Oops, He Did It Again! MCZ Daigo Umehara vs. EG Justin Wong at #37 Reloaded
Welcome back world warriors! It’s been a long Thanksgiving break and I have learned that the best moment in Street Fighter history has been reloaded!
It was ten years ago at EVO, the world championships of fighting games, where MCZ Daigo “The Beast” Umehara squared off against Evil Genius (EG) Justin Wong in Street Fighter III: Third Strike loser’s bracket finals.
The tension in the air could be felt by the entire crowd and many were wondering if Justin could beat the Japanese juggernaut.
Umehara chose Ken (who during this version of Third Strike was an offensive type fighter) while JWong chose Chun-Li, a more defensive or “turtle style” character.
The stage was set and what happened on that fateful day is now one of the most epic comebacks in EVO history.
Here, The Beast ended up winning and going on to the Grand finals of EVO 2004 where he eventually lost.
Flash forward to last weekend at Super Arcade in California where an exhibition between the two old rivals was to take place again. The time was ripe for another legendary rematch between two of the greatest world warriors that have ever played the game.
Would The Beast be able to pull off his incredible magic once again? Or would Justin Wong’s patience and counter style finally get the win he so deserved 10 years ago?
The players once again chose their warriors and the fighting stage was agreed upon. The crowd stood silent as the match began. Umehara started out the aggressor as he did before, winning the first round.
However, things seemed to change when Justin began his comeback and the ring rust began to show around The Beast. Still, many were waiting for a miracle to happen once again. What happened next was nothing short of:
At the end of the video, Umehara was able to relaunch the full parry once again on the Chun Li super move, however this time the outcome was different. Justin Wong must have learned from his mistakes from 10 years ago and was able to defeat Umehara in their much anticipated rematch. While many say that this reversal was caused by Umehara no longer familiar with Third Strike any more, I prefer to think it’s because lighting just doesn’t strike in the same place twice.
So what does this mean for Umehara and Justin Wong? Both are still strong competitors in the Ultra Street Fighter 4 community. Umehara is actually in the top 10 players in Japan right now and Justin Wong will be playing in the upcoming Capcom Cup. There is still plenty of room for these two world warriors to cross paths once again.
Well that’s it for me this week world warriors, next week we’ll return to our regular scheduled program. Always remember: Handsome Fighters Never Lose a battle!
Keep hitting them buttons!
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
