Overnight DJ Jack went from a relative unknown to a dangerous threat. There has been a lot of buzz since surrounding DJ Jack's impressive performance with Ryu at the event. We decided to track him down and ask some questions on himself, Ryu, and the two matches that brought him so much fame.
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SmashCapps: So let's start with a bit about you. How long have you been playing Smash?
DJ Jack: Well I've been playing Smash since the 64 days. I didn't start playing the game competitively until late 2010 when Brawl was still huge.
SmashCapps: Did you have any big moments in Brawl people should know about? Or is Smash 4 the game you've broke out in?
DJ Jack: I actually won the very first Brawl tournament I've ever entered. Granted, it was a 16 man tournament and they were utilizing the in-game tournament mode but hey, we take those. I used Falco and was considered the best Falco in Florida at one point, but I never really took any big names and wasn't really considered a "top player", I was just "really good". I've definitely received much more recognition after Smash 4, though, especially after Ryu's release.
SmashCapps: Let's talk about that! Who where you playing as before Ryu and what made you make the change?
DJ Jack: Before Ryu, I actually flip flopped between a lot of characters. I mained Little Mac and Pac-Man in 3DS and then switched to Mario and Luigi after Wii U release. I dropped Luigi after a while because I literally felt nauseous whenever I cheesed people out with down throw into cyclone kills. I solo mained Mario for a couple of months and had good success in my region placing well at the majority of tournaments that I attended. When Ryu came out I was excited because I've always really liked Street Fighter and the idea of him being in smash blew my mind. He was awkward to use at first, but I saw the potential in him right away and did my best to make it work.
SmashCapps: Many would agree he has a lot of potential. Just where would you put him on a tier list?
DJ Jack: To be honest, I would put him in top 5. Worse than Sheik, ZSS and Pikachu but better than Mario and Fox in my opinion. His killing potential, damage output, and weight are all undeniably fantastic especially when coupled with the fact that he easily has the best shield breaker in the game. Plus soft up tilt is REALLY silly.
SmashCapps: Who do you think Ryu's worst matchups are in general? Best matchups?
DJ Jack: Emblem Lord put it best: "Ryu doesn't lose to anyone on the character select screen." That being said, however, Ryu does seem to struggle against certain characters like Mega Man. Zoning characters in general can give him trouble because his mobility isn't the greatest, so the game plan is to keep him out. The last place you want Ryu to be is right next to you because, well, you can get KOd at 70% with rage.
SmashCapps: So onto the tournament! Did you expect to make it as far as you did? Who were the big people you were worried about facing?
DJ Jack: Definitely not. I came into this tournament hoping I would at least get top 16 and just take it all as a learning experience. When I sat down to play Loser's Finals against 8BitMan, I asked my friend sitting next to me "How am I still in the tournament?" In regards to the players I was worried about, I was most afraid to play StaticManny, 8BitMan and ESAM (ironic, I know). Oh, and Seibrik, but that's just because he's my training partner and he knows the ins and outs of all my habits.
SmashCapps: Totally gotta talk about those matches with ESAM! How does it feel double eliminating a national tournament threat? What was going through your mind during the matches?
DJ Jack: When the bracket for top 16 started, I yelled "NOOO" when I found out I had to play ESAM round 1. Not just because I had to play the highest seeded player at the tournament, but I had JUST finished buying a burger and I couldn't eat it because I had to play. I hadn't eaten all day, it was awful. When I was playing him, I just wanted to play Smash to the best of my ability and not worry about whether I won or not. The fact that I double eliminated him, made me realize 2 things. 1) He clearly doesn't know the Ryu matchup and 2) I'm pretty good at this game.
SmashCapps: With this newfound confidence do you think we'll be seeing your name at any future events? Maybe a major or two? Where will you be competing next?
DJ Jack: Well I'm hoping to attend Genesis 3, but I don't know if I'll have the money for it unfortunately which makes me sad because 9B is going. After that, I'll probably attend Apex as well.
SmashCapps: Any advice for anyone looking to pick up Ryu as you have?
DJ Jack: I've already had a couple of people approach me telling me that they want to pick up Ryu. This is a character who's reward game is absolutely absurd at the top-level, but he requires a lot of precision and dedication to net those results. He has the most amount of normal moves in the game and they each serve a purpose, so you have to recognize when to use each one. You also have to be able to perform the true Street Fighter inputs and execute them under high pressure situations. Just be careful to NOT tatsu off stage if you have no double jump. It's curtains for you at that point. I just feel like there is so much to the character outside of True Shoryuken and I know he still has room for growth. In fact, I just found out the other day that soft forward tilt (the kick) is disjointed from his knee to his foot, so I use it a lot more now for safe pokes.
SmashCapps: Any last big comments for anyone who will be reading this?
DJ Jack: I really just want to say thank you to all the people who support me. I know I'm still a relatively unknown player, and some people are already discrediting my placing because my character is "broken and braindead", but getting top 3 at one of the most stacked Florida tournaments while also double eliminating ESAM lead up to so many people congratulating me and cheering for me, and that is an experience all on its own. At the end of the day, top players are still human, so they're not unstoppable by any means. I'm hoping my performance was enough to show that anybody can cause insane upsets if you put the time and effort into it. Oh, and thank you so much for the interview as well! I'll be honest, I was a little shocked when you asked to interview me. That's how I know I finally made it in this game LOL!
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To keep up with DJ Jack be sure to follow him on Twitter. While he lacks a stream of his own at the time of writing he wished to promote VikkiKitty, his girlfriend and one of the commentators at the event, and her Twitch channel which can be found here as well as the stream for Versus Gaming Center weeklies so readers can keep an eye on southern Florida's finest Smashers.
Excited about DJ Jack's recent victories over ESAM? Want to see him at more events? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards for future player interviews!
