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 third matchup of Saturday’s quarterfinals will feature second seed Nick_Azn against seventh seed Matt. Both players coasted into the final rounds with easy qualifier matchups that didn’t test their abilities. One player will see their easy run end here—but who will it be?

If past results are any indicator, Nick_Azn is the odds-on favorite to win not just this match, but the whole tournament. Nick is a two-time SpeenOpen champion, winning in both Spring and Summer. Nick’s three-peat was broken in Autumn when he lost to Mapy, the tournament winner, in the semifinals. Despite the loss, Nick is still considered one of the tournament’s favorite; anything short of a finals appearance would be a massive upset.

His opponent, however, is no slouch. Matt is making his second consecutive appearance in the top 8. In the Autumn SpeenOpen, Matt lost to Mapy in the quarterfinals; however, his performance was still enough to earn him top seeding in the Winter tournament. Matt’s consistent performances have put him under the radar, but a win against Nick would definitely turn heads his way.

I talked with Nick_Azn and Matt about their upcoming match and tournament hopes after their wins.

Return to Form: Nick_Azn

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

Nick_Azn: I think turntable is pretty similar to CTM as you need to be pressing the wheel to move. It does have a slight disadvantage compared to keyboard players as there isn’t a very natural way to map an alt-tap key. But overall, with the vetting the charts go through before being part of the tournament pool, there isn’t too big of a difference between playstyles.

What patterns are you personally weak at?

Long rifling patterns that require same direction movement for more than the length of doing a 1-5 twice, because my hands can’t spin like 300 degrees on the turntable, so I have to quickly lift and reset in the middle of the pattern.

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

I don’t think there’s a particular pattern I’ve noticed I’m really good at. As far as preferred charts, I mostly play them based on how much I enjoy the song rather than the charter.

Your first match-up is against Matt, who is repeating a top 8 appearance from Autumn. How do you anticipate this match going? Is there anything you’re doing to prepare for this?

I think I will do well against Matt, but I haven’t watched much of their gameplay.

I don’t think [losing a set] will affect my mentality too much as I’ll still be playing my best to win each set.

Nick_Azn

You are one of only two players to make four top 8 appearances in the SpeenOpen series (the other being TreXDer). Additionally, you are a two-time champion of the event. How do you think your top-level experience will affect your matches?

From previous tournaments, I think I’ve shown that I can play high difficulty charts, so I think my best bet will be to pick difficult charts to push other players.

Last SpeenOpen, you lost to Mapy, the eventual winner, in the semifinals, placing third place as a result. This time, the top 8 is double elimination, introducing for the first time a chance that a winner could come from the loser’s bracket. How do you think this will affect tournament outcomes, or your mentality with regards to losing a set?

I think double elimination is a good addition to the tournament, as it will prevent situations where two high-level players meet early and one is eliminated early. I don’t think it will affect my mentality too much as I’ll still be playing my best to win each set.

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

When it comes to facing Mapy, I think we are at a very similar skill level, and we have both taken very close matches against each other in the past during the first SSSO finals and the previous SSSO. As for preparation, I think the best way to prepare would be to just practice and learn the tournament setlist. I believe Mapy actually has over double my hours in Spin Rhythm, I am at 500 hours, so they may be more practiced than me on the tournament charts.

Taking Form: Matt

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

Matt: My play style is freewheel, with Taps on the D key, and Beats on the Space bar. The only other player that plays like this to my knowledge is Programmatic. I personally think this playstyle puts me at a distinct disadvantage, but I’ve used it for so long, there is no going back.

What patterns are you personally weak at?

I am personally weak at beat-taps. Everyone knows this, so it will probably be used against me haha. Because I have to do taps and beats on the same hand (my left hand) it’s a lot more difficult than it would be if I played ambidextrously.

I’m happy to have made it to the finals at all though, and I had fun getting here.

Matt

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

My strong suit I would say is movement, preferentially over input-heavy charts. Around the mid-60s, inputs get too quick to keep up with on one hand, and I have to just take misses because I am physically incapable of hitting the notes that quickly. I don’t have any preferred charts or charters, I play a little bit of everything.

Your first match-up is against two-time champion Nick_Azn, two-time champion and tournament favorite. How do you anticipate this match going? Is there anything you’re doing to prepare for this?

I anticipate this match going by me getting destroyed. There are no two ways about it, Nick is an incredibly strong player, with no weaknesses that I am aware of. The only weakness is if a chart were turntable-unfriendly, but he is so good that he can work around that. I’ll be happy if I take even a single chart off of him, haha.

Last SpeenOpen, you lost to Mapy, the eventual tournament winner. This time, the top 8 is double elimination, introducing for the first time a chance that a winner could come from the loser’s bracket. How do you think this will affect tournament outcomes, or your mentality with regards to losing a set?

Double-elimination is interesting, I’ll say that. If I lose to Nick, it’s nice to know I’ll get another chance to play again, but if I win that, I’ll definitely lose to someone else. I personally think I am a strong player, but the other players are just stronger. I’m happy to have made it to the finals at all though, and I had fun getting here.

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

Anyone reading this should buy and play Spin Rhythm on Steam if you don’t own it already. It’s an incredible game, and I never expected I would invest this much time into it, or enjoy it this much. The SpinShare Discord and Official Spin Rhythm Discord are full of awesome players and charters, and I’ve made so many friends here that I am thankful for.

Who Will Be On Form?

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 the SpeenOpen 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!