning his opponent against the corner and punished every wrong decision. Ciaramelli fought back with his keep-away game and pushed every correct button. The last round of the first game was a slugfest. Both exchanged attacks until both were on pixels. Ciaramelli stuck out a low medium kick and won the game.

Ciaramelli took a long swig of his water bottle before lowering his ear to his friend for advice. Fuentes pushed his headphones off his ear as he discussed the match with the support from his temporary coach.

Fuentes recognized that Ciaramelli made his favorite button, fierce punch, whiff and understood that all his resources should be expended to get close. After that, things should go his way.

The mental break worked out for Fuentes as every scramble fell in his favor and he capitalized on every hit for an extended combination attack, regardless of how difficult or small the window.

I have never played a Ken that good before, Ciaramelli thought after the match ended. He took his time to pack everything and slowly walked off the stage. His head a little lower than before as he racked his mind on how he lost after starting off so well.

Joe "LI Joe" Ciaramelli (left) and Julio "Julio" Fuentes (right) Eric Stewart

Ciaramelli watched the tournament from the side of the venue as he continued to poke and prod at the match that eluded him. "I can make the necessary adjustments," Ciaramelli kept telling himself.

"How should I approach Ken?" Ciaramelli asked his friends in the crowd. Together, they figured out. He was punishing many whiff throws, so throw later and watch for the bait. He jumped in on me too many times, sharpen up the anti-airs. And lastly, use the fastest normal in the arsenal to check both the unfamiliar run and kick target combo.

Fuentes thought 'I've been on stage and lost before, that feeling is familiar.' All the work is paying off, I just got to stay confident and positive. I can actually win this tournament. He paced himself and kept calm before the last match of the tournament was called.

The grand finals

Fuentes and Ciaramelli were in the grand finals of Winter Brawl X. Ciaramelli climbed back into the picture after he eliminated his training partner and friend, TA|Moons. That match was one where either party could have emerged as the victor, but Ciaramelli wanted the rematch just that much more.

Ciaramelli started out on-fire. Every fireball kept Fuentes out and he deliberately anti-aired two jump-ins. Then, the first hit of the target combination that he game planned for occurred and Ciaramelli slammed his jab button for the punish. Advantage Ciaramelli. The second round ended in similar fashion, except Ciaramelli got his own baits working. One confirm into a critical art and the crowd reacted with chants of 'Joe' and claps.

Every mix-up hit, all his projectiles were well-spaced, and his escape options were brilliant. Ciaramelli was challenging everything and establishing as much space as possible.

"He's mauling him," TS|Sabin commentated on the stream.

A quick game two and Ciaramelli smiled at the result. He took another long drink from his water bottle and nodded his head before the set resumed. The third game started slowly and Ciaramelli built his lead before finally sealing the first round with a whiff-punish into a critical art.

"What a turnaround," Sanchez said. "Joe is sticking and running -- he's doing a good job of staying out of Ken's plus-frames and pokes."

Adjustment completed. Ciaramelli swept Fuentes and reset the bracket for a final best-of-three set for the tournament. With the win, he left his seat and immediately went to the other side of the stage to take in all the cheers and advice that his peers gave him. Once he took his seat, his eyes narrowed in. It was time to finish business.

The first round was back-and-forth as both combatants exchanged pressure in the corner. However, it was Ciaramelli who conditioned his opponent to always go for a throw as he punished him with combination attack after attack. One more critical art and it was four games in a row. Fuentes was shaken.

But, he would fight back. Behind fantastic hit-confirms and safe pressure, he took advantage of his mobility and superior damage to even the set. A big breath from Fuentes before the game rematch. He didn't need more than 15 seconds to think about the game. Another big lead and another clutch critical art to finish off the next game's opening round for Ciaramelli and Fuentes was on the backburner again. Now, the spacing was in Ciaramelli's favor and jump-ins were a factor. Fuentes' mistimed attacks and allowed for Ciaramelli to pile on too much damage.

"One more game, one more game!" the crowd chanted as Ciaramelli took a 2-1 lead in the finals.

The last game was more of the same as Ciaramelli crushed every opportunity Fuentes wanted for space and ended the set with another critical art. Ciaramelli stood up and immediately was swamped by the crowd as Fuentes closed his eyes and put his head into his hands.

What happened? Fuentes thought. He wasn't afraid to show his disappointment as he lingered in his seat. Fuentes smiled after and acknowledged how far we went. You made it this far, he just beat you.

Winter Brawl X was a great example of how the young up-and-comers are legitimate and, the older players can still be real threats.

"I have a very strong drive to be a top player in this game. I may not be the best but I want to remain a threat to the Street Fighter world," Ciaramelli told me. "I don't get too bored when playing at a high-level, it's actually pretty exciting, which helps fuel the drive. The amount of support I've received so far has been unbelievable. I hope I can make everyone proud and give others some inspiration. It's not what I play for, it's who I play for, that matters."

As for Fuentes, he's just getting started as well. A second-place finish as his best placement in a major tournament is hardly a weak result.

"It's surreal now since I can remember just playing in the arcades as a 16-year old," Fuentes said. "It's really motivated me. I'm getting somewhere."