To be frank I have barely picked up this game or etterna since I took home the win in OT17 back during last summer so to be frank I kinda fell out of love for the game a little bit and I am extremely rusty. I am at about the same skill level that I was at at the end of last tournament which is still pretty good but that also means that there was a chance that I would be in Bracket 7 (D8) with the same skill level which didnt sit right with me. Luckily I didnt make the cut which is a double-edged sword because on one hand being in the highest division is a huge compliment but on the other hand dealing with FFR's 102+ catalogue in a tournament setting would make me start pulling my hair out. Anyway, I was gonna go into the tournament with the expectation that I wouldnt really have competition until Josemba sent me a DM on discord randomly one day showing me a player named "QC Xen" who turned out to be extremely cracked at the game. Like im talking 32 MSD on Etterna level cracked. I went from having no-one on my radar to keeping an eye on players like damogus, jose565, Soundie, Legenb, and especially Xen. Cant wait to see how this goes.

Round 1: Eureka [AAA]

During previews this looked like it would be a bitch to AAA but I got it within 5 tries. Spent most of the time getting accoustomed to FFR again.

Round 2: Mezzotinto [4-0-1-1]

Now I know this looks really bad for an early round but to be frank I didnt really enjoy trying to AAA this file and I kinda gave up. As I am typing this I am on the edge of the piss water and am praying that I dont get knocked out.

EDIT: FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Round 3: silly-willy-nilly [AAA]

To be frank, I enjoyed this file but its not my cup of tea for grinding a AAA on.

Anyway, my first score or so on this was a 2-0-0-1 which managed to bring the cutoff to 5 raw goods but despite that, I still wasnt satisfied knowing the promise I swore to keep last round. Throughout the week I kept getting caught on random parts like a certain mini-jack transition within the last 30 seconds of the file but just as I was losing hope, I gave it another shot the day of previews and despite my friend calling me right at the last minute to distract me, I clutched the AAA.

Round 4: Clex3 [17-1-4-5]

eeeeewwwwwwww what the fuck? I dont even know where to start with this file, whether its the main meat of the file that tests my speed and burst ability, or the last quarter that is way easier until it throws awkward-to-transition-in-and-out-of trills combined with occasional bursts. Either way I describe it, Its just not a file im comfortable with, or like at all. Anyway, first try I scraped by with 68 raw goods, then went into practice isolation mode to try and clean up with certain parts of the file that I was especially deterred by. I then did another full run with 14.8 raw goods when I realized that I left the rate at 0.95 and basically wasted the run. fuck. I picked it back up the next day and got the score above. I could do way better than 29 raw goods but its good enough for me this round.

I also wanna shoutout Soundie and E-B-E for their performance so far. I always thought of EBE as a lower D7 player so seeing his performance explode even further than where I am at right now is a sight to see to put it simply. Soundie is different though. He's not even a D7 as far as im concerned. He somehow managed the only SDG on the file in the bracket. I dont even remember how they performed back during the last OT but either way, another crazy progression. I dont think Im even gonna take the win home this year but atleast the competition is nice.

Round 5: Yuushitessen

damn, is it already that time of year? This year has been going pretty damn fast so far. I had taken a major break from both FFR and Etterna around Winter last year for a multitude of reasons, but now I'm back and slowly gaining my speed back. This year, the officials changed the ranking from Divisions 2-8 to "Group" 1-7, basically shifting everything backwards numbers wise and kind of making each ranking slightly bigger due to how the groups and divisions not 100% lining up. Im pretty content with the change but it is giving me D6 flashbacks lmao. With all this being said, Im decently confident that I have a chance to take this tournament home and win it. Im basically at the same spot I was last year when OT16 ended, if not better, but with more playtime in the tank and I have a new drive to improve again. There are some pretty good people in G6 that havent been pushed up, like Josemba, Eppu, Hayden, czeta, etc, that could take the spot instead more deservedly, so I dont know, guess ill see as this goes on.

Round 1: LINK[INIT] [0-0-1-0]

Fun chart, just didnt have the drive to get the AAA.


Round 2: Escucha [AAA]

During the previews, this chart looked like a really big jump from Link[Init] but actually playing it is alot more fun than it looks. I really enjoyed this file and got the AAA within under 5 tries.


Round 3: Tiferet [1-0-0-1]

Got this right after a 2g 1miss run. Tried to improve to a AAA but the part in the middle got too annoying for repeat tries.


Round 4: Empty Shell [1-0-0-0]

There isnt alot in this file that I could complain about and aside from a few easy points that I initially thought I would fuck up on, I kinda liked this file. Due to its length though, I really didnt want to grind this. I got this after 6 or so tries. Somehow a better score than last round.


Round 5: Robinet [4-0-0-1]

I was gonna write here about how "oh, everyone was making this file harder than it actually is and I got a near AAA in 2 tries", but no, this file is sum bullshit. I actually was planning to record my attempts on this file but I got my ass handed to me. To start off, this file has these uncomfortable trilling patterns within the first 20 notes that I messed up on quite a few times and nearly mindblocked. The rest of the file really isn't that bad. I liked the rolly JS breaks that would come around a few times throughout the file and the vocal dumping section right in the middle was fun too. Its just really easy to mess up in certain sections past the halfway point and it made this file not too fun to grind for better scores on. My first PB was a 4-1-0-2 (that I did get on video), but i kept grinding and took that down to 4g 1b. Cant wait for the next breakcore burst transition file that we're gonna get next round.


Round 6: Time Ache Finale [4-0-3-2]

Honestly wasnt the biggest fan of this file. The beginning had alot of awkward jack transitions that were extremely easy to mindblock, which happened to me multiple times, and the part right after, while not being as annoying, felt pretty all over the place and I had to kind of ignore the music that went along with it and focus on the right side of the chart as to not overthink the patterns on my left hand. The rest of the file isnt anything to write home about, it was just a test of consistency and not randomly fucking up on the dumbest patterns (which happened to me multiple times lmao). My first attempts were in the 30 RG range on mirror, then the next day, I turned mirror off and got an 8g 2miss 2boos score that fucked up the cutoff really bad, then immediately got a 4g 3miss 2boos score, tying with EppuJoloZ. Im a little scared for the next round.


Round 7: Xuxar Charge [9-0-5-3]

Seeing the previews of this, my first thought was: "I really dont want to have to grind this", guess that didnt age well huh. I actually found this file kinda fun, albeit pretty tricky. The streams were pretty easy but there were minijacks, flams, and some simple chordjack patterns that kept the file hard and interesting. Its also pretty frontloaded like Time Ache Finale, as getting past the first 2050 notes means that the hardest part is behind you. The last part of the file is somehow extremely easy, just being an easier variation of the beginning.

I had trained with some speed files on Etterna before giving some attempts to this file and got a 53.6 RG score, then beat it with a 49.2 RG score. I hopped on the next day after a pretty good Etterna session then got a 9g 5m score that was tied in 1st. I was really happy with it and I feel way more confident with the harder charts in FFR now. I definitely feel like ive gotten way faster. I just hope Josemba doesnt somehow rise from the piss water.

Edit: god damn it he did it lmao


Round 8: desocialized vandalism soliloquy if [10-0-2-1]

This file seemed really daunting at first so I took a few days to train on Etterna before attempting this. After a few days, I attempted some runs after school (yay Junior Year.). lucked out after 12 tries and got this score. I was freaking the fuck out but I realized that I might not be completely safe with this score knowing what the other G6 dudes are capable of and that I should probably chip it down to around 12 RG. Cut to a few days later, I tried some more attempts after a pretty lackluster Etterna session and didnt improve it. I got really close going into the last 600 or so notes but I could never get to the very end. By this point, Josemba and Novelties already gave up, so there was no point for me to try this shit again lmao. Closing the round with my first ever win.


I honestly cant believe that I actually won the tournament this year, considering the bouts of low confidence I had during some of these rounds and the fact that my main competitors were all not only better than me in some way, but they were also always on my ass score wise during this. I never thought that I would ever actually win an OT when I signed up back in 2021. Thank you to Goldstinger, Velocity, Lights, and the other tournament organizers for putting this together, and thank you to the charters for making the files decently playable this time (you know i love you guys <3). Thank you to OpKiller, Matthias, and Deamerai for being my main supporters during this knowing how much better you guys are compared to me. Thank you to EppuJoloZ, Catbug, EBE, Novelties, and Josemba for being my main competition for the tournament and always keeping me on my toes (and up until like 1 in the morning looking at scores).

Shoutouts to these people:
InstaKill195
Pizza69
Elite Ninja
Deamerai
OpKiller
Black Shield
EppuJoloZ
Rayword
MarcusHawkins

Theres probably more im forgetting, See you guys in 2025!

Gonna try to revise this list. If you have any to suggest to me, let me know!

Speed:

No Running! AA (x)

ARCHON 1.2 AA (x)

ARCHON 1.25 AA (x)

Boss Ni**er AA ()

Ripple Star 1.15 AA ()

HypArcSin(x) 1.45 AA ()

On Edge 1.2 AA ()

The Message FC ()

Hello 1.3 AA (x)


Stamina:

Villain Virus (jj & dd's) 96% (x)

Kinetic FC ()

PEACE BREAKER 96% ()

PEACE BREAKER 97% ()

Japanese Transformation 96% ()

Wokman 1.1 AA (x)

Take The Test 1.15 ()


Accuracy:

VANGUARD-1 AAA ()

Tuff Guy Not Tuff AAAA ()

Wild West Showdown AAAA ()

Backseat Freestyle AAA ()

Like a fuckin' sun AAA ()

Kamui (Acerola) AAA ()

Kasta Sten AAA ()

Trapped With The Beast AAA ()

Superluminal AAA ()

CirnoRHTL AAA ()

ENERGY SYNERGY MATRIX FC ()

yoyoyo, this is the one that really matters. Now that im in D7, competition is alot more steep and I will have to step my game up. Im going against monsters like Deamerai, Hayden, Klarion, Zenith, TheTrueXfish, Eppu, SK8R43, goldstinger, etc. I got just within reach of top 3 last tournament, being knocked out at 4th place. My goal this tournament is to win or atleast get top 3, but im doubtful. Im hoping for a major skillboost that will get me there, but we'll just have to see.



Round 1: The End of Dreams (AAA)

Got the AAA after 2 attempts. Nearly dropped a good in the last 30 notes which was nerve racking but I still got it anyway.



Round 2: Angel’s Salad (0-0-0-1)

Managed to get a 2g 1b fluke score that i was trying to improve for a few days. Gave up then decided to do the file after a skillboost session on Etterna and got a booflag. After all of the attempts I did on this file, im happy with this.



Round 3: A Battle I Absolutely Can’t Lose ~ Kill the Nyanko (0-1-0-3)

Got this score during one of my first attempts just to see the entire file, tried it a few more times then put it off for another day. I picked the file up again a day or so later then managed to mindblock the [24][34][24] pattern. I gotta get my shit together for next round or I might be left in the dust by Deamerai lol.



Round 4: Nhlev (4-0-0-0)
It was around this round or so that I started getting some huge self-doubt about my abilities and comparing myself to others. I kept getting bullshit misses and I was constantly misreading patterns. Oh well, in the end I managed to only get 4 goods on this so its whatever.



Round 5: Illegal Trap (3-0-0-1)

Got 6-0-0-3 around my first attempts and decided to put the file down. I then picked it back up around 4 days later and managed to fuck up the D7 Elimination line down to 3.6 Raw Goods.



Round 6: O Wings that Embrace Senju Banmei (2-0-1-1)

The score I got on this still surprises me, considering that it's nearly better than my Round 5 score and was done on a file that seemed intimidating at first glance. The beginning is somewhat mindblockable and plays almost like a repackaged Shinderu, while the rest of the file contains tricky jumpstream, handstream, and bursts. I managed to cop the score within 8 tries.



Round 7: VIS::CRACKED [Another] (18-0-3-6)

On my first attempts at this I couldn't even get myself to see the file to the end. The first half of the file relies heavily on awkward speed sections that require you to put your full attention on the reading aspect of it, even having a left hand minijack around 980 arrows in. The second half is even more absurd, the breaks have awkwardly timed trills that I found myself dumping up to 4 goods on in my first attempts. After those, it throws a short section of repeated handstream patterns with bursts in between each pattern. It gives you a breather before presenting the final section of the file which is a rainbow puke colored speed nightmare that seems really bad until you realize how simple and rolly it really is in reality. The file ends with a hybrid of the last section with easier jumpstream

All of this is to say that I struggled with this file on my first attempts, not even being able to finish it initially. So I put the game down to return to another day, and the next day I decided to warm up with more speed-oriented files on Etterna to prepare myself for it. All I did on FFRs end was turning off my Halved noteskin and putting it on Mirror and I managed to get this score in 2 tries, totaling 10 attempts total and solidifying me a near guaranteed 3rd place finish. On to the Grand Finals...



Round 8: Braindead [14-0-8-5]

I honestly stopped caring about what score I got this round mainly because whatever I got I would still be getting a guaranteed 3rd place score, and I knew that I wouldn't be beating Deamerai in 2nd anytime soon lmfao.



In conclusion:


I honestly couldn't believe I got top 3 this year, considering the bouts in motivation I had throughout this tournament and how it didnt even feel like I was playing at my best most of the time. I didn't even have the confidence to make it to the finals at first, so this was a major accomplishment for me and felt like a crazy upset. HUGE thanks to everyone who supported me in the tournament and delt with my highly critical self-depricating attitude, and thanks to the tournament organizers for putting this awesome tournament together!

Shoutouts to:
Deamerai (for being my main competition during this entire thing and a cool dude in general)
Matthias
Devilchilly
Pizza69
T-Force
MarcusHawkins
NotSpiralingEnough
Jess/Tosh
Revo

There might be more people I'm forgetting. Can't wait till next year.

So FFR decided to do something that was kinda out of left field in my opinion and do an officially sanctioned Spring tournament that I guess acts as a prelude to the 16th Official Tournament that's gonna come later in Summer. This tourney basically forced me to get back into FFR and get accustomed to the game again. I've improved a ton since I last was into FFR as I'm currently 27/28 MSD in Etterna. So apperantly because of this, the FFR event organizers (mainly Layla) decided to place me into Divison 7 because of my etterna scores (that I never expected them to actually be following lol). I am happy to technically *be* in D7 but I still dont really have that much faith in myself to be honest. There's potentially a lot of eyes on me from the community so my only goal is to not to fail the tournament horribly like last time. enough with the long intro though, Stay focused, stay alive boys.



Round 1: Black Lotus [91] (1-0-0-2):

I was getting around 5 goods consistently due to the middle of the file, Then I turned on mirror then settled for this score after 3 tries. The funny part about this is that I have a similar score to Syd07, a D6 player who also got put into D7, but with 1 extra good lol.



Round 2: Deadman DJ [92] (2-0-0-1):

At first, this file seemed intimidating due to the shitty beginning, but actually playing it and getting past the beginning made me realize that the file isnt even that bad. Its just a somewhat generic Venetian Snares breakcore file. It took me 8 tries to get a FC score. Next round.



Round 3: Delirium V2 [95] (8-1-1-8):

This file is a bit special in that it's one of the first files from the dump batch actually to be released onto FFR. Nevertheless, during my first attempts, I thought this file was just a total mess that I couldn't even describe. On my second day of trying, I still hated the file, but I realized that I would've liked the file if I wasn't playing it on FFR or for a tourney for that matter. I would probably enjoy the file for what it is, but playing it on FFR didn't feel good at all. My last attempt was a PB until I fucked it up then did this.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/730200737757266051/1093664230735106048/image.png

Onto round 4.



Round 4: Labyrinth -Labyrinth Lilith- [96] (11-0-1-1):

dont you just love it when you get your best score on FFR on a tourney file but it doesn't count because you were outside of the short ass 4 day timer to set scores on a file so your bad, damn near unfinished score is the one that gets set. yeah i love that.

fun file though



Round 5: Extratone Pirates (Drunk Optimus Remix) [98] (6-1-2-2):

did this after a skill boosting session on Etterna. Next round.



Round 6: This Is The End of Everything [100] (68-19-19-66)

This file isnt really hard until the ending part 1900 notes in.

I cant write, next round.



Round 7: Finding Her Not [101] (DNF)

I would've finished this round's file if there wasn't this annoying part near the end. I eventually gave up not only because I just couldn't do that part, but life stuff got in the way.



Round 8: Critical.Error [103] (72-2-21-17)

similar situation to Finding Her Not where I was gansta and holding a SDG until the ending part where it got really annoying to try to read and hit, this time though, i actually powered through.



Conclusion:

Division 7 was just a group suffering session lmao