Tayson Defas is a highly skilled Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite competitor who has a couple of secret weapons for staying focused during stressful tournament matches. Heâll meditate between games, sometimes even stepping away to sit on the floor. Also, he has a boyfriend, fellow fighting game player Sebastian âSolâ Oliva, who has been known to give him a quick good luck kiss. This past weekend, these adorable tactics resulted in a big win for the Marvel player.
The first of the coupleâs smooches to gain wide recognition happened at the Evolution Championship Series last summer. Tayson (who competes using just his first name) was one win away from making grand finals of the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite side tournament, and he took a lengthy mid-set meditation break to get his head straight before heading into the last game of losers finals. Right before the match restarted, Sol hopped up on stage for some PDA with his boyfriend. While sweet, the Evo 2018 good luck kiss unfortunately didnât translate to in-game success.
Tayson and Sol treated viewers to a sequel this past weekend at CEOtaku, the anime-flavored off-shoot to the annual Community Effort Orlando event series. This time, the kiss inspired a much better result for Tayson.
As the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite tournament came to an end at CEOtaku, Tayson found himself engaged in a championship bout against Ray âKnivesâ Ruballos, who had previously defeated him at Community Effort Orlando in June. These two players represent the pinnacle of Infinite competition, and they went the distance in grand finals. The culmination of their struggle rested on the results of the very last game, and before jumping into the fray, Tayson took on a familiar meditation pose, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing. He had scarcely begun when Sol stood from his seat in the front row and, after a few audience members shouted some encouragement, walked to Taysonâs chair and gave him a kiss.
Solâs power-up worked. Despite falling behind early, Tayson made an incredible comeback from a significant life differential. The final moments of the match saw Tayson survive a deadly Dormammu onslaught by Knives; he fended off the demonic characterâs various attacks and mix-ups long enough to build up another use of the opponent-trapping Space Stone. With just one character left, Tayson combined the Space Stoneâs confining box with Gamoraâs attack-doubling Shadow Combination clone to open up Knivesâ defenses, wiping the rest of Dormammuâs health and securing the CEOtaku championship.
Tayson and Solâs game-winning smooch wasnât CEOtakuâs only exciting moment. Southern Californiaâs Jona Kim, who also uses his first name as his competitive handle, won both BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Both victories came after close calls against his grand finals opponentsâHiroyuki âKyameiâ Kamei of Japan and American East Coast powerhouse Jachin âSKDâ Harte, respectivelyâbut he proved to be one of the weekendâs most impressive players. At one point, Kyamei was able to reset the bracket by defeating both of Jonaâs characters with a single attack, a risky uppercut that sealed the deal in dramatic fashion
Elsewhere, Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code winner Jose âScrawtVâ Ballestero asserted his dominance in the championship match against Italyâs Brick by using an entirely different character than he usually plays, one that is relatively weaker than his main. SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy had one of its first competitive spotlights since launching earlier this month, and it ended in a down-to-the-wire grand finals between champion Kazuyoshi âSamittoâ Tezuka and runner-up Kyamei. There was also another heartwarming moment when, after eliminating Evo 2018 finalist Eli âLost Soulâ Rabadad in Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, Yuko âkedakoâ Sonoda softened the blow by giving him a few gifts from his home country.
CEOtaku has grown tremendously since its original incarnation as an destination for niche fighting game competition in 2015. Where the first event attracted around 300 players, this yearâs tournament saw almost 1800 attendees travel to Orlando, Florida to participate. Itâs an important part of the year for players of Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, Melty Blood, Marvel vs. Capcom, and countless other fighting games, and last weekendâs greatest moments have shown that unusual tactics can go a long way towards securing a win, whether thatâs picking an different character, taking a chance on a risky attack, or just making sure you have a good luck kiss in your back pocket.
Ian Walker loves fighting games and writing about them. You can find him on Twitter at @iantothemax
