AngryBird, the Winner of CPT Middle East: Zeku is broken in lags

The Capcom Pro Tour events give us an invaluable opportunity to enjoy different advanced techniques in many uncompromising SFV matches. And also, it’s a perfect chance to highlight prominent personalities among the Street Fighter professionals to try and feel the real people behind those virtual characters.

We at DashFight are happy to share with you guys our interview with NASR | AngryBird, a top-level player from the United Arab Emirates. This short conversation might shed light on the experience and background emotions during the recent CPT Middle East. AngryBird won this event and thus earned his spot in the upcoming Capcom Cup VIII.

— What are your general impressions of CPT 2021 Middle East? 

It was a stressful event, to be honest because we had to deal with lags. But as time went by, we got used to it.

— Does being an event favorite create some additional pressure? How do you handle it?

I came to this CPT as a favorite along with Big Bird. This pushes me harder to winning the tournament to meet everyone’s expectations.

— What’s more difficult for you, playing against opponents from your region or having international matches?

Playing players outside of the region is certainly scarier because of lags, especially against Turkey. The connection is terrible, so we have to use lag tactics. For me, using Zeku in lags is optimal.

— Your starting CPT matches brought impressive victories. Does such a start give you additional confidence? Is there a risk of relaxing too early?

Whenever I go to a tournament, the hardest matches for me are the first ones. After that, the stress just disappears, because in the later stages you face mostly familiar players. I watch a lot of videos with them to get prepared.

— You played Zeku against nightmasters. Is that because of the G matchup?

My strategy in these tournaments is to play Zeku in a laggy match because Zeku is broken in lags. I can’t play my main character, Seth, if there are lags — I can’t use anti-air and check dashes.

— Who was the most difficult opponent in these pre-Grand Final matches?

The trickiest opponents for me are the ones I played the most and practiced with. They are GTR, Matchoor, and Lord Ahmed in pools.

— Did Big Bird surprise you with Ken? Is that a difficult matchup for Seth? 

Actually, when we played in casual matches, Big Bird beat me very hard in the Ken vs Seth matchup, as that character has been improved a lot with the latest patch. Ken is able to punish a lot of Seth’s moves now. To be honest, me and Big Bird were actually thinking that Ken beats Seth now (5.5-4.5).

— Having a few match/tournament points and then being forced to continue the fight — how do you manage to keep concentrated and motivated?

This is my job as a professional gamer. I have to adapt myself to how the competition is going on, and whenever I lose, I have to rewatch and create a new strategy.

We congratulate AngryBird and his organization NASR on this amazing victory!

For other interviews with CPT winners, check out our conversations with:

• Mago, after CPT Japan 1
• Nephew, after CPT North America West 1
• NeroTheBoxer, after CPT South America West 1

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