Evo 2017’s top 8 featured an intriguing power struggle between Japan and USA, showcasing character diversity and gameplay at Street Fighter V’s highest level. Long-time Street Fighter veteran ECHO FOX|Tokido headlined the five players from Japan, including GGP|Kazunoko, first-time finalists Moke and DTN|Itabashi Zangief, and the only returning player from Evo 2016’s finals, GRPT|MOV.
America’s hopes for its first Evo Street Fighter V championship rested on the shoulders of first-time Street Fighter finalist and former Marvel champion SPLYCE|Filipino Champ, Capcom Cup 2016 champion Liquid|NuckleDu, and the most dominating player in Street Fighter V in 2017, PG|Punk.
Nine different characters were used in top 8 -- Dhalsim, Chun-Li, Guile, Rashid, Zangief, Cammy, Karin, Nash, and Akuma. The players got to show off some ingenious technology with their respective characters in the highly entertaining finals. Some of the highlights of the finals were ECHO FOX|Tokido versus SPLYCE|Filipino Champ and DTN|Itabashi Zangief and Moke in nail-biting sets as they played for their tournament lives in the losers bracket.
Meanwhile, PG|Punk steamrolled his way into grand finals without losing a single game all through Evo 2017. He even put ECHO FOX|Tokido into the losers bracket shortly before top 8. If anyone could have led USA to the Evo championship promise land it would have been PG|Punk. Unfortunately, he ran into a raging demon.
ECHO FOX|Tokido has been competing and making top 8s at Evo for years, long before EVO was ever on television. He won Capcom vs. SNK 2 in 2002 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo in 2007. He had never won an Evo championship in Street Fighter III or Street Fighter IV. That would change as ECHO FOX|Tokido clawed his way into grand finals through the losers bracket. There he dominated PG|Punk like no one else has this year, winning two sets by a combined record of 6-1, capturing his first Street Fighter V championship at Evo.
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