Celebrity Gaming News! Lupe Fiasco versus Daigo Umehara in Street Fighter V
In a bizarre series of events, Lupe Fiasco found himself in an exhibition match against the greatest Street Fighter player of all time, Daigo Umehara. While Lupe Fiasco is a well-recognized rapper, Daigo's fame may not be as apparent. The viral "EVO Moment #37" video where he performs the "Daigo Parry" has accumulated millions of views on youtube. In a nail-biting, Street Fighter: 3rd Strike match against Justin Wong, with only one pixel of health, the perfectly executed "Daigo Parry" protected Daigo's Ken from Justin's Chun-Li attacks. The parry meant Daigo's Ken would be spared any damage to his one pixel of health, and let Daigo counter with a super that ultimately destroyed his opponent. EVO Moment #37 is largely regarded as the most hype comeback in fighting game history, and solidified Daigo as "The Beast" of the genre.
Click to viewThat was in 2004, but twelve years later, Daigo Umehara is still racking up championship titles and tournament victories in various fighting game titles. Daigo is considered a celebrity in Japan, even having his own biographical manga series and a best-selling book. Today, Daigo was flown out to San Francisco so he could play against his newest challenger, Lupe Fiasco. But why Lupe Fiasco?
Lupe Fiasco has been a Street Fighter fan since childhood, and still plays Street Fighter 2 to this day. He fondly looks back on the numerous games played at local laundry mats and liquor stores while growing up, having many wins among his peers. A few weeks ago, Lupe was tweeting about one of his recent victories in Street Fighter 2. This caught the eye of several members of the Fighting Game Community (FGC), and after some back-and-forth tweets, he was asked if he'd like to play against Daigo "The Beast" Umehara. Instead of Street Fighter 2 being the game of choice, the newly released Street Fighter V would be their battleground. Lupe realized this was a rare opportunity-- it's a common dream within the FGC to become skilled enough to go up against Daigo in tournaments. Lupe accepted, saying it would be an honor to lose to Daigo-san.
Lupe took to training immediately-- watching videos of professional players, receiving advice from established pros, and practicing inputs repetitively, all while on tour. Unfamiliar with newer titles, it was impressive how quickly Lupe had adapted to playing on console instead of an arcade cabinet, even saying he had a 40-0 victory during one day of practice. With Street Fighter V officially being released tonight, both Daigo Umehara and Lupe Fiasco had no formal training with the new game. The two challengers had only a couple of hours to prepare for the current game mechanics. In an interview before the match, Lupe Fiasco said he'd be lucky to get a round off of Daigo, but he is just happy that on the day before his birthday, and after completing his tour, he is able to play against the best Street Fighter player in the world. All the trash talk, encouragement, and even death threats he's received on twitter were fuel to his training process.
!!!! It would be an honor to lose to Daigo-San... https://t.co/GLrSl3wxcd
- Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco) January 27, 2016
It appears that Lupe's practice had paid off-- in a first to three match, Daigo and Lupe went to the very final round. While thousands watched on Twitch, a live streaming site for gaming, Lupe slayed The Beast with fiery shoryukens and throws while using his favorite character, Ken. Unsure if it was a best of five or a first to five match, the reality of Lupe's victory took time to sink in for all of the venue at San Francisco's Folsom Street Foundry. Lupe and the crowd were bursting with emotion once it was declared he had defeated a Street Fighter legend. Post-victory, Lupe graciously gave Daigo a prized, custom jacket worn to the event, showing his respect and appreciation. You can watch the entire match to see Lupe's Ken style on Daigo's Ryu:
Gameplay begins at 4:04
Unfortunately, we will never see Lupe defend his new title as the champion of Street Fighter V. Lupe Fiasco said he's now officially retired from competitive Street Fighter, perhaps making it the most successful and short-lived competitive career in FGC history.
The exhibition match shows much promise for the future of fighting games and the competitive scene that revolves around them. Street Fighter V is out now, and there will certainly be more upsets to come in the global, Capcom Pro Tour which begins later this month at Cannes Winter Clash. CAPCOM announced $500,000 in prize amounts for the full tour and also celebrates the competitive players in their recent SFV commercial. Will fighting games finally rise to eSports level? The Lupe vs. Daigo event may very well be the catalyst.
Source: Mostly my love for Street Fighter. Lupe's Twitter, Twitch, Youtube.