Falcon's 200th Tournament Bonus Content: Post 100th Tournament Reflection

[FalconXD 1]

Introduction:

Following suit from my 100th tournament, I’m doing a post that is reflecting on the past tournaments I have hosted. Opposed to the first reflection though, this one will involve reflecting upon the 100th tournament all the way up to the 199th tournament. That’s all I really have to say about this reflection so without further ado let’s hop into the reflection.

 

Starting off with the 100th tournament, looking back I found it interesting how everyone went along with the Falcon Miis only theme. I’m thankful people enjoyed the theme and overall while the Mario Kart Wii portion of the tournament was successful, the Mario Kart 7 portion didn’t feel like it resonated as much. The remaining Superstar Showdown and Falcon Tour tournaments all were extremely fun and went well organization wise. Many people consider those tournament series some of their favorite tournaments they have attended out of the ones I hosted. I can see the sentiment and looking back I have positive memories of the later Superstar Showdown and Falcon Tour series. The initial finale FFA tournaments went well too despite people hosting other events over the MKW one. The challenges came with my “retirement phase”. Looking back retiring from tournaments and even the internet proved super cringey. This unfortunately caused problem with my series as my attendance was peaking, but taking a hiatus hurt the series overall. Looking back, this would remain a common pattern over these tournaments and is something I want to work on when getting back into the tournament organizing business.

After about a few months I wanted back in the scene, so I created the Wait What He’s Alive tournament series. I think the funniest thing is the second after I created a thread on mariokartwii.com one of the Super Moderators instantly viewed the thread. I think he was expecting it was some religious cult nonsense with that title. Wait What He’s Alive actually started off super strong with the first two tournaments, but then started declining. As I grew busy, I didn’t have much time for the Wait What He’s Alive tournament series and the 13-tournament long season got cut in half. Oddly enough despite getting too busy for my own series that didn’t stop me from hosting three strong, official FFA tournaments for mariokartwii.com. I even won Tournament Organizer of the year on the website for 2013; however, after having to carry the MKW tournament and other complications I left the official organizers.

The start of 2014 was a small decline for the tournaments. It started off with a Brawl tournament series Finem Rixam that had mixed reception. Afterwards I tried hosting random tournaments and reviving the Wait What He’s Alive tournament series; however, Nintendo WFC ending in May 2014 messed with those plans. I had plans in the background for an elaborate Mario Kart 8 tournament series, but as senior year of high school got hectic I had no choice, but scrapping the story elements for the MK8 tournament series and just doing standard Mario Kart 8 tournaments. The FxD Center Mayhem series did well, but between the start of college approaching and other factors, the tournament series didn’t last long. Also, while the format of hosting every Friday and Saturday whenever a host was available proved successful at first, when I tried abridging the series for another hiatus the numbers dwindled. None of these tournaments were bad attendance wise and the Falcon Kart 7 + 8 finale went off without many hitches, it just fell victim to the old hiatus spell. I took another break after December 2014, but I didn’t stop thinking about ideas for tournaments in this time span.

Come August 2015 I wanted a change, Mario Kart 8 wasn’t hitting the same levels of fun as Mario Kart Wii did for me so I decided I would switch over to Sm4sh. This led to Fight To The Finish, a Sm4sh tournament series, getting created. This tournament ran from August 2015 to March 2016 and proved extremely successful. After the mixed results for the past few seasons, Fight To The Finish proved a second tournament renaissance and was extremely popular. I didn’t plan for a second season though and due to this I spent time working on one quickly. Unfortunately, life kept me busy and it wasn’t until January 2017 that I could begin hosting Fight To The Finish Season 2. This season had its good moments, but it didn’t live up to the hype as the first season. There were also a few questionable organization choices here, but overall the series was fine. Unfortunately, after Fight To The Finish finished in mid-2017, the tournaments didn’t peak beyond this point again.

Senior year of college proved the busiest year yet and I didn’t get much time for organizing tournaments. I hosted a few occasional tournaments related to Fight To The Finish; however, Fight To The Finish Season 3 never happened. There weren’t any more tournaments until the Grab Bag tournament series in summer 2018. Grab Bag like its name implies was a filler tournament series with different games each tournament. Seeing as how the game varied per tournament it was hard getting large turnouts consistently. There were a few memorable tournaments, but it wasn’t the same as past tournaments. The series lasted 12 tournaments which lead into the 200th Tournament Festival which should have preceded the next tournament series. The 200th Tournament Festival unfortunately I felt didn’t live up to its hype since while there were many different events it didn’t get advertised enough nor organized the strongest. This tournament was the first time I used Smash.gg in a while and it shows for some events. There were some fun parts of the 200th Tournament Festival; however, it could have been better and didn’t hold a candle to the 100th tournament.

Now remember how I said the 200th tournament should have preceded a future tournament series? Well, life had other plans between working full-time, master’s classes, and running my college’s Smash team. Although I didn’t do much in 2019, I hosted several offline Smash Ultimate tournaments and hosted one tournament at the end of 2019. Now that 2020 is in full swing I plan to get back into the game, but it’s much different from the past. Through-out the past 100 tournaments there have been several highs and low. My new goal is working on a series that I am proud of and reaches the same heights that Blast Of The Past, Superstar Showdown, and Fight To The Finish did. As for the future, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens with the tournament series!

 

Falcon's 200th Tournament Interview:

Also here's an old interview I had planned for the 200th tournament series:

Falcon’s 200th Tournament Interview:

 

Introduction:

So for those that don’t know, after my 100th wi-fi tournament I hosted a 100th tournament interview where I answered questions from various attendees, players, and anyone else generally curious about something. Based on this I started planning a tournament interview for the 150th tournament, but that tournament came and passed without an interview. Then I started planning an interview for my 200th tournament; however, the interview didn’t occur. It reached a point where I started polling people for questions, but never got around to answering them. As I work on more upcoming tournament content I have been going through old documents and taking care of some unfinished content. Due to having all these questions saved up I decided just to answer them now opposed to saving them for a tournament. Questions are answered in a random order with people who asked multiple questions having all their questions answered consecutively (Control + F is your friend if you’re trying to find your name). I will answer all questions honestly, but I will also answer some questions how I want to answer them. Also note that when compiling these questions there might be some that are like one another, I tried making most of the questions unique, but there might be some overlap. Anyway without further ado, let’s get this show on a roll!

 

1. Believe: Who is your favorite Smash Bros. character?

I think you know this answer haha. When it comes to my favorites I would have to say ROB, Villager, Megaman, King K Rool, Mii, and Banjo + Kazooie. I’m sure those answers will irk some people, but I love their inclusions into the series. ROB is always a personal favorite after playing as him in Mario Kart DS and through-out the Smash series. Villager was a silly inclusion that I loved seeing in Smash,. Megaman and King K Rool are picks that I wanted in Smash, but never expected which makes them super exciting. I appreciate the meme potentials the Miis bring as well as being my MKW character. Then Banjo and Kazooie is the one DLC character I wanted in Smash Ultimate and I was unbelievably hyped that he got in. 

 

2. Joseph: Have you ever been on the toilet so long you forgot whether you took a shit?

No sir… I haven’t…. There are times I might get stuck in a trance, but I don’t think I have ever had it that bad. 

 

3. Hukster: Why did you choose ROB for your Smash main?

When I was younger I played Mario Kart DS a lot younger and ROB was my main in that game. When Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out I was getting into Smash more than I did in the past. ROB was the only character in the game that surprised me and I remembered him from Mario Kart DS. I really enjoyed his playstyle in Brawl and then became a ROB main since then. 

 

4. FireFoxBlade: Why did you create Fight To The Finish and how did it become so popular?

In the past I had hosted Mario Kart tournaments since that was the video game I loved playing. Although, after playing Mario Kart 8 enough I got bored of the game and wanted a change of pace. Due to this I switched to Sm4sh which I enjoyed more and likewise I felt inspired for creating a Sm4sh tournament series. Looking back, I have no idea how it became as popular as it did, I suppose it has to do with the right promoting among forums and having enough connections interested in tournaments. It is one of those series that just happened in the right place at the right time hence why it took off like it did. 

 

5. Sera: What’s your favorite hobby?

That would be difficult since when it comes to hobbies, I don’t have a set favorite. I would say that my hobbies are video games, recreational sports, hiking, camping, free writing, and art in no set order. 

 

6. Snicks: Do you prefer having longer hair or shorter hair, and do one of those two seriously bug you?

I don’t really get bothered by having longer hair or shorter hair. I typically prefer shorter hair since I enjoy it being low maintenance; however, on the flip side it does sadden me that having short hair significantly limits how I can style it. I’m not big on styling my hair, but if I had longer hair I would have more flexibility with haircuts. 

 

7. Blu3: What tournament surprised you the most? 

Great question, I had a lot of surprising tournaments and moments over the year, but I think the tournament that surprised me the most was one of the newer tournaments. Grab Bag #6 is a Mario Kart Wii tournament I hosted back in 2018. It was the first time I ever did a Mario Kart Wii tournament post-Nintendo WFC shut down so I wasn’t expecting much. Despite the game being 10 years old it was the largest Grab Bag tournament and honestly some of the most fun I had in a tournament since a long time. 

 

8. Blu3: What tournament did you have the most fun with?

This question is another tough one. Over a little less than 10 years of hosting tournaments, there are so many fun tournaments and moments it gets difficult picking the best moment. If I had to give a quick answer for a fun, memorable tournament I would say the Revenge of Anti-Falcon/Superstar Showdown #30 MKW Tournament I hosted back in 2012 is up there. The gimmick of that tournament was that Anti-Flacon hijacked my account and hosted the tournament. The tournament had a special ruleset that was literally everything Falcon didn’t enjoy in Mario Kart Wii. Also Anti-Falcon heckling the tournament attendees and watching them try rallying against him was extremely fun. Reasons like that are why this tournament will always remain memorable for me (although I’m still bummed that they all let Anti-Falcon win). 

 

9. RunC.T.: Why don’t you host offline tournaments?

At the time this question got asked I didn’t host offline tournaments simply because I didn’t have access to a venue or offline scene. Also, I found hosting online tournaments easier than hosting offline tournaments which still holds some merit today. Although, since this question has been asked, I have hosted several offline tournaments for my college’s Smash Bros. team. I enjoyed hosting offline tournaments, but there are definitely some obstacles with hosting offline events versus online events. One of the biggest offline events I hosted actually had a power outage which was really fun to resolve. 

 

10. RunC.T.: Is there ever gonna be a Mario Kart Battle series or a Smash Bros. Series?

This question got asked before Fight To The Finish existed so that did end up being a Smash Bros. tournament series. As for a Mario Kart battle tournament series I do enjoy hosting occasional battle tournaments; however, I don’t feel there are enough people that would get invested in a solo Mario Kart Battle tournament series (if there are people out there that want this though feel free to tell me otherwise). 

 

11. Vic: How do you handle the stress of being in school and having a tournament series?

At the time this question got asked I was still in college running tournaments opposed to now where I’m mostly done with college. When I was going to school and hosting tournaments, it was balancing both aspects and managing time properly. There were times in the upperclassmen years where I got busier and gave more priority towards schoolwork while toning down tournaments. Since I’m simply a hobbyist tournament organizer I would do this for my own sake much to the dismay of my participants. Had I been running a tournament series as a business getting a permanent co-host or micromanaging time more would have been my approach.

 

12. Vic: How were you inspired to create a tournament series?

When I was younger I enjoyed competitions ranging from sports to video games to just about anything. After I got into video games and saw that tournaments existed from them I got super excited about video game competitions. I also got inspired by Rockband events I played in at school as well as online Mario Kart Wii competitions on Allisbrawl hosted by MeltyTale or Mr. Money. These competitions made me feel thrilled and I wanted a turn at offering the competitive, yet fun thrill to others hence inspiring my tournament series. There are also several external motivators such as having fun, pleasing the community, but those events were my inspiration for the tournament series. 

 

13. S-BLAZE: What could you have emphasized more on, such as penalties, delays or overall an entire series?

When it comes to the tournament series overall, I feel I could have emphasized on optimizing the tournaments. There were some tournaments (more so with the Sm4sh tournaments opposed to most MKW tournaments) where I felt like the bracket could have run faster. I could have put some more measures in places so rooms finish faster and the tournament didn’t last as long. Besides that there are a few smaller things, but those are more tournament specific opposed to an entire series. 

 

14. Shado Chimera: How many unique players participated in at least 1 tournament?

There were alot. I wish I could give a concrete number and I was going to count it as one of the other bonus contents, but since that got scrapped I will just say we’re easily in the 1000s range. 

 

15. ShadowKeru: Will your tournament series ever involve betting?

Probably not serious betting, but I have experimented with draft ideas in the past such as the champions draft in my 200th tournament festival where people could predict the Top 8 players of the Champions Bracket. This only got minimal participation though so it probably won’t happen unless I feel like trying it again. 

 

16. Garloo: What would you do to help newcomers enjoy your tournaments?

Typically, if I got a newcomer in my tournament series I would chat with them before the tourney started if they were in the chatroom. I would ask them a bit about themselves and if they had any questions about the process. I would just explain things to them in ways they could understand. Also when I hosted Mario Kart tournaments with multiple rooms I would put certain newcomers in my room so they got the experience of how I hosted opposed to one of my co-hosts. 

 

17. Bryan: Do you try to make competitive or casual tournaments?

When hosting tournaments, I do my best at creating both a competitive and casual environment. As a tournament host my goal is catering towards both audiences for maximizing attendance. I also like making sure that there is a fair, high level of competition, but people still have fun so I try striving for this balance. Some tournaments are catered towards the competitive crowd or casual crowd more so, but I typically try to hit the balance of appeasing both.

 

18. Ade: Do you do more than Smash?

When it comes to eSports, Smash is the primary game that I play. As for gaming I enjoy playing several Nintendo games and also have started exploring other options for PC gaming now that I have a MSI which can handle PC gaming. Outside of video games I have other hobbies such as free writing, art, hiking, recreational sports, and other hobbies. 

 

19. Val: Do you still do anything with Mario Kart Wii? 

I still play Mario Kart Wii from time to time with some older friends like Cody and Kotejimo. I have also hosted a few occasional throwback tournaments in Mario Kart Wii during the Grab Bag series and 200th Tournament Festival; however, I don’t do a ton with the game. 

 

20. Val: What time do you schedule tourneys?

Typically, I schedule tournaments at night time since I find it a prime time that I’m available; however, I have hosted some tournaments earlier in the afternoon if the target audience is European players.

 

21. Votega: How'd all the tourney business start?

The tournament t business started back in January 2010. I had been inspired by entering the Ryoshima Coast and N/A Weekly tournament series hosted by MeltyTale and Mr. Money. I wanted a turn at hosting events that others could enjoy. There was a bit of a rocky start like I imagine most other TOs experience for their first events; however, the community interest and my loyal attendees made me not give up. I kept hosting and ended up finding an extremely fun pastime. 

 

22. GR33NL3M0N: Do you ever take requests for character-themed events for your tournaments?

Typically, no. When I host my tournaments, I plan a season far enough ahead that it’s already planned out before people give suggestions. That being said, I do pay attention to popular themes and suggestions people have. If there’s enough love for a theme I will consider using it for future unplanned events.  

 

23. TheMasianOne: Why don’t you punish people for not following rules?

When it comes to tournament rules I generally try to make it straightforward with the rules. At the end of the day I enforce the rules the best that I can to ensure the tournament runs smoothly, but I’m also trying to create a fun environment. I’ll punish a person if they are rampant in breaking the rules, but if somebody dances into the grey area of a rule then I’ll be flexible for creating a positive environment. 

There are times where I could have been better with this (the specific case you’re probably thinking of I’ll admit could have gotten handled better), but through-out the past 200 tournaments I have been firm with the rules a good majority of the time. 

 

24. Cody: Are you Italian and a Falcon in real life?

I am 25% Italian, but I’m not an actual Falcon in real life haha. Thankfully too as I imagine playing games and hosting tournaments as a bird would get rather complicated. 

 

25. Cody: How many tournaments have you hosted now?

When it comes to tournaments I currently count hosting (as of when I answered this question not now):

201 wi-fi tournaments, 15 offline tournaments, and have co-hosted several other events (I don’t count them towards my total though since I don’t know how many I have co-hosted total). 

 

26. Cody: Are you a kid now or are you a squid now?

Well I like to think I’m a bit of a kid at heart and I don’t seem to have any tentacles so… a kid then. 

 

27. Cody: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

If a woodchuck could chuck wood it would chuck wood all day chucking all wood in its capacity unless an external force stopped a woodchuck from chucking wood. All of this is assuming a woodchuck could chuck wood. 

 

28. Cody: Mr. Falcon, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop!?

You know, I don’t have a Tootsie Pop on me right now so I can’t take a scientific method approach for solving this.  I believe though that when I ran the experiment in 6th grade I got to about 83 licks before reaching the center. 

 

29. Chuyramosfregoso: What made you want to start Fight To The Finish Season 2 after such a big gap between Season 1 and Season 2?

I think the biggest thing that must get clarified is after the fun and success I had hosting FTTF Season 1 there were plans for hosting FTTF Season 2. The biggest reason a gap existed was due to being busy with jobs and college. Due to being busy with these things I lacked the time for hosting tournaments, so I had to wait until I had time for hosting. Unfortunately, this does feel like it hurt the series in the long run, yet it was necessary since I was the main TO and didn’t want to host it until I knew I was ready. 

 

30. Edgar19: Are the rules going to be different this time around for your tournaments?

Seeing as how it has been a while since I hosted a tournament series I can say for sure the rules, advertising, and process for future tournaments is going to have some changes. As for the specific changes you will have to wait and see. 

 

31. Aro: i just would like to know exactly how we gain points going towards the leaderboard, cuz i was surprised i got top 20 tbh

So looking back in your specific scenario, this was during Fight To The Finish Season 2. I introduced a fairly controversial mechanic known as Power Moves for mixing up the leader-board. One part meant that if you defeated a person ranked in the Top 10 of the current leader-board you got half their point totals added to your score. Combine that with a casual-based tournament with an upset on Gman and you gained enough points for getting you in the Top 20. In hindsight this wasn’t the best idea and if the leaderboard points had remained normal you probably wouldn’t have got into the Top 20. 

 

32. Coyors: Do you like pasta?

I love pasta!!!!! It’s one of my favorite foods and I probably eat too much of it in my diet haha. I would say parma rosa pasta is my favorite variant. 

 

33. Proctavia: What motivates you to host tournaments?

I would say the community motivates me for sure. I remember in my early days after I hosted Falcon’s Fierce Allstar Racing #4 (this was my sixth tournament) which ran poorly I almost thought about quitting. Even though the tournament was lackluster I remember two people told me I shouldn’t give up and said they enjoyed the tournaments. Moments like this motivate me for hosting tournaments and is why I keep staying invested in tournament hosting for as long as I have. 

 

34. SuperFlame: What tournament series, which you hosted, would you consider your most successful? Meaning most participants alongside everyone having a good time.

Ah this is a fun question. Based on those parameters I would have to narrow it down to two series. For the MKW people I would say the Superstar Showdown (2012) series was probably one of the most successful. When it came to the Sm4sh people I would say Fight To The Finish Season 1 (2016) was the most successful. Based on your specific parameters I would give an edge to Fight To The Finish as it had higher peaks and was more consistent while Superstar Showdown took a few installments before it kicked off. Nostalgia value though I have a soft spot in my heart for Superstar Showdown and Blast of the Past so I would go with Superstar Showdown. 

 

35. Slingshot: Why did you start hosting tournaments?

The tournament t business started back in January 2010. I had been inspired by entering the Ryoshima Coast and N/A Weekly tournament series hosted by MeltyTale and Mr. Money. I wanted a turn at hosting events that others could enjoy. There was a bit of a rocky start like I imagine most other TOs experience for their first events; however, the community interest and my loyal attendees made me not give up. I kept hosting and ended up finding an extremely fun pastime.

 

36. Killer: Why can’t more TOs be like you?

I’m flattered, but you’re too kind haha. I don’t know how to answer this, but I would say that all TO’s have their own organization style. Even though there are common rules and processes done by TOs, I find that most accomplish these common goals in different ways. Over the years I have hosted some interesting tournaments and made interesting decisions. Some have worked out greatly while others haven’t worked out as greatly; however, I would say my methods have been fairly unique. 

 

37. Killer: What got you into Smash?

I had always enjoyed the Smash Bros. series since I was younger playing a lot of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Despite this I was much better at Mario Kart Wii and stuck to that series as my main competition. Although, after playing enough Mario Kart 8 I got bored with the meta and wanted a change in pace. Cue Sm4sh releasing and I suddenly found myself more interested in that game. After playing Sm4sh I was hooked and started getting into Smash more than Mario Kart. 

 

38. 107/Luna: Where does your avatar come from?

I don’t remember which avatar you’re referring to so I’m going to assume you either mean by Discord profile picture or my Twitter icons. If you’re talking about my Discord profile picture that I deem “Sqwuak” it’s of a Potoo. If you’re referring to my Twitter icon and banner it’s artwork that is done by my friend Critical (who I’m sure you know).  

 

39. JimmyDeanLinks: How confident are you with dealing with problematic situations such as people who rage?

This one is always a challenging one, but overall when it came to the past 200 tournaments there fortunately weren’t a ton of conflicts with rage. It did happen a few times and while there was some drama in the moment, typically it resolved and worked out in the end. My approach is that while it might be problematic in the moment, I’m confident that I could handle it well enough that it works out in the end. 

 

40. Raheem The Dream: If I keep coming in the tournament, then I could have dat $35 Prize someday soon!? 

If you attend a prize tournament that has a $35 prize and win the tournament then that could be possible. 

 

41. TRexLord: How do you play your matches on Smash.gg?

I haven’t used Smash.gg much in the past due to not liking how the platform operates (although this might change soon), but from what I remember you click on your match in bracket. After doing so you check in, your opponent checks in, you ban your stages, pick your characters, and continue from there. The on-screen instructions are straightforward and it’s just going through each part of the set step by step. 

 

42. Swordlegacy: When will the next tournament be?

That is a very great question! I wish I had an answer for you, but all I can say is you will have to stay tuned for a future announcement. 

 

43. Ditchpigs: Who do you main? (More than just Sm4sh)

I’ll just list off some characters I main in games that I can think of off the top of my head.

Smash Ultimate – ROB, Banjo + Kazooie, Game and Watch

Smash Bros Wii-U/3DS – ROB, Duck Hunt Dog, Kirby, Villager

Super Smash Bros. Brawl – ROB, Kirby

Super Smash Bros Melee and Super Smash Bros. 64 – Jigglypuff, Kirby, Mario

Mario Kart Wii, 7, and 8 – Mii

Mario Kart Double Dash – Koopa Troopa + Diddy Kong

Mario Kart 64 / Super Circuit – Toad

Super Mario Kart – Koopa Troopa

Mario Tennis Aces – Boo

Playstation Allstars Battle Royale – Sackboy, Parappa

Ultimate Mavel VS Capcom 3 – Deadpool, Amateratsu, Zero

Marvel VS Capcom Infinite – Firebrand & Judah

Tekken Tag Tournament – Heihachi & Mokujin

 

44. Nintega: For the Fight to the Finish, are you planning to include other games in the lineup, smash or not?

When it comes to Fight To The Finish it’s strictly a Smash-based series. I have hosted other tournaments in the past particularly for Mario Kart; however, when I have done Mario Kart tournaments they operate under different names. I have made exceptions with this in the past such as my Grab Bag tournament series which involved a different game in each tournament, but typically when I create a tournament series like Fight To The Finish I don’t like mixing up the games since it causes confusion and doesn’t make sense (I advertise FTTF to Smash players, but then host a Puyo Puyo Tetris tournament per instance).  

 

45. Lust: Why does a guy enjoy hosting tournaments so much?

I feel like the reason I enjoy hosting tournaments so much is the communities I host it for. I have met so many individuals through hosting tournaments and made some life-long friends through hosting events online and offline. Hosting these tournaments is my way for giving back to the community and is why I enjoy hosting them as much as I do. 

 

46. Amy: How do you decide the point system for the leaderboard?

When it comes to deciding point systems for the leaderboard, I try balancing points, so it’s not broken. Obviously, the better a player ranks the more points they should get, but typically the point totals should remain close so that way the competition is close. The idea with my leaderboard system is that if you’re constantly ranking high then you should have no problem getting a top spot on the leaderboard, but it shouldn’t be possible that one player wins 3-5 tournaments in a series, disappears, and then can’t lose because it’s impossible that others catch up. There are a few other things I added over the years such as different tiers for number of players, and bonus totals; however, as I learned from past seasons, I shouldn’t go overboard with this or it causes issues with inflated player scores. 

 

47. Adamsicle: What do you enjoy playing other than the smash franchise?

Beside the Smash franchise I also enjoy the Mario Kart franchise, multiplayer games, platformers, and typically party game. Although typically I will have fun playing any game as long as it isn’t a MOBA or first person shooter. 

 

48. Gman: What did you want to be when you were younger?

When I was younger I either wanted to be a basketball player or a racecar driver. I always enjoyed thrills and I always felt that those two sports were extremely exciting. Looking back I would say I would more likely choose a racecar driver over a basketball player since I feel like I would be better at that than basketball. 

 

49. Dimento: What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is Blue. When it comes to specific shades of blue I would say a nice cyan or dark blue are my favorite shades of blue. Second place when it comes to favorite color would be black. 

 

50. ZxAbsol: What is your first name?

My first name is John. Surprisingly not many people have done the “No Johns” joke to me. 

 

51. Leaf: What’s your background?

When it comes to ethnicity I’m 50% - Irish, 25% - Italian (people probably expect this to be more when I use to rock the “Italian Falcon”), 12.5% - German, 12.5% - French. Geographic location I was born in Manhattan and grew up in Connecticut. 

 

52. Al3x_v9: Who are you?

I’m FalconXD. I’m a tournament organizer, Smash Bros. player, tech enthusiast, and IT specialist. I’m best known in the tournament hosting scene for MKW tournament series like Blast of the Past, Superstar Showdown and Sm4sh series as the Fight To The Finish tournament series. Chances are if you don’t know me that description won’t tell you much, but that’s who I am. 

 

53. Black Star – Pavel: Did you use to live in Italy?

Nope, unfortunately I never lived in Italy. The Italian in “Italian Falcon” is just an ethnicity euphony that got added to the username. I don’t know if I could ever live in Italy, but it would be a fun place for vacationing. 

 

54. Black Star – Pavel: What made you main ROB without dropping him? Assuming you've never dropped him.

I have never dropped him since he got revealed in Brawl, although in Smash Ultimate I have played around with secondaries such as Mr. Game and Watch and Banjo + Kazooie. I picked ROB in Brawl due to my love for him in Mario Kart DS and I got attached to the character since playing him in Brawl. Character loyalty is a big thing for me in franchises like Smash so I typically will play the same character if I can.

 

55. Black Star – Pavel: Why do you use "Falcon" in your usernames? 

The “Falcon” part of my usernames actually has nothing to do with Captain Falcon, but rather because Falcon is a part of my last name. It’s funny how many Smash people get tricked by that, but it’s not like there’s no logic behind it.

 

56. Black Star – Pavel: Are you an F-ZERO fan?

I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest fan of F-Zero, but I love the series and I really hope Nintendo releases a new one soon. I also disagree with Nintendo’s logic that F-Zero GX wasn’t a good game as I think that was my favorite. 

 

57. Black Star – Pavel: What made you start giving prizes at your tournaments?

I think the first tournament I awarded an actual prize at was the Falcon’s Evening FFA tournament I hosted back in 2012. When giving out prizes at tournaments there are two motivations typically, marketing and giving thanks. The first part is marketing since tournaments with cash prizes will typically get more attention, but the second, more important part is giving thanks to everyone who joins my tournament. Offering a prize for select tournaments is how I thank the community for supporting my tournaments as long as they have. 

 

58. Black Star – Pavel: What are your plans for the future irl?

When it comes to my irl plans I’m currently finishing up a Masters in Cybersecurity. Once this is done, I want to get further into the cyber-security field. My dream job would be doing digital forensics work. Outside of work I want to live life to its fullest which involves doing different things while I’m young and socializing more. 

 

59. Black Star – Pavel: Are you a fan of board games?

I do enjoy board games and I even remember when I was younger I designed my own board games for fun. I think the important distinction is that I usually like mainstream board games (like Monopoly, Sorry, Parcheesi) or simple board games. Stuff like Dungeons and Dragon isn’t my cup of tea and I find games like that boring the few times I got involved with it. 

 

60. Black Star – Pavel: Out of the vgs you have, which one do you enjoy the most?

Out of all the video games I would say that Mario Kart Wii is probably my favorite video game. It was an impactful video game between my first online gaming experience, the tournaments I hosted, the community I met, and overall all the time I spent playing it. I don’t feel like it’s the best video game ever made, but I had the most fun with it when compared to other video games. 

 

61. Black Star – Pavel: Are you waiting for a specific franchise to release another game?

As mentioned above I really would love a new F-Zero game. Another franchise that I would like a new original game is Super Monkey Ball. We recently got a remake of Banana Blitz, but I want a Super Monkey Ball game that is like Super Monkey Ball 1 or Super Monkey Ball 2. 

 

62. Black Star – Pavel: What kind of movies do you enjoy the most?

Typically I enjoy either comedy movies or action films the most. I always like watching superhero movies with the MCU and Dark Knight trilogy being up there for some of my favorite movies. 

 

63. Black Star – Pavel: What's your favorite season of the year?

I would say my favorite season of the year is summer. When it comes to the seasons I didn't enjoy spring in the past due to seasonal asthma, fall is alright, and I love the Christmas season and start of winter, but it drags on towards the end.  I don’t typically hate the other seasons, but summer feels like the most balanced of all seasons. Also the longer days and summer trips typically lead to me enjoying summer over other seasons. 

 

64. Black Star – Pavel: What's your favorite food? Or at least one of your top picks.

I would have to say some of my favorite foods in no order are parma rosa pasta (and typically any other type of pasta), black and white cookies, red potatoes, sushi, pizza, french fries, bananas, and yogurt. 

 

65. SketchLA94: Favorite part on a girl besides their face?

The bu… I would say hair, a nice head of hair is always pleasing to look at. 

 

66. Milky: Pizza or Pasta?

I like both, but I would have to pick pasta. There are so many combinations of pastas and sauces that I love, although my favorite would probably be parma rosa pasta. 

 

67. Milky: How many events have you organized/helped organize?

When it comes to tournaments, I currently count hosting as of when I answered this:

201 wi-fi tournaments, 15 offline tournaments, and have co-hosted several other events (I don’t count them towards my total though since I don’t know how many I have co-hosted total).

 

68. Milky: What tournament you hosted had the most participants, and how many participants were there?

If we’re counting anything goes, then the Grandmaster Championship I did had 512 players entered into the bracket, but that’s something I did on my own so I wouldn’t really count it. If we’re talking about a live tournament bracket, then probably the Mario Kart Wii bracket of the initial finale FFA tournament I hosted back in January 2013 was the biggest. That tournament had 134 different players competing in it. 

 

69. Milky: Are we ever getting Mario Kart tournaments back?  

That is a great question and I wouldn’t rule out the possibility. I do still enjoy the Mario Kart series a lot and would love hosting some Mario Kart tournaments. The challenge is with so many people interested in both Smash Bros. tournaments and Mario Kart tournaments it would involve balancing both which I don’t know if I should start off with. So to answer your question, it’s possible but I don’t know when. 

 

70. Milky: How would you handle a dispute during your tournament if there is no proof and both players are saying they won?

If I have no proof on either side of the dispute then there’s no way I can prove the match even happened. If this was the case I would have them replay the set and make sure they record the result screen this time. I started making it very clear players should save their replays and have proof in case disputes do happen. 

 

71. Milky: What happens if someone disconnects during a set in a tournament while someone has a lead (ex: ZSS has a lead. 2 stocks, only taking 35% damage while the Little Mac player is on his last stock at 60%) and then the disconnect happens?

Based on Fight To The Finish’s ruleset, if it was the first time it happened then they would restart the game, but start off with the stocks and percentages they had left. If there were excessive disconnections though, then a lag test would get done with the culprit causing the lag losing the set. 

 

72. Milky: Any tips for hosting my own tournaments?

There are several things you should keep in mind when organizing your tournaments. I have compiled a list here: https://forumsclub.com/forums/82416-falcons-200th-tournament-bonus-content-tips-for-being-a-successful-to/

 

If you want a paraphrased version then just read the bolded text. 

 

73. Milky: Chicken or Beef?

I would have to go with chicken. I love chicken and looking back at freshman year of college I think I had a bit too much poultry in my diet. 

 

74. Milky: Why does Bayonetta scream AVOCADO during her animation of her Final Smash?

You know what… I never heard it until you mentioned it and now I can’t unhear it. As for why she screams it, I guess she really just likes avocado that much. Bayonetta is the kind of girl that I feel would destroy a grocery store / food place just because they ran out of avocados. 

 

75. Gingah: how many fight to the finishes have you done so far?

I have hosted 30 Fight To The Finish tournaments, 2 Fight To the Endline spin-off tournaments, and 3 Fight To The Finish bonus tournaments. Adding all these tournaments together you get 35 different Fight To The Finishes. 

 

76. Xune Leka: What is your favorite word? That's something I doubt anyone else has asked.

Hmm… this is a good one. When it comes to the English language I would say “floccinaucinihilipilification” which is a word that describes something as valueless. It is also a bit ironic that a word like that is valueless since it doesn’t get used often due to length. When it comes to a phrase I would say “OK, Great” is up there. Another favorite Spanish word is sacapuntas. 

 

77. SGFroot: What defines something as a form of art?

This is one of the hardest questions I have been asked. Art is so abstract at this point we’re hearing about how a banana duct taped to a wall gets considered art. While I have studied art a lot in my younger years, finding a definition for art is like finding out Andy Warhol’s thought process. I would say if a piece of art meets the 7 art elements (space, texture, value etc.) and the 7 art principles (balance, contrast, rhythm etc.) then it counts as art. 

 

78. Multy: Why do you play video games?

I play video games typically just for sitting back and decompressing, but there are other reasons as well. Other reasons I play video games include playing with others, having fun, and having friendly competition against others. 

 

79. Karna: What is your favorite non-Smash video game and why?

I think my favorite non-Smash video game would be Mario Kart Wii. I played that game a lot growing up, hosted several tournaments for it, and it was one of the video games that made a major impact on me. Due to these reasons and several more I would say Mario Kart Wii is my favorite video game even more so than the Smash Bros. series. 

 

80. Luna Fantasia: FTTF seems to be something you coordinate with others, as though it was a job of some sort. Do you plan on becoming a major VG host in the near future, or is this something you do as a pasttime? I just found it interesting you were even able to distribute cash prizes.

I would totally be down for hosting a major tournament in the future; however, typically I host tournaments as a hobbyist. I do dream about organizing a massive event like Smash majors, but typically my focus is more so on hosting tournaments for fun. Although certain changes must get made for getting back into the tournament scene, I’m still doing everything I can for being a hobbyist tournament organizer versus doing it as a daily job. The cash prizes arm still doing everything I can for being a hobbyist tournament organizer versus doing it as a daily job. The cash prizes aren’t typically difficult and just involve pulling some money that I have saved up for the tournaments. I make sure that I have enough spare money before I give away cash prizes since I also need money to eat, sleep, and etc. 

 

81. Yuri Bacon: If you could become a talking and intelligent falcon (that could wield a shotgun why not), would you? If not, would you if it we're a different animal/creature?

I think that would be extremely cool; however, the one downside to this would be giving up opposable thumbs for claws. If I could get actual hands along everything else, I think that would be a compelling offer. My spirit animal in the past was a snow leopard; however, I think I’m actually okay just being a human.

 

82. Yoshinendo: As primarily an online Tournament Organizer, would you ever consider TOing offline tournaments if given the opportunity?

I have organized offline Smash Bros. tournaments in the past and enjoyed them tremendously. If I was given an opportunity for being a TO for offline tournaments regularly, I would love to. The biggest challenge I feel with this is finding a venue that needs assistance or would want tournaments hosted. 

 

83. CaptnMario: What inspired the grab bag (Falcon’s Pad)server?

The Falcon’s Pad Discord server got inspired after the chatbox issues for Fight To The Finish Season 1 and the FxD Center Skype Chat dying down. I realized that Discord servers proved popular for tournament series and was superior to Skype so I decided I would create a tournament server on Discord for resolving these issues. 

 

84. Ignite: What is FTTF?

FTTF is also known as Fight To The Finish, a series of Sm4sh tournaments I hosted during 2015-2017. Fight To The Finish was a Sm4sh tournament series split into 15 tournament long seasons with a few bonus events thrown into the mix. They were extremely fun tournaments that many consider my peak TO experience. 

 

85.  Kotejimo: What is Falcon’s future?

FalconXD’s future is being the best person he could possibly be. This means several things, but primarily it involves hosting some more awesome tournaments and getting back into the community. It’s a different time then the past, but I’m going to do everything I can to get back to the glory days! Don’t count me out just yet. 

 

Edited April 21 by FalconXD