How the Street Fighter GOAT Found His SFV Main | Analytics Behind Daigo’s Guile

► Watch more Fightalytics: win.gs/FightalyticsYT
Daigo entered Street Fighter IV at a crossroads, unsure if fighting games were his future. He left it as a legend, one of the most revered players in Street Fighter history, and the history of the Fighting Game Community at large.
He was dominant across every one of Street Fighter IV’s updates, a most consistent force as he won two Evos and made top 8 at every single Street Fighter IV Evo held from 2009 through 2013.
2016, though, signaled the start of a new era with the release of Street Fighter V, an electric update to the series that included some key mechanical changes that severely hampered one of the tools that defined his Street Fighter IV play - the Umeshoryu. After Season 2’s changes, if Daigo wanted to Umeshoryu his way through an opponent's grab or attack, he would have to spend meter, a limited resource that gave him a powered EX Dragon Punch. But in spots where players previously had to respect Daigo’s ability to interrupt their offense at any given moment, in SFV they now no longer had to respect his character as much.
Daigo used Ryu at his first Capcom Pro Tour event of 2017, Final Round 20. He finished 33rd, tying his second-worst placement of 2016. That's not even a particularly fair comparison -- the previous 33rd place finish was out of 5,107 entrants, the largest offline tournament Street Fighter has seen to this day. At Final Round 20, Daigo finished 33rd out of 468 players. He had only one comparable result in 2016, a 65th place finish at Japan Cup 2016, an outlier which he immediately followed up with a pair of top four finishes.
He had seen enough, and Daigo had his eyes on another. Those who watched Daigo’s stream in early 2017 would be treated to exhibition matches between The Beast and some of his top-level friends, and occasionally they would catch him giggling about a “Perfect Character.”
That perfect character? Guile, a character whose Street Fighter V kit gave Daigo all the tools needed to reclaim his form and make a run at qualification for Capcom Cup 2017 that put him back on track to remain one of Street Fighter V’s premiere competitors. Dive into the analytics behind Daigo’s 2017 resurgence and CPT chase, watch some iconic Daigo SFV CE Guile play through SFV replays from key tournaments, and explore another chapter in the rich history of the Street Fighter GOAT in this latest episode of Fightalytics.
#Fightalytics #Daigo #StreetFighter
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is Red Bull Gaming; your digital source for the latest news, tournament coverage, interviews, video features, and broadcasts for the Red Bull competitive gaming family.
Follow us on Twitter: / redbullgaming
Facebook: / redbullgaming
Instagram: / redbullgaming
Subscribe: win.gs/subtogaming

[@redbullgaming]

Dive into the craziest Capcom Cup ever in our latest episode 👉 win.gs/Fightalytics4

[@hirakujup]

James Chen did a great job narrating. Just like Daigo, he’s a legend in his own right.

[@hamzaa.8082]

it is hard not to love both of them!

[@heero494]

Just a reminder. Daigo is not a Ryu main. He played Ryu in Street Fighter 2, used Akuma/Gouki in Street Fighter 3 Alpha, used Ken in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, used Ryu, Evil Ryu, and even Yun in Street Fighter 4, and now he uses Guile here in 5. There’s gonna be a chance that he’ll change his main in Street Fighter 6 and there’s no need to be mad about that. Just as Daigo said… “I’ll stop playing Street Fighter once I stop winning.”

[@JohanMGO]

I always find it odd that ppl think of him as this low tier hero. He always been a tier whore lol

[@bubb742]

He also used Guile for a little bit in SF4

[@gold6813]

@@bubb742 also used Guile in Super Turbo. When Nuki first saw him in the arcades. Before he was famous

[@Felipera_]

He plays boxer in sf2

[@ripper021_py]

Totally agree, people like to enforce for some reason I don't understand that Daigo only used Ryu during his career, he used Boxer, Guile, Akuma, Ken even Yun, besides Ryu/e.ryu, so a switch like he did in SFV was totally natural and not some sort of "miracle" pick

[@riffcrypt8438]

With all due respect, shocking level of journalistic insight from a corporate youtube channel. Glad to see quality like this, especially about the FGC.

[@AnthonyAnalog]

Virtually all channels pulling rev are or should be in some form incorporated. Soooo....

[@riffcrypt8438]

@@AnthonyAnalog "Uhm ahckshully if you're a content creator making money you probably formed a business entity so it's all corporate channels uhuhuhuh." Come here you need an atomic wedgie dweeb.

[@AnthonyAnalog]

@@riffcrypt8438 play stupid games...

[@riffcrypt8438]

@@AnthonyAnalog lmao

[@andisar98]

Daigo also won first place in FAVCup2022 recently

[@ClearComplexity]

One of Daigo's biggest clips from SF4 was using Guile's airthrow/backbreaker on a Fei Long chicken wing midair. He also played Guile in SF2 at times...it's not like he's never played Guile until SF5.

[@NikolayNikoloff]

What's the greatest thing about Daigo is that everybody respects Daigo, but most importantly Daigo respects everyone else! A true champion in every sense of the word!

[@AnthonyAnalog]

Boring champ. I like my Champs disrespectful for no reason.

[@NikolayNikoloff]

@@AnthonyAnalog I can insult you, but you did it yourself.

[@AnthonyAnalog]

@@NikolayNikoloff imagine thinking for yourself instead of regurgitating rhetoric for attention

[@NikolayNikoloff]

@@AnthonyAnalog I've been fan of Daigo for quite some time now and I have so much respect for this man, you're the one looking for attention here by spewing non-sense, you're just envious little man and it shows.

[@willn8664]

Daigo also has given back to the community especially the FGC. Whether it's a huge donation to the tournament pot or taking younger players under his wing. I actually wouldn't be surprised when he does retire that he will go the Alex Valle route and run local tournaments in Japan if he hasn't done it already.

[@MrYoumitube]

DAIGO cannot retire from Street Fighter, he is the lifeblood of the game. He may not win tournaments as he used to, but IMO there is just nobody like him. IMO he is the MJ23 of SF.

[@Guitar-Dog]

Who's MJ23? I just play tekken

[@jakemuller8626]

@@Guitar-Dog Is a reference to Michael Jordan and his number when playing. Daigo either lose or win, is just so beautiful to see him playing, no one is like him. The GOAT 🙌❤️

[@PegimampooS]

Daigo is like Valentino Rossi to MotoGp. Even Rossi didn't win, his appearance can still sell more tickets! 😀

[@lunarsoulz]

IMO, Daigo is more like Tiger Woods now. He isint winning much Trophies, but he still sells Tickets and is the face of the game.

[@LIONTAMER3D]

how far up someone's ass do you need to have your heard to call them "the life blood of the game"?

[@clivegameinnmg7055]

My man killed it with Ryu was back on SF4. His Guile is Godlike in SFV. he truly inspires me. the GOAT

[@Tremuoso]

the biggest legend we have. we should always remember and honour his legacy.

[@Nobody-bq7pl]

Daigo is the reason I started studying the fight games, I’ve been playing since SFII but I was just a heavy punch and kick and conman attacks with no actually direction or plan kind of guy, then Daigo was introduced to me and I still suck at the games but I have fun

[@DiscoJoseph]

I can listen to the narrator (James Chen I believe is his name) for hours discussing fighting games in this Red Bull format. Love it!

[@ar110sp]

a legendary fighter

[@redbullgaming]

he's the GOAT for a reason!

[@Clarkbardoone]

I don’t think I can remember a single time that I’ve looked at a player and thought “daigo can’t beat this player”

[@Lloydo111]

i never found Guile exciting but daigo actually made it exciting to watch! The ability to learn and adapt thru the years is phenomenal, he's not the GOAT because of one game, but the ability and moments thru the years and to this day is just fantastic, its really really hard to stay relevant all these years, next evo gonna be exciting,i think he will make the best preformnce on that stage! Daigo made me and many others love the FGC from moment 37 and all those epic moments years later, thank you red bull for this fantastic and detailed video with the amazing james "who knows the FGC inside out" keep doing these videos for all sort of fantastic players!

[@darkherostardustchannel3699]

Doing risky stuff too. I started walking up and throw on wake up thinking my opponent will shimmy because of him. He does it with Guile too so he's giving charge up.

[@shadowboxkicker]

Excellent, detailed video. I learnt a lot!

[@redbullgaming]

appreciate you checking it out! 🤜🤛

[@yami-kay9099]

The Fgc deserves better treatment and respect. The quality of this video, the ideology of Daigo and his recorded journey. Ppl just need to give the FGC a try and they'll be amazed at how beautiful it's history is

[@Sandstorming99]

James! I love your narration here! I love your live commentary too and this is really cool to hear you in a different format! well done mate

[@redbullgaming]

Go deeper with the analytics behind Daigo’s SFIV secret weapon: win.gs/3LmJhCb

[@RushianRichard]

Daigo the Beast, Legendary SF Icon, Lord and Saviour, Best Known of the Five Japanese Gods of Fighting Games, Most Succesful Player in Major SF tournaments, Respected FGC Mentor, Inspirator of FG generations, Author, honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Esports Awards... For the sake of clarity, I friggin' love this guy! 😏👍

[@dahgameps432]

Give me a Daigo video, I'll watch it!

[@fridaynightplans_]

Great breakdown even i dont know alot about fighting games but if it's Daigo then I would watch it coz of the legendary match with Wong.

[@jakemuller8626]

Daigo is love, and also love for Fighting Games 🙌❤️

[@LaiSimon]

I watched his champ in HK 2017 at the gaming hall. His read, responses and performance are GREAT!

[@Clemilson.Correia]

Outstanding video!

[@redbullgaming]

glad you liked it!

[@giggitygiggitygigism]

Bro, your research is impeccable. I'm blown away

[@redbullgaming]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@sl11tenderhand]

Excellent video, especially the statistical performance breakdowns. A

[@mimisaiko]

That's a great video right there.

[@lordfredplus]

Wanted to play the same style as previous games.. That's growth.

[@amarskelly9979]

Amazing analysis

[@redbullgaming]

glad you enjoyed it!

[@silencos5974]

dope video red bull! keep it up :)

[@redbullgaming]

appreciate it!

[@joshfa5526]

The level of finesse in this video essay is immaculate.

[@bosansekali898]

Easily top 5 SFV player in Japan right now. And top 15 in the world, if not top 10. He may not be the best anymore, but there is just something about rooting for an old legendary player still hanging out with the best. He also does some unbelievable stuffs in tournaments once in a while.

[@andrade2129]

Simply DAIGOD THE GOAT

[@foberdud7576]

Excellent video and very enjoyable, long live daigo 💪

[@redbullgaming]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cipollino4754]

Fantastic video!

[@redbullgaming]

thanks for checking it out!

[@Raktr261]

I think my favorite part of watching Daigos' Guile is reading all the scrub quotes in KZbin comments "Daigo bad all he does is throw booms" etc. It's comedy lol

[@fyuira9585]

Boom spammers, says a 🐼.

[@kieragard]

He's clearly not a bad player, but it's aggravating to fight projectile spammers and it's not as fun to watch.

[@Raktr261]

@@kieragard you mis use the word "spammer" if he was spamming them hed be constantly punished by the pros. He has spacing and timing to make most projectiles to be hard to deal with

[@Raktr261]

@@kieragard but i do agree with the sentiment but i loves me some zoning when im not on the recieving end of it xD

[@kieragard]

@@Raktr261 im aware of what he's doing and he's got it down to a science, but when fighting those kinds of players it just gets your blood boiling for some reason, lol. i used to do that but i've gotten away from projectiles characters and now prefer the rushdown types in fighting games.

[@JMKS]

Is James Chen the narrator here? I sure think it rings a bell, but I'm not quite sure.

[@seniter3262]

Yee

[@redbullgaming]

It is the great James Chen narrating!

[@sinho113]

great video ;D

[@redbullgaming]

thanks for checking it out!

[@Sepheta7]

For a 40 years old player he has still nice reactions.

[@SmoothJK]

Partly experience and anticipation but yea, impressive

[@zento_ki]

@ 9:40 tokido was having a great laugh

[@mmsizzlak]

I heard he has no bones in his fingers... Instead he uses the Force to control Guile and it's just a hologram of his hands holding a joystick... Also heard he just calls them "sticks" because "they hold no joy".... This is gonna sound crazy but I heard he can flashkick in real life, uses it to get to his apartment, two stories at a time...

[@jakemuller8626]

Ryu is done, Guile stills on but now is time for Luke and Kage. I swear if we ever get invaded by aliens and we need to pilot some kind of machine to fight against humankind enemies I hope Lord Daigo can command that. We believe in you Lord Daigo 🙌❤️ Thanks James for this mini doc showing why Daigo Umehara is the greatest, the Beast, the Lord of Warlords 😎✌️

[@drakedraven6961]

SF6 might change the dynamics of the game even though SF5 was created as a neutral mechanic for veterans and beginners. Let's hope SF6 is a better version even though I hated the colorful visual it has.

[@millyardopeacecraft9778]

Daigo is GOAT period. Players like him make the game mythos amazing.

[@shaideyfresh1]

Happy to see #FGC stuff on the channel #FightingGames are thr unsung heroes of the Video Games Industry... Also super happy to hear James the heart of the FGC

[@quanthinh3487]

With Sfv he won a lots and lost a lots. Maybe he wasn't on top like in sfiv era but he never ceased to amazed at what he can do.

[@kaimhlanga4258]

Daigo Umehara is street fighter a true high god

[@richmusick4881]

awesome video, thanks James

[@azuresaiyan9005]

Daigo with the SS tier posture.

[@michaelmedrano3237]

The GOAT!

[@luckybastard5575]

What is the song used at 17:06 ?

[@atsurokihara5525]

Who's the narrator for this video? Sounds like James Chen!

[@redbullgaming]

it is James Chen on the narration!

[@malaysianman5941]

He just said in his stream, tht hes done with Ryu in SF5.

[@2gunzup07]

How many capcom cup he won in sf5? How many evos he won in sf5?

[@hamidious]

Truly, he is the main character

[@philipjohnson935]

It is amazing Daigo has stayed THIS relevant, this long. He is one of the greatest FG players of all time, and both as a foundational/pioneer player, as well as a current player. But on the other hand, he is not a top 5 player in the lifespan of SFV and it hurts to say that, but that's real. I feel like the idea "Daigo dominated SFV" that you see a lot online is a bit revisionist history. He is amazing at every SF title, but never EVER was he the most dominant force in SFV. I'm nowhere near any of these dudes but this "Daigo is THE BEST" that's been being chanted so long in recent years has kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like it takes a bit of spotlight unfairly from players like Tokido, Punk, Fuudo, Infiltration, and Momochi who all really had their time in the sun where they were literally DOMINATING the game, entering every big bracket and you could say "is X there? Oh then they'll win". Momochi prob #1 the most disrespected out of all of them. Now if we are talking LEGACY, Daigo is probably the best and most decorated ACROSS ALL SF GAMES, but SFV? The new kids (and some of the old kids) on the block have been dominating this.

[@NURCU]

1 th Daigo 2 th Tokido And others..

[@eljoker7109]

With A LOT of SONCI FLASH and some UME-FLASH KICKS.

[@TheDeadTexan]

The 🐐

[@blackheadman8695]

tell that to the panda guy.heheheheh. Daigo's number 1 fan!

[@gwakblb3048]

8:43 FUNK

[@kussin1265]

It's yer boi.

[@MuhammadAli-xw4yc]

Matt Mcmuscles speaking. What a bad ass.

[@Guitar-Dog]

That's not matt is it?

[@Ming1975]

After this explanation why do I feel like Daigo play FS against his opponents like his playing Tetris?

[@wildwest1832]

If daigo isnt on top he is absolutely the best guile playing sf 5 right now. No one else even close

[@axelzhu1953]

Daigo is the icon of street fighter game... Like valentino rossi at moto Gp

[@tedjomuljono3052]

And this all before he switched to Hitbox.....

[@SpideruManu]

This man is the face of the FGC. Remember: he elevated this genre when it was all just a barren wasteland. Today we have great players invested in fighting games mainly because of his influence and of what he did to the genre.

[@mihajlosinka277]

Daigo Parry, Daigo Flash Kick, Ume Shoryu... They could easily create a character based on Daigo in SF6, just to honor him.

[@alkhamistic]

Man we all suffered with SFV.

[@omard5888]

Our lord and savior Daigo umehara

[@mikelong2756]

Gweelay Umeshoryu

[@seadog7448]

Upon every new DLC, Daigo use Ryu a little and then move back to Guile. haha.w

[@elmohead]

saying that all daigo has is accurate reads is like saying all he has is the ability to see the future.

[@jamesyue1348]

yeah bunch of bullshit from the media, American's players still dominates ....

[@demonkingnobunaga]

umeshoryu evolved into umeflashkick

[@AceBadguy]

DAIGOD

[@redbullgaming]

He's the 🐐!

[@theanimeguy6036]

@@redbullgaming Street fighter is his legacy.. 🔥

[@sunnyiong4795]

It's the legendary BoBoBo

[@jarroddobben]

You could see dogura struggling with what to do after daigo killed himself lol

[@jakemuller8626]

It would have been nice to see that clip and the one recently fighting against Urien's Ryusei and his way to deal against aegis wall now with the sweep, so badass 😎✌️

[@sergiogomezc3234]

Daigo con esas habilidades debería jugar con personajes más veloces , no digo que guile sea mal personaje pero carece mucho de velocidad y su salto es muy lento , con ibuki o Karin sería invencible. Con guile nunca le ha ido bien en las finales de torneos por qué los otros personajes de jugadores lo superan en velocidad.

[@Simon-nv5zj]

Daigo is still on top in SF5?

[@lolmaorofl]

I can’t tell if this is Jason Chen or Matty Mcmuscles

[@redbullgaming]

it is James Chen narrating!

[@andreperez8961]

Is this James Chen narrating?

[@redbullgaming]

it is James Chen narrating!

[@wowwowwow597]

If Daigo find another fighting game, Street Fighter will be dead as dead

[@ZenAkuWillow]

Guile is boring to me but my god when it’s Daigo’s guile he’s so interesting to watch!

[@infinati]

Why did you stop there? Could’ve gone into the whole Hitbox switch, and people calling Daigo washed up when he kept getting bodied in tournaments a scant three months after switching. Now EVERYONE is switching to Hitbox. Also his streams getting translated and people seeing that Daigo is this goofy ass guy outside of tournaments and his popularity ‘em rise even higher because of it.

[@user-uh7ei5ri3v]

格ゲー５神って紹介されてるの草

[@tedjomuljono3052]

Changing the thumbnail AND title? Come on, this is just clickbait

[@messatsu92]

Daigo is Ryu himself in some ways

[@cozmoos]

Huhwa? Sorry I saw Chun Li and went blank…

[@Peranak-Samaa]

Hopefully after watching this clips, haters ( 🐼🐼🐼) will more gain knowledge bout this game.. it's not just random spamming.. it's art of SF..

[@TomatoTomato911]

most people do not realize the support pro gamers have behind their back. they might even know people who wrote the game to have important information regarding the games to have an early edge on others.

[@sl11tenderhand]

You are talking nonsense

[@jasonsykes4199]

All Daigo does is get players nerfed. lmao

[@KIKROX86]

I still like sf4 better than sf5

[@sylvianraccoon]

Unlike that "Former.... Pro Fighting Game Player" 😏😏😏

[@nafsiammara]

wtf James. Umehshoryu is not an FADC. Anyone can do that. You know that.

[@animagamer2]

The video was enjoyable but the filler stats don't really add anything to it. I don't don't care about how many times Daigo whipped sweat from his brow druing the third set of a match.

[@aidenyoung3115]

You need a better narrator

[@caseyj789456]

The sfv intro itself its even not fun

[@eatit8262]

Punk is gonna be irrelevant after the switch to 6. He's a decent player, but the nature of SF5 held him up and any time a game gets tough for him, he quits it. I'm hoping 6 is actually a good game out of the gate unlike 5. The Beast will of course still be good regardless.

[@2gunzup07]

Punk hater

[@drakedraven6961]

Of course Punk will be irrelevant as he did in SF4. 😆😂🤣SF5 was created as a neutral mechanic for both veterans and beginners players which is not hard to process like it did in SF4. SF6 mechanics will throw some of these fraudulent SF players to the spotlight to see how successful they've become. Punk might just disappear into a nonexistent world once SF6 is released to the public. SF2T, SF3rd strike, USF4 was my favorite cause how hardcore the mechanics were, it's a challenge unlike SF5 almost takes no effort to process. Punk will CRIED as he always do then whine how bad it was. 🤣 No surprise there.

[@burinchatchaloy5146]

Diego the Noob

[@KyoAlexiel]

this is dumb.. becaue Guile isnt Daigo's best character. He just likes using Guile alot. If you actually watch his stream Daigo been beating everyone with Luke. It still blows my mind that he wont even use him at a bigger tournament when he streams and goes 30+ without losing with Luke and then goes off feeling bored. LOL...

[@bosansekali898]

Watch the recent favcup 2022. He used both Luke and Guile to win the tournament. Got the revenge on Kawano with Luke, and this was before the balance patch.

[@KyoAlexiel]

@@bosansekali898 I miss that one but ya his Luke is disgustingly good.

[@bored78612]

SFV just never clicked with me the way SFIV did no idea why. The game feels kinda clunky as well.

[@drakedraven6961]

That's cause SF5 was created as a neutral mechanic for both veterans and beginners players. This is why Ono San step down as the director for SF5 cause how lackluster it was. Hope SF6 will have a better mechanic as it once were, and the colorful visual is turning me off.

[@thegrull4584]

19:40 Daigo does not read a jump to get the win here. Daigo uses b.fierce as a frame trap which will also catch a jump. ProblemX does not jump here, he uses EX Head Stomp (EX Devils Reverse has a lot of invulnerability frames) which gets caught by the b.fierce causing a crush counter which allows the sweep to connect allowing the KO. If ProblemX had jumped then the round would not have been over. As much as I appreciate the things James Chen does for the FGC, I am tired of him ruining moments of magic like this with inaccurate commentary and poor game knowledge.

[@Caulkhead]

Pedantry aside he threw a move out to try and catch something as a read, it hit lol Don't you know who James Chen is? aside from Commentator? he's been in FGC for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time.

[@thegrull4584]

Is what I'm saying pedantic? Calling for accuracy in an analytical piece of work about one of THE greatest FGC players of all time? Accuracy in piece of work which at the moment has reached 13,000+ people? The beauty of that moment was the fact that Daigo got the crush counter, reacted and landed the sweep for the KO, James' inaccuracy there has watered down that moment for people who don't understand the complexities of the game. This applies to a lot of competition between people, subtle moments like this are what the average person misses whereas it's what puts the greats on top. I can understand mistakes on live commentary, that's fine as long as the commentator understands and tries to amend them. However, if you watch James Chen on a lot of official Capcom events, he makes mistakes but doesn't understand them... At one event he said a player was KO'd due to a V-shift but it was a dash. Things like this are not only confusing for new players getting into the game, but also again it can dilute viewers opinion on a top player. But yes, I do know who James Chen is, I know he's been around for a very very long time in the FGC and he's done a hell of a lot to help grow and support the FGC. That doesn't mean he can be carried by this, doing a professional analysis (or commentary) needs to be accurate. If you want to know what I mean, watch any pro Starcraft commentary, the subtle details they go into exposes the beauty of that game.