GODSGARDEN, Japan’s premiere Street Fighter tournament, is ready to kick off tomorrow with SSFVI: AE’s first appearance there. So if you’re in the west and you really want to see a bunch of Yuns of Yangs get utterly destroyed, you best be waking up early, or plan on staying up all night to catch the action.

Personally, I prefer sleep, compared to seeing the big three blast through brackets again like at EVO. Sleep is good.

Unlike most events, GODGARDEN operates very differently. For starters, the first twelve players for the top 16 spots are placed by popular vote. This year, they are occupied by names such as Daigo Umehara, Tokido, and the EVO 2011 SFIV champion himself Fuudo. For the final four slots, participants will have to fight through a pool of 64 other players. That is a lot of competition to get through for only four spots in the finals.

GODSGARDEN also operates differently in that the pools are run in a Round Robin format, while the Preliminary finals are single elimination. The entire tournament is also character locked, so there's no reliance on secondary picks for specific matchups. Players in the top 16 also have an option to pass on a single match if they don’t like who they’re up against, since they are set by lottery.

It’s an awkward format, but the event also provides some pretty crazy action. And the prizes are nothing to scoff at either, with first place taking over $3000 USD in prize money, as well as a PS3 Mad Catz fight stick and a 360 or PS3 model Hori wireless stick. Of course, there’s the bragging rights as well.

For those that want to sacrifice sleep to catch the action, (or if you're already an insomianc anyway), streaming will be provided by both Nico Nico and ustream. Keep in mind that the Nico Nico one requires you to have a premium account in order to view it.

Speaking of fighting game tournaments, the organizers for Shadowloo Showdown have gotten an early jump on promoting next years event, and they’re intent on holding it, ancient Mayan doomsday prophecies or not. Check the trailer out below.