Misa says he wasn't 100% sure he'd take the inaugural FZ99 Lounge Masters after his Port Town II rank-out in the final GP.
The 87-player tournament went down to the wire, with Mr. Angelo's late charge erasing nearly 500 points of lead in a single GP. Misa, fresh off back-to-back wins at the GGP and PWCUP, held on by 150 points. He spoke to FZ99 Lounge a few days after the event about the close call, what he watches when learning from other top players, and his single biggest tip for stacked-lobby play.
How does it feel to have won? Tell us your honest thoughts.
It felt really good to win, it was a hard fought till the end it came down to the final GP between a select few of us. I was not sure 100% if I was going to win with PT2 death because a lot of us were super close to each other in points.
How were you feeling going into this tournament? Were you confident in yourself?
I felt pretty nervous before this major tournament, before any competition like this I make sure I get good rest the night prior and don't play much much 99 before the event, so I use all my energy for the main event at night. I felt very confident in myself before the tournament. I did not do much preparation for it. I did not vod review any prior major tournaments of mine or get much practice (due to the meteor event).
Were there any players you were especially keeping an eye on during this tournament?
Yes there was a few people I kept an eye out during this tournament. To name a few, Oliver, Netoa, Mr Angelo, and Nag. They always give me a run for my money, in tournaments and just in general racing!
What was the most memorable moment from this tournament for you?
My most memorable moment for me was my unfortunate death on Port Town II in the King League, it was a mistake that I don't make normally I wish I could redo that Port Town II again, I would not hit that red next time.
You were one GP away from Immortal. What happened in the final King GP.
In the final King GP I died on Port Town II. Looking back at the footage I hit a red on lap 3 in the magnet section which made me lose a boost which ended up getting me killed at the end of the lap 3 entering lap 4. This mistake frustrates me because it was preventable.
You've won GGP, PWCUP, and now Lounge Masters, back-to-back victories in major events. What's the secret behind your success?
I think that has helped me a lot is watching other top play the game, doesn't matter the machine, and the main thing I try to watch out for is how they approach getting their skyways in race. Each race is different of course, but a few things I look out for is, are they bagging for sparks at the beginning, how long are they doing it for, are they braking, letting go of the accelerator through out the the process of getting the first skyway, there is so much that goes on, very minuscule things like that.
In a super stacked lobby usually the races are 2-3 skyways typically so I watch other top players approach on that. An example would be Oliver, they are probably getting 3 skyways in a mute city if everything goes according to plan in a GGP lobby. So the main thing so look for is how they get their skyways. Are they bagging anywhere, like slowing down on the skyway to drop earlier to get the next skyway, maybe they play for a gold bumper one lap to get skyway a bit quicker to play their next one.
What advice would you give for performing well in tournaments?
My best advice is knowing gold bumper spawns on every track, it is very important thing to know as a player in super stacked lobbies because knowing you have a back up plan if things go wrong you can rely on that gold to save you from rank out. Not every gold is a back up plan of course some golds are used as the main plan like mirror death 1. On that track I like playing with my gold bumper plan as the main plan to get past that track.
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