Ponto Nei Spends Three Hours on Splatoon 3 Solo Practice Before Her Team’s Tournament

NIJISANJI — Ponto Nei played three straight hours of Splatoon 3 on Monday in a solo practice session ahead of an upcoming tournament, and said at the close that her sense of how to move had come back.

She opened by saying she had missed the day the tournament’s details were announced and was still catching up on the format. Her team has her in a support role, she said, and she talked through how that sits with the tournament’s tier rankings, which she has complained about to the organizer. She queued in public matches with her usual Zap-series shooter and its Tacticooler drink special, handing out drinks and painting turf while teammates took the kills. Several matches were carried by strong allies, which drew the line from her that it was hard to call the session practice.

“This is supposed to be solo practice, but it’s not practice when your teammates are this good.” — Ponto Nei, after a match her teammates carried

The session was not all easy. She said she struggled when opponents pushed her team back, naming that as the thing she most needs to learn as a team leader, and that she tends to hesitate before jumping. She also said she never got the hang of the attack-type specials. Midway through she tried a run of other weapons, including heavier ones, and found that she lost mobility with them.

Late in the stream she tried a gear piece that reduces aim shake while jump-shooting. Her shots landed noticeably more often at first, but a string of losses followed and she switched back to her old setup, joking that it felt like coming home. Between rounds she took a snack break and recounted a trendy appetizer recipe that disappointed her.

She signed off at exactly three hours and said she would return at 10 p.m. for another stream. She said she might turn up in private matches before the tournament if invited, and asked viewers who spot her to assume she is practicing.