From the 25th-28th of March, the FGC will stand still to witness the clash between some of the greatest Mortal Kombat 11 players as they battle each other to win the inaugural WePlay Ultimate Fighting League Mortal Kombat 11 tournament. There $50,000 on the line and a whole lot of pride. So, who are the players, what characters are they going with, and who will make it from the group stages.
This is a two-part article. In this one, we’ll look at some of the players from Group A and get them a little more to see which four will make it to the playoffs.
Group A
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SonicFox
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A F0xy Grampa
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Konqueror249
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Kombat
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VideoGamezYo
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2ez
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TheMightyUnjust
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Arnkratos
Mar 25, 2021
Mortal Kombat 111v1$50,000.00
Group A Profiles and General Info
SonicFox
United States of America
Dominique "SonicFox" McLean is arguably the most popular fighting game pro player alive right now. They have absolutely dominated the FGC over the last number of years with stellar performances, and insane tournament wins. After bursting onto the scene in 2014, SonicFox has remained ever-present. They are also six-time Evo winners making them one of the players with the most wins. While 2020 didn’t see them partake in many tournaments, the year before was an absolute blast as they took home first place in Evo 2019, Defend the North, CEO, and other tournaments for Mortal Kombat 11. This isn’t even taking into consideration their fantastic performances in Dragon Ball FighterZ. This will be their first offline tournament in a while and from all indications it should be a lot of fun.
Main pick
SonicFox is one of those players that is pretty awesome with just about any character. That said, in the last year or so, they have been using the crown prince of crime, The Joker. This is the character they used to win at Final Kombat 2020 and is one they have a lot of experience with. With The Joker’s excellent footsie game and decent damage output make him the likely choice for SonicFox.
Pocket Pick
This is a slot that can be taken by just about any character, but if I had to guess, it would likely be Cassie Cage, the character that won them Evo 2019. Cassie is great at range which is a style SonicFox might go for, as we saw when he used Erron Black.
A F0xy Grampa
United Kingdom
Easily one of the most entertaining performers at the WePlay Dragon Temple, A F0xy Grampa is back in Ukraine, hoping to go one better than his runner-up position at the time. He lost to Tekken Master who was the winner of the tournament but was a delightful competitor and is still one of the most respected names in the NRS esports scene. He also has some unfinished business with SonicFox, who denied him victory at Evo 2015. Wins at Reflect, Revolver, and VSFighting tournaments in 2019 show that he is still someone to be feared.
Main
Like SonicFox, A F0xy Grampa is a multi-character player who is well-versed with just about the whole roster. For a while, he was revered for his Kung Lao, but as we saw at the WePlay Dragon Temple he seemed to have a tonne of fun with Sheeva. Her fireball and stomp moves are still a hassle to deal with, which means we might just have ‘The Kween’ as Denom’s main pick.
Pocket Pick
The natural choice will be with Kung Lao, but it is also possible that F0xy goes with Sub-Zero, as we saw back in December. Another viable option is Night Wolf, whom he went with during the pocket team klash
Konqueror249
Brazil
Another alumnus from the WePlay Dragon Temple tournament, Konqueror, was something of a revelation for some fans who had not seen him play before then. He made it to the playoffs at Dragon Temple but was eventually thwarted by Hayatei. His Sub-Zero is to be respected as he used him to win the Liga Latina MK11 title. He will want to take this chance to show once again what a great scene South America has for the NRS and its games.
Main
Konqueror249 is an unrepentant Sub-Zero main. This is perfect for his aggressive style of play, and with the ninja’s icy projectiles, he’ll be able to force his opponents to play at his pace.
Pocket pick
If Sub-Zero isn’t enough to do the job, Konqueror has a very, very insane Johnny Cage pick in his pocket. Cage is also an excellent pressure character which suits Konqueror just fine. Konqueror is loyal to both his style and his character, and there is nothing to suggest that this time will be any different.
Kombat
United States of America
Kombat is a well-known name in NRS circles. He is a Johnny Cage main, and his performances at tournaments cannot be questioned. In 2020, he won the Kustom Kombat 2020 - NA Finals against another well-known player, NinjaKilla212. Meanwhile, in 2019 he beat none other than SonicFox at the Mortal Kombat Pro Kompetition Online Cup. Besides, he has some other impressive tournament placements and is definitely someone to look out for.
Main
As mentioned before, Kombat’s skill is undeniable, and his pragmatic style of play is something opponents will need to look out for. He might go with a Geras pick, but I am more inclined towards seeing his Johnny Cage, which is a character he has practiced with quite a bit.
Pocket pick
For the pocket pick, it is difficult to look any further than Geras. The immortal henchman has great defense and deals some insane damage on enemies.
VideoGamezYo
United Kingdom
VideoGamezYo is one of the newer faces in the FGC scene and is a member of the incredible British gaming community. While some might not know him so well yet, he is a highly accomplished player and he showed this with a pretty impressive win at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019. He has not played an offline tournament in a while, but as AVirk showed during WePlay’s Dragon Temple, this might not matter as much.
Main
Shao Kahn is the character VideoGamezYo rose to prominence with. BUT, he has been given little to no support by the game developers, and this has seen the leader of the Outworld dropped by several players. It is unlikely VideoGamezYo will want to bust out a Shao Kahn in such a competitive environment. This could mean a Johnny Cage pick which would make a lot of sense as his nimble movement and quick combos could come in handy.
Pocket Pick
VideoGamezYo has a pretty decent Liu Kang in his arsenal, but it is more likely he goes with Night Wolf. This is the character that he recorded arguably his most significant win with, and his quick mobility might be a useful tool if VideoGamezYo wants to switch up his playstyle. Of course, there is always the option of Shao Kahn, so that's something to definitely keep an eye on.
2ez
Venezuela/United States of America
2ez’s passion for the world of esports is easy for everyone to see, and his talent is quite evident. While his WePlay Dragon Temple tournament ended in disappointing fashion, he would look to put things right this time around. His big win at The Pinnacle 2019 is still pretty notable, and it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the table this time around.
Main
2ez is well-regarded for his Sub-Zero, and as he once said, ‘Only toxic people use Sub-Zero.’ That said, he might need a little toxicity to deal with all the killers in his group. Therefore, to keep up with the madness around him, Sub-Zero might just be the way to go.
Pocket pick
2ez seems to really like his ninjas, as his use of Scorpion has shown. But, what we discovered is that he also has a dangerous Shang Tsung in his pocket. With Shang Tsung, he will be better able to zone enemies, which could be useful with an aggressive player like Konqueror249.
TheMightyUnjust
United States of America
TheMightyUnjust is better known on the online scene than off it. That said, he is a remarkable player, something which was on full display at The Boys' Somebodies vs. Nobodies tournament, where he recorded a famous victory over SonicFox. He is also the MK11 singles at Destroyer's Aftermath Tournament champion. He will have a chance to really cement his name in MK11 esports lore with a great performance at this event.
Main
TheMightyUnjust is another of those with several mains. He has used Noob Saibot, Fujin, Jade, and so on. Considering all the people he’s up against; I’ll hazard a guess I’d say we might see him go with Jacqui Briggs.
Pocket pick
This is also a difficult one to call, but with his success with Noob Saibot, this is definitely a character we might see him pull out from time to time when he wants to try a different method.
Arnkratos
Russia
One of the fun things about the WePlay Dragon Temple tournament was introducing us to players we weren’t too familiar with while also giving us some excellent talents to enjoy. For instance, thanks to the DT, we got to meet MK_Azerbaijan, Hadoken, and to a lesser extent, Konqueror249. Arnkratos may not be a name many in the North American scene will know, but he is easily one of the brightest talents from Eastern Europe. He took first place in Russian Reversal 2019, but most impressively, he took 3rd place at NorthEast Championship 2019 losing to SonicFox. Here’s hoping he brings a new dimension to the group stage
Main
Arnkratos seems to favor the dark wizard Shang Tsung when facing off against opponents. Shang Tsung is the perfect option for playing from range, and it is expected that Arnkratos will look to keep his assailants away as much as possible.
Pocket pick
Arnkratos is more or less loyal to Shang Tsung, and we might not see a different character in the tournament. But, it is quite possible that we get some Robocop action. Robocop, who is also a great zoning character, might see some game time at WUFL, but since he’s considered a low-tier character by many, we will just have to see what happens when it’s showtime.
Predictions
A cursory look at the lineup shows that both groups are stacked with ridiculously talented players, and calling who the winner of the group will be is a difficult task. As you probably know, the groups are divided into two with eight players per group. Each group will have four players who make it out of the group.
Likely qualifiers
Every competitor in the group is super talented with solid credentials. SonicFox will always be the favorite due to their domineering game personality, which usually forces opponents to cower. That said, A F0xy Grampa was a runner-up at WePlay Dragon Temple, and his penchant for zeroing in on opponents’ weaknesses is a huge checkmark for him. He is most likely going to seek to deny his foe’s victory, and this is something the other combatants need to look out for. TheMightyUnjust and Konqueror249 should just about clutch it out as the former is just so strong that I don’t see him unable to make it out. Meanwhile, Konqueror must have learned from his experience from WePlay Dragon Temple, which can only work to his advantage.
Kombat is a competitor that everyone will have in mind due to his strong play and insane skills, so he is someone you cannot count-out. Meanwhile, VideoGamezYo and Arnkratos could serve as something of dark horses in the tournament as not much is known about them competitively. Obviously, the likes of DizzyTT and A F0xy Grampa will know all about VideoGamezYo, but not the others. The same can be said about Arnkratos who many have not faced much, but SonicFox will be familiar with the Russian star as the two have faced off before.
So here’s what I expect the top 4 to look like
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SonicFox
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A F0xy Grampa
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TheMightyUnjust
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Kombat
Matches to look out for
Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will make it out of the group? For more updates on WUFL and everything fighting games, check out the rest of the site and follow DashFight on Twitter, Facebook, and Discord.
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