Zac "SFAT" Cordoni was all smiles when he reached his Super Smash Bros. Melee pool. He took one look at his bracket before turning around to greet the line of fans that immediately collected upon hearing his name from his pool organizer. After a quick round one matchup, he fist-bumped with his opponent in a gesture of good sportsmanship.
The rest of the pool would fall together in SFAT's favor. He was relentless and merciless, pinpoint and deadly. While the audience that gathered to watch him were in awe at his precision and talent, SFAT didn't let his focus waver.
"I take every match as seriously as I can," Cordoni told ESPN.com. "I can't let myself become complacent. It's good to have as few bad habits as possible and not treating players seriously or considering them as byes would be a form of one."
The Counter Logic Gaming professional looks prime to take a deep run at the Evolution Championship Series. He's worked on new techniques to calm his nerves and reinforce positive thoughts. Before Evo, he took a different course for tournament preparation with a two-day break without a game of Melee to relax and recharge his batteries.
This time, he practiced with fellow professional player, Alliance's Adam "Armada" Lindgren in an intense tune-up. In addition to valuable practice, Armada provided a different line of thinking that could benefit SFAT.
"I had Armada over to play for six straight days for good mental and physical practice," Cordoni said. "When you talk to another top player, it's good mental practice. Armada told me that no one was that much better than me and coming from him, that's a big deal."
It remains to be seen whether or not Armada's praise benefited SFAT, but he was adamant that it's a turning point for his play style. He admitted that lesser players did not make him nervous in games, but when a top player was his opposition, he road-blocked himself by believing the player was too far ahead.
In addition to a change in attitude, he's reinforced a positive attitude about himself and his play. He's been reciting "I am winning" to immerse himself in the mindset. His biggest tournament demon is Team Liquid's Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma. Before, SFAT would have preferred to avoid playing against him altogether, but when faced with the prospect at Evo 2016, SFAT was optimistic.
"The last three times against Hungrybox were close," Cordoni said. "You can only prepare so much and even with all the information, I can't crack him yet. He can see through me. I need to tell myself that I am better than him."
SFAT is an aggressive Fox and could potentially run into other pitfalls at Evo, but he's prepared for all his weaknesses. For one, he's aware of the players that potentially stand in front of his path to victory.
"When opponents play more defensive, it's a difficult match," Cordoni said. "I'm a smart aggressive player, but I still need to run at my opponent."
It may be an SFAT victory this weekend with all the changes to his mental and physical game, but the road will be paved with enemies and road blocks. Despite it all, the one thing that won't waver will be that signature SFAT joy and smile.