With iDom away preparing for Capcom Cup, Brian gets the host himself on the mic for an EXTRA TRASHY convo! Between the recent Street Fighter League US finals, and the upcoming Street Fighter League World Finals, there's a lot to cover. Are team tournaments the future of competitive fighting games? Should top players be eyeing a move to Japan? All this and more on Trash Talk!Trash Talk is supported by our patrons on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/brian_f

Brian and iDom are sick of waiting for Capcom Cup - so why not run it right now? With the players qualified and the groups drawn, it's possible to start predicting the course of Capcom Cup. But this job might be too big for two people... which is where RobTV comes in. The three players lay out their predictions from the groups to grand finals - with just a hint of bias along the way.

Trash Talk is supported by Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Brian_F

Mai has just released in Street Fighter 6, and the community is trying to figure her out. How does she stack up so far? Brian and Idom share their thoughts after a few days of the character, and she feels a little familiar. Will Mai's unique mechanics come together? Plus: The Capcom Cup 11 Group Draw, the Evo Awards (and dress code!) and reflecting on legendary moments that never made it on stream!Trash Talk is supported by our patrons on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/brian_f

It used to be everybody hitting top 8 at a local had a sponsor - now the best in the world are getting dropped mere weeks before Capcom Cup. Brian and iDom explain the shift, with iDom offering a firsthand account of the phenomenon! Plus: The return of Red Bull Kumite, Capcom breaks the silence on Costume 4, and a little bit of Dumpster Diving.

Trash Talk is supported by our patrons on Patreon: www.patreon.com/brian_f

Trash Talk #10 - Punk

Uncut Patreon version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-punk-knew-he-120798427

Punk has been a dominant force in the world of fighting games for years, but in no domain is he more feared than that of competitive Street Fighter. He made history in 2024 by becoming the first American player to win a main-stage Street Fighter EVO title in over a decade. But before the Evo win, before the countless accolades, and before being the #1 ranked player in the world, twice, Punk was just Victor Woodley, playing fighting games for fun with his older brothers, and hanging out in Xbox live chat parties and playing with soon-to-be staples of the USA Street Fighter competitive scene.

With the release of Street Fighter V, Punk knew he was prepared to take on the world.

The world, on the other hand, was not ready for Punk. 2017 marked the beginning of one of the most dominant eras in the history of competitive Street Fighter. Punk, seemingly out of nowhere, was toppling the idols of the scene and winning back–to-back major tournaments. Leading up to and throughout Evo 2017, he seemed near unstoppable, going almost undefeated all the way to the winners side of grand finals. However, his opponent, the legendary Tokido, made Punk look human once more, taking the title, and preventing Punk from winning Evo in his first attempt at bat.

Punk would go on to be the definition of consistency in competitive Street Fighter, ending the 2017 and 2019 seasons as the #1 ranked player in the world, head and shoulders above the field in terms of CPT points. However, after a 2nd place finish at the Capcom Cup finals in 2019, the central narrative around Punk had formed: Could the most consistent player in the world get the job done and secure an Evo or Capcom Cup title?

Heading into the Street Fighter 6 era, Punk proved again that his skill in fighting games was not tied to any specific title, patch, or iteration, with near unparalleled consistency across all major offline showings, but fell just shy of securing any grand slam titles.

This was set to change at Evo 2024, with Street Fighter 6’s second showing. Punk breezed through winners, and in a parallel to his 2017 run, defeated Tokido to secure his top 8 winners side appearance. Continuing his momentum into the finals day, he found himself on the winners side of grand finals of Evo once again, 7 years later after his initial showing. And just like that same day 7 years ago, Punk, after being seemingly unstoppable all weekend, lost the first set 3 to 0. But this time, the story would end differently.

In this episode of Trash Talk, Punk discusses his origins in fighting games, his rise to the top of the world of competitive Street Fighter, and securing the Evo win that had eluded him for so long. Please enjoy.

Brian hops back on the mic with iDom to break down another week of FGC updates! The headlines are the gameplay reveal of Street Fighter 6's next DLC character, and a slew of announcements from the world's most prestigious tournament series... but you know Brian can't turn down a little twitter discourse, too.

2 guys get on a mic to join the rest of the Street Fighter 6 community in beating a dead horse. Japan has crowned their first World Warrior qualifier, with Kakeru returning to his JP to secure the Capcom Cup qualification and Momochi sticking with recently nerfed Ed to win the event, proving that sometimes comfort is greater than any balance patch. The community is up in arms over lack of character and main cast costume DLC, and some people are hoping for a Super Street Fighter 6 on the Switch 2 to save them.

GuileWinQuote is to many the premier retro fighting game video essayist, providing retrospectives and deep dives into all the good, the bad, and the weird the genre has to offer. With many of his popular retrospectives releasing within a month of an unexpected game re-release announcement, the “GuileWinQuote effect” has been coined, with people falling into one of two camps: Those that view him as a prophet of the retro fighting game re-release, or as a Capcom or SNK plant drumming up hype for reviving a lost entry.

Before his videos had the power to revive lost fighting game franchises, GuileWinQuote was a student of the games, spending his younger years downloading and balancing mugen characters and digging through obscure fighting game rom packs to learn everything he could about the genre.

Growing up with youtube as his primary source of content entertainment, he saw first hand the gap in terms of how fighting games were discussed.

With his authentic passion, real expertise in the genre, and a clear mission statement to share why all fighting games are great, GuileWinQuote has established himself as a trusted representative and friend of tight-knit retro fighting game communities.

I sit down with GuileWinQuote to discuss his journey in the fighting game genre, being a student of the game of YouTube, and how to extend your reach while being true to yourself. Please enjoy this episode of Trash Talk, available on YouTube, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.