Evo 2019 has been an interesting one to say the least. With 9 games and more participants than ever before, it was a weekend where anything could happen and often did. Many moments were made even before Sunday Finals, including another electric chapter in the rivalry of Dominique “Sonic Fox” McLean and Goichi "GO1" Kishida and SF’s continued dominance over NetherRealm Studios titles at Evo.
GO1 Defeats Sonic Fox In Emotional Dragon Ball FighterZ Victory
At this point, the rivalry between Sonic Fox and GO1 might be one of the most electric in all of the FGC. These are two world-class competitors that take victories off of each other, learn from them, and bounce back even stronger, always testing the limits of each other. Last year it was Sonic Fox’s time to shine during the Dragon Ball FighterZ Evo Grand Finals. This year, it was GO1’s turn, but it was not one given up easy. SF came into this having prepped specifically for GO1. Goichi was able to shove SF down into Losers, but the furry champ came right back up to meet him in the Grand Finals.
The Finals was an intense bout as well. Sonic Fox is a master of adaptation and it almost scored him a back-to-back championship in DBFZ, but GO1 managed to find a final hole in SF’s armor and deliver the killing blow in a 3-2 victory. It was a moment that saw Goichi break down in joyous tears as Sonic Fox happily lifted his opponent’s hand in victory. As these two continue to put on clinics in the game, the sportsmanship and respect between them continues to be beautiful and push them to higher heights. We can’t wait to see their next bout and find out how they change it up yet again. Be sure to watch the entirety of the Evo 2019 DBFZ Grand Finals. It’s a great set all-around.
Sonic Fox Remains Mortal Kombat 11 Champion At Evo 2019
Sonic Fox has been on a tear in Mortal Kombat 11 this year. At CEO 2019, he signed a check with prominent victory over Ryan “Dragon” Walker in a tough showdown. Dragon had a chance to make his revenge story at Evo 2019, but Sonic Fox wasn’t going to go down. Dragon’s Cetrion didn’t go down easy either, but if anything, Sonic Fox showed he’s learned even more about how to counter Dragon than he knew at CEO. For those who did not see the CEO finals, SF lost a set to Dragon and then came back in Losers to put on an impressive run to the championship.
At Evo 2019, it was a far more definitive match. Dragon was able to take rounds off Sonic, and took him down to the wire on multiple occasions, but never quite put Echo Fox’s champion away to capture a set. It was always a small combo slipped in, a Krushing Blow, or other things that were enough to close out the small bits of health Dragon was often left with in their clashes. Dragon is so close to what he needs to do to put Sonic Fox away in one of their meeting, but for Evo 2019, the spotlight belonged to Sonic Fox. Don’t miss the full MK11 Grand Finals match-up.
Evo 2019 Day 2's Honorables
There have been other great moments on Day 2 of Evo 2019 as well. Justin Wong actually pulled himself out of his Street Fighter V run to focus on the Samurai Shodown top 8 at Evo. Although he was cut short by Lee “Infiltration” Seon-woo and Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue, the entire Top 8 was a great one. Meanwhile, Soulcalibur VI the first Top 8 at Evo saw a great woman make the stage. Marie-Laure “Kayane” Norindr, a powerhouse player of the Soulcalibur franchise made it back for SCVI in its first year on stage with her signature Xianghua. She wouldn’t get past her opponent, but she certainly had some enjoyable cheekiness to show for it. Kayane made a simple and resounding statement: Women can make an Evo Top 8. If that wasn’t enough, Evo 2019 even saw a 9-year-old player make it out of his DBFZ pools without losing a match. Remember the name, Tsuyoshi, because it’s likely one that’s going to be one we see more often if his passion and skill takes him to more tournaments!
This doesn’t even include the amazing things going on during the final Sunday Finals of Evo, but certainly, Saturday gave us a day to remember. Have you seen the action? What has been your favorite moment from Evo 2019 so far?
(Featured Image via Evo and Triple Perfect, Inc.)
