We Play: King of Fighters XIII MCM Tournament

The latest London MCM Expo was a fighting extravaganza. Not only did we hold tournaments for Street Fighter X Tekken and SoulCalibur V, but EX Dragon Project, Orochinagi, and Rising Star Games also teamed up to hold a rumble with King of Fighters XIII. It was an unmissable event, witnessed by an audience of MCM attendees as well as Internet viewers via a live online stream.

Our semifinals kicked off with some action from competitors MichelS and Kusogaki, who battled it out to make it to the Grand Final. From the word go, MichelS showed he was a force to be reckoned with, knocking out his opponent twice in succession. Despite a couple of slipups, MichelS easily came out on top in both fights, progressing to the next round.

The second fight of the semifinals took place between Rickyo and Supa. With Rickyo taking on the role of Kyo and Supa playing Benimaru, the action was furious from the very start. The two evenly matched opponents ensured a tense first round, but things soon shifted in Rickyo's favour as Supa was forced to change to his second character, Ash. Supa took a quick victory against Rickyo's weakened Kyo, but when Rickyo returned with backup character Kula, the game was back in his favour. Despite a change of arena and refreshed health bars, Supa couldn't steal any glory, and Rickyo came out on top.

With Rickyo progressing on to the final, Supa went up against Kusogaki in a bid to claim third place in the tournament. Selecting Iori and Terry as his characters, Supa went toe-to-toe with Kusogaki's Clark and Athena. The first fight went poorly for Supa, with Kusogaki rapidly draining his health meter round after round. Fight two demonstrated a more tactical approach with plenty of blocking and counters, but eventually history was written by Kusogaki as he claimed third place.

The Grand Final saw Rickyo go up against MichelS, with Rickyo's winning streak seeming to continue as he took down MichelS with ease in the first round. Despite a quick turnaround for MichelS in round two, the fight belonged to Rickyo.

Appropriate enough for London Comic-Con, the second fight of the final took place on a London backdrop. MichelS owned the first round, taking down Rickyo with a stunning 50-hit combo. Rickyo fought back, claiming a round for himself but succumbed to his opponent in round three. Round four seemed to belong to Rickyo as he unleashed an incredible combo against MichelS, bringing him down to very low health, but in a stunning comeback, MichelS furiously took the upper hand and brought down Rickyo, prompting applause from an impressed audience.

With everything to play for and both players claiming one victory each, the two competitors entered the final battle. Would Rickyo's valiant efforts reap rewards, or would it be MichelS who would take home a bunch of prizes and a giant novelty fighter's belt? Watch the Grand Final video to find out.