Fuudo

Fuudo
Keita Ai
Status Active
Born (1985-11-07) 7 November 1985
Nationality Japan
Current team Team Razer
Games Virtua Fighter 4
Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter V
Championships Virtua Fighter 4: 2009 World Cyber Games
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition: EVO 2011
Nickname(s) Fuudo
Professional career
2012–present Team Razer

Keita Ai (阿井 慶太), better known as Fuudo, is a Japanese electronic sports player specializing in the Street Fighter series. Fuudo entered the fighting game scene in 2005 playing Virtua Fighter 4. Fuudo has won various fighting game tournaments, including the World Cyber Games and Evolution Championship Series. Fuudo has been described by multiple journalists as the world's best R. Mika player.

Career

Fuudo first appeared on the larger fighting game scene at the Virtua Fighter 4 tournament at the 2005 World Cyber Games.[1] Fuudo came first place in Virtua Fighter 4 at Super Battle Opera that same year, and first took gold at the World Cyber Games in 2009 before permanently switching to Street Fighter IV.[2]

Fuudo entered the Super Street Fighter IV tournament at the 2011 Evolution Championship without much attention, but according to Red Bull's Pete Dreyer, "rampaged through the competition, displaying incredibly solid fundamentals and perfect execution," beating players such as Xian and Poongko.[2] Fuudo defeated Latif's Crimson Viper in the finale in only three matches.[3]

"I value the knowledge and skills I can acquire from players outside of Japan, and being sponsored by Razer will provide us with the full support we need to travel to more tournaments and have more opportunities to learn from international players."

–Fuudo (2012)[1]

In April 2012, Fuudo and colleague fighting game player Itazan accepted a sponsorship deal with American company Razer Inc. in order to design and create an arcade fighting stick peripheral and to compete for Team Razer from that point onward. According to Fuudo, he accepted the deal in order to be able to travel to more tournaments and meet more international players. Robert Krakoff, president of Razer USA, stated that he brought the two veteran players in because the fighting game scene was booming in the United States at the time and described the input of Fuudo and Itazan for the "Razer Arcade Stick" as "priceless".[1][4]

Fuudo has not won any major tournaments since reaching first place at Topanga League 2 in 2012, though has reached high placings at tournaments such as DreamHack and Stunfest.[2][5] Having hit ninth place at Tokyo Game Show 2015, Fuudo almost ran out of chances to qualify for the 2015 Capcom Cup, though he qualified when he reached second place at the 2015 KO Fighting Game Festival by beating Latif's Crimson Viper again, though he lost to Xian in the finale.[6][7]

During the Street Fighter V finale at Evolution Championship 2016, Fuudo lost against Infiltration, making second place. Playing R. Mika against Infiltration's Nash, Fuudo was able to win against him and send him to the loser's bracket in the first round of the top 8. The two met each other again in the grand final, in which Infiltration managed to counter all of Fuudo's techniques.[8][9]

Notable tournament placings

Fuudo at the Evo 2011 award ceremony
YearTournamentGamePlaceCharacterCitations
2005 Japan Tougeki – Super Battle Opera 2005 Virtua Fighter 4 1st Lion Rafale [2]
2009 China World Cyber Games 2009 Virtua Fighter 4 1st Lion Rafale [2]
2011 United States EVO 2011 Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 1st Fei Long [2][3]
2012 Japan Topanga League 2 Ultra Street Fighter IV 1st Fei Long [2][10]
2014 United States Sega Cup 2014 Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown 1st Shun Di [11]
2014 United States Capcom Cup 2014 Ultra Street Fighter IV 7th Fei Long [10]
2015 United States DreamHack Summer 2015 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika [12][13]
2016 France Stunfest 2016 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika
2016 China G-League Street Fighter V 4th R. Mika [5][14]
2016 United States EVO 2016 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika [8][9]

Acknowledgements

Fuudo has been described as the best R. Mika player in the world by ESPN's Tyler Erzberger and Timothy Lee, the latter stating that "his defensive and smothering style is perfect for large tournaments because he forces his opponent in a corner where they have no choice but to make mistakes."[12][14] Chelsea Stark of Mashable similarly stated that, during his performance at Evo 2016, "Fuudo's play took Mika to her extreme, as she relentlessly chased down opponents and pummeled them in a corner round after round."[8] Red Bull's Pete Dreyer estimated in February 2016 that Fuudo had earned $55,110.09 USD worth of prize money throughout his career, putting him among the highest earning Street Fighter players.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Webb, Benjamin (2012-04-24). "Razer Team Up With Fuudo And Itazan". Capsule Computers.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dreyer, Pete (2016-02-15). "The 10 highest-earning Street Fighter IV pros ever". Red Bull.
  3. 1 2 Davis, Christian (2011-08-01). "Fuudo Wins Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Championship at EVO 2K11". Device Magazine.
  4. ↑ "Razerが日本の格闘ゲーマーとプロ契約 Team Razerにふ～ど選手と板橋ザンギエフ選手が参加". Famitsu. 2012-04-24.
  5. 1 2 Jurek, Steven (2016-06-22). "Three things to watch for at G-League". The Daily Dot.
  6. ↑ Martin, Michael (2015-09-25). "Team Razer Secures Victory in Kuwait Premier Event". Red Bull.
  7. ↑ Martin, Michael (2015-12-02). "The Road to Capcom Cup: Day Three". Red Bull.
  8. 1 2 3 Stark, Chelsea (2016-07-18). "Upsets and close wins make Evo's Street Fighter V finale mesmerizing". Mashable.
  9. 1 2 "The Winner's Circle of Evo 2016". Red Bull. 2016-07-23.
  10. 1 2 Jurek, Steven (2015-12-04). "The biggest Street Fighter event of the year starts Sunday, and here's what you need to know". The Daily Dot.
  11. ↑ USD. "SEGA CUP Virtua Fighter Tournament 2014 Results". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  12. 1 2 Erzberger, Tyler (2016-07-17). "Street Fighter V top eight preview". ESPN.
  13. ↑ Walker, Ian (2015-06-22). "Phenom Takes on Japan and Wins at DreamHack Summer". Red Bull.
  14. 1 2 Lee, Timothy (2016-07-15). "The Evo Street Fighter V primer". ESPN.
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