Unjust Wins Back-to-Back MK11 Open Series Weekly Invitationals
TheMightyUnjust faced off against newcomer Wuuuzie to win his second Mortal Kombat 11 Open Series Weekly Invitational. The defending champion’s quick thinking and versatility continued to take center stage in this week's bracket.
North America Final Bracket
Eight competitors clawed through qualifying rounds to reach the Weekly Invitational. The four top-performing players earned prize money for their placement. Unjust won the $250 grand prize. Right behind him, Wuuuzie netted $150. LS_iScorpion and FYBY_HALO both took $100 for third and fourth place.
Winners Quarters: xMercyNotGiven (Liu Kang, Joker, Scorpion) Vs. TheMightyUnjust (Johnny Cage) 0-3
Mercy counterpicked Joker and Scorpion in an effort to dethrone the reigning champion after losing straight rounds with Liu Kang, but skill mattered more than matchup.
He landed a counter hit and Krushing Blow to kick Unjust into the corner but couldn’t break through his blocks. Unjust side switched Liu Kang with a toss over his shoulder, then pummeled the fire god to take the first round. The second round didn’t fare much better as Unjust steadily depleted Mercy’s health with pokes and projectiles. Mercy managed a Fatal Blow, but it wasn’t fatal enough.
Joker offered longer range options. Still, Unjust closed in and unleashed combo after combo. Even when Mercy landed two Krushing Blows with Scorpion, Unjust steadily chipped his health down to zero.
Winners Quarters: Santlov (Erron Black) Vs. stylesmoney321 (Liu Kang, Shang Tsung) 3-0
Once Santlov cornered Liu Kang, he defeated him with constant combos. Stylesmoney broke out of the corner the second time around, but Santlov did enough damage to finish him off with a couple of shots. Santlov’s combos relied on repeated moves, yet he hardly needed mixups.
Stylesmoney switched to Shang Tsung to win one round with his throws and grabs. Still, he couldn’t stop repeated lows from Erron Black. Santlov tripped up his opponent, slide after slide.
Stylesmoney went back to his main despite a better showing with the sorcerer. Ketchup and Mustard noted his growing ease throughout the set, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tables. Santlov swept the set to move onto the semifinals.
Winners Quarters: MK2eZ- (Kollector, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung) Vs. LS_iScorpion (Sonya Blade, Jacqui Briggs) 1-3
Ketchup and Mustard didn’t recognize LS_iScorpion, but he quickly left an impression in his first match against 2eZ. 2eZ was last week's runner-up and the favorite to win this set.
2eZ started with Kollector, an uncharacteristic character pick. He destroyed LS_iScorpion in a flawless first round. However, once he adapted in the second, LS_iScorpion retaliated with relentless combos to steal the game.
2eZ switched back to Sub-Zero, one of his consistent mains. The first round looked like a win for LS_iScorpion, but he dropped a punish that gave 2eZ a chance to close the match. 2eZ followed up with another win to even the score.
LS_iScorpion switched to Jacqui Briggs in the third match. Her mobility proved too pesky for Sub-Zero, prompting 2eZ to pick up Shang Tsung. However, he couldn’t make the comeback in the round two scramble.
Winners Quarters: Wuuuzie (Geras) Vs. FYBY_HALO (Kitana, Joker, Johnny Cage) 3-0
A matchup between new names. Wuuuzie charged in with Geras and pushed Kitana from corner to corner. After such a strong start from Wuuuzie, Halo switched to Joker. He almost snagged the second match, but Wuuuzie landed a kick in a crucial moment to take the win.
Halo picked Johnny Cage for his last match. Wuuuzie continued to dominate with grab mixups that gave him an unpredictable edge and maximized damage.
Winners Semis: Santlov (Erron Black) Vs. TheMightyUnjust (Kabal) 0-3
Santlov faced the favorite to win with Erron Black, one of Unjust’s most well-known characters.
He and Unjust traded parries and blows until one missed drop shot cost Santlov the momentum. Unjust finished the first round with a couple of air blades and a knee to the face. Santlov dealt decent damage in the second round but a failed mixup gave Unjust an opening for a Fatal Blow.
Despite the loss, Santlov stuck with Erron throughout the set. He managed to win one round by opening up Unjust with slides and following up with acid. Unjust whiff punished with killer combos to take the round after. Either of the competitors could’ve taken the final round, but Santlov pulled the trigger too early. Unjust took the opportunity to execute a Brutality.
Two losses didn’t scare Santlov. He clung to life in the third set, winning one round and nearly taking another. His slides, combos, and Krushing Blows whittled Unjust down to a sliver of health. Just one touch could’ve won him the game. However, Unjust’s unpredictable jumps opened him up to a gut-wrenching outcome.
Winners Semis: Wuuuzie (Cetrion) Vs. LS_iScorpion (Jacqui Briggs, Sonya Blade) 3-2
Wuuuzie set the stage with Cetrion’s Born Again variation. Born Again, praised even by SonicFox as the “best character in the game,” allows for more of a rushdown playstyle compared to the popular Spring Cleaning variation.
Wuuuzie blocked Jacqui’s high jumps and took advantage of restands to rack up damage. LS_iScorpion tried to zone out Cetrion with Sonya’s Energy Rings in the second match, but Wuuuzie found an opportunity to combo her and snag the win.
LS_iScorpion tried Jacqui again after two difficult sets, this time breaking through with her bionic leaps to lead into more combos. He pressured Wuuuzie into a corner with aggressive rushdown tactics and took back two sets.
Ketchup noted that LS_iScorpion seemed uncomfortable when a counter hit landed earlier than expected. When Wuuuzie took the wheel, he chipped away health with wind and whiff punished to tie up the final moments of the last set.
Winners Finals: TheMightyUnjust (Johnny Cage) Vs. Wuuuzie (Geras) 3-1
Wuuuzie put up a fight but not enough to topple Unjust. The two traded combos, chipping away health until they were each a sliver away from ending the first match. Wuuuzie failed to pull the trigger on every punish, letting Unjust slide in for the win.
Just when a sweep seemed certain, Wuuuzie stole a game with aggressive corner combos and mix-ups. However, he couldn’t maintain the momentum. Unjust took advantage of his projectiles to whittle down Wuuuzie and escape his reach until the perfect time for the final blow.
Losers Semis: LS_iScorpion (Sonya Blade) Vs. FYBY_HALO (Johnny Cage, Kitana) 3-0
LS_iScorpion piled on pressure with combo after combo to win the first game. Even though every combo wasn’t perfect, he followed up before Halo could capitalize. Halo couldn’t break through with Johnny, so they switched back to Kitana. Mustard noted Halo’s eagerness to move forward after every block and LS_iScorpion readiness to punish.
Halo got more comfortable the longer they stuck with Kitana but couldn’t counter Sonya. A combo here, a grab there--all of it added up to devastating damage.
Losers Finals: LS_iScorpion (Jacqui Briggs, Scorpion, Cetrion) Vs. Wuuuzie (Cetrion) 1-3
Jacqui helped LS_iScorpion in his first fight with Wuuuzie. This time, Wuuuzie came prepared with anti-airs and restand combos to break apart his strategy. LS_iScorpion finally switched to his namesake character, but Scorpion didn’t fare much better against the steady stream of combos.
Then, LS_iScorpion challenged Wuuuzie to a Born Again mirror match. Although Cetrion didn’t fit into the same archetype as his other choices, he managed to pull off a win before Wuuuzie clutched a third win. In a tight fourth match finish, Wuuuzie landed a throw that set him up for a Brutality.
Grand Finals: TheMightyUnjust (Johnny Cage) Vs. Wuuuzie (Cetrion) 3-0
Wuuuzie climbed up the losers bracket for the runback against Unjust. Despite the character change from Geras in their first matchup, Unjust adapted after only one round.
Wuuuzie countered with a couple of round wins but not enough to win one match. A dropped combo cost him the second set as Unjust took the opportunity to escape his combo and clutch the comeback.
But Wuuuzie wasn’t finished. He cornered Unjust in the first round of the third set, timing his grabs and restands to continuously combo without letting Unjust go. Unjust broke out of the corner rampage in the next round to even the score. Wuuuzie came close to winning the third set, but Unjust clutched another win with a low sweep that led into back-to-back combos.
Unjust swept Wuuuzie to add another Open Series Weekly Invitational title to his record.
Unfortunately, these losers bracket matches didn’t make the stream:
- FYBY_HALO Vs. MK2eZ- 3-1
- stylesmoney321 Vs. xMercyNotGiven 2-3
- Santlov Vs. FYBY_HALO 2-3
- xMercyNotGiven Vs. LS_iScorpion 0-3
Broadcast Schedule
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