DBFZ Nationals France: Offense monster Wawa triumphs over Kyden

The Dragon Ball FighterZ National Championships France division has found its champion. Mixup master Marwan "Wawa" Berthe defeated defense god Kyden 5-4 in the third Nationals Playoffs Finals late on December 12th. Wawa started out playing Gogeta, GT Goku, and Adult Gohan but later swapped to point UI Goku and mid Vegito with anchor Base Goku. Kyden stuck with a team of Ultra Instinct Goku, Kefla, and Android 18.

(Picture: Bandai Namco)

Kyden’s characters were chosen for their defensive assists. UI Goku’s vertical beam is completely invincible and a great get-off-me move while Android 18’s barrier absorbs enemy attacks. Wawa was focused on offense with several command grabs or unblockables across both rosters. 

The first two matches of the set were dedicated to gathering information. Tied at 1-1, Wawa started busting out the hard reads. A wild anti-air Dragon Rush from Wawa sealed game three.  

DragonBallFighterZ - wawa a god Watch DragonBallFighterZ's clip titled "wawa a god" Twitch

Kyden fired back by using his defensive assists to lock Wawa in the corner and punish his escape options. After evening the score at 2-2, Wawa scored the first “Happy Birthday” of the set, an instance where a player hits two of the opponent characters at the same time. A brake poke led to both UI Goku and Kefla getting knocked out in a single combo.

DragonBallFighterZ - 2 IN 1 Watch DragonBallFighterZ's clip titled "2 IN 1" Twitch

Kyden evened things up with surprise airdashes, breaking the overall slow pace of the set. While Wawa is famous for his aggressive technique, Kyden took plenty of opportunities to make his opponent guess. He was rewarded with a 4-3 scoreline.

DragonBallFighterZ - Holding it all Watch DragonBallFighterZ's clip titled "Holding it all" Twitch

Another insane Happy Birthday combo by Wawa postponed Kyden’s championship. A brave Vegito autocombo led to another two-for-one. 

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In game nine, Wawa pushed the tempo and varied his pressure. A tricky air-to-air and the classic assist into raw Dragon Rush eliminated Kyden’s Android 18, and more importantly, her barrier assist. After whittling Kyden down to just UI Goku, an awkward crossunder turned into Nationals victory for Wawa.

DragonBallFighterZ - WAWA WINS Watch DragonBallFighterZ's clip titled "WAWA WINS" Twitch

After the seven week round robin group stage, Wawa had the second seed to Kyden’s first. Wawa earned his spot in the grand finals by defeating Yasha 5-4. Even after 18 games, Wawa was adept at speeding up the tempo and catching Kyden in his patient moments. 

(Picture: Bandai Namco)

France marks the third region to finish its National Championship after Spain and US West. The now-running US East and Japan are all that remains. The Japanese Final on the 20th will also feature a new character announcement for DBFZ Season 3.

• Read more: DBFZ National US West: Jonathan Tene beats Reynald in crazy nine-game Grand Finals 

So far, Season 3 has brought us UI Goku, Kefla, and Master Roshi. Two slots remain. The most popular choice among the community is Omega Shenron from the GT series. Majin Vegeta is another highly anticipated choice as he could expand upon Base Vegeta’s link combos by requiring timed inputs on the ground.