Battle by the Bay

Video game tournament

Battle by the BayTournament information

Location| Sunnyvale and Folsom, California, United States

Tournament
format(s)

| Round-robin/Double elimination
Venue(s)| Golfland Sunnyvale;
GameRoom Folsom

Evo 2002 →

B3: Battle by the Bay, the B4 Championships, and the B5 Championships were the first three instances of the open fighting game event that is now known as the annual Evolution Championship Series. B3 was created by Tom and Tony Cannon, Joey Cuellar, and Seth Killian, and was held in an arcade hall in Sunnyvale, California in 1996. B4 and B5 were held in Folsom, California in 2000 and 2001 respectively, before the tournament was renamed Evolution in 2002. The three tournaments were entirely focused on the Street Fighter and Capcom Versus video game franchises.

Though the Battle by the Bay mainly drew in competitors from the Street Fighter tournament scenes that had coalesced in various cities throughout the United States in the mid-1990s, the tournaments also attracted international challengers early on.

## B3: Battle by the Bay

[edit]

Golfland Sunnyvale arcade hall in 2007

During the mid-1990s, a Street Fighter II tournament scene had coalesced in various cities across the United States. The Golfland arcade hall in Sunnyvale, California was one of the hottest spots for competition in the country, with rivalries happening among various player groups, in particular between Northern and Southern California players. Players were also finding each other and discussing strategies through the internet on message boards. The Battle by the Bay was conceived in order to quell debate over who was the best Street Fighter player in the country.[1][2]

B3: Battle by the Bay was organized by Tom "inkblot" Cannon, Tony "Ponder" Cannon, Joey "MrWizard" Cuellar, and Seth "S-Kill" Killian[2] It was held in the Golfland arcade hall in Sunnyvale, California in 1996. The tournament had 40 contenders mostly from the United States, though B3 also featured players from Canada and Kuwait. Tom Cannon noted that the international interest in B3 had a big impact on him.[1] Luke Winkie of The Atlantic described B3 as "a snapshot of the brilliant optimism of esports during its earliest days," noting the significant black American presence in the young fighting game community, and therefore the racial diversity at the event.[3]

Alex Valle made his first major appearance at the Battle by the Bay, defeating John Choi in the Street Fighter Alpha 2 grand finals. To win the tournament, Valle revealed an unblockable combo he had discovered, which was dubbed the "Valle CC."[4]

### Results

[edit]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Graham Wolfe  | GWolfe  |
2nd  |  Jason Nelson  | xrolento  |
3rd  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  |
4th  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  |
5th  |  Alex Wolfe  | A_wolfe  |
5th  |  unknown | Firas  |
7th  |  Jason Cole  | AfroCole  |
7th  |  Dave Finnie  |  |
Street Fighter Alpha 2[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | Ken, Ryu, Sagat
2nd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | Ken
3rd  |  Jason Nelson  | xrolento  | Charlie, Ken, Sagat
4th  |  Jeff Schaefer  |  | Akuma, Ken
5th  |  Tony Ngo  |  | Ryu
5th  |  Richard Koven  |  | Chun-Li
7th  |  Julien Beasley  | Zass  | Sodom
7th  |  Thao Duong  |  | Ken

## B4 Championships

[edit]

The B4 Street Fighter Championships were held on July 15–16, 2000, in Folsom, California. Like B3 four years earlier, B4 featured a Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2, but B4 also introduced several new Capcom fighting games to the roster: Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.[6] The newly released Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was the first non-Street Fighter game to be included, which served as precedent for the tournament to branch out to other games. The Capcom Versus series has since had a large presence in the Battle of the Bay and Evolution Championship Series events.[7][8]

The five winners of the Street Fighter Alpha 3 tournament at B4 were flown to Japan to partake in a 5v5 exhibition match between the top-ranking American and Japanese players. The lead up to this exhibition match was the subject of a documentary directed by Peter Kang, titled Bang the Machine.[1][9]

### Results

[edit]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  | Balrog, M. Bison, Ryu
2nd  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | Ryu, O. Sagat
3rd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | Ryu, O. Sagat
4th  |  Jason de Heras  | Shirts  | O. Dhalsim
5th  |  Jason Cole  | AfroCole  | O. Sagat, Dhalsim
5th  |  Jason Nelson  | xrolento  | Balrog, M. Bison
Street Fighter Alpha 2[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  |
2nd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  |
3rd  |  Thao Duong  |  |
4th  |  Jason Wilson  | DreamTR  |
Street Fighter Alpha 3[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | V-Sakura
2nd  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | V-Akuma, V-Sakura, X-Rolento
3rd  |  Thao Duong  |  | A-Charlie, X-Dhalsim
4th  |  Eddie Lee  |  | V-Karin, V-Sodom, V-Vega
5th  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  | V-Akuma
5th  |  Jason Cole  | AfroCole  | A-Balrog, V-Dhalsim
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | Chun-Li, Ryu
2nd  |  Hsien Chang  | hsien  | Akuma, Yang
3rd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | Ryu
4th  |  Eddie Lee  |  | Chun-Li, Ibuki
5th  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  | Chun-Li
5th  |  Martin Vega  |  | Urien, Sean
7th  |  Mike Devonish  | Mike D  | Ibuki
7th  |  Jason Wilson  | DreamTR  | Elena
Marvel vs. Capcom 2[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Duc Do  | Ducvader  |
2nd  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  |
3rd  |  J.R. Gutierrez  | Image  |
4th  |  Arturo Sanchez  | Sabin  |
5th  |  Eddie Lee  |  |

## B5 Championships

[edit]

Held in August 2001 in Folsom, California, the B5 Championships was attended by a much larger international crowd, particularly from Japan. Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 made its introduction in the tournament roster at B5,[6] and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was again a headliner of the event, being described by TechTV as "the hottest arcade fighting game of the season."[10] Justin Wong was only 15 years old when he traveled to B5 and won its Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament.[11] Tom Cannon later remembered 2001 as a difficult year for the fighting game community: while the tournament scene was growing in size, many arcades throughout the country were closing down. The tournament was rebranded as "Evolution" the next year, with a mission of preserving the arcade tournament scene. Joey Cuellar noted that naming further tournaments "B6" and "B7" would have seemed too confusing.[12]

### Results

[edit]

Marvel vs. Capcom 2[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Justin Wong | Jwong  | Storm, Sentinel, Cammy
2nd  |  Duc Do  | Ducvader  | Spiral, Cable, Cyclops
3rd  |  Jay Snyder  | Viscant  | Doctor Doom, Storm, Sentinel
4th  |  Mike Devonish  | Mike D  | Storm, Cable, Cammy
5th  |  unknown | Golden Nismor  | Spiral, Cable, Sentinel
5th  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | Magneto, Storm, Psylocke
7th  |  Rattana Phanthourath  | Rattana  |
7th  |  Peter Rosas  | Combofiend  | Magneto, Cable, Cyclops
Super Street Fighter II Turbo[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Jason Cole  | AfroCole  | Dhalsim
2nd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | O. Sagat, Ryu
3rd  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | Ryu
4th  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  | Ryu, Balrog, Vega
5th  |  Jason Nelson  | xrolento  | M. Bison, Dhalsim
5th  |  Jason Gonzales  | Apoc  | Vega, Balrog
7th  |  Bob Painter  | kuroppi  | E. Honda
7th  |  Graham Wolfe  | GWolfe  | Balrog, Vega
Street Fighter Alpha 3[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Ryo Yoshida  | BAS  | V-Akuma, V-Cody
2nd  |  Tomo Taguchi  | Chikyuu  | V-Rolento, V-Sodom, V-R. Mika
3rd  |  John Choi | ChoiBoy  | V-Sakura
4th  |  Mike Watson  | Watts  | V-Akuma
5th  |  Alex Valle | CaliPower  | V-Akuma
5th  |  unknown | White  | V-Sakura
7th  |  Kuni Funada  | Kuni  | A-Zangief, V-Sodom
7th  |  Ricki Ortiz | Hel-o Kit-e  | V-Sakura
Capcom vs. SNK[5] Place  | Player  | Alias  | Character(s)

|
|
|

1st  |  Tomo Taguchi  | Chikyuu  | C-King, Sakura, Raiden
2nd  |  Jason Nelson  | xrolento  | (S) EX-Balrog, EX-Guile
3rd  |  Jean-Francois Lussier  | JFL  |
4th  |  Ricki Ortiz | Hel-o Kit-e  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Learned, John (2017-07-17). "The Oral History of EVO: The Story of the World's Largest Fighting Game Tournament". USGamer.
2. ^ a b Brathwate, Brandon (2018-07-23). "OPINION: The Past, Present, and Future of Evo Makes It Prime for Investment". The Esports Observer.
3. ^ Winkie, Luke (2021-05-05). "The Original Kings of Esports". The Atlantic.
4. ^ Martin, Michael (2016-01-21). "Casuals: Alex Valle, the Veteran". Red Bull.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Painter, Bob. "Evo Tournament Results 1996-2011". Kuroppi. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27.
6. ^ a b Virtua Kazama (2015-07-13). "The History of EVO (Part 1): B3-EVO 2002". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2015-07-16.
7. ^ Walker, Ian (2018-08-04). "Evo Sidelined Marvel Vs. Capcom Players But They Killed It Anyway". Kotaku.
8. ^ Park, Edward (2020-02-17). "Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 in Evolution Championship Series". The Quad. West Chester University.
9. ^ Vazquez, Suriel (2017-04-16). "How A Fighting Game Documentary Survived 9/11 And Became A Cult Favorite". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 18, 2017.
10. ^ "B5 TechTV coverage". TechTV. 2001.
11. ^ Smith, Wynton (2016-07-12). "The evolution of the world's largest fighting game tournament". ESPN.
12. ^ Learned, John (2017-07-17). "The Oral History of EVO: The Story of the World's Largest Fighting Game Tournament". VG247.

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