Master Of The OCV: Street Fighter League’s Samurai Discusses His Defining Trait
“You will feel my wrath!”
In the spectrum of fighting games, there is a special event unique to team tournaments. It’s a source of frustration for the opponents. It’s a peak display of skill for the performer. It’s one of the most exciting moments a set can have for the viewers.
When a player or character solos an entire team by themselves, it’s called an OCV, or “One Character Victory”. At the highest echelons of play, it exists only as a rarity.
For Miky ‘Samurai’ Chea, OCVing teams has become a common occurrence.
During both seasons of the 3v3 team-based invitational series called the Street Fighter League, the Akuma player has built something of an incredible reputation. Samurai’s infamy started in Season 1 Week 4 of the Street Fighter V flavored show when he (then on Team Storm) single-handedly crushed Team Frost, comprised of Nephew’s G, UpToSnuff’s Necalli, and Dual Kevin’s Rashid.
He reigned supreme until his team put in work during Week 8, where he was only needed to defeat Team Inferno’s BrolyLeg and his Bison using Sagat.
He remained an oppressive contender for the rest of the season, and was even prevented from another possible OCV when fellow teammate iDom and his Birdie defeated Brian F’s Abigail. Samurai was left to clean up Justin Wong’s Menat and Psycho’s Necalli, and was the closest he had in Season 1.
But old habits die hard, and in the second week of Street Fighter League’s Season 2, Team Frost member Samurai went back to his old ways when pit against Team Storm. Despite their explosive nature of the other team’s characters, he beat down Mo-Joe’s Mika, 801 Strider’s Lucia, and Tommy2step’s Urien in the most seat-clenching, down to the wire matches the show has seen thus far. And, when needed, he’s looking to keep this tradition going.
OCVing, especially in the context of the show, requires an immense amount of effort. To defeat an entire team playing host to three powerful competitors all running different characters is no walk in the park. But achieving consistency is unheard of. Akuma, Samurai’s main choice, has some of the lowest health in Street Fighter V and is easily stunned.
A few unfortunate mistakes like whiffing a Goshoryuken uppercut could lead to the Akuma player eating a damaging rebuttal from the opposition and quick KO. There’s a considerable amount of strain to play him cleanly without making drastic mistakes.
But Samurai is the type of player that looks forward to the tension. Being able to handle high-pressure situations, to him, separates the quality of players in the Street Fighter League.
“In Season 1, I wanted the pressure of having to bring back a win from the most difficult scenario,” he says. “I wanted to prove to myself (and to my teammates) that I could bring a victory back from any situation possible.”
When it comes to OCVing, it helps to have a character with an expansive moveset. According to Samurai, Akuma comes built with a multitude of ways to deal with every matchup.
“I think Akuma is the strongest character in Season 4,” he mentions, noting that the wielder of the dark hadou does well against the entire cast. “He also has many tools for many different scenarios. That is what helped me in-game.”
Despite being brittle, Akuma can just as easily dish out the pain and put players out of the game with destructive combos. He can stop others from jumping in on him with great anti-air options, continue pressure after many of his sequences, and whiff punish lingering limbs with his great normal attacks.
But a good character is only a part of Samurai’s OCVing success — his teams in both seasons heavily factor in his streaks. The Akuma player doesn’t evaluate the opponents, their playstyles, and potential strategies alone. Dual Kevin and Sherryjenix of his current team are integral to any victories he earns.
“I think we piece together a strong team dynamic based on how we talk to each and how we evaluate situations/scenarios together,” he says, speaking on how they operate in tandem.
“For example, Kevin might help Sherry with in-game tactics while I help her maintain mental focus in and out of the game.”
Beyond stratagems, the encouragement from his teammates drives him to stay focused and play to their expectations. He and his team never operate on the assumption that he will need to OCV. But they know they can count on him to do so when necessary.
“I’m also truly lucky (once again) to have teammates that trust and believe in me to perform no matter what situation comes up,” says Samurai.
“So that, also, is a contributing factor.”
At the time of this writing, it’s still the early days of Street Fighter League’s Season 2. There’s a possibility that the new players and team competitions could pose as significant roadblocks for Samurai and Team Frost. As one of the strongest players of the last season, there’s no doubt that his adversaries are looking at him as a problem and developing some anti-Akuma strategies of their own.
It’s going to be even more difficult for him to land an OCV this season, much less a streak of them. But while Samurai feels confident in his abilities, he’s not resting on his laurels. He believes that there’s no particular player or character that could disrupt his OCVs, but it’s based on a solid foundation of practice and training.
“I have prepared for most scenarios,” he says. “Therefore, I won’t feel like I’ll be surprised by any character thus far.”
Keep track of how many OCVs Samurai lands this season by following his Twitter.
