The esports Moment that Changed Fighting Games Forever

Daigo Umehara parrying every single kick of Justin Wong's Chun Li super in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike at Evo 2004 is one of the most iconic and impressive feats of video game skill ever caught on camera. But it's enduring legacy is more than just being a viral internet video.
To find out just how important this moment, Evo Moment 37, truly is in the big picture of the fighting game community, we talked with three FGC pros: James Chen, LI Joe, and Justin Wong himself. This is Pros React to Evo Moment 37.
#Gaming

[@jinpei05]

This moment is even more exceptional when you consider Daigo is performing the full parry in a crowded room with people screaming their heads off

[@LinkerZz]

And also the fact that the first parry must come before the Super's flash, meaning it has to be predicted, and not reacted to.

[@experimento6262]

He is used to playing in arcades so

[@Plasmacat1]

And Justin smashing his buttons like crazy to distract him even more.

[@MISCDesigns]

And that he continued clowning by not only jumping into the air and parrying the last hit, but doing a strong shoryuken into shippu jinrai

[@carlossosa1359]

Naw hell naw video games are not real

[@BearTheGrudge]

The crowd is always what sells this moment for me. You can hear them gradually realizing they are witnessing a legend.

[@oldfrend]

haha i feel you. this is like at a starcraft tourney where a korean player used mass blink-DTs to snipe a hatchery and then blink away before the zerg player could even respond. the crowd went apeshit cuz no one had ever even thought to do this before.

[@Imkrister10]

@@oldfrend i think this is what you're talking about. Epic match indeed :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5jZfIaedtCcoJo

[@zeromant80]

@@oldfrend link pls

[@FFKonoko]

Also the "let's go justin" guy

[@PsychoNinjaFlea]

@@zeromant80 I think I found it kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5jZfIaedtCcoJo

[@oscarcastillo9818]

"It's impossible" Daigo: "no, it's necessary"

[@kommanderkeen]

lol

[@MuJoNeSs]

Interstellar quote, awesome! xD

[@samiclex6816]

He said it in mcconaughey voice lol

[@gamingwithCONZOUL]

I got chills reading this comment xD

[@whyisblue923taken]

Guy in the background: "Let's go Murph! MURRRRRF!"

[@INCNetski]

It must always be inuciated: Daigo not only Parried the entire super, he optimized the counter.

[@beeker_8190]

Exactly him jumping to parry the last hit gave him the opportunity to come down with a jumping roundhouse into a super combo... crazy smart

[@johan_the_monster]

Nice avatar

[@charlottecorday8494]

Inuc... Incinu... What's that word?

[@johan_the_monster]

@@charlottecorday8494 it means to say clearly

[@charlottecorday8494]

@@johan_the_monster Thank you, I've never heard that one before

[@OhtaniEvolution]

This video should've mentioned another fact: No other combos could finish Justin. Daigo finished him with the only combo that could've finished Justin. It was literally the perfect moment.

[@emerald_lord2267]

Evo moment 37: First recorded usage of ultra instinct.

[@monsigny1728]

Ken daigo ultra instinct

[@itsmechriswong]

justin wong's personal hell is that he is forced to continue his existence having to watch this clip at least once a year

[@striderhanzo]

Facts bro.

[@maxspecs]

@@itsmechriswong There’s worse fates, he could be Perfect13gend.

[@danielz-v4083]

imagine how crazy good peak Daigo would be in DBFighterZ

[@legodawg2001]

I once saw someone that describe the seconds leading up to the moment, so I’m just gonna paraphrase it here: Effectively, Daigo was playing risky, but he knew he could parry the super since he had done it earlier in the day in practice. There’s someone in the crowd yelling “don’t do it” because he had seen it before and knew how inconsistent it was. Chun li actually didn’t have enough meter to do her super, so daigo threw out a couple fireballs that were easy to parry so Justin could get the meter needed to super. That’s not playing a game. That’s playing the player

[@kjfinch8866]

Daigo is a madlad he purposely gave Justin enough meter to do the super just so he could have a chance to parry that is some anime shit

[@Agonystt]

@@kjfinch8866 that was the only guaranteed way to win as Daigo wasn't good at red parries, which are much harder. But the most impressive thing about it is the very first parry. It's almost frame perfect and must be done right at the blink from SA, which is actually a READ along with option select forward press that can't be done too quickly or it will fail.

[@eoeaoe12e]

Why do you keep saying Daisuke?

[@legodawg2001]

@@eoeaoe12e I made a mistake, it was 3 am when I wrote this, I'll fix it now

[@legodawg2001]

@Caggar thank you for correcting me, the overall point still stands

[@danielpagan2848]

Not only did he successfully completed the parry but he then was cold blooded enough to pull off the right combo to finish him off.

[@yvesm.8855]

That was by far the easiest part. Not even worthy to mention lol

[@MugdhaMahdiShams]

@@yvesm.8855 A lotta people's nerves would be shot just after completing the impossible parry. Doing the right combo right afterwards is no joke in that mental state.

[@yvesm.8855]

@@MugdhaMahdiShams I don't really think so. If he was feeling any kind of pressure in that moment he wouldn't have been able to parry the super in the first place. He was obviously in the zone right there. I think I remember an interview with Daigo where he said that he was totally calm and focused in that moment.

[@Agonystt]

And that's mp.DP, which is the only one that keeps the opponent grounded for the SA to land completely.

[@Agonystt]

@@yvesm.8855 not really, the j.HK must be done really low for this combo to work, it's easy to mess up the timing.

[@MrFraiche]

4:20 Look how lightly Daigo is pressing the direction to parry. That is incredible focus and control.

[@TheCooterpuppet]

nice

[@calcutlass]

Parrying this super is pretty common in high level play. He's done this plenty of times lol.

[@Waghabond]

@@calcutlass ...

[@Waghabond]

@@jesusmgw I feel like i'm taking crazy pills, This moment is famous because its legit near impossible. nowadays low level players can do this because the timing windows have been made a lot easier in new SF games. but this still remains one of the hardest feats every performed in gaming history not only because of the game but also the environment and context in which daigo did it

[@bakedstreetyt]

@@jesusmgw man you people are so stupid lol

[@FumetsuGolf]

Justin is such a cool, easygoing guy. It's easy to breakdown a win, but it takes guts to break down your most notorious, viral loss. He'll always be one of the eSports legendary greats in my book.

[@qty1315]

It kind of looks like he's just numb to it. After a million times seeing it, it's probably really hard to still feel upset about it.

[@biglloyd5870]

@@qty1315 no it looks like he acknowledges the skill level required for such a play and gives his props.

[@primary2630]

I think justin still won the set afterward

[@shaykenway240]

His attitude about it IS awesome. I have to wonder if the thought to just shoulder bump him mid-parry (A necessity when losing to a friend in his living room) ever cross his mind either before or after the loss.😎

[@luf4rall]

It helps that he's won a lot since then

[@afterpasthours7504]

“Let’s go Justin!” “Rare footage of Daigo actually angry...”

[@R4GNAR0G]

Calmest anger I've ever seen.

[@SuikodenGR]

Nah, shock to even experience it right up front would of the been the best defeat of his life. No way I'd be mad for that accomplishment 😁

[@fokkusuh4425]

Unadulterated Madness

[@cristiangranados6292]

I've heard people talk about the top players in the FGC. If you piss them off, they will go all out against you.

[@monsoon7591]

I love your Scanty pfp

[@alber.a1232]

1.- Daigo prepares the play fueling Justin’s power bar with a pair of Hadokens 2.- Daigo synchronizes movements with Chunli’s to get the correct direction when Justin’s starts his predictable super 3.- Daigo parries correctly the 17 hits, concentrating despite the crowd shouting and Justin mashing 4.- Daigo counter attacks with a winner combo Everything in this play is SUBLIME👌🏻

[@jp-sn6si]

the clip has been around for years and years and only recently has someone started mentioning the intentional hadoukens and all of a sudden, all these experts come out of nowhere.

[@WastePlace]

@@jp-sn6si ye but it looked intentional so it’s worth mentioning

[@luf4rall]

And he ends the parry on the jump so that he can lead into his own super.

[@niBBunn]

@@hs342 Are you seriously gatekeeping Street Fighter by calling out someone’s age… when you don’t even know them?

[@domainexpansion-boosiefade]

@@niBBunn youtube dumbasses will be youtube dumbassses lol

[@duchi882]

What's even more impressive is that there are many things that could've put Daigo out of focus; - the pressure of the competition - the loud roars and cheers of the crowd - Justin's intentional random mashing - the sheer difficulty of the Parry itself yet Daigo still managed to pull it off even though the world seems to have done its best to stop the glorious victory of The Beast.

[@PaschanTOPs]

You forgot to mention: - It was the final round - Daigo didn't have energy left even to cover Chun Li's Super.

[@tales8855]

I also like to mention how Daigo didn't even stutter to make that comeback. I mean blocking all that is one thing but to have that ability to finish the fight after that clutch parry makes it all the more godly...

[@mjproject7072]

Also 1 pixel HP

[@Tzimisce25]

The skill level of professional esports players still continue to amaze me. I watch competitive PUBG on World Level and PUBG Partner level too, and even there are so much difference in skill levels I am carried away by it.

[@cameronvalencia6023]

Mamba mentality

[@Jlin0012]

"Let's go Justin" Famous last words

[@Ander01SE]

Even better when he says it himself. :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpTQZmuPl5Wrh5Y

[@askthepizzaguy]

I mean He went?

[@DJTechnoboom]

@@askthepizzaguy should of spammed the fire ball there's always 1 that hit's you lol

[@brunesi]

A hell of an epitaph.

[@eluberimabib4070]

Way to go, wasn't it.

[@ct230r]

For those of you who don't know Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, PARRY's acceptance depends on the character's state and the length of the input. If you input a parrying move while on the ground, there will be 23 frames of inactivity before the next input is accepted. You must aim for the "moment just before the move is received" to be successful. The reason why Daigo is moving back and forth just before parrying is because he cannot continuously input forward. After understanding these basic systems, Chun-Li's HOUYOKUSEN has only "one frame" of parrying input accepted after the activation animation. Also, with 17 attacks and variable attack timing, parrying all attacks is extremely difficult. Daigo has been praised for succeeding in this highly difficult task at EVO, a major tournament (at the time, players were still playing without even headphones), in the midst of such a noisy venue.

[@francuscaetus]

I did not understand anything that you said. But liked your comment because it seemed knowledgeble 😁

[@dizzyheads]

@@francuscaetus Basically think of it having to dodge bullets that you know are coming in a certain way in a tight corridor while there's a shit ton of noise And you only have one try because well... You'll die

[@UchihaFabio]

@@francuscaetus What he meant is, you only have ONE CHANCE TO PARRY AND SUCCEED. The chance is 1 percent to pull off

[@djpegao]

@@UchihaFabio and not to mention the fact that there was no warranty he would pul it off, he basically gambled his win and succeeded.

[@UchihaFabio]

@@djpegao yep. The other got careless. Just a kikoken and it was over

[@table5486]

"Let's go Justin" Moments before disaster

[@TreeTyr]

I’m bout to Ruin this mans whole career

[@justinleon5544]

HONESTLYYY

[@johndee759]

Immortalized Daigo and Justin.

[@Ketchup_And_Rice]

I was watching a Justin Wong stream where he laughingly called his death flag phrase "Let's go Justin"! where he was in a Chun-li vs Ken scenario and almost had a stroke when the Ken parried the first half...sadly it failed though

[@themc9778]

TOP 10 ANIME MOMENTS BEFORE DISASTER

[@zahar027]

Capcom: we didn't even know people can do that

[@neo83za77]

Haha

[@RCruz]

“You’re… not supposed to do that…”

[@tarfap.kpamber9732]

😂

[@kyojin_9526]

That’s why I love this company

[@dearickangelonej.legaspi6686]

The Combo system in a nutshell hahahaha

[@jeffurakee6752]

Goddamn, people still talk about this. I feel like people are still gonna talk about it like decades later.

[@rain1676]

I finally found you.

[@jeffurakee6752]

@@rain1676 who?

[@Adriano991b]

It just shows how e-sports are being treated as a sport per se. Every sport has historical moments, from soccer and basketball to golf, when a player did something that seemed impossible and older people says "hey, I was there, I saw it, it was awesome!"

[@Alflowill]

It’s history man

[@RawDealCo]

give it 6 years and it will officialy be "decades later"

[@popsiwapat]

I'm so joyful to see people devoted themself so much in something til they become specialist in their way.

[@ballsack8937]

Same. Its cool to see people get to showcase their own skill amongst a world of celebrities, everyone has that one thing they're good at

[@LampreyKisses]

One of those rare moments where the outcome of the tournament itself pales in comparison to a play in a single round.

[@EvilMAiq]

I'd put Faker's Zed outplay up there as well kzbin.info/www/bejne/kIGml6J5i6irabc&ab_channel=MrSwayMedia

[@cooppp]

It's literally the end of Rocky 1 where it didn't matter if Rocky won or not

[@falloutboy691]

Imagine no one had filmed it. How would they explain to their moms?

[@cortezmartinez8659]

"Ok, that's nice but did you take out the trash?"

[@k.o.xpartypolice1177]

Lmfao

[@monchete9934]

There was a esports boomer channel who left before it because of the infamous Soul Calibur grand finals. Talk about missing the best part.

[@MJT-DA]

@@cortezmartinez8659 sad part is I'm a freaking soon to be engineer and my mother still says that after a built a dam robot...

[@Maistro399]

@@MJT-DA so you can't take out the trash... because you built a robot???

[@SuikodenGR]

As a 38 yr old, this NEVER EVER gets boring. What a great time that was 😁

[@jp3813]

@@dgas5904 Do 70-year-olds think this is awesome?

[@thechrissguy]

@@jp3813 This is greater than whatever they could ever do.

[@jp3813]

@@thechrissguy I think it's more about what they ever did.

[@ShehryarShaheen]

@@thechrissguy and you know that for a fact how?

[@KiriyamaKazuo]

this, and Daigo's SSF2T angry boxer at Sagat. You know what i'm talking about.

[@ycl260779]

"Let's go Justin!" Morgan Freeman: "It was at this moment he knew, he fucked up."

[@picorexcr]

I laughed so hard when I read this

[@willthebeast8002]

@@picorexcr Same Bro.... Same.

[@Jgr343]

Beast mode comment😂😂😂😂

[@ItsThatKidGreg]

I can just hear the narration

[@gerardgmz]

I'd love to hear a mini documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman of evo moment #37

[@Volfyrion]

Not to mention that because of chun li’s super startup animation speed, Daigo had to be pressing forward to parry BEFORE Justin even used his super. Absolute savage. The Beast Unleashed.

[@GentlemanQ]

The fact that Daigo thought of parrying the last kick mid-air to perform ken's optimal combo is just unbelievable. He thought things through to the end.

[@rafaelzamot42]

This is basically plot armor in real life "He can't parry all 17hits, it's impossible." "Watch me."

[@trunksesp1149]

He knew he was going to punish; and Justin knew that. If he grounded parry the last hit he wouldn't have killed even if he wasted all his meter, but the jump into parry make him do a jump-in combo and..... well everything happens as the histories goes

[@seandafny]

So epic !!!

[@seandafny]

I want to throw something right now omg just thinking about it gets me hype. “Watch me,” oh my god man

[@janm5854]

NANI!!!

[@smt3]

He was 4 parallel universes ahead of Justin.

[@alexnixon1606]

Poor Justin, his defeat even got turned into a whole mode by the game creators themselves.

[@JosephFlores-yn4yi]

He doesnt mind it and i dont think people make fun of him for it, atleast not anymore

[@Doubleranged1]

I think nobody considers justin the idiot here. Everyone just adores Daigos greatness in this moment. It is not a zero sum game.

[@pezosdrare3291]

What do you mean op ? A whole mode from this ?

[@alexnixon1606]

@@pezosdrare3291 in street fighter 5 (or is it 4?) there's a whole section in the game in which the goal is to do this. It's a mini game of sorts, kinda like the sandbag baseball one in smash bros.

[@pezosdrare3291]

@@alexnixon1606 I see thank you

[@wordcroutons]

One thing people often don't mention is that Daigo started throwing fireballs from full screen before Wong had enough meter to super. These fireballs were meant to be easy to parry, and each parry gave Wong more meter. In other words, Daigo intentionally gave Wong enough resources to use the super. Just so he could parry every hit and use the perfect punish.

[@nadiaerna]

So, Daigo did it on purpose? Can you do that too?

[@lgitsx9665]

It was a calculated risk. He practiced parring that super before that day

[@becontentandsilencethemind1562]

No he didnt….he always play like that….

[@wordcroutons]

@@becontentandsilencethemind1562 Have you ever watched the full match? Daigo throws about 8-9 fireballs in the whole set. He throws 6 of them in this round alone. Daigo loves his fireballs, but this is Third Strike; he might throw 1 or 2 fireballs in a normal round. He planned ahead here because he's godlike.

[@transitioner]

You are absolutely right.. he gave justin that meter to parry this whole thing and end him with that combo 👍

[@engerlandt]

This is one of those moments where (through a combination of easily seeing what's being accomplished and the sheer hype of the crowd) even a layperson can easily understand how impressive the feat is.

[@shinji5217]

You make him sound like a shaolin monk.... Very nice actually

[@boristhespider9487]

Sorry but you're wrong. I've seen multiple times people be like ''why are they so hyped nothing interesting happened'' when watching this clip. And I am not even talking about 60yo moms who think that video games make children retarded or whatever, just random dudes.

[@n0cturne.k35]

@@boristhespider9487 I had never Seen a pro match or even a video of street fighter,but understood that impossible task,also there are a lot of comments that explain It in the original video and Videos like this in which someone explains,so I think it's Easy to understand end get hyped

[@felphero]

Man I'd kill to see Third Strike devs and programmers share their take on this, to see what they build be used to achieve legend

[@justicedemocrat9357]

Why? I couldn't care less what some dev I didn't even know existed think about this.

[@felphero]

@@justicedemocrat9357 well good for you, but IGN does have a series called "Devs react to speedruns" with game devs watching speedruns of their own games. Surprise surprise it's quite succesful. Crazy right?

[@samwan_9113]

I believe they're impressed because they even made a challenge about that

[@Audard]

So Diago did this based on sound. He knew when to parry due to the sound queue from the super animation. I remember reading an article on some fighting website where they talked to the devs, and they explained that you have to parry before the just after the initial animation or it won't register. Diago knew this and his queue was the start up sound. The devs thought it wasn't impossible but close too and couldn't believe that someone actually parried the whole fucking super. Just imagine, he had to listen for a sound queue during a competition with a wall of sound coming from behind with echo and reverb tickling everyone of his senses. PS. Diago didn't have to jump and block the last kick, he could of ducked and performed a basic combo and still would of won.

[@LouisLitt369]

@@felphero great response

[@MrZoran84]

The pressure. The read. The speed of the initial parry. The constant rhythm from then on. The short break when chun li switches legs. The regaining of the rhythm. The jump parry...into the flawless combo. Its absolutely masterful. Then added to that the crowd noise as well as Justin mashing DURING the sequence... 🥶🥶🥶

[@UziGameGP]

Jump block or jump parry?

[@scarletdreams4228]

It was a jump parry, if daigo had blocked even once he would have lost.

[@mjproject7072]

The goddamn 1 pixel HP

[@UziGameGP]

@@scarletdreams4228 dayum

[@seandafny]

This is it right here. Top of the line

[@johndee759]

This doesn’t get old. Still getting goosebumps watching this defining moment.

[@Hkpirate11]

Thats what im saying to tech hit all those attacks in a row is rediculous.

[@Eight8411]

Yo, I don't even follow the fighting game scene and this sends chills down my spine.

[@buddahkz9980]

Honestly I legit get goosebumps

[@johndee759]

@@Eight8411 you don’t even need to play fighting games and you understand everything about this accomplishment.

[@davidunoi7099]

I believe this was THE iconic moment of all competitive gaming. None is better.

[@diegobermudez8102]

Amen, brother

[@Stak0]

easily, it’s not even close too. I don’t know jack-shit about fighting games and don’t really care for them, but I know that this will always be the greatest moment in competitive gaming.

[@davidunoi7099]

@@Stak0 true that.

[@faikarrazzaq]

For me personally outside of fighting games, miracle arc warden throne defense is iconic in dota2. you should see it too

[@eunai4524]

@@VHARDJO omg absolutely another favorite moment! debuting faker vs a well known Ryu at the time.

[@TarikA]

There won't be any recorded moment in video game history better than this. I always come back to this scene. It's just ... there are no words for it.

[@SteefPip]

This didn't just change fighting games, it changed competative gaming. It showed what top tier gaming could produce, and in the early days of viral videos it took the world by storm. I'm not a fighting games guy and I remember coming across it because a FFXI LS member posted it on our forums. It's one of the biggest moments in all of gaming.

[@xmisterpilgrimx4869]

I'd argue that it helped esports come into existence as a large crowd spectator event. The hype in that room made everyone want to be there to feel it too.

[@Sorrelhas]

Chun Li's super also has a really fast startup It was a hard read that Daigo had the skill and cold blood to carry to the very end and punish

[@D3Vlicious]

He was definitely anticipating it. You actually have to input the first forward just before the super flash.

[@Yawdan]

People knew Wong was going for the super. There's an audience cam video where Floe tells Justin Wong not to do it before he went for it.

[@adrianroldan6093]

@@D3Vlicious yeah, watch the match and you'll see him constantly pressing forward whenever justin was about to push a button. He was so ready for it and you can see it, he's chill af while parrying his way into stardom

[@estebangardila]

If you watch close and carefully, Justin did try to do the super but it didn't come out so Daigo was already aware that Justin was going for it. EDIT: Also to take into account that whar Daigo did was common practice in Japan's pro scene.

[@TheMavenDojo]

You can kinda anticipate because if you look at the full clip, you can see chun crouching, which means Justin was doing the QCF motion.

[@dimitrisbam5640]

This is the most iconic moment in all of gaming's history

[@MA-go7ee]

Well, competitive gaming at least

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Possible contender: the Wombo Combo moment in SSB Melee...

[@emotius1]

It's definitely a contender. I don't even play fighting games but I watch this now and then and get chills

[@carlosfer2201]

@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 that one's really cool, but it is 2 vs 1. The hard part was getting to that point, not so much the moment itself.

[@maximumkillmtg]

The biggest advantage is that this can be encapsulated in a 10-second video. Ain't gonna happen to Starcraft or DotA.

[@kisaragireion]

Also props to Justin. He took that moment in retrospect really well. He jokes around it, and is still open to talk about it despite he was the receiving end of a clip that is played millions of times. Probably it was something humiliating for most people, and maybe to Justin, but he handled it really well. Respect!

[@Zaxares]

It's what separates true sportsmen from wannabe champs just looking for personal glory, in my opinion. Even though he was on the receiving side of that loss, he could still marvel at and admire the skill it took to pull that off. If you truly love the sport above all, then you will always cheer when the sport itself is elevated to a new level, even if you had to lose for it to happen.

[@kisaragireion]

@@Zaxares Agreed. What a great display of sportsmanship. Salute!

[@MrRykage]

I agree with most of what you said, but nah man there's absolutely nothing humiliating about being Daigo parried. It was an impossible feat of sheer fucking will. Ain't nothing to be embarassed by.

[@seandafny]

Much respect

[@exu7325]

What's there to be humiliated about? It's a fluke. A mind-blowing fluke, but still a fluke.

[@barkon34]

I remember watching this clip in my high-school computer lab a couple of days after it happened. My jaw hit the floor, it didn't make sense to me that someone could be that good at the game.

[@Fawlker]

The thing about this parry being so iconic is not just the parry itself, but the counter combo + super he does right after it, ending in a KO, is what makes that moment so special!

[@dannypatrick9361]

"Let's go Justin!" Daigo: "I'm an icon, I'm a legend and I am *the moment."*

[@seandafny]

🏔

[@walterayala7590]

🤣🤣🤣

[@DevineHughes]

A truly defining moment in Fighting game history

[@DJMilez]

Agreed one of the best too

[@Beat_Eddie]

Not just fighting game in the history of gaming I would say

[@DevineHughes]

@@Beat_Eddie You are right. This echoes beyond even the fighting game community.

[@carlossosa1359]

Hell naw Shit weird video games are not real talking about history

[@DevineHughes]

@@carlossosa1359 They absolutely are a part of history. Videogames and their characters have helped to shape history. Ask literally anyone in the world if they know who mario is and you'd be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't.

[@bsolmaz13]

Let's go Justiiinn! Daigo: And I took that personally

[@bradleylovej]

Yessss

[@chillnspace777]

🤣

[@osirissmith5254]

Hahahah wonderful

[@Benax218]

Still gives me the chills, never gets old watching this great moment

[@kooltool]

Never gets old. What's amazing is that Daigo's Ken jumped while parrying to set up for finishing combo...! Still get chills watching this video after many times.

[@bowserfriend]

Shout out to that one random that gave justin a heart attack by nearly parrying the whole super on the same stage, same colours, same characters, same side, and same bgm

[@Sk8r115]

Tbf, if they're playing the characters you're going to one or the other stage and music

[@SeabraPaulo]

"The mark of my parry shall scar thy internet." - Daigo Umehara

[@seandafny]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@bobbydrake4535]

You win....PERFECT! 😂😂😂😂

[@Khann_2102]

Gill 😂

[@ASArif-Yawesngene]

Epic 😂👍👍

[@TheMajinGames]

You guys could have mentioned about the 10 year celebration, where Justin and Daigo tried to do this again ahahah

[@PulseBladeenjoyer]

Could you link that video please.

[@ryanshannon7703]

I saw that video. Still unbelievable to watch.

[@EvilSapphireR]

Sauce?

[@rickboy7290]

Nothing in Esports surpasses 'Moment 37" and nothing ever will. This is one of those things that happens once in a lifetime or once in the history of humanity. Daigo had everything to lose, he could have died of chip damage alone. he was in the 3rd round and no energy left. One hit, even if he blocked, it would have been over. It was also the final round. There wasn't a round after this to come back. It was over for Daigo. The fact that he managed to take the win regardless of these odds is truly insane.

[@alfredthegreatkingofwessex6838]

Time traveler: * *sneezes* * The timeline: “you suck, Justin!”

[@hood954]

What makes this even more impressive, is that Although Chun Li's combo is 17 hits, the parry is split up into 7+7+1, only 15. So you have to also account for the timing on the missing 2

[@MattiaBulgarelli]

Oh, thanks for the explanation! I kept counting 15 parries and I was like "uh, why do they keep saying 17...?”

[@biteme9505]

And its 8 + 8 + 1 in the corner. People tend to forget about that.

[@crushingvictory]

It's only 15 on Shoto characters (Ryu, Ken, Akuma, etc.), everyone else has to the full 17

[@raulgillette3669]

I've been playing 3rd strike for almost 15 yrs and i tried SO MANY times to block that combo like Daigo did, but i NEVER managed to do it, NEVER! If that wasn't recorded i would say it's a lie.

[@fayezpatel]

Still one of the most legendary things ever! There's a lot of take aways to this even if you're not into gaming. This is the art of war. The importance of timing. The best defense is a good offense. Train hard, study your opponent, adapt, bait and control your opponent, and trust your instincts, then counter. Beautiful.

[@CrashSable]

Uh... it was the offense that lost it all. 17 parrys into an optimized counter is about as defensive as you can get.

[@dwiprasetyaputra221]

The art of overanalyzing everything, - Internet guy, Patel

[@mrosskne]

Have you even spoken to a woman in your whole life

[@mr_michael1353]

This is the most iconic moment in ALL of competitive gaming history. Nothing beats this.

[@gillescafedjian1381]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX-qaKVno5t9oZo

[@soliniv1411]

The birth of the legend

[@battheman777]

Everyone always talks about the parry. But for Daigo to have the composure to counter the way he did after accomplishing something so incredible (not to mention the distractions from Justin freaking out and the energy of the crowd), man the whole thing speaks even more to his legendary status.

[@duxnihilo]

Weird fact: Daigo didn't like Third Strike much.

[@captainpancake8177]

Really? What was his favorite game then

[@duxnihilo]

@@captainpancake8177 He liked SFA3 a lot.

[@gigaturok]

@@captainpancake8177 Street Fighter Alpha 3

[@SlickRick4EVER]

@Message Posted - Umm... he has been involved with SFV, recently.....

[@NCMonefaith]

Nobody likes third strike

[@willthebeast8002]

Apparently screaming "Let's go Justin" is Diago's activation command.

[@redlord5892]

Daigo thought he had to leave that's why he sped up the process.

[@domls1317]

Way to go Justin is what he says

[@deathmachinestar]

@@domls1317 no

[@domls1317]

@@deathmachinestar that's what he says douchewad

[@zcpyoshi]

he parried that scream

[@cocomunga]

That is what you call a moment of super-human reflexes” That guy deserved to win it 100%.

[@octaviosilva3085]

Lmao it wasnt decided by judge :v

[@onireno]

I remember seeing this video, and I have always been good at fighting games. This video made me realize how wrong I was. That was the most epic fighting game video there will ever be.

[@ShinRyojin]

The moment that inspired everyone to get good.

[@thn4296]

Get gud moment

[@bobbydrake4535]

SUPERFACTS!!!

[@thiago4santos]

And the cooler about this is that now Justin and Daigo are still playing and doing even better.

[@nevanV12]

And the much cooler thing about this that the two of them are really good friends.

[@TheJungaBoon]

It's a Goku and Vegeta moment

[@MassiveHappyClapper]

Love the gaming history. I was born in the 80s and still game everyday. Love it.

[@returnalnocturnal7729]

@Dale Macarena uhhh, okay?

[@noBody-ue6cs]

It’s also important to mention that you can’t start your parry after the super flash of chun li’s super. You don’t get to just react to seeing that and start parrying. Gotta guess and parry beforehand.

[@AyratHungryStudent]

4:20 Look at the Justin's reaction. He's like "dude, are you serious?".

[@postjm9]

I think what's great about this clip is that I can show it to anyone - my mother, a friend who doesn't play games, etc. - and they get excited and know it's something special just from how expressive the crowd reaction is. It really transcends gaming.

[@glenjutsu]

“Let’s go Justin!” Daigo: "...and I took that personally"

[@amunre12]

Real life anime moment....despite being face with unsurmountable odds you pull off an amazing victory.

[@random_hero_88]

Even though he didn't win the tournament, he became more memorable than the actual winner.

[@sabucin]

An absolute MUST see video if you are into fighting and video games in general. Absolutely amazing and probably everything has being said about it. Another moment in pro gaming history, is the legendary backdoor from Xpeke in League of Legends. It was incredible!

[@WTFVideos_4416]

Shout out to the real Hero that recorded this and to Daigo for this epic moment that will live on in History. 👏👏👏

[@linnen_elm]

Eminence in shadow

[@azadahmedkhan]

Ya.. If it were not recorded, we all wouldnt witness it

[@alacritical7873]

Having read some background on this, it's especially impressive to me how Daigo is so mentally poised while he plays, in both maintaining his composure despite his surroundings to parry all of the attacks and in goading Justin into attempting the super instead of timing him out--as, apparently, Justin was fond of finishing with flashy moves, and Daigo capitalized on this by throwing out some hadoukens to allow Justin's super meter to fill up

[@adithyaramesh5634]

Yeah also the fact that it was thought to be impossible to pull that off. Justin would've done it every single time

[@mimmoschannel2502]

Thank you to the guy who recorder that glorious moment that day

[@kimono38]

Poor Justin Wong. Even until this day, he still get reminded about his loss. Just like Faker VS Ryu's Zed battle in League of Legends, people never letting it go

[@Ntwolf1220]

Ryu be like 😑

[@Xenithia]

I've always wondered why this scene is so legendary in the fighting game community, but now i know why.

[@Laerei]

Before the match, Floe had seen Daigo practice the parry in the backroom. He knew Daigo could possibly do it and so he tried to shout "Don't do it, Justin!" a moment before Justin, well... did it.

[@dnegel9546]

Should edit the video of brian telling Jesse not to do it. (F&F)

[@chilled99]

He’s a snitch lol

[@chy03001]

I gotta say, Justin's a real trooper. He was on the losing end of that but it really does take two great fighters to make a match legendary.

[@Jknight416]

EVO Moment 37 aged like fine wine

[@janrupertalfeche8959]

I knew this moment was iconic af, but I did *not* know it was that difficult like wtf

[@jacobwilliams5271]

Daigo would have been a Samurai in a past life. That amount of detail to your craft is insane.

[@NunchuckPup]

Thank you IGN for not only covering this moment, but also bringing in some respected members of the FGC to do so. Also: I didn't know Justin mashed to try to distract Daigo 😂 Legendary stuff!

[@IntelligentAtheism]

This will be THE BEST MOMENT OF VIDEOGAMES EVER.

[@GuileTGTV]

NOTHING can ever come close to this !

[@TheMixedPlateFrequency]

Agreed! I feel like most of the modern or current and esports really owe a lot to the fighting game community.

[@keio4456]

I still think that dogura vs galileo 2014 was better, this is more iconic tho

[@astatalol]

@@keio4456 Nah

[@carlosfer2201]

in terms of hype, "wombo combo" is the only thing that comes close.

[@plebeiangaming5625]

Watching Daigo sitting quietly flicking the stick with ice cold concentration is legendary.

[@earthboundmother205]

When this moment happened, I was a manager for a small game store and WE ALL LOST OUR MINDS

[@aboemusic]

As someone who gamed quite a lot in his younger days, I'm ashamed to say that I've only just come across this... however, I almost jumped out of my seat just watching that (the sheer amount of awe I felt kept me seated, however). Absolutely unbelievable. Props to all involved in making it seem as legendary a moment as it undoubtedly was at the time.

[@Selvokaz]

Daigo: It's over Justin I have the Frames Mastered. Justin: You overestimate your power. Daigo: Don't try it. *Justin does his super and Daigo parries all of it and counter-attacks into a super of his own destroying Justin* Daigo: You were chosen one, it was said you would destroy the competition, not lose to it. Bring victory to America, not leave it in Darkness. Justin: I hate you!!!

[@scarletdreams4228]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@jwoellhof]

Obi Wan Da-igo

[@dokuritssu]

I never played the game but even I got gossebumps, that's how legendary this moment is, it helped the development of fighting games.

[@Revixter]

I love watching how calm Daigo sits there moving his stick while Justin is freaking out.

[@diegogonzalez9086]

Imagine being in the crowd I'm that moment... Nothing could have given you such excitement in life after that

[@fantom-spektr]

(Chun Li starts her Super) Daigo (Ken) - "Omae wa mou shindeiru" Justin (Hun Li) - "Nani ?!"

[@robertdoughlin]

That pop was about as big as hearing Stone Cold Steve Austin's glass breaking theme on Monday night RAW

[@chubito33]

shout out to 8 on the break, still hands down one of the best cheese steaks i have ever ate.

[@GodKiller97]

They’re better than the ones my mom would make

[@fakeigniz13]

It's not just the parry, it's the decision to jump. Without that jump parry at the end, Daigo would not have done enough damage to win that round

[@foca2002]

This moment is so engraved in my memory that every time someone does something impressive I heard the announcer calling K.O.

[@Fabboi_unl]

This will always be one of the coolest moments in gaming history, and it happend 20 years ago 👁👄👁

[@VNSnake1999]

Aw when I saw Justin reacting to the clip I thought Daigo would be here too. You guys should have interviewed him as well. He's a pretty cool dude.

[@elkmeatenjoyer3409]

Yeah what the fuck? The video is about him and they dont have the man in the video.

[@ccasd]

Daigo: Is Sunday

[@GarethXL]

by cool you mean stoned right? 🤣🤣

[@zfee8328]

Language barrier/availability was likely an issue 🤷‍♂️ but definitely would've made the video better

[@blazin_sky]

That wasn't an interview with Justin. All what he said was in a video that he made on his own YT Channel.

[@f1r3hunt3rz5]

Decades later and people are still mentioning this amazing feat. Countless videos, books, discussions, and tributes have been made about it, Justin's PTSD has been triggered countless times; a testament to just how legendary it was. EVO Moment 37 is really something else.

[@f1r3hunt3rz5]

@Luis Martinex *Literally* there are people that still mention about this, bud. You and I right now are the examples of this.

[@failure5876]

My uncle showed me this when I was 5 still blows my mind till this day:0 I’m 23 now

[@MrAnsatsuken]

But that's impossible. That's 18 years. The clip isn't even 17 years old yet.

[@khalidpapa6299]

a cool uncle you got there

[@YOFACE9999]

@@MrAnsatsuken yeah the fuck lol

[@takis659]

Lmao

[@mcnichoj18]

@@khalidpapa6299 especially since he's a time traveler.

[@formosancube7675]

kids these days will never understand the moment when Daigo pulls that multi blocking, it still gives me chill

[@Galactic123]

The Daigo Parry is like the 900 in skateboarding. People kept saying it was impossible until Tony Hawk did it, now everyone can do it. It takes someone showing that the impossible is possible for people to start emulating it.

[@alcatrazclad]

Another thing to consider which adds to why this moment is so amazing: Daigo didn't do the forward input to parry on reaction. If you didn't tap forward BEFORE the super flash animation, you didn't get the parry. Daigo preemptively tapped forward within a 6-10 frame (a tenth to a sixth of a second) window before the super flash. That was either a read or a mis-input. If it was a mis-input, it's still impressive that Daigo was able to recognize the situation quickly during a big tournament setting. ON TOP OF THAT, the combo at the end is tricky to do. LOTS of crazy stuff going on.

[@lukestanley820]

It is possible to parry after the flash, there are videos of people doing it

[@alcatrazclad]

@@lukestanley820 but wouldn’t that depend on the startup of the super as well as how far they are?

[@lukestanley820]

@@alcatrazclad I suppose so, but justin was pretty far away from daigo

[@piorism]

Heya - to do it after the flash the first forward input has to be done as late as possible, at the very moment the first hit connects (which actually feels later than usual, probably because of the startup animation being null in this case). My guess would be that Daigo probably did both : forward taps each time he saw Justin QCF, and also a tap at the time that the super actually connected.