The Evolution Championship Series is the largest fighting game tournament in the world and takes place Friday through Sunday in Las Vegas. At the event, Daigo Umehara will participate in the Street Fighter V tournament seeking his fifth Evo Street Fighter title.
The Legend of Daigo
Daigo "Daigo" Umehara (aka "The Beast") is considered the greatest Street Fighter player ever. At age 37, Daigo is nearing the end of what has been nothing less than an impressive professional career.
At age 17, Daigo entered Capcom's Street Fighter Zero 3 national tournament and made it to the finals. Since then, Daigo has racked up a number of titles across tournaments, including four wins in Street Fighter events at Evo, which has been held every year since 2000.
Evo is also home to what was the defining moment of Daigo's career -- and one of the defining moments in the history of esports. At Evo 2004, Daigo met rival Justin Wong in the loser's final of the double-elimination Street Fighter III tournament). Playing as Ken, Daigo was left with barely any vitality, susceptible to a knockout from virtually any attack from Wong's character, "Chun-Li."
Wong used his character's multi-hit "Super Art" move, and Daigo proceeded to block all 15 hits in the attack. After doing so, he followed up with a furious counter attack that led him to a knockout of Wong.
How he could fare at Evo
Entering the 2018 Street Fighter V tournament at Evo, Daigo is considered among the favorites. He is coming off a win at VSFighting 2018 and has three top-three finishes, including two wins, in his past four events.
According to SRK data, Daigo is currently the fourth-ranked player in the world. If he does make the final, Daigo will get his shot at a fifth Evo Street Fighter title at 10:30 pm ET on Sunday.