I made it to the round of 8 in Namco's TTT1 world tournament. This is all absolutely true - you must travel and play against the best to improve further once you reach a peak. And you have to play a ridiculous amount to keep your skills up. I recall playing with friends starting friday night after work at 5pm and not stopping until late Sunday afternoon, nearly 48 hours straight with no sleep! Dedication...

Seeing Arslan win EVO was such a great underdog story. His play style was different than most - not the most flash but incredibly strong fundamentals. He could have done well with any character.