Author: Corey "Missing Person" Lanier

Jonny Lai “HumanBomb” Cheng emerged onto the scene like many others, a virtual unknown, but unlike many others he arrived with a bang. Holding dual citizenship with his native Hong Kong, he emerged out of Australia in 2012 to take 5^th at Evo 2012 with his precise Sakura play. Since then, his name has always been near the top of the tournament results whenever he makes it out, despite infrequent attendance. He also turned a lot of heads last year — as well as busted a lot of fantasy brackets — at Capcom Cup 2016 by defeating Infiltration in the very first match.

While at Evo 2017, we sat down with HumanBomb to discuss his success and the state of the scene in Hong Kong.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: HumanBomb, how was your Evo experience this year?

Jonny Lai “HumanBomb” Cheng: Last year I couldn’t break into top 32. However this year, I got 25^th.

Missing Person: So, obviously some improvement.

HumanBomb: And that was with Chun-Li getting nerfed this season. Somehow I managed to do better with a weaker character.

Missing Person: I remember seeing on your social media accounts how nervous you were at the beginning of the season seeing Chun-Li’s changes. How do you feel now?

HumanBomb: I still think Chun-Li is not that good. The way she plays in Season 2 is totally different. She lost a lot of things, including the safety on instant air Lightning Legs, and now her crouching jab is four frames instead of three. In Season 1, I started everything off of crouching jab. Now I have to use crouching short. It definitely handicapped her damage.

Missing Person: Did you have difficulty adjusting? I specifically remember playing you last year, and you were one of the best players in using her instant air Lightning Legs.

HumanBomb: At the beginning, everyone struggled, including me. I wasn’t too thrown off by the instant air legs, but the crouching jab really threw me. I had to adjust all my combos.

Missing Person: So let’s take a walk back through Street Fighter V. During Street Fighter Crash, you were the killer on the Southeast Team — a team with GamerBee and Poongko. They were both struggling, and you were crushing people. What was going through your mind?

HumanBomb: The first two weeks, I didn’t play well. But later, I started to get my footing. I think the best moment was playing against Team Razer. I was able to beat Fuudo and Infiltration twice, but I lost to only Xian.

Missing Person: I remember people being so shocked that you took out Infiltration there. The crowd reacted in absolute shock. What prepared you to play him?

HumanBomb: There was another Nash player in Hong Kong. We trained a lot together. We had played this matchup inside and out. Every time I went online, I always seemed to match up against him. Then we’d play casuals offline together as well. I had so much experience against Nash that I was well prepared for Infiltration.

Missing Person: I remember seeing how hard you fought to get into Capcom Cup. You were so close in the Asia Regional Finals. You got seventh, losing to Itabashi Zangief. Talk me through this match. What went wrong?

HumanBomb: This was heavily favored for Chun-Li in Season 1. However, you can’t discount a player like Itazan. His mindgames are so strong. He always makes smart decisions. I was leading 2-1. He came back to beat me 3-2, and even perfected me in the last game. It was similar to what he did against Moke in top 8.

Missing Person: But then fate threw you in Capcom Cup anyway. Due to a sequence of unfortunate events, two players dropped out, and you found yourself with a spot in the bracket.

HumanBomb: Yeah, Tse4 didn’t get his visa in time. Then CCL also dropped out. This allowed Yukadon in as well as me in the very last slot.

Missing Person: How did that feel? You deserved to be there, obviously, but at the same time, you got in on a technicality.

HumanBomb: Regardless, I felt happy. It’s the biggest tournament with the most prestige and the highest prize pool. What made me happiest was knowing my first match was Infiltration.

Missing Person: As soon as I saw the bracket, I expected you to win against him. UltraDavid initially called it an upset. Did you disagree with that?

HumanBomb: Honestly, so long as he picked Nash, I was confident against him. He had been using Balrog and Rashid at that time, so he could’ve used either of them to throw me off. But he stuck with Nash. It was still close. I beat him 3-2, and it went to the last round.

Missing Person: Let’s say hypothetically that he did switch to Balrog or Rashid on the final game, do you think it would have ended differently?

HumanBomb: He probably would have won. I didn’t have as much experience against them compared to Nash. I knew that match too well.

Missing Person: Recently you’ve stayed busy promoting the game in Hong Kong. Every time I look, I see you’re doing interviews on tvA.

HumanBomb: I’m also now helping organize monthly tournaments in Hong Kong.

Missing Person: How do you feel Hong Kong is doing in embracing and learning the game?

HumanBomb: We have a lot of good players, but we even received an influx of players in Season 2. In Hong Kong, the best player in Hong Kong was not me, but Tse4, a Balrog player. But after the patch, another player emerged that is doing better than us named HotDog44, and he uses M. Bison. He placed 48^th at Evo this year. We also have Chris Wong who is becoming well known, as well as a Laura player who beat Kindevu in pools.

Missing Person: That’s interesting, because while you’re saying Hong Kong’s scene is growing, other scenes have seen a decline. Why do you think Hong Kong is gravitating toward this game?

HumanBomb: Recently, more companies have been sponsoring events in Hong Kong. The government is interested in sponsorship. There’s also more money involved, so it attracts new players.

Missing Person: Do you feel like Hong Kong players have any difficulties they face in improving?

HumanBomb: There aren’t many tournaments, but the players that are playing seriously are getting dangerous.

Missing Person: Do you feel like the visa issues also are a hindrance?

HumanBomb: It’s actually better for us than the mainland Chinese players. The only reason Tse4 didn’t attend Capcom Cup last year was that he didn’t apply in time. But the turnaround time on visas to the United States from Hong Kong is much faster than in China, and less likely that a player will get rejected. Players like Xiaohai who constantly travel have a good track record of returning home, so it becomes much easier for them to get their visas as well in the mainland.

Missing Person: We also caught a glimpse into your personal life, as you now have a girlfriend. We saw her all weekend wearing a Chun-Li costume, cheering you on. Has she started playing the game since meeting you?

HumanBomb: I’ve taught her some, but she isn’t too serious yet. She’s considering learning more. We’re hoping she’ll enter Evo next year.

Missing Person: So if they’ve had a taste of HumanBomb…

Humanbomb: …wait till they get a load of Rose Ma. [laughs]

Missing Person: When we first heard of you, it was at Evo 2012, when you placed fifth with your impressive Sakrua. At that time, you were representing Australia, and you do have dual citizenship. How do you feel about the Australian scene, especially now? Do you feel like they’re strong, or are they behind the rest of the pack?

HumanBomb: I feel like they’re still fine. The problem in Australia is they can’t really connect to each other online. If you go coast-to-coast, the internet is too bad to have a serious match. It also makes it hard to connect to players outside of the country as well. In Hong Kong, I can play players from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore without problems.

Missing Person: So has the move from Australia back to Hong Kong helped your game?

HumanBomb: Yes, definitely.

Missing Person: So with your Australian ties, do you plan on attending OzHadou Nationals?

HumanBomb: I’m considering it. I honestly didn’t enter many tournaments prior to Evo. I only entered Battle Arena Melbourne 9 and Saigon Cup. After Evo, I might fly a bit more. There’s one in Hong Kong in August, and one in Taiwan in October.

Missing Person: Any chances of you coming back west for events, such as Canada Cup or SoCal Reigonals?

HumanBomb: I’m considering my chances in those events. As you know, it’s a huge investment to fly to the United States and Canada for events from Asia. So if you invest that money, you want to be able to win. There’s too many good players now.

Missing Person: You’re notorious for your Chun-Li in Street Fighter V. You were notorious for your Sakura in Street Fighter IV. Here’s the $100,000 question. If Capcom announced Sakura for Season 3, would you drop Chun-Li for her?

HumanBomb: I would definitely use Sakura. But I would also consider Chun-Li for a pocket character, in case she supplements some bad match-ups.

Missing Person: Are there any shout-outs that you’d like to give?

HumanBomb: Shout-outs to the Australian and Hong Kong scenes. And a special shout-out to my girlfriend, Chun-Li.

For many years, Chung-gon “Poongko” Lee has been a huge fan favorite in the FGC. Having already been a mainstay within the FGC in Korea for years, he rose to prominence after his mauling of Daigo Umehara at Evo 2011, and won the hearts of fans for his performance.

While he was unable to replicate his Evo 2011 performance this year, he still finished a respectable 25^th at this year’s Evo. While there, we sat down with him for an interview that provided a lot of insight into the mind of The Machine.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: Poongko, congratulations on making top 32 at Evo. How do you feel about your performance this year?

Chung-gon “Poongko” Lee: I’m not very happy about it. I feel like I could’ve made top 8 if I had just won my last match in winners bracket. I was sent into losers bracket by a relatively unknown player named MoJoe — an R. Mika player from the United States. Then I also lost to Sako in losers bracket. Honestly, top 8 was my goal, and I didn’t meet that this year.

Missing Person: The MoJoe match is an interesting one to touch on. He came out of nowhere to beat you, and I thought that to be a huge upset. Do you feel like the level of play in Street Fighter V is at where it’s difficult for anyone to make it through a bracket now?

Poongko: When you compare it to the Street Fighter IV series, I had been playing that for seven years. So when you think about it, Street Fighter V is still relatively new. I’ve only been playing it for a year and a half. On top of that, I recently switched my main from Cammy to Kolin. So to start with, there’s already unfamiliarity for me with it being a new game. Right now, there’s players that get this game easily, and people that don’t. For me, it’s taking longer to adjust, so I need a bit of luck to do well in this game right now. I’m not saying you need to be lucky to win in SFV, but I’m not at a point in my play where I can rely solely on my skill to win.

But just beyond the general understanding of the game, you have to factor in my character switch. She’s new and hasn’t been fully studied yet. So I’m still trying to bring Kolin to her full potential. That’s making my results a little more volatile.

Missing Person: You had solid results with Cammy. However, you quickly changed over to Kolin when she was released. What attracted you to her? Did you see something similar to the gamble-heavy characters you played in SFIV, such as Seth?

Poongko: I initially played Cammy in SFV because I had somewhat of a history with her at the end of the SFIV era. Plus, there was no Seth in SFV, so it felt like the easier fit for me. But the thing was, I was not achieving the results I wanted to with her. On top of that, it was a new game, so naturally there were changes to her in SFV. When I switched to Kolin, I realized there was some fun stuff I could do with her, and she was fun to play. It wasn’t so much that she was like Seth, but the tech I saw on Twitter of her looked really fun. Regardless, I’m still looking at all the DLC characters, because I’m still in a character crisis.

Missing Person: If Capcom were to have you choose a character for them to create, what would be the perfect character style for Poongko?

Poongko: Since the mechanics are so different, I can’t expect someone from Street Fighter IV to come out and wow me. I would love for a character to come that has a lot of options, similar to the amount of options Seth had. Kolin fulfills that in a large way, but not 100%. She can be offensive, but can play defensive with her counters. While she does sort of fit my style, if a character like Seth came out with a plethora of options came out, I would change to them.

Missing Person: I’ve noticed that you are notorious for playing marathon sets. When I was at ArcadeStream, I would see you there until 3:00 AM playing casuals. On top of that, even at the salty suites at Evo, I rarely saw you get off a station. Most people would be in a fog playing so long. What keeps you focused on learning things over a marathon set?

Poongko: I used to play like that as a kid. By now, I’m used to playing marathon sets. If I put a lot of hours into a game, I enjoy playing it. If I can’t do that, then it’s clear that I don’t. It kind of becomes a cycle. If I become good at a game, I enjoy it more. If I play longer, I become good at the game. If I enjoy a game, I’ll play longer.

Missing Person: You became really interested in Tekken 7 when Akuma was released, and also made several top 8s in the game. Do you remain active playing Tekken?

Poongko: I honestly feel like I got lucky in those tournaments. Akuma hadn’t been released in the west, so people didn’t know how to fight him. Around that time, I used to play Tekken in arcades when I had free time. Now that it’s out on consoles, I like to toy around in training practicing combos. I usually do about a half an hour of practice, and I don’t play online too much.

But honestly, I really enjoy collaboration games. I played Capcom vs. SNK 2 when it was big. I also really enjoyed Street Fighter X Tekken and played a lot of Tekken characters in it. So when Akuma came out in Tekken 7 it felt similar to me.

Missing Person: As you said, you played CvS2, and were notorious for that and The King of Fighters in Korea. However, no one’s ever really seen you play The King of Fighters XIV. Did the game not strike your fancy, and if so, why?

Poongko: I played it a little in the beginning. However, everyone was training hard for Street Fighter V. If I had to focus on KOFXIV, I would have lost a lot of focus on SFV. It was simply a matter of how much effort I can give to one game.

Missing Person: Last year, you were on Team Secret. However now, you’re a free agent, and were at Evo thanks to r/Kappa. Are you looking to travel more and try and get another sponsor?

Poongko: r/Kappa cannot replace a sponsor fully, as they only send me out when they have the funds and want to send me out. I am definitely looking for a team. My goal is to travel to more tournaments in Asia. I didn’t have the greatest results last year, and this year hasn’t been the best either. I have more to prove.

Missing Person: I want to touch back on something that happened six years ago. You went to Shadowloo Showdown in Australia and beat Momochi. Then you came back to Korea to play in a Spirit Zero tournament, then faced Tokido in an exhibition at that event, whom you also beat. Then at Evo 2011, you faced Daigo in a memorable match. What was going through your mind during this sequence of events that found you destroying these Japanese killers?

Poongko: Did I face Tokido that year? I forgot.

Missing Person: You did, I was there. It was after you beat Infiltration in the Korean tournament before Evo.

Poongko: Oh yes, now I remember! When I went to Australia, I had chosen Seth because I had this feeling that the character had potential. That tournament was a chance for me to test it out in a major. I wasn’t confident at all. I was honestly pretty nervous. But as I went through the bracket, I started to relax and focus better. Once I started doing well, I realized I was right, that this character is good.

At Evo when I reached top 8, I had a runback with Daigo. He had beaten me at the GameStop exhibition in 2009. I realized I was playing against a legend at the top of his game. He had an overpowered character in Yun. I went to the bathroom and had an anxiety attack. It felt like I was dying! I felt like the only way I could overcome the anxiety was to overcompensate for it on stage. So I threw my belt and badge off, and chugged the Red Bull before I sat down to play. That showmanship helped me fight my anxiety. It worked out for me, obviously.

Missing Person: You talked about anxiety and nervousness. Does that still happen to you? If so, how do you deal with it now?

Poongko: In Street Fighter V, you have a lot of the old guard mixed with a lot of the new blood. The playerbase in these tournaments is huge now. Because of that, I do still get nervous. It’s not to the point where I have to overcompensate by being showy.

Honestly, the nerves never really go away for me. In order to combat that, I try to play a lot. I want to get the techniques so embedded into my muscle memory that it’s like breathing. You still breathe when you’re nervous, and you do it without thinking. I want it so that even if my mind messes with me in a match, my body will know what to do in a certain situation.

Missing Person: So “The Machine” is actually really fitting for you?

Poongko: That’s the way I want it to be.

Special thanks to Gerald “mintcheerios” Lee of Core-A Gaming for translation.

If you were to have a favorite in any event at Evo, Tekken 7 was likely the one. And without fail, the clear favorite over the field — Echo Fox’s Hyun-jin “JDCR” Kim — proved to be dominant with his Heihachi and Dragunov play, besting the likes of former Evo champions Saint and Nobi on his way to his Evo 2017 championship.

After the tournament, I sat down with JDCR to talk about his road to the championship.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: Congratulations, JDCR, on your win at Evolution 2017. How does it feel to win on that big stage at Mandalay Bay?

Hyun-jin “JDCR” Kim: I still can’t believe that I won. I made the top 8 on day 1, and I was really happy. Today, I honestly have no idea what to say. I think that I could die.

Missing Person: Did you feel any nerves on stage?

JDCR: I think I was a bit nervous. As you know, Evo is the biggest tournament on the circuit. Plus, you could probably tell that during my first match in top 8 against Jeondding, we were both nervous. We both made a few mistakes.

Missing Person: So do you have a lot of experience against Jeondding?

JDCR: Yes, we practice together quite a bit.

Missing Person: So were you thrown off at all when he used Eddy instead of Lucky Chloe?

JDCR: Eddy definitely has an advantage on Heihachi, so that’s why I struggled at first.

Missing Person: Does it throw you off any when having to play console-only characters, when you have so much experience against the arcade characters?

JDCR: Not really, but out of the console-only characters, I feel like Eddy is the best.

Missing Person: Do you still mostly play in the arcades?

JDCR: Not anymore. I mostly play on console.

Missing Person: So, do you have a lot of experience against the console characters now?

JDCR: Not too much, but I’ve particularly had very little experience against Eliza. She was a pre-order only character, and no one uses her in Korea.

Missing Person: So outside of Saint, who you always tend to go back and forth with, who would you view as the biggest threat to winning this tournament?

JDCR: Today it was Jeondding. Neither one of us warmed up before we played. We actually both played very uncharacteristic for us against each other today.

Missing Person: There were some technical issues reported in other games on PS4 at Evo this year. Did you experience any of this in Tekken?

JDCR: Not really, the only thing that threw me off was the lag that was in the current build of Tekken for consoles. Those frames of lag really matter a lot competitively. I have to say that this is something I don’t like about Tekken on consoles.

Missing Person: Thankfully that will get fixed soon. But also, they will be releasing the console characters in the arcades. Does this mean you’ll be travelling back to Green Arcade for practice any time soon?

JDCR: I don’t think so. People always play at home. Nobody wants to pay each time they lose at an arcade. People just wake up, turn on the PS4, and poof, they’re playing.

Missing Person: So you do you think the arcade culture in Korea is dying out?

JDCR: I’m sure it is.

Missing Person: Even in the world-famous Green Arcade?

JDCR: Yeah.

Missing Person: So in Echo Fox, you have one of the best owners imaginable in Rick Fox. Is he very hands-on as a team owner, giving you guys pointers from an athlete’s perspective?

JDCR: To tell the truth, I’ve only met Rick Fox once. Actually, while everyone else was at Foxcon, Saint and I were in the Philippines for a tournament. It was part of the Tekken Pro Tour, so we had to miss Foxcon. But I always talk with the players, and the team staff is very supportive of us and help us out a lot. I want to say how much I love them and how proud I am of being on this team.

Missing Person: So do you feel like Echo Fox is becoming a family now?

JDCR: Yes, of course.

Missing Person: So I guess it goes without saying when Street Fighter V finals happen, we know who you’re cheering for.

JDCR: Definitely Tokido. I’ll be back in the floor seating because I have to watch him.

Missing Person: Speaking about the Philippines, you had to play Knee for the title. How do you feel about his play in Tekken 7?

JDCR: His play is really solid.

Missing Person: So on day 1, who was your biggest challenge?

JDCR: I believe it was Nobi. I knew that I would have to play him on Friday, so I was thinking about him all day. But the thing is, I know the match-up well, so I wasn’t too worried.

Missing Person: One thing that was apparent during top 8 for me was that there are major differences between Korean and Japanese styles of play in Tekken. What would you view as the key differences between the two styles?

JDCR: Koreans are more apt to use more movement and use the entire screen and space. Japanese tend to like to be closer to neutral space all the time and just push buttons. So let’s say there’s a mix-up. In that situation, Koreans are more apt to use movement to get out of it. Japanese will try to push buttons to counter it.

Missing Person: And how do you view the American style of play?

JDCR: Americans play very similar to the Japanese.

Missing Person: I know at Evo that to get out of pools, you have to play a lot of unknown players. Some of these guys are really new to the game. Recently, you had an interview with Gerald Lee from Core-A Gaming where you discussed what new players should learn about the game. But seeing some of the newer players here, what do you think are some of the biggest mistakes they are making?

JDCR: I feel like most of them are coming from 2D fighters. They forget that Tekken is a 3D fighter. This makes a huge difference. In 2D fighters, you only have to worry about your movement being forwards, backwards, and jumping. Plus your attacks only range from high, mid, and low. In Tekken there’s far more dynamics. So now you have to worry about sidestepping in your movement, and also using sweeping and tracking moves to counter sidestepping.

Missing Person: Another I personally noticed was new players tend to not understand how to wake up from being knocked down. Is there any advice you can give them on reading how to wake up?

JDCR: For new players, I think you should start by just simply back rolling on wake up. It’s the safest option, and gets you out of most pressure that will happen if you just quick rise or even side roll. Until you fully understand the system, you should choose the safest option.

Missing Person: Do you feel like new players have difficulty playing the wall in Tekken?

JDCR: That may be the most similar thing to Street Fighter though. But the thing is with Tekken, you have to be able to see which axis the wall is on, and when you are going to hit it to optimize your combos for it. Even for me, this is very difficult, so for new players, I wouldn’t worry too much about the wall.

Missing Person: So having played Tekken for over a decade, which Tekken would you call your favorite?

JDCR: My favorite game was Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. However now, I feel like Tekken 7: Fated Retribution is the best Tekken. This game is so balanced. There are far more situations to experience than in other versions of Tekken. The characters have more moves, and I feel like every time I play I find something new. In Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2, I felt like movement was most important. In this game, you have to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire engine to be good at it.

Missing Person: So movement takes less emphasis in this game as opposed to 6?

JDCR: I mean, movement is still important. In Tekken 6, we could just mindlessly move, and that allowed us to play it safe. But in Tekken 7, you have to know the situations where you should move. That’s actually why I like Tekken 7.

Missing Person: So with Tekken 7, do you feel like Rage Drives and Rage Arts were a good inclusion to the mechanics?

JDCR: Very good.

Missing Person: I don’t know about in Asia, but when they were first announced in the west, there were a lot of fear that this would be a bad comeback mechanic, where people were already complaining about it in Street Fighter IV with Ultra Combos.

JDCR: To tell the truth, I don’t like seeing new systems in any game. I was worried that maybe they would be overpowered at first. But regardless, winners still win. Losers still lose. Also, they look so cool!

Missing Person: So where can we see you next?

JDCR: I’m hoping to attend all the Pro Tour events for Tekken, so if there’s one that you’re attending, look for me there.

Missing Person: Definitely looking to build up those points, right?

JDCR: Actually I’m already qualified due to this win. But of course, I always want to play more and learn more.

Missing Person: So basically it’s part experience, and part making people prove they’re ready to face you in Japan?

JDCR: [laughs] Yeah, kind of.

Special thanks to Kevin “BurnoutFighter” Kim for being on standby for translation, despite JDCR’s strong English skills.

[Featured image courtesy of Shane Shrestha.]

It seems like every time Shoryuken bumps into Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi, he wins. In 2016, we sat down with him in Seoul, South Korea to discuss his victory alongside Mago and Momochi at Street Fighter Crash. Fast forward one year, and the Murderface has dominated his way to an Evo title in Street Fighter V, capturing his first Evo title in ten years over Victor “Punk” Woodley, who had previously shown himself absolutely dominant in nearly every event he entered.

After the confetti fell and while the stage was being torn down, we sat down alongside Amanda Stevens of SageGnosis.com and Cameron Gilbert of GameSpark.jp in a round table interview to discuss Tokido’s huge win at Evo 2017.

Amanda Stevens [SageGnosis]: You have stayed very competitive for a long time. What is it about yourself that allows you to stay at the highest level?

Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi: That’s a hard question. Recently the level of play has become increasingly higher. Previously, I could just practice in training mode then play in tournaments. This way made it easy to get to top 8. Nowadays, it’s not enough. Everyone wants to be on top. For me, gaming is just special. I spent so much time in my boyhood playing.

I’ve had to practice a lot lately, but in a new way. I don’t just think about execution and setups anymore, but mind games. Not only just mind games, but my own mental fortitude needed shaping. I’ve also played a lot more to desensitize myself to tournament nerves, so that I treat every match like casuals. Also, since tournaments tend to be a long grind, I have had to work on my own physical endurance so that I won’t tire out late in the day. I’ve had to try a lot of new things lately, so that is probably why I remain at the highest levels.

Corey “Missing Person” Lanier: One of the things you said on stage with Gootecks after you won was that you learned how to control your opponents. So I want to go back to grand finals with Punk. Before the reset, you gave up one round in game one, then took that game. Then in game two, you dropped the entire game. The rest of the set, and even past the reset, you looked completely in control. Were those rounds and games you dropped a part of establishing control, and seeing what Punk was capable of?

Tokido: Yes, at first we had played a lot of casuals. I knew his strategy, and I’m pretty sure he knew mine as well. Usually we have great sets together, and I feel like the Akuma/Karin matchup is rather even. So with Punk, usually we are just trading rounds. But today, I felt as though he was nervous or something. Until Evo, he was winning a lot. He had never really been in a pinch. I felt like this time, he felt like he was in a big pinch.

So when I was playing him, because of this, he was playing far more defensive than he usually does and was making way more mistakes than usual. I can tell this because I have a lot of tournament experience. From there, I was able to control him easily.

Cameron Gilbert [GameSpark]: In Season 1, you weren’t able to play your trademark character of Akuma, but in Season 2, he came out. Now that you’ve won Evo with him, how do you feel about the character as opposed to previous versions of the character?

Tokido: Before Season 2 released, they had announced the character and I immediately said I’d switch over. I didn’t care about tiers. In Season 1, I picked Ryu in lieu of Akuma, but if Akuma would come I would change my character. At first, it was very difficult for me, because Ryu was very strong in Season 1. He was actually better than Akuma. But now, I can honestly sit here and thank Capcom for Akuma. Akuma is definitely the best character for me.

For ordinary people, maybe Balrog and Ibuki are best. But tier lists aren’t based solely on ease of use, but potential. Akuma is a very difficult character, but I feel as though he has the highest potential. But I’m certain that Akuma fits me perfectly, and I was able to show that at Evo.

Stevens: You are on one of the premier fighting game teams [Echo Fox]. For instance, you have Justin Wong, JDCR, Momochi, Julio Fuentes, and others to bounce off of. Compared to other times in your career, do you feel like this the best time for you as a fighting game player?

Tokido: The week before Foxcon, I stayed with Justin in San Jose. There are so many good players there. Punk was also staying there. I practiced with a lot of good players that week. Without Justin, this wasn’t possible. It’s a very good team.

Missing Person: The last time I talked to you, we were in Korea and you were a free agent. Today, you have Echo Fox and an Evo title. How much can you attribute this win to your team, compared to when you were having to self-support yourself to go to events?

Tokido: I’m very happy to win this tournament for Echo Fox. I think in fighting games, winning is most important. However, I feel like I also have other things to show. I succeeded in both at Evo. I won and showed what I wanted to in fighting games. I hope this is a big contribution to the scene.

Gilbert: [in Japanese] In Japan, fighting games are considered old man’s games, making it harder for younger players to come in and pick up the genre. In Japan, BlazBlue is really the only fighting game that gathers a young audience. Given that fighting games are so important in your life, how do you help young people understand what is so great about fighting games?

Tokido: [in Japanese] One of the ways we can open up the appeal of these games to younger players is to have great events like Evo, with big prizes to show that you can make a living off of playing these games. Making that happen is up to the event organizers. Hopefully, the young players will come in and have really fast reactions and energy. As they keep winning, they’ll run into these old school players, who will beat them down. When they do lose, they’ll realize that there’s all this money involved, but there’s a lot more to this. So the older players will provide that experience for the new players and help them grow.

[in English] It’s very difficult to learn from winning. When you lose, you have to struggle and think a lot. This isn’t just important in fighting games, but in society and in life.

Missing Person: In Evo 2013, you got second to Xian, and you hadn’t won an event at Evo since 2007. To be fair, you were also playing multiple titles at the same time and constantly getting top 8 in multiple events in one year. Now, you are clearly focused solely on Street Fighter V. How much can you attribute stepping back from all these games to this win?

Tokido: Because of that, I can practice a lot and think a lot. I was always searching for something to win. Actually, the old school players taught me a lot about what I should do. It’s a little complicated, so it’s hard to put it into few words. I was able to learn from older players about how to deal with various situations. Actually, because this is a Street Fighter title, I was able to take a lot from Super Street Fighter II Turbo players and apply what they gave me here.

Missing Person: So your conditioning strategy worked very well in the top 8 of Evo. Now, what happens if you were in a team tournament? Like go back to Street Fighter Crash, where you, Mago, and Momochi had one game each. How do you adjust yourself to that?

Tokido: It’s almost the same for me. However, due to it only being one match, I have to decide more about what I want to do over how to control my opponent. It becomes a different dynamic. You don’t fully know your opponent in one match, but you know your teammates. So I can give advice to them, and they can also do the same to me. It’s much more relaxed. In team tournaments, you train in a different way than if it were singles.

Missing Person: With Street Fighter V, the game has become global, and it’s much more difficult for any country to truly dominate the game. I heard that there will be a Korea vs. China 5-on-5 exhibition at a salty suite after Evo. Who do you think would win, and if Japan was represented, do you think they would win?

Tokido: At the highest levels, I think Japan is the best.

Missing Person: So do you think you could take a team in to best them?

Tokido: I think so, but it would depend on the opponents. Who are they?

Missing Person: Xiao Hai is leading the Chinese team, and Verloren and XYZZY are leading the Korean team.

Tokido: And it’s tonight?

Missing Person: Yes.

Tokido: It would depend on how tired I am after I eat. If I don’t sleep. In normal conditions, I believe Japan would win. But with it being night, everyone is probably tired. Still, I think Japan would win. We have Daigo, Fuudo, Nemo, and Bonchan. They have different philosophies in fighting games.

[While the exhibition was scheduled, the plan ultimately fell through when Xiao Hai couldn’t find enough Chinese players willing to play.]

Missing Person: You obviously don’t have to worry about Capcom Cup points. It’s a long way away, but are you thinking about Capcom Cup at all yet?

Tokido: You’re right, I still have five months left. I’ll still be playing and practicing. I need to seek out more, not only about playing the game, but generally about how to prepare. It will take some time as well as trial and error.

Missing Person: I saw your sister and brother-in-law on the floor congratulating you after your win. Is this the first time you’ve had family at any of your events?

Tokido: No, they’re here every year. They live in Las Vegas.

Missing Person: No kidding! So do you stay with them while you’re here?

Tokido: Actually, I don’t. I prefer to stay at the hotel.

Missing Person: How amazing was it for you to win in front of your family?

Tokido: Actually last year, we watched top 8 together in the audience. I was able to tell them things like, “Infiltration is a really good player from Korea,” as well as general information about fighting games. But this year, it was me on stage. I was able to perform for them. It was an amazing feeling.

[Feature image courtesy of Shane Shrestha]