Written by Glenn | 06 January 2012

In looking at the Big Two Top 8, I wanted to take a look at how the flow of the matches went. In that, how did the big combos dictate how the matches took place.

I examined all of the Top 8 matches, but because of time, I'll post just the two finals matches between Noel Brown and Dieminion. Here's their survival rates:

Dieminion
First finals: 2/12 (16.7 percent)
Second finals: 6/12 (50.0 percent)
Total: 8/24 (33.3 percent)

Noel Brown
First finals: 4/12 (33.3 percent)
Second finals: 1/12 (8.3 percent)
Total: 5/24 (20.8 percent)

I charted every combo that was at least 10 hits and broke down, as best as possible, where the combo started and which direction it initially traveled (because some combos reversed back on a tag). I plotted a map, splitting the field of play into three main sections plus the two corners. This is kind of like seeing where NBA players take their shots on the court.

Here's how it looked in both finals matches:

    

In both finals combined, Noel had five minimum-10-hit combos that went to the left, six that went to the right, and four in the corner. Dieminion had 10 minimum-10-hit combos that went to the left, seven that went to the right, and three in the corner. 

Noel did five of his minimum-10-hit combos on the left side of the field, seven in the middle, and six on the right side of the field. Compare that to Dieminion, who was 11/3/6.

If we were to give a point total for each space of the playing field traveled during a minimum-10-hit combo, Noel had 35 points of space, and Dieminion had 33 points. 

Most of Dieminion's combos of 10 hits or more didn't travel far, but Noel had five that eventually forced Dieminion into the corner. 

Whether this is something to really look into for the future remains to be seen; it might be something to check out at this weekend's APEX 2012 tournament. I'll try to have a further breakdown of this in the coming days.