![]() |
Tokido | |
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![]() Tokido in 2018 | |
Current team | |
Team | Rohto Zi |
Game | Street Fighter V |
Personal information | |
Name | Hajime Taniguchi |
Nickname(s) | Murderface |
Born | Okinawa, Japan [1] | 7 July 1985
Nationality | Japanese |
Career information | |
Games | King of Fighters Street Fighter |
Playing career | 2011–present |
Team history | |
2011 | The Traveling Circus |
2011–2016 | Mad Catz |
2017–2019 | Echo Fox |
2019–present | Rohto Zi |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Hajime Taniguchi (Japanese: 谷口 一, Hepburn: Taniguchi Hajime, born 7 July 1985 [1] ), 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 . [3] 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. [4] Tokido has had 19+ Evolution top 8 finishes in 9 different games across 15 years, a feat surpassed only by Justin Wong. [5]
Tokido was introduced to fighting games in the 1990s, when he played The King of Fighters '94 on the Neo Geo MVS. The first Street Fighter game Tokido came in contact with was Street Fighter 2 on the Super Famicom. [6]
At CEO 2011 he took 1st place in Super Street Fighter 4 and Marvel vs Capcom 3 and took 3rd place in Tekken 6 . [7] [8] Sponsored by Madcatz, Tokido was a highly successful King of Fighters XIII player in 2014. [9] [10] Tokido got into Street Fighter IV late compared to other high-level players. When he did, teammate Daigo Umehara suggested he pick the character Akuma, as a character like Ryu would be too difficult for him. Playing as Akuma, Tokido invented the "Tokido Vortex", a move that guarantees an opponent character will take damage. [6]
A few months before Street Fighter V was released in February 2016, Tokido expressed a desire to make a change in his playstyle. Playing with a "more fundamental, grounded style" did not work out well at the 2015 Tokyo Game Show tournament, but he did win the 2015 Canada Cup a month later. The change in style prepared Tokido to use Ryu in Street Fighter V, as the game did not include Akuma at that point. Tokido reached second place multiple times during the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour, losing only to Infiltration at Final Round 19 and NorCal Regionals 2016. Tokido would eventually defeat Infiltration at the 2016 Community Effort Orlando in order to qualify for the Capcom Cup. [11] [12]
Tokido was released from Mad Catz in 2016, as the company was having financial trouble due to the poor sales of Rock Band 4 . [13] On January 4, 2017, it was confirmed that Echo Fox had picked up Tokido. [14]
After his signature character Akuma was released for Street Fighter V, Tokido would go on to win the game's tournament at Evo 2017. [15]
In 2016, a Yahoo Esports article described Tokido as a "fighting game legend," as a veteran of numerous battles spanning over a decade. [11] Tokido is considered to be one of Japan's five "fighting game gods", a title he shares with Daigo Umehara, Shinya Onuki, Tatsuya Haitani, and Naoto Sako. [16]
Tokido is known for taking on a somewhat eccentric persona on stage. Footage exists of Tokido imitating some of Akuma's taunts, and trash-talking his opponent Bonchan shortly before a tournament in 2015 became highly discussed among the fighting game community. In 2015, Tokido stated that he is meaning to leave such behavior behind him because, as a professional gamer, he wants "to show that entertainment in game, not out of it." [6]
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 as well. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Yusuke Momochi, better known as Momochi, is a Japanese professional fighting game player, particularly of ones in the Street Fighter series by Capcom. Momochi won the Capcom Cup 2014 championship, as well as winning the EVO 2015 title for Ultra Street Fighter IV.
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.
Olivier Hay, also known as Luffy or Louffy, is a French professional fighting games player of Teochew descent who specializes in Street Fighter and King of Fighters.
Keita Ai, better known as Fuudo (ふ〜ど), is a Japanese electronic sports player specializing in the Street Fighter series. Fuudo entered the fighting game scene in 2005 playing Virtua Fighter 4. Fuudo has won various fighting game tournaments, including the World Cyber Games and Evolution Championship Series. Fuudo has been described by multiple journalists as the world's best R. Mika player.
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 1. Japanese players Fuudo and Yusuke Momochi faced off in the final round, with Momochi winning the tournament.
NorCal Regionals 2016 was a Street Fighter V tournament that took place in Sacramento, California on March 25–27. Being one of the eleven Premier Events of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the tournament automatically qualified for the Capcom Cup in December 2016. As the 14th NorCal Regionals event, NCR 2016 featured a "Pool of Death", where players registering "at the door" rather than in advance were punished by being placed in the same pool with one another. The Pool of Death was won by Vietnamese player Marn, who was knocked out of the Top 8 by Tokido. The tournament was won by Infiltration, who dominated the competition throughout the finals.
Capcom Cup 2016 was a Street Fighter V video game tournament that was held in December 2016. 32 players qualified for the tournament by winning one of the eleven Capcom Pro Tour Global Premier Events, Evo 2016, one of the four regional events, and/or by scoring high on the game's leaderboards. Street Fighter V was released shortly before the start of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour, replacing Ultra Street Fighter IV from the previous season.
The Japan Cup was a Street Fighter V tournament held at the 2016 Tokyo Game Show On September 17, 2016. As a Premier Event of the Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the event automatically qualified for the 2016 Capcom Cup. The tournament was won by GamerBee, who defeated Poongko in the finale.
The 2017 Capcom Pro Tour was the fourth edition of the Capcom Pro Tour, an annual season of Street Fighter V tournaments that are officially sponsored by Capcom. The 2017 Capcom Pro Tour followed several months after the "Season 2" update of Street Fighter V and started off with Final Round 20 on March 10. Much like the 2016 season, this season featured fifteen Premier Events, a few dozen smaller tournaments, several online tournaments, and the Evolution Championship. In these tournaments, competitors gained points needed to qualify for the 2017 Capcom Cup, which was held in December.
Final Round 20 or Final Round XX was a fighting game event that took place in Atlanta on March 10–12, 2017. Being the first of the eleven Street Fighter V Premier Events of the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the tournament automatically qualified for the Capcom Cup in December 2017. The event also hosted an Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament after the game was absent in 2016, and the first major For Honor tournament.
NorCal Regionals 2017 was a Street Fighter V tournament that took place in Sacramento, California on April 14-16. Being one of the eleven Premier Events of the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the tournament automatically qualified for the Capcom Cup in December 2017. This was the 15th NorCal Regionals event and the second to feature a "death pool" for competitors who failed to register ahead of time. The tournament was won by Victor "Punk" Woodley, who spent much of the final match taunting his opponent NuckleDu.
Victor Woodley, better known under the name Punk, is an American Street Fighter player.
Capcom Cup 2017 was a Street Fighter V video game tournament that was held in December 2017. 32 players qualified for the tournament by scoring high on the game's leaderboards during the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour. The tournament spanned three days during the PlayStation Experience weekend, and took place in the Anaheim Hilton Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center. The first day of the tournament featured a Last Chance qualifier, which was won by newcomer Naoki "Nemo" Nemoto. The finals were won by Dominican newcomer Saul Leonardo Mena "MenaRD" Segundo, who defeated Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi in the final match.
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.
Capcom Cup 2018 was a Street Fighter V tournament that was held in December 2018. 32 players qualified for the tournament by scoring high on the game's leaderboards during the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour. The tournament spanned three days from December 14–16, and took place in the Esports Arena in the Luxor Hotel & Casino. The first day of the tournament featured a Last Chance qualifier, which was won by newcomer ZJZ. The finals were won by newcomer Kanamori "Gachikun" Tsunehiro, who defeated Hiromiki "Itabashi Zangief" Kumada.