I would like to think that Daigo Umehara is a name that needs no introduction, but in order to be thorough, Daigo is a professional fighting game player. One of the pioneers in this particular career, entering tournaments at the age of 14 and winning his first at 16 years old, the GAMEST national Vampire Savior tournament in 1997. Although maybe he is more known for the legendary Evo Moment #37, a clip that cemented his nickname of “The Beast”.
There is plenty that could be said about his legacy. From getting a 286 win streak in Vampire Hunter at the age of 13, a streak broken only by Akihabara Sega Game Center closing for the day, all the way to winning 6 international EVO championships. Even if he’s not the player who won the most throughout his career, he is one of the best to ever don the mantle of a professional video game competitor.
One of the defining aspects of his legacy was being the only player to be truly unbeatable in long sets. The Fighting Game Community calls these sets “FT10”, the First To win 10 matches. Tournaments are usually FT2 or FT3. Exhibition tournaments like Red Bull Kumite or the Esports World Cup are FT5. The FT10 format is reserved for head-to-heads, meant to truly pit two players’ skills against one another in a definitive result.
Daigo defeated Justin Wong in the 2009 Season Beatings exhibition with a 10-2 record. Defeated Xian in 2013 at a PAX Prime show match with an astounding 10-0 score. Defeated Infiltration, also in 2013, a 10-2 victory. Defeated Tokido in 2018 with a convincing 10-5. And not too long ago, in 2020, won against Gachikun during Topanga Concept, also with a 10-5 record.
All of these sets happened as Daigo’s opponents were on a hot streak, all vying to be the one to finally “slay the Beast,” as it were. With that context in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that the only two-time Capcom Cup winner and current dominating player in the Street Fighter scene, Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II, also wanted his turn against the Beast.
It was early last year when Mena published his public challenge to Daigo. Even back then, discussions had already begun. People weren’t as excited as you’d imagine. As competent a player as Daigo is, he wasn’t doing too well in the latest Street Fighter title. The FGC, by and large, considered him to be a relic, something of a morale booster for the scene, but not an actual threat in tournaments.
As harsh as it might sound, even Daigo himself admitted to not taking competition that seriously and that he’d like to focus more on training and less on streaming. Eventually, the stage was set for these two players to face each other on April 29th, a few days before the biggest fighting game tournament of all time.
Leading up to the exhibition, Daigo’s team, REJECT, released an interview picking the Beast’s brain about how he felt about the challenge. And this interview took the FGC by storm. For someone known as the “sleepy uncle” of the FGC, it’s easy to forget that Daigo truly understands what it means to be a professional player. And his perspective on things is as dramatic as the title of the video: “To live is to game”.
“ I know it doesn’t really fit with the times, but… These are games. We wouldn’t be playing them if we didn’t like them. In fact, we weren’t even supposed to be playing them if we did like them. If you’re playing games even though your parents and teachers get mad and your friends put you down, then obviously you really like them. There’s no question there. So when someone comes along saying, “I think I’m better than you in that thing you like. Let’s find out,” who in the world would be like “I’ll pass”? Of course you’re gonna do it! If you run away from a challenge in the thing you’ve sacrificed your whole life for, you’re no longer human.”
I don’t think anyone would’ve thought any less of Daigo if he had refused the challenge. In fact, many people were so invested in the legend of an unbeatable player in a long set format that they would instead prefer it. It was this very mentality that The Beast despised. “It’s only natural that whatever you gain by winning, you lose by losing.”
For a moment, Daigo even seemed to acknowledge his current status as the “FGC’s sleepy uncle” by saying that the high risk of putting his legacy on the line is giving him the feeling of waking up. One thing was clear: he wasn’t going into this match as an obligation, and he would give it his all. Even prior to the match, he says to his opponent, “I’m turning 45 next month, but today I’m at my peak. If you can beat me (Mena), you can be proud.”
After all this has been said and done, people weren’t going into this match expecting the public execution of a once-revered player. One particular line in his interview that made the rounds was when he talked about resisting the idea of the “impossible”. “If Santa doesn’t exist, then I’ll be Santa.” And so, by the time the match started, people were once again believing in Santa.
Reality sometimes isn’t stranger than fiction, though, unsurprisingly, Daigo did lose to MenaRD in a tense 6-10. History remembers the numbers and the winners, but what we’ve seen in the match wasn’t what everyone has been expecting. Daigo may not have been at his true peak of all time, but he definitely was at his peak then.
There is too much to be discussed about the event. Given the sudden surge of popularity the genre is experiencing, I’m sure that we’ll have plenty of in-depth analysis and postmortems on the match. Daigo used an unorthodox playstyle that relied heavily on poking with fireballs. This was thought to be useless in Street Fighter 6 meta, but somehow he made it work and cornered Mena more than once with it.
Outside of the match itself, there’s also a lot to be said. The Japanese audience isn’t too happy with how EVO handled the event. On top of the “EVO legends” title, it also used Daigo’s brand of “Kemonomichi” (獣道), and the latter has cultural implications for the Japanese FGC. This event, translated into “The Path of the Beast”, carries the connotation of a duel to the death. It’s not an eSports event, it’s a grudge match where two players put their ego and their legacy on the line.
For my part, however, I’m interested in understanding what this match really meant. Because you see, had Daigo won, you likely wouldn’t be reading this because the story had just written itself. There’s little to take away from a legend still remaining undefeated; it’s a pleasant and straightforward fiction. But what do we take away when the situation plays out exactly as expected?
MenaRD didn’t hold any punches. He was as sharp in this match as he was in the two previous EVO Japan tournaments (of which he won back-to-back). In a way, he has shown great respect for The Beast’s legacy by fully utilizing the three months of preparation to deliver his best performance.
One could even argue that the Mena who showed up for that match could’ve also beaten Daigo at his true prime. At the very least, every reasonable person who has followed the FGC for decades would say the result would be a complete toss-up. MenaRD has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he’s a worthy opponent for this challenge.
Meanwhile, Daigo went on stream to talk about the event. He said that he promised himself that he would retire if he lost to Mena. That’s the stakes he set for himself and the motivation behind giving his all one last time. On the ride back home, his friend Eita begged him not to. He shut down the conversation and remained resolute in his decision.
Only after getting home and truly thinking back did he reevaluate his decision. Per his own admission, he hasn’t felt the motivation to improve ever since Street Fighter 6 came out. It was only after being challenged and facing a wave of negativity that he felt the desire to prove everyone wrong. Could he tap into this feeling again? After all, it’s this fire that made him The Beast, not his trophies.
To compete is to achieve, obviously, but it’s not a solely metric-focused endeavor. At the end of the day, results are only numbers. They can’t convey the human element of focusing one’s entire self on a journey to be the best at something. The achievements matter, but they aren’t the soul of a competitor.
More important than the victories is believing that you have what it takes to be a champion. MenaRD is now walking the path of The Beast, while The Beast is still making inroads of his own.
“I want to try my best again. It was so fun. Those 3 months were the best.
Thank you, Mena.”
