Justin Wong was only 15 years old when he traveled to B5 in 2001 and won its Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament. At the time, Wong did not think much of his fighting game career, later saying "I just wanted to play and play. The prizes were very small, and it was just myself breaking even." He traveled to the Evolution Championship Series in 2002 to successfully defend his Marvel vs. Capcom 2 title and came in ninth at Capcom vs SNK 2.[3]
In the Evolution 2004Street Fighter III: 3rd Strikelosers bracket final, Wong's Chun-Li lost to Daigo Umehara's Ken Masters when, in an unexpected comeback, Daigo managed to parry all 15 hits of Chun-Li's super art II – a feat noteworthy for its difficulty as each parry must be performed within a window of roughly 1/6th of a second before the attack connects – and land a max damage combo. This incident has been widely shared in a well-known viral video known as "Evo Moment #37".[4][5][6][7]
2009
Wong took part in GameStop's Street Fighter IV US National Tournament in 2009, which he won. After the main tournament, a set of special exhibition matches of Street Fighter IV took place in San Francisco, California, on April 18 after the actual competition ended. It featured Iyo who had recently won the Japanese National SFIV tournament, Poongko who won the Korean SFIV National Tournament, and Daigo Umehara who came by Capcom's invitation,[8] and Wong himself. Wong defeated Iyo and Poongko, but lost to Umehara who went on to win the tournament.[9][10][11] He was awarded a tournament seed at Evolution 2009 in Las Vegas.
Wong gained more fame after the footage of his matches in GameStop's competition were spread on the internet. As of July 19, 2009, the video of the match against Umehara received almost 80,000 hits on Niconico video sharing site.[12]
Evolution 2009
For winning the US GameStop tournament, Wong started his Street Fighter IV competition as a seeded player in the semi-finals on July 18, the second day of Evo 2009. He beat four opponents and had to start the next day by playing against Daigo Umehara.[13] In the third and the last day, Umehara defeated Wong and put him into the Losers Bracket, then advanced to the grand finals just to meet Wong again. In the final showdown, Wong changed his character from Abel to Balrog (boxer, called M. Bison in Japan) to counter Umehara's signature Ryu. The two fought until the last game possible, but Wong lost the competition.[14] It was this point of the tournament that had more than 23,000 users viewing the stream broadcasting.[15]
Seasons Beatings IV
Wong joined a tournament called Seasons Beatings on October 16–18 in Columbus, Ohio.[16][17] He participated in the Street Fighter IV 3 on 3 on the second day with two teammates and won 1st place. There was an exhibition match between him and Daigo Umehara which he lost by two games to ten. For Street Fighter IV Singles, Justin, who this time chose to play Fei Long, won in the Winners Bracket's final against Umehara. He later lost to Umehara after Umehara bounced back from the Loser's Bracket.[18][19]
2010
In June 2010, Wong left the competitive gaming group Empire Arcadia and signed with professional gaming organization Evil Geniuses with Martin "Marn" Phan[20] and was later joined by Ricki Ortiz.
Evolution 2010
Wong won the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament coming out of the loser's bracket.[21] He also placed just out of the top 8 in Super Street Fighter IV, losing to Bruce "Gamerbee" Hsiang.[22]
Wong also participated in the reality show WCG Ultimate Gamer.[23] He made it as far as the Gauntlet (series of semi-final elimination challenges), but was eliminated during the Forza Motorsport 3 driving challenge.
2011
PDP.com's Mortal Kombat Nationals
Wong stormed through the tournament without losing a set up until the grand finals where he won the tournament and the $10,000 1st prize using Kung Lao, playing against Floe's Ermac in the finals.
Justin Wong is an extremely active player of the collection, topping the ranked match leaderboards for the Steam and PlayStation 4 versions of Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes within this collection under the name 'Wazzler'.[25] Players claimed to be quitting and wanting refunds.[26] Wong reacted to Dexerto’s article about him.[27]
Personal life
Justin's engagement to Jacqueline was announced on July 28, 2018, and they have a daughter. Justin Wong attended Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers and was often seen at the world-famous Chinatown Fair in Chinatown, Manhattan, where he would be seen playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and sometimes Dance Dance Revolution.[28][29]
↑ "Evo Tournament Results 1996-2011". January 27, 2013. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Daigo Umehara is a Japanese esports player and author who competes competitively at fighting video games. He specializes in 2D arcade fighting games, mainly those released by Capcom. Known as "Daigo" or "The Beast" in the West and "Umehara" or "Ume" in Japan, Daigo is one of the world's most famous Street Fighter players and is often considered its greatest. His longevity is seen as an incredibly rare thing in the world of competitive video games. He currently holds a world record of "the most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter" in the Guinness World Records and is a six time Evo Championship Series winner.
The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an American annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with Super Battle Opera, contestants travel from all over the world to participate, most notably from Japan. The first Evolution was originally held as a Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2 tournament called the Battle by the Bay. It changed its name to Evo in 2002. Every successive tournament has seen an increase of attendees. It has been held at various venues across the Las Vegas Valley since 2005. As of 2021, the event is jointly owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment and the Endeavor esports venture RTS.
Ryota Inoue better known by this nickname Kazunoko (かずのこ), is a Japanese fighting games player known for playing Holy Order Sol in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Yun in Street Fighter IV, Cammy in Street Fighter V, Yamcha in Dragon Ball FighterZ and Raven in Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator. He was the winner of Ultra Street Fighter IV at Capcom Cup 2015 where he beat Daigo Umehara in the grand finals. He joined Zeveron in July 2015. However Zeveron went out of business the following months and they failed to pay him, resulting in him being a free agent.
Christopher Gonzalez, also known as NYChrisG, is an American competitive gamer, specializing in fighting games. He is considered one of the top Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 players. He is also the EVO 2016 champion for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
The Capcom Cup is an annual fighting game tournament specifically focused on the Street Fighter series. The event's first incarnation was in 2013 which featured Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition version 2012, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Street Fighter X Tekken version 2013 as the three main games each with 8 qualifiers. In 2014, Capcom Cup was an Ultra Street Fighter IV exclusive tournament with 16 qualifiers. The 2015 Capcom Cup was doubled to a 32-man format and was later increased to a 48-man format beginning with Capcom Cup IX in 2022–23. The series of qualifying events for the tournament are known as the Capcom Pro Tour and include many of the largest, most prestigious pre-existing fighting game tournaments such as Evolution Championship Series and DreamHack.
Lee Seon-woo, known as Infiltration, is a professional esports player from Seoul, South Korea, specializing in fighting games. Lee is a six-time Evolution Championship Series (EVO) champion; winning Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition v2012 in 2012, Street Fighter X Tekken in 2012 and 2013, Street Fighter V in 2016 and 2018 and Samurai Shodown in 2019.
Capcom Cup 2015 was a professional Ultra Street Fighter IV video game tournament that was held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on December 6, 2015. 32 players qualified for the tournament by winning one of the 16 Capcom Pro Tour Premier Events or by acquiring points at them. Kun Xian Ho won three of the Premier Events, coming in third place at the Capcom Cup. Many high-profile players, including Justin Wong and Bonchan, lost two consecutive matches during the early rounds of the Cup and were eliminated. The Grand Final was a match between Mad Catz' Daigo Umehara playing as Evil Ryu and Kazunoko playing as Yun, the latter winning the match 3–2.
Abdullatif Alhmili, better known as Latif, is a Saudi Arabian electronic sports player. Primarily a Guilty Gear and King of Fighters player, Latif competed in the Street Fighter IV tournament at EVO 2011, coming out of nowhere to claim second place. Latif is known for his skill with Street Fighter character Crimson Viper.
The 2016 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in Las Vegas on July 15–17. Being hosted on the twentieth anniversary of the Evolution Championship Series, the event offered tournaments for various video games, including Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Pokkén Tournament. Participation reached record-breaking numbers, with over 5,000 people registering for the Street Fighter competition alone. 2016 was the first time the Evo Grand Finals were held in an arena and were broadcast by ESPN2 in addition to Twitch.
Stunfest 2016 was a fighting game tournament that took place on May 21–22 in Rennes, France. Being a Premier Event of the Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the event would qualify for the 2016 Capcom Cup. The Grand Finals of Stunfest 2016 were dominated by Asian players such as Tokido and Daigo Umehara, with European players like Luffy being eliminated on day one. Japanese players Fuudo and Yusuke Momochi faced off in the final round, with Momochi winning the tournament.
Lupe Fiasco versus Daigo Umehara was a Street Fighter V exhibition match between rapper Lupe Fiasco and professional Street Fighter veteran Daigo Umehara. The game, held shortly before the public release of Street Fighter V on February 15, 2016, resulted in a three-to-two win for Fiasco. The match has frequently been criticized for possibly being staged, and the celebrity's later association with professional Street Fighter play has resulted in mixed opinions among the fighting game community.
"Evo Moment #37", or the "Daigo Parry", is a portion of a Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike semifinal match held at Evolution Championship Series 2004 between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. During this match, Umehara made an unexpected comeback by parrying 15 consecutive hits of Wong's "Super Art" move with only one remaining unit of health. Umehara subsequently won the match, though he went on to lose the Grand Final against Kenji "KO" Obata. Evo Moment #37 has been described as the most iconic moment in competitive video gaming, having influenced the fighting game community strongly.
The 2014 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in at Westgate Las Vegas on July 11–13. The event featured a major tournament for eight fighting games, including Ultra Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma. The event was part of the first Capcom Pro Tour.
The 2013 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held at Paris Las Vegas on July 12–14. The event featured a major tournament for nine fighting games, including Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Injustice: Gods Among Us. The event's Super Smash Bros. Melee livestream was controversially blocked by Nintendo of America, though the company decided to allow the tournament to be streamed after being faced with community backlash.
Hajime Taniguchi, better known as Tokido, is a Japanese fighting game player who plays the King of Fighters and Street Fighter franchises. He is known for playing multiple fighting games on a competitive level in addition to Street Fighter, including Tekken, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and BlazBlue. Tokido is a three-time EVO champion, having won Capcom vs. SNK 2 in 2002 as well as winning Super Street Fighter II Turbo in 2007 and Street Fighter V ten years later. Tokido has had 28 Evolution top 8 finishes, having EVO medals in 12 different games across more than 20 years.
The Canada Cup is an annual Canadian fighting game event founded and organized by Lap Chi Duong. The event was launched as the Calgary Cup in 2009 and was initially held in Calgary, Alberta, but the tournament moved to Toronto, Ontario shortly after, returning to Calgary every few years. The Canada Cup is a major Street Fighter tournament, generally being the final event in the annual Capcom Pro Tour.
The 2011 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in the Rio Las Vegas on July 6–8. The event featured a major tournament for five fighting games, including Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as well as various smaller-scale competitions.
The 2004 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in Pomona, California from July 29 to August 1. The event featured nine fighting games on the main lineup, including Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. While in previous Evolution events all competitions were held on arcade machines, most tournaments at Evo 2004 were played on video game consoles.
Ryan Joseph Hart, also known as Prodigal Son, Tsuujin, Robotnik, The Terminator and NeriahSensei, is a British professional fighting game player. He specialises in 2D and 3D fighter games released by Capcom, Bandai Namco, Sega, Midway, NetherRealm Studios and SNK. Ryan holds numerous National, European and World titles and has won the Evolution Championships twice. Hart also holds four world records within the Guinness World Record's for most international Street Fighter competition wins, most well-travelled fighting game champion, the longest winning streak on Street Fighter IV, and the most consecutive opponents on Street Fighter V. While Hart is predominantly known for his professional gaming career, he is also a commentator, tournament organiser, author, presenter, event host, model, translator and content creator.
The 2009 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in Rio Las Vegas on July 17–19. The event featured major tournaments for various fighting games, including Super Street Fighter IV and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The release of Super Street Fighter IV drew many new players to the tournament scene, and Evo 2009 is remembered as one of the biggest years of Evolution's growth.
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