The top 8 brackets of the SpinShare Winter 2021 SpeenOpen have been finalized, and Spin Rhythm XD’s top players are fixing to square off to establish themselves as the next SpeenOpen Champion. The first matchup of Saturday’s quarterfinals will feature first seed and reigning champion Mapy against ninth-seeded up-and-comer smb, who is making his first appearance in the top 8 of a major event. While Mapy is the clear tournament favorite going into the last week of the tournament, his match against smb will serve as a measure of how turbulent the later finals rounds might be for him.

Mapy’s status as a powerhouse of top-level play has been well-established in tournament history at this point. Mapy has entered in two of the first three major events, finishing 2nd in the inaugural SpeenOpen in Spring against NickAzn, and winning outright in the third SpeenOpen in August against Programmatic. On top of that, Mapy has entered and won four Custom 8s grand finals. In Mapy’s six tournament appearances, he’s only lost once—to NickAzn—who is opposite him in the bracket this weekend.

His opponent smb, however, is no slouch either. After losing in the qualifiers in the Autumn SpeenOpen, smb leveled up his game. Since then, he’s embraced turntable play, won a Custom 8s tournament, and now makes his first top 8 appearance.

I talked with Mapy and smb about their upcoming match and tournament hopes after their wins.

Goliath: Mapy

rewardadrawer: Briefly describe your play style. Is there anything that differentiates you from the other players?

Mapy: Freewheel with 1000dpi and in-game sens of 1. I have a lot of space for the mouse, so no drift problems for me.

What patterns are you personally weak at?

Everybody knows which one it is: the famous beat tap beat pattern. I’m not the founders of the groundhog hate club for nothing,

What is your strong suit, or what are your preferred charts/charter?

I would say stride, smb and juch are my preferred charters in terms of what is easier for me to do, but in general, I don’t have that much problems.

Your first match-up is against smb, who is making his first top 8 appearance. You arrive the heavy tournament favorite. How do you anticipate this match going? Is there anything you’re doing to prepare for this?

That will be a great match. If I listen to my toxic mind, I’m gonna win easy but I know I shouldn’t be that sure of myself lmaoo

Just gonna erase everybody on my way.

Mapy

This is your third top 8 appearance in four events, with your only missed top 8 being due to absence. What does it take to consistently perform at this high level?

Play regularly and a lot I think. Recently, I had the will to push my limit lowered by school and some other things in my private life, but my GF was there and pushed me to not stop and give me the strength to continue and keep getting better, so everything is fine.

You are the reigning Speen Open champion. Do you feel that places any pressure on you to perform?

Yes kind of, especially against Ex, I just can’t lose against him especially. Generally losing against somebody will be frustrating xd, not really used to not win. My GF wants me to win too, so no other option. just gonna erase everybody on my way.

In three major tournament appearances and four Custom 8s tournament appearances, your only match loss ever has been to Nick_Azn. This time, you two are on opposite sides of a double-elimination bracket. Are you preparing for another showdown between the two of you?

Yeah, of course. Playing against him is always a great challenge, and I think he is also preparing something in the case we both make it to the final, which is what gonna happen.

Is there anything additional you’d like to say to those reading?

Already won that tourney, ggezclapclap

David: smb

rewardadrawer: You are one of the few top-level tournament players who uses a turntable to play. How does a turntable differ, in your eyes, from standard keyboard and mouse play? Do you think it provides an advantage or a disadvantage?

smb: Turntable play, at its core, is CTM (Click to Move). However, the use of the jog wheels versus mouse for movement means that it’s virtually impossible for my hands to ever feel uncomfortable with the way I play. Along with spins feeling better to play on turntable (I prefer the word “crank”), I think turntable is the best way to play if you’re looking to have fun. In a purely competitive environment, however, I feel as if mouse and keyboard will always have the edge on a turntable player since the amount of stamina required is less, and really quick movement elements are hard to do in a rotating direction versus linear direction.

If I were to have a set against Nick, it would be super fun to see great turntable play from two different people on two different tables showcasing (in my opinion) the coolest way to play Spin Rhythm.

smb

What patterns are you personally weak at?

I don’t think I’m weak at any particular pattern. Maybe speed can sometimes be an issue but turntable has allowed me to tap faster than I’m able to on mouse. Most patterns people have trouble with are in my own charts evidently, and usually, I can play them just fine. It’s the occasional weird pattern that maybe I haven’t seen, but if I’m on my game with accuracy, then I think I have a good chance to FC anything that is in the tournament pool (I have a -1 FC on the hardest chart in the pool, Giga Flare).

What is your strong suit, or what are your preferred charts/charter?

I love playing wide patterns and rifling as it feels great to have to use full movement on turntable. I personally love most charts from juch., Stride, and Kali, as they are the most experimental with their charts as anyone with charts in the current map pool.

This is your first top 8 appearance in the SpeenOpen. How do you think your fresh appearance might shake up the bracket?

My appearance will show off some turntable play that isn’t NickAzn, so I think that’s cool. In all seriousness though, I think I can give people a challenge that they weren’t necessarily expecting from a turntable player that isn’t Nick. If I were to have a set against Nick, it would be super fun to see great turntable play from two different people on two different tables showcasing (in my opinion) the coolest way to play Spin Rhythm.

Your first match-up is against Mapy, the heavy tournament favorite. What are you doing to prepare for that matchup?

Mapy is one of the greatest accuracy players of the game. My accuracy has to be near-perfect on the charts we play in quarters as there is a good chance Mapy could walk away with one or two PFCs in our match. I abandoned all of my mouse and keyboard muscle memory for turntable’s haptic feedback, and building that accuracy has taken time. This week is all about accuracy and making sure I can keep pace with Mapy and his great skill.

This is the first tournament that features double elimination in the top 8s. How do you think it will affect bracket play going forward?

Double elimination is great for tournament play. Some players can have an off-match, some can get charts they’re bad at and don’t favor well against their opponents, and some can get super unlucky seeding in their winner’s bracket match. Double elimination serves a purpose to give those who may have lost once a chance for redemption but also rewards those who win their way through the upper bracket to have an advantage come Grand Finals. It’s a great balancing tool that has been used forever now, and I’m glad the SSSO Team is giving it a shot here.

Is there anything additional you’d like to say to those reading?

Play turntable 🙂

Do Speen Gods Bleed?

The winner’s bracket of the SpinShare Winter 2021 SpeenOpen will be broadcast on Twitch this Saturday, starting at 1 pm EST/6 pm UTC, with the loser’s bracket and grand finals taking place Sunday starting at the same time. If you’re not able to watch live, you can still follow the action on the Toornament bracket. Spin Rhythm XD is available on Steam. If you’d like to play these charts yourself, check out SpinShare and get in on the action!