Right before the weekend, we signed our very own Tekken player into our Ulvespill Esport team. And during the past weekend, he entered the Norwegian Nationals held at House of Nerds in Oslo, Norway. It sure looked like Ivar struggled a bit at first, as he lost a game in the Semi-Finals and entered the losing bracket. I’m almost one hundred percent certain that Ivar did that on purpose to give us a heart-attack and nervously watching him win matches within the losing bracket.
An intense hour went on, and Ivar won the losing bracket final, making entering the GRAND FINAL! At first, it sure looked like his opponent was about to win, as Ivar needed to win six matches. But no, Ivar decided to give us another heart attack and took home the champion belt once more!
We did of course have a small talk with Ivar after the tournament;
Has the competition become a bit tougher since last year?
Previous NM was in 2017, 2-3 months after the release of Tekken 7. The level this year was definitely higher, steadily over. The result of the environment being dedicated and still growing.
Were there any competitors that you have encountered earlier in other tournaments?
Interestingly, I did not play against someone I have played against before. Possible I’ve played against one of the opponents, Kram, in a smaller team tournament, but never in a Solo tournament.
How was the atmosphere of the House of Nerds?
The atmosphere was very good at HoN. Already from the start of the tournament, one could hear the involvement of the audience and players, and it only grew as the tournament continued. Fun to see that more people were seated after they had finished playing, to get along, and contribute, to the mood towards the end of the tournament.
Were there many people who usually don’t play Tekken who had signed up?
It was a few that was inexperienced who had signed up, yes. Over and over, most people probably had a lot of experience with the game, however. It is still fun to see that both the inexperienced and the more experienced have fun at such tournaments. And everyone can enjoy watching good and entertaining Tekken gameplay.
You could see in the chat during the tournament, you are stamped as a favorite. Do you feel it when you play?
I was stamped as a favorite before this tournament, yes. It’s something I feel when I compete in Norway, I’m expected to win. It impressed my setting a little, and I probably took a little too light on the tournament. I got a wake-up call in the tournament and then realized that I had to fight for this. Fortunately, I managed to get back in and take the title again.
Did you have any tactics that did/didn’t work?
This tournament I played a character I am very familiar with, but I have never played in a tournament before, Steve Fox. I was therefore unsure of the approach to short tournament matches since I have mostly trained in long-term training partners. The plan was to be aggressive, test the opponents’ knowledge of the character when I questioned this. It worked on several occasions, but the setting also gave me problems over time. This is something I have now learned to adapt more quickly to the opponent with Steve.
During Loser Semi-final against :peek:, what happened after the match? (ref: he didn’t take you by the hand to say something)
It was simply a misunderstanding. He thought we had come to a step further in the tournament “Losers finals” where you play best of 5, instead of the best of 3. Therefore, he thought we were not finished when I won 2-1
How was the ‘Champion breakfast’ the day after winning the Norwegian Nationals?
Unfortunately, it was quite limited. I got back to the hotel quite late and thought I’d sleep well before I got up. Forgot, however, that we switched to summer time that night, and the result was that I had to hurry down to the breakfast room and get some yogurt. It was at least a pretty good yogurt.’
Got some love letters yet?
In Tekken sense, we can say it has arrived a few. Many who want to play with me and want tips. Also, many who want me to look through their battles to tell them how to proceed. The strangest feeling is probably when people ask for an autograph. I had to write some autographs, especially when I was in Amsterdam on a tournament in December, and that’s something I can’t say I’m used to.
In a more literal sense, it has so far been extremely modest, but you never know.
What do you want to say are your favorite games outside of Tekken?
In recent years, it has become almost exclusively Tekken. Before that, however, I really enjoyed playing RPG and FPS games. The favorites among RPGs are Skyrim and Fallout: New Vegas. Among the FPS games, I would say that Battlefield 4 was the favorite.
Favorite movie and series?
Favorite movie is hard to come by. A movie I saw recently, “Hara Kiri”, which tells the story of Japanese samurais, was very interesting and at least the best movie I can remember seeing lately. Among TV shows, I think the Band of Brothers is my favorite. And of course Seinfeld.
Take the crown in Europe next?
I’m at a level where I feel I can compete for the win in most European tournaments. With a good day and margins on my side, I am hopeful that it will happen this season and that I can show myself as one of the strongest players in Europe.
We congratulate Ivar with the Norwegian Nationals win, and we’re very proud to have him in our wolfpack.
