Nerd in the Bay 🔜 @ SoCal Knockout 2026! 🚗💨

Not really a social media person but It’s been 2 weeks since #XFS2026 & there are some things I’d like to share! Buckle up for a long post 🪑🤣 TBH, I didn’t know what to fully expect doing this for the first time, but it was INSANE 🙀 First off, the team I was blessed with was INCREDIBLE. God did his thing by putting all of these people in my path: •Tournament Operations Manager @BigDame2187 •Assistant Tournament Operations Manager @iTsCRAZEFTW •Floor Manager @Anya_Tekken •XFS Team @kingmorgana115 , @mann_brick & @Donnell134 •“Get it Done” Team from BES @BES_TheJoker & Starz (I didn’t really ask them they just saw a need and fulfilled it. & kinda went above and beyond to execute it) Everyone here (including @MayasmaFGC and many others) stepped up and did what needed to be done to help our Event function as smooth as possible. They stayed calm and helped me see it through to the other side of my hourly crashouts. This wouldn’t have been possible without them, our volunteers and commentators. ✅THE GOOD •No one was toxic yaaaay! •We had Volunteers, Commentators, Production, Xtreme Bosses, Competitors & Spectators from 26 different states & 2 people came from Mexico. For the first time around, I was very pleased with North America representation. It was also very heartwarming to see that people took the time, resources & effort to make it this Event. Everyone’s sacrifice meant so much to me & I was happy with the turnout for year 1. •Commentators, Bracket Bosses, Game Leads, TOs, Production & everyone who pulled up did what I needed for them to do. I was very pleased with the amazing individuals who put in work. •The Venue was amazing. Very clean, restaurants in between our 2 spaces and everyone was kind & went out of their way to help us with logistics, the layout, tournament ops & troubleshooting anything they could help with. 🙀THE CRAZY •People who met my sister thought they were meeting me & I don’t think she clarified/corrected them😭🤣💀 •Experienced a lot of online hate and slander from people who have never met me and I let it get to me. •Set ups & equipment arrived way later than expected (or didn’t at all) production side of things weren’t fully ready (that’s on me tho), someone pulled the fire alarm MID TOURNEY & we all had to evacuate. We had to tell an Xtreme Boss I invited that they couldn’t attend (for health & safety reasons), some invited competitors didn’t show up, parking was a kinda a nightmare w/ a college football game, etc. •Couldn’t forget about Melee. We knew there was a community for it in the area so it was added to the line-up in March 2026. My brother, PhiDX & I worked together to have it mostly unlocked on Day 2 expect for FD (which the players banded together to unlock. Literally s/o to the community). We didn’t know that they wanted modded version & didn’t have the right type of SD card, so sethibuns came to the rescue & provided their modded version for us to use. Literal MVP of Melee singles. W/out him and the rest of community’s patience, support & understanding, we would’ve been cooked! 😢 THE SAD •Bc I was so busy behind the scenes, I didn’t get to meet everyone or hand out any Ls in game 😭😭😭 •The belt wasn’t used on a single person (IYKYK) 📖 CONCLUSION •Despite all the hiccups, things that didn’t happen, etc. I am very thankful to have been able to host this Event, alongside my awesome team. It’s a crazy I wouldn’t mind experiencing again, for the sake of bringing all our communities together again. I’ve read every single form submission we collected so if we do this again, we know how to make it better for next time. & hopefully, I’ll find time to run some sets with friends & compete! Lastly, if you were a part of the event in any way (in person or supporting from home) I really appreciate you! Your supports for our first time means a lot and hopefully this is just 🎶 the start of something newww 🎶 (yes, a HSM reference LOL)