What are the best EVO Street Fighter moments of all time?

In over 30 years of existence, we have witnessed countless legendary moments in the FGC and with this list, we are compiling the greatest and most hyped moments the game has had on EVO, the greatest stage of them all.

From impressive comebacks to unexpected incidents, and from legendary sets to magnificent tournament runs, we’re counting down the 15 Street Fighter bets EVO moments of all time.

15. Kichipa vs Trashbox (SFV; 2019)

AZ KICHIPA-MU (Zangief) Vs WE-R1 TRASHBOX (Birdie) - EVO 2019 DIA 2 CPT 2019

Start at: 6:32

Trashbox’s Birdie was beating up Kichipa’s signature Zangief badly on the losers bracket and it seemed that he would be able to tie the score.

However, Kichipa harnessed all his fighting spirit and started just overwhelming Trashbox with continuous EX Spinning Piledrivers. No one saw that coming.

14. Shirts Off (USFIV; 2015)

Shirts Off EVO 2015 - Poongko (Seth) vs Onisan (Abel) - USF4

Start at 2:20

Poongko is known for his over-the-top antics and theatrics, before, during, and after big matches. In 2015, he faced off against Onisan.

Onisan decided to tease his charismatic opponent by removing his own shirt and placing it on Poongko’s shoulder. Poongko simply smiled, before abruptly removing his shirt as well, and then proceeded to absolutely destroy Onisan, teaching him a valuable lesson.

13. LI Joe Makes Top 8 (SFV; 2016)

SFV: HM Eita vs LI Joe - EVO 2016 Top 8 - CPT 2016

Start at 12:47

In a true underdog story, LI Joe made it to the Top 8 in EVO in 2016.

Joe’s touching personality and undeniable likeability, together with the fact that he was the sole American representative at that point in the tournament, as well as the bond he displayed with his dad, who was cheering him on in the audience the whole time, made us cheer for the bald dude with the pink backpack all over the world.

12. Battle of the Counterpicks (USFIV; 2015)

USFIV: Infiltration vs EG Momochi - EVO 2015 Winner's Final - CPT 2015

Start at: 7:56

Infiltration and Momochi faced off in the Winner’s Final of EVO 2015, the last EVO year for Ultra Street Fighter IV.

The matchup began with Infiltration’s Evil Ryu losing to Momochi’s Ken. Facing this scenario, Infiltration went back to character selection and contemplated for ages what character he should pick to counter Momochi. After his Abel was surprisingly effective, the match was tied up and it was then Momochi’s time to go to the character select screen and meditate on the subject before ultimately picking Elena and beating the South Korean veteran.

11. Alex Valle’s Hugo (USFIV; 2015)

USFIV: Bonchan vs LU Alex Valle - Evo 2015 - CPT 2015

Start at: 3:53

Alex Valle is arguably the single most influential Western Street Fighter player of all time, hailing from the 90s Arcade Era, and having served as a forefather for the American Fighting Game Community and its recognition overseas.

When he faced the great Bonchan and his Sagat, Valle opted to go with Hugo, a terrible match-up on paper. Nonetheless, he completely outplayed Bonchan, making him fear the command grab at every step of the match, without going for it a single time. Truly, a masterfully played set by one of the GOATs.

10. Instant Classic at the Pools (SFV: Champion Edition; 2022)

EVO 2022 - Bandits CABA (Guile) vs IBSG UZURA (Ryu)

Start at: 1:01

Uzura has cemented himself as probably the best Ryu in the world for a while now, going by the name UrienBelievers and appearing in multiple Japanese competitions as well as some taking place on American soil like Red Bull Kumite.

As for Caba, he is a prominent Guile player who has proved his value in multiple tournaments and official leagues and is also known as the loudest member of the BANDITS team, the crew of the Capcom Cup champion MenaRD. The two would face off during the pools for EVO 2022.

Ryu vs Guile is always a fantastic match to watch and it has been the favorite matchup of many fans since 1991 when SFII came out. This entire set is mental, with intricate and fast-paced fireball wars, outstanding conversions, and ballsy moves, making this the best Ryu vs Guile match of all time.

9. That One NuckleDu Comeback (SFV; 2017)

SFV: Liquid 'NuckleDu vs Echo Fox Tokido - EVO 2017 Top 8 - CPT2017

Start at: 7:15

NuckleDu and Tokido are two of the biggest names in Street Fighter history, on a worldwide scale.

They faced off on the top 8 and Tokido was ultimately able to beat Du’s Guile with Akuma, a match-up that was far from easy, but the really impressive bit came a bit earlier than that. During one of the rounds, it seems NuckleDu is about to die when his life gauge is almost empty and Tokido is mostly unscathed. However, Du performed a godlike comeback, which included the genius move of using Tokido’s V-Trigger activation time to charge his Flash Kick during a dash. If you really need to watch it.

8. Poongko Makes the Crowd Explode (SSFIV: Arcade Edition; 2011)

Daigo VS Poongko Evo 2011

Start at: 0:15

Poongko is one of the funnest players to witness and especially was so during the first years of Street Fighter IV, having been the star of iconic moments such as the Shirts Off Moment at EVO 2015.

In EVO 2011, he played against Daigo Umehara in front of a vivacious crowd, and you could tell something special was about to go down right off the bat, as Poongko ferociously removed his player card and threw it to the ground with force. Then he proceeded to chug an entire drink and threw the empty can to the ground with greater force.

Playing Seth, he mixed Daigo up like a turbo blender and he didn’t allow the Beast to take a single round, making the right decision after the right decision, and reading Daigo’s Yun like a book. The crowd went wilder and wilder as the match went on, until Poongko decisively won the set, throwing his empty can into the roaring crowd.

7. Infiltration and Gamerbee’s Marathon of Hell (USFIV; 2015)

USFIV: Infiltration vs AVM Gamerbee - EVO 2015 Loser's Final - CPT 2015

Start at: 2:22

During EVO 2015, Infiltration faced off against Gamerbee in Losers Finals in one of the most painful matches to watch in professional Street Fighter history.

Gamerbee picked Elena with her healing Ultra Combo, and proceeded to play a patient and calculating game, opting to zone Infiltration’s Chun-Li out and get his life back at every opportunity.

The big deal here is that Chun-Li was considered a counter-pick against Elena, but Gamerbee’s hit-and-run-and-heal strategy was proving gruesome and wildly effective, having pretty much every round come down to the last seconds. When Infiltration finally switched to Juri, it looked like he had the perfect pick against the healing Elena, but Gamerbee switched to his main Adon to move on to the Grand Finals.

6. Snake Eyez Clutch (USFIV; 2014)

USFIV: RG Snake Eyez vs RZR Xian - EVO2014

Start at 10:35

RG Snake Eyez was renowned for his unique playstyle with Zangief in the Street Fighter IV days, and during EVO 2014, he clashed with Xian, one of the greatest Street Fighter players of all time, and the EVO champion the year prior.

In one of the most hyped matches of the whole tournament, the players went to a final game, the final round, and Xian had the life lead while the clock was ticking down. Snake Eyez made a legendary clutch effort, chipping away Xian’s Gen’s life bar gradually. Just before the time ran out, Xian tried to close it by performing his Ultra, but Snake Eyez blocked it and punished it at the last millisecond, conquering the life lead and taking the win in the process.

5. Here Comes Hakan (SSFIV: Arcade Edition; 2013)

EVO 2K13 SSF4 AE Top 8 Infiltration (Akuma/Hakan) vs PR Balrog (Balrog) [HD]

Start at: 6:26

Infiltration was losing 1-2 on the magnificent stage of EVO, the biggest fighting game tournament there is. Using his standard Akuma was not doing it for the South Korean so he had to change his strategy.

After thinking for long minutes, Infiltration ended up picking the low-tier Hakan, who happens to be a counter pick against Balrog. The confusion did not last long as what followed were tough rounds that had Infiltration fighting against Rog’s life lead and needing to oil up every minute. 

The effort paid off as a couple of genius decisions allowed Infiltration to land his Ultra unexpectedly on multiple occasions, eventually allowing him to move forward in the tournament.

4. Broken Arcade Stick (USFIV; 2015)

Momochi Vs Gamerbee Broken Razer Arcade Stick (Last Rounds) | Finals | EVO 2015

Start at: 1:15

One of the most exciting EVO tournaments of all time culminated with the incredible and highly anticipated match between the Capcom Cup champion Momochi and the SF legend Gamerbee, which had come out of an outstanding losers run.

Gamerbee had managed to reset the brackets and we here 2-2 on a first-to-three at the Grand Finals reset. The crowd was exploding and every single second was being amazing, when suddenly Momochi’s Razer arcade stick broke during the match, bringing the match to a halt. Fortunately, the situation was resolved and Gamerbee took only a round, and Momochi still won EVO, but it was one of the most shocking moments in EVO history

3. Punk’s Heartbreaking Loss (SFV: Arcade Edition; 2017)

SFV: Echo Fox Tokido vs PG Punk - EVO 2017 Grand Final - CPT2017

Start at: 17:36

2017 was the year of Punk. In that year, the young American dominated the competition and went on to become the best Street Fighter player in the world. At least he thought he was until he met Tokido.

Tokido the Murderface is one of the most recognizable faces in the FGC and one of the all-time greats, known for his sold fundamentals, aggressive playstyle, and overwhelming ruthlessness. Tokido was put up against Punk in the Grand Finals of EVO 2017, and prior to the match, Tokido and Punk had played an exhibition where Tokido completely obliterated the American prodigy.

Since Street Fighter’s resurgence when SFIV came out, no American ever won EVO for the game, so Punk was the living American hope. However, Tokido coming from Losers was able to reset the brackets 3-1, and then took it 3-0 over Punk, even slipping a Perfect round in there. Punk’s defeat was heartbreaking, and it overlapped with the heartwarming Tokido win, which was long overdue and left audience members and commentators in tears. It truly was a moment to remember.

2. iDom’s Losers Run (SFV: Champion Edition; 2022)

Street Fighter 5 - EVO 2022 Idom vs Kawano (Grand Finals)

Start at: 1:39

In 2022, iDom won CEO and Combo Breaker, and he was one of the favorites to win EVO as well. However, when Ryan Hart managed to send him to the Losers side early on in the tournament, hope seemed to fade.

By the time the top 8 was settled, the Winners side was composed of 4 Japanese greats and iDom was pitted against Mister Crimson, the best Dhalsim in the world and one of the favorites to win the entire thing. iDom beat Crismon and moved on to the next stage, becoming the only remaining American player. Since EVO takes place in the US, the entire crowd was behind him, and on top of that this was the 20th anniversary of EVO, and it was also the first EVO in years after the coronavirus pandemic. Suffice it to say, feelings were running wild in that building.

iDom then was able to beat Daigo Umehara in an instant classic, then he 3-0’d Tokido the Murderface, defeated the Capcom Cup champion Gachikun and made his way to the Grand Finals to face off against the prodigy Kawano, against whom he was able to reset the brackets before losing the tournament when he was 1 or 2 combos away from taking the 1st place himself. Had iDom won that final round, the entire building would have probably collapsed.

1. Evo Moment #37 (SFIII: 3rd Strike; 2004)

Official Evo Moment #37, Daigo vs Justin Evo 2004 in HD

Start at: 0:27

This is the single most legendary moment in all of fighting games history, maybe in the entire history of esports.

Justin Wong had Daigo in such low health that he safely used Chun-Li’s Super Art to kill him. Even if Daigo chose to block, he would still die due to chip damage, and Chun-Li’s Super is so fast and has so many hits that it is impossible to parry. Or is it?

In a shocking turn of events, Daigo was able to parry all 15 hits from Chun-Li’s Super Art, a feat thought to be impossible at the time, and then punish it with a combo into his own Super. The crowd just explodes in excitement and disbelief, and the moment still gives chills down our spine so many years later.

Hopefully, this list helped you remember and rejoice at some of the best moments in EVO history.

And for the moments you didn’t know about, fortunately, you can now be familiar with them. There are countless insane moments in Street Fighter’s EVO history, and Street Fighter 6 will bring us even more of these.

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