Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi took down Evil Geniuses' Yusuke "Momochi" Momochi in a tense grand finals at the South East Asia Majors 2016.
The SEAM, also known as the Evolution Fighting Game Championships of the east, lived up to the billing. The level of talent rivaled even the scariest of competitions such as Japan Cup and The Brooklyn Beatdown. There were a couple surprise top finishers among the elite: South Korea's "NL" and Malaysia's Viewsonic sponsored player, "IamChuan."
The grand finals
Much was said about Momochi's disappointment and subsequent training after The Brooklyn Beatdown and he lived up to the majority of the hype. Although being a favorite for a tournament as stacked as SEAM was not impossible, Momochi was as good of a bet as anyone. As for Tokido, his consistency when the tournament bracket is stacked with monsters is frightening.
Tokido won the first set over Momochi in winner's finals in a nail-biting 3-2 set. There was hardly any adjustments needed - both players were able to start their individual game. Momochi was as flawless as ever with his defensive hit-confirms and Tokido's ground game was immaculate. In the grand finals, it took a brilliant light kick hit-confirm into critical art to close out Momochi, but the back-and-forth between these two powerhouses provided a set unlike any in recent tournament memory. There was no edge to either player, but Tokido managed to clutch out the better result.
The hometown hero
The home country hero, Xian Xian, was arguably the star of the tournament. He was the greatest hope for a Singaporean victory and the only player with supposedly "low tier" representation in F.A.N.G. The pressure was immensely high for the star player to perform and -- for the most part -- he played up to the expectations. It wasn't first, but a 7th place finish was more than admirable.
He was eliminated by the insanely tough Eita's Ken and the player that looked unbeatable, Naoto "Sako" Sako's Chun-Li. In addition to playing host, he was the sole representative for Singapore in the top-16. As a former winner of SEAM, the expectations to automatically place high made his actual placing that much more impressive.
Asia Amateur Tournament
SEAM also offered a look into the amateur side of things. It provided a focus on the amateur competition with its "Asia Amateur Tournament." The tournament was through qualifier only and was treated with as much detail and attention as the main event. In addition, much like EVO, the venue of SEAM was in a convention center during a large-scale gaming convention event, GameStart Asia.