GSA Overview 2

GSA Overview 2
Due to the positive responses I got, I decided to write a follow-up to my first post. This time with a slightly different structure, one that might work better. This time I’m going to run down the last 2 weeks day by day, race by race. Due to Smash.gg not being very nice to get data from I won’t be incorporating much in-depth stats. I hope y’all like it. Small note, I wrote the last post on the 24th, but couldn't incorperate any of the statistics of that day, that's why I'm starting here.

February 24^th

On the 24^th 6 matches were played over 5 leagues. To start the day Cheese and Toastrider91 faced of in the first division of the 70 star league. After 48 minutes and 50 seconds of delightful commentary by the team of Puncayshun and Dwhatever, Toastrider took the win. A minute and 25 seconds later Cheese ended his run, taking 11 out of the 20 additional points. This resulted in 49 points for Toastrider, and 11 for Cheese. This may certainly be seen as an upset, as the odds favoured Cheese. This was Cheese’s second loss over the season.

Up next Toastrider91 was scheduled again to fight for points, however this time in Mario Kart: Double Dash. Sadly Toastrider91 dropped out of the MKDD league, mainly because he couldn’t warm-up and practice next to Super Mario 64. His replacement is JHawk, he faced off against the undefeated No. 2 in the league GoombaNL. GoombaNL won the game 12-1. With this win he reclaimed first place in the tournament, a spot he’s held ever since.

Following this there was some Super Mario Odyssey action, SuisagaW vs. Chaospringle. The race was commentated by Flamefuser and Cheesejamez, two knowledgeable players of the game. Chaospringle took the win with a 1:01:56.77, while Suisaga clocked in with a 1:03 flat. Due to this Chaos was awarded 40 points plus an additional 7 points for the time difference, while Suisaga took 13 points. This brought Chaos’ total to 240 points, breaking the tie he had with Suisaga for 4^th place.

Next was a Division 2 match in the 70 Star league where 3^rd DrogieSR and Tabascoth faced off. Tabascoth took the win in 51:30, while DrogieSR finished with a 51:39. This gave Drogie 19 out of the 20 extra points, the optimal amount in a loss. Not much is to be said about this race, solid times from both, decent commentary.

The next run was also in the 2^nd Division. Copitz and 2^nd place in the league Protoman fought for 60 points. Protoman decisively won the race in 51:37 compared to Copitz’s 53:29. Protoman got 52 points, Copitz took 8, this elevated Protoman temporarily to first place. This place would be taken from him the following week be a rather surprising participant.

Lastly Cheese and Akki squared off for bragging rights, the first place and the undefeated streak in the 16 star league. The first game saw Cheese PB’ing and taking the win. 1-0 for Cheese. Then being virtually tied the whole race the climax came down to the last 5 minutes. Akki eventually took the lead in BitS, and took the win with a 30 second difference tieing the score 1-1. The last race was a 15:37 for Akki, which Cheese could not beat. 1-2 for Akki, the undefeated streak lives. This brings Akki to 21 points, and secures him first place for at least 1 more round as he’s now 4 points ahead of Binny.

GSA Overview 25/02/2019

GSA Overview: 25^th of February by BaxterV

GSA (Global Speedrun Association) is a speedgaming organization, that hosts near daily races, that made it’s rise in 2018. Therefore the organization has much work to do to professionalize their stream. We’ve seen over the last couple of weeks that banners have been added to race VOD’s, more games were announced to get their own division, details about the first PACE event were revealed, etc. However the overall standings have not been discussed much. This came as a surprise as we’re past halfway with the leagues. So let’s not waste any more time and dive right into this.

Super Mario 64 70 Star Division 1

Because there are 2 divisions in 70 Star, and a 16 star league, we’re spreading them out a little. To start off, Puncayshun, the current World Record holder of this category, has a sizeable lead. He’s earned himself 329 points over, moreover he’s undefeated. Runner-up is Toastrider91, with 206 points. His only loss was to Dwathever, who is in 3^rd place with just 1 point less. He won all of his matches except the one with Puncayshun. 4^th is Cheese, having lost a match to Toastrider91 and Liamkings. Beneath Cheese are Binny, Weege14, Benjii64 and Paracusia to close off the top 8.

Puncayshun has clearly made an impact on the competition. His 123 point lead makes him a good contender for the number 1 spot, which would set him up to play the player in 8^th place, currently that is Paracusia. With still half of the season to go, anything can happen, even Puncayshun could be overthrown. In the upcoming weeks we’ll see how Puncayshun can manage, and if he will keep the undefeated streak alive.

Also we have to look at the bottom 3 playes, which are not guaranteed a spot in Division 1 next year. Currently V1RO, RockChalk19 and Heisenburger make up the bottom of the bracket. It should be mentioned not everyone has played their 6^th game as of writing this, V1RO earned a victory over Heisenburger and has yet to play his 6^th game. RockChalk also earned a victory over Heisenburger, and also has yet to play his 6^th game. Heisenburger himself hasn’t earned a victory yet, which would mean he is going to play the Division 2’s 1^st place.

Again nothing is set in stone, but Heisenburger seems to have ran out of luck as his remaining 5 games are against the higher ranked players. He is going to play against Liamkings, who is in 9^th place, this match will most likely seal his fate in terms of standings this season. With that being said we will keep a close look at the league as it roles on.

Mario Kart: Double Dash Time Trials

For those not aware, this league format is a little different. If it’s not clear how the structure is set-up after this quick run-down then I advise you to read the Structure Info document by GSA (link). Every match 13 time trials are done, with (I might be wrong on this) the winner choosing the next stage every time. Due to the way the game functions it give the final time up to 1000’s of a second, this makes re-timing the game unnecessary.

Let’s look at the current standings. Basebalkid is on top with a 5 point lead over GoombaNL with 76 points. Basebalkid is however not undefeated, he lost 8-5 to OuterHalo. GoombaNL is in second place, with 71 points, and is undefeated. This is something I didn’t mention before, but the 13 games all award points to your profile, next to that 5 points are awarded for the win (beating your opponent). GoombaNL simply won but not in as great of a fashion as Basebalkid did, meaning he’s now despite not having lost a full match yet, in second place.

Tied with GoombaNL is OuterHalo, who also has 71 points, but has played one match less than GoombaNL or Basebalkid. Lothjon (66 Points) and OptimisticEmo (58 points) close out the top 5 of the Mario Kart Time Trials. It should be noted that place 6 on the leader board, Megamatt, is only 1 point behind Optimistic Emo with 57. Moreover place 7 is 2 points behind the place above it; Ultimarkh has 55 points and has an even season as of right now with a 3-3 standing.

In last, and very much in danger of losing his spot is Rasern, with only 15 points, all earned in defeat. The top 3 is very close, and so are the spots 5-7. Anything is still possible with the league, with 5 (6 for some) games to play, it will be fun to see the runners delevop strats and consistency trying to earn enough points to make their way to play-offs.

Super Mario 64 16 Star

In the 16 star division points are earned similarly to the system MDKK (Mario Kart: Double Dash) uses. Points are awarded for every game, plus an extra point for the contestant who wins the best out of 3 series of races.

Currently in 1^st place is 16 Star World Record holder Akki. He’s earned himself 19 points 6 games, all of which he won. With 17 points he is followed by Binny, who has played 6 games, only 1 of which he lost. This loss was to Akki. Behind this we see Anti and Cheese battling for the 3^rd place spot. Both have lost 2 games, 1 of which they lost to Akki. Cheese’s 2^nd loss was to Gainai, while Anti’s 2^nd loss was to Binny.

Behind this we see 3 men fighting for 5^th place, Dwhatever, RochCalk19 and Weegee14 with 12 points. RockChalk has yet to face either of these two men. Weegee beat Dwatever during the season. It will be interesting to see who will prevail and earn the best spot for the play-offs. Looking only at the table the odds would favour Weegee, as he is yet to face opponents lower in the brackets.

In last place with 0 points is MrJimmysteel25, who hasn’t won any of the races over the 6 matches he played. It would be nice to see him earn a win, just to keep his spirit up. Gainai is the breakout story of the season probably, a runner who has only 2 points, and even a win with these two 2 over Cheese of all people.

Super Mario Odyssey Any%

The newest addition in the 3D Mario games catalogue is also a highly contested speed game, with World Record being lowered 7 times throughout the season. Different people held World Record over the course of the season, all of which are in the competition. Chaospringle, Nicroveda and as of writing this LilKirbs have all held World Record in SMO Any% during the season.

On top in the competition is Stavos96 with 294 points. Under this is Nicroveda with 281, followed by LilKirbs with 259 points. The top 3 is quite close, between place 3 and 4 is a bigger gap. Chaospringle has ‘only’ 193 points and ties with Suisaiga with this amount. This top 5 has great talent in it, retimings have already occurred, the competition is evolving quite fast. Comparing runs from the beginning of the season to those right now is not really fair. Runners that don’t implement new strats and routes during the season get left behind, and it shows on the leaderboard.

Two-player Any% World Record holder Orolme is in last with 63 points, only 5 point behind LilAggy with 68 points. The last 2 places are still really close. In the offseason it’s most likely we’ll see both of these men fighting for their spot in next season’s league. As of right now ReyalsdiorteM would also have to defend his spot, lacking 10 points to tie the 9^th place of Dansta.

The Odyssey races have really been a joy to watch. The constant improvement of strats and solid commentary have made it very entertaining to watch. I suggest you try some of these matches, Stavos and Nicroveda would be a good option as they are both still undefeated.

Super Mario 64 70 Star Division 2

We’ve already discussed Division 1, so let’s take a look at who’s in line for a spot in the first division. M0m0 is in first place, 261 points, with 6 games played. Protoman5 is in 2^nd place with 256 points, but has already played 7 games.

DrogieSR and JJsrl are in 3^rd and 4^th place. Both of these players are still in the race for 1^st place. To my own surprise Cartoonbuffoon and BroMario28 aren’t competing as well as I expected. Cartoon is in 6^th with 155. He’s been delivering interesting performances and solid runs over the course of the season, but hasn’t yet ‘turned it on’. His chances of 1^st place (or play-offs in general) are slim, but existent. Bromario28 has only played 5 games and gathered 52 points, while others have already played 7, so the odds favour him to rise in the rankings, but the League Open Qualifier Tournament seems inevitable for him.

It’s interesting to note that nobody is undefeated or winless. The quality of runs is slighty worse than the first division, but the matches do seem more tense. The commentators should also be given praise as their performances on Division 2 matches were just as good if not better than the Division 1 matches.

Celeste Any%

The Celeste Any% are done 3 at a time like the 16 star matches. In the league are former-World Record holder Fladervy and current World Record holder TGH. Just like with Super Mario Odyssey Any% this World Record has been lowered during the season multiple times.

Unsuprisingly TGH is in the lead with 24 points, closely followed by Fladervy with 23 points. Nero_x2 closes of the top 3 with 21 points. This top 3 is pretty close, and both TGH and Fladervy are still undefeated. Their face-off will likely decide the faith of this season, unless Nero is able to beat TGH in their match. Fladervy has already beaten Nero and has also beaten No. 4 in the season MSushi, who has 16 points.

At the bottom there are two very respectable runners, Flarebear & Evanfight. The latter of which scored a single point, the former scoring none at all during the season. Their eventual clash will decide who is the better, because there will be at least 4 points on the line. However both will most likely play the Qualifier Tournament, together with MooseSR who’s spot is also in jeopardy as he is in 10^th.

I would definitely recommend watching some of these matches. They’re only half an hour long and showcase the game beautifully. The game is, next to being very hard, aesthetically pleasing, this mixed with the high pace action and skips makes for a very entertaining run.

Sum-up

Halfway through the season not many places have been solidified yet. The only player who’s in a safe-spot in terms of first place holders is probably Puncayshun. Akki, TGH, M0mo, Stravos96 and Basebalkid are all still fighting for their first place, with direct competition on their heels. As the season progresses I intend to write another such post, perhaps at the end of the season.

Super Mario 70 Star Division 1, Celeste and Super Mario Odyssey Play-Offs will all be played at PACE 2019. This event is the first of it’s kind and has much to improve, but the concept is good. PACE 2019 will also showcase some other popular speed games, all worth checking out. PACE will be held from the 25^th of April till the 28^th of April, I hope to see many of you in chat.

About the me

Hi, I’m BaxterV. I decided to write this article because I am a speed run fan, one that greedily watches GSA live on Twitch, and the VOD’s on YouTube. However I couldn’t really put things into perspective. As of right now the whole program seems to be episodic, every block of races feels like a single race, not a match in a competition. That’s what sparked my interest to write this article, to give an overview of all the standings. I know I’m not a good writer, I apologize for that. Hopefully my writing skill will improve as we go, if I can get myself to do this on a monthly basis.

P.S. I'm not gonna bother adding pictures because by now it's already outdated, not motivated enough for that. Maybe at the end, but we'll see.