17th Official FFR Tournament [1ST PLACE FINISH]
Posted on: June 28, 2024, at 11:06:29pm

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!

1. 1: RafitaCP
   Posted at 11:56pm on June 28th, 2024

   aaaa
2. 2: Elite Ninja
   Posted at 11:35am on August 23rd, 2024

   GGs you performed absolutely insane in the last few rounds. Grats on your first place!
3. 3: Novelties
   Posted at 12:23pm on August 23rd, 2024

   Congratulations!!! Well deserved 1st place
4. 4: MarcusHawkins
   Posted at 8:12pm on August 23rd, 2024

   Well done! And thanks for the shoutout lol!
5. 5: InstaKill195
   Posted at 3:57am on August 24th, 2024

   Based player, based tournament performance and only getting better. GG