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Daigo Umehara
The Beast
Status	Active
Date of birth	May 19, 1981 (1981-05-19) (age 28)
Hometown	Tokyo, Japan
Country of origin	Japan
League(s)	Super Battle Opera Evolution Championship Series
Years in playing	1995-2010
Games	Street Fighter II Turbo Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Street Fighter IV Street Fighter Alpha 3 Darkstalkers Capcom vs. SNK 2 Guilty Gear Capcom Fighting Evolution

Daigo Umehara (梅原 大吾 Umehara Daigo, born 19 May 1981 in Aomori, Japan), is a renowned arcade fighting video game player. He specializes in 2D arcade fighting games, mainly those released by Capcom. Known as "The Beast" in the west and "Umehara" or "Ume" in Japan, Daigo is most famous for the miracle comeback video clip on YouTube from his Street Fighter III match in Evolution 2004 against Justin Wong.^[1]

Early career

Daigo began playing at around 11 years of age. In 1994, around the time he entered middle school, Daigo first began to shine while playing Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo). After setting various records, like a 286-win streak in Vampire Hunter (Dark Stalkers)^[2], he developed a reputation in the Tokyo gaming community. In 1995, he entered the GAMEST Cup, but failed to qualify.

In 1997, Daigo entered the GAMEST Cup national competition in Vampire Savior (the sequel to Vampire Hunter) where he was able to defeat long-time rival Shin'ya Ōnuki in the finals. After winning, he became a celebrity throughout Japan.

Japan vs. USA

Daigo skyrocketed to fame in 1998 after winning the official Capcom Street Fighter Zero 3 national tournament in Japan. As the tournament champion, he then went on to face Alex Valle, who was the winner of the U.S. national Street Fighter Alpha 3 tournament. The international "Grand Championship" was held in San Francisco, California on 8 November 1998. The match was played as best out of three games, with each game as best out of five rounds. Daigo won 2-1.^[3][4][5]

He was later seen again in an exhibition "rematch" in Japan. American players competed in four games (Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike and Marvel vs. Capcom 2) for the right to battle Japan's best players in those respective games. Daigo only entered the 3rd Strike exhibition, but defeated all of his opponents, ending each round with Ken's fierce Shoryuken.

These events were filmed for the documentary Bang the Machine.^[6][7]

Evolution 2004

Daigo is most famous for a clip from the Evolution Championship Series 2004 3rd Strike losers bracket final where he made a dramatic comeback against Justin Wong (who was using Chun-Li). In the final round of the match 1, Daigo's Ken was down to his last pixel of vitality.^[8] Trying to take advantage of this, Wong attempted to chip^[9] Daigo for the win with the hou-yoku-sen^[10], since it still deals about 9% damage when blocked. Daigo stopped Justin dead in his tracks by parrying all fifteen hits of Chun-Li's super, including a jumping parry on the last hit, then comboed into his own super (the shippuu-jin-rai-kyaku)^[11] to deal just enough damage to steal the game. The cameraman (Seth Killian) turned away to record the audience erupt into a tremendous uproar.^[12][13][14] Daigo has since gone on to become one of the most recognizable names in fighting games.

Daigo in 2005

Return to Japan

On 3 May-5, 2005 Daigo competed in the third Tougeki (Super Battle Opera) video game tournament, playing Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. Once again he would meet Ōnuki—playing as his partner in the team that would go on to win (the team’s name was "UmeNuki").

His promised third appearance at Evolution was cancelled. Despite being relatively unknown outside of Japan, news about the cancellation had been posted in gaming websites around the world.

Film production

In 2005, Daigo also participated in X-MANIA^[15][16] Gaiden, a Street Fighter II X tournament, but this time behind the scenes as a producer.

Daigo in 2008

In July 2008, Daigo came out of retirement^[17] to compete professionally once again. This time, his focus was on the newly-released Street Fighter IV. On 29 November 2008, Arcadia Magazine released its January 2009 issue with an accompanying DVD of a recorded exhibition. It documented Daigo dominating six of his fellow top Japanese professional gamers.^[18]

Daigo in 2009

GameStop's Street Fighter IV US National Tournament 2009

The special exhibition matches of Street Fighter IV took place in San Francisco, California, on April 18 after the actual competition ended. It featured Iyo who had recently won the Japanese National SFIV tournament, Poongko who won the Korean SFIV National Tournament, Justin Wong who won the American National SFIV tournament, and Daigo Umehara who came by Capcom's invitation.^[19] Daigo defeated Iyo, Poongko and Justin Wong to win the tournament.^[19] He was awarded a free trip to Evolution 2009 in Las Vegas.

Daigo gained more fame after the footage of his matches in GameStop's competition were spread on the internet. As of July 19, the video of the match against Justin Wong received almost 80,000 hits on Niconico video sharing site^[20] while the match against Iyo received almost 120,000 hits.^[21] Arcadia, Japanese arcade gaming magazine, called Daigo "God of 2D Fighting Games" on the cover of its July issue.^[22] Daigo began writing a column in Arcadia starting from the August issue, called Umehara Column: Michi.^[23] ("Umehara Column: Street")

Evolution 2009

For his win at the GameStop tournament, Daigo started his Street Fighter IV competition as a seeded player in the semi-finals on July 18, which is the second day of Evo 2009. He beat 4 opponents and had to start the next day by playing against Justin Wong.^[24] In the third and the last day, Daigo defeated Wong and put him into the Losers Bracket, then advanced to the grand finals just to meet Wong again. In the final showdown, Wong changed his character from Abel to Balrog (boxer, called M. Bison in Japan) to counter Daigo's signature Ryu. The two fought until the last game possible, but Daigo won the competition.^[25] It was this point of the tournament that had more than 23,000 users viewing the stream broadcasting.^[26]

Umehara's Concept Matches Vol.2

The September issue^[27] of Arcadia magazine included a DVD featuring the second of "Umehara's Concept Matches". This is the sequel to the DVD from late 2008. This time Daigo fought Japan's top 5 pro players: Mago, Iyo, Nuki, Nemo, and Shirou.^[28][29] He beat everyone but Shirou, the highest ranked^[30] Abel player in Japan at the moment.^[31]

GODSGARDEN

On August 7, Daigo participated in an all night^[32] tournament called "GODSGARDEN."^[33] Though he managed to win against Momochi (highest ranked Akuma player in Japan at the moment^[30]), he lost to Uryo, the highest ranked C.Viper player. Daigo lost again in the Losers Bracket to Mago, the highest ranked Sagat player who later won the tournament by defeating Uryo.^[34]

Exhibition Matches in Taiwan

Daigo participated in exhibition matches in a Street Fighter IV competition in Taiwan on October 10.^[35] He beat the top 3 players in the tournament, losing just one round. The matches were broadcasted live on Famitsu's web channel.^[36]

Seasons Beatings IV

Daigo went to America again to join a tournament called Seasons Beatings on October 16–18 in Columbus, Ohio.^[37][38] He participated in the Street Fighter IV 3 on 3 on the second day with two American teammates. His team, Daigo Company, finished third overall. On the same day, there was an exhibition match between him and Justin Wong which he won by ten games to two. Daigo started the third day by winning Street Fighter II HD Remix competition, despite it was his second try of the game since Evo 2009. For Street Fighter IV Singles, Daigo lost in Winners Bracket's final to Justin Wong, who this time chose to play Fei Long. He later bounced back from Losers Bracket to win the competition.^[39][40]

Exhibition Match on Niconico Live

On November 26, Daigo and 5 other top Japanese Street Fighter IV players joined a Niconico internet live show^[41] to talk about the second GODSGARDEN tournament. The show also held an exhibition match between himself and Mago, where he beat the highest ranked Sagat player 2-0.^[42]

Daigo in 2010

World Game Cup: Cannes 2010

Instead of participating GODSGARDEN 2 (March 6)^[43], Daigo flew to France to enter Street Fighter IV tournaments in World Game Cup^[44] gaming event that took place between March 3-7. For the main tournaments, he finished the second place in singles and first in 2 on 2. For the special event, Daigo lost in the quarter finals.^[45][46]

Tournament placings

Capcom vs. SNK 2

• Super Battle Opera (2003) - 2nd [C-Guile/Chun-Li/Sagat]
• Super Battle Opera 2 (2004) - 5th [C-Ken/Guile/Sagat] with teammates Shiro [C-Yamazaki/Sagat/Rolento] and Dan [C-Ryu/Ken/Sagat]
• Evolution 2003 - 2nd [C-Guile/Cammy/Sagat]
• Absolution 2004 - 5th [C-Sagat/Ken/Guile]
• Evolution 2006 - 5th [A-Blanka/Vega/Bison]

Guilty Gear Series (XX, #Reload and Slash)

• Super Battle Opera (2003) - 3rd [Sol] with teammates Arisakashinya [Slayer] and Pachi [Faust]
• Evolution 2003 - 1st [Sol]
• Absolution 2004 - 1st [Sol]
• Evolution 2004 - 1st [Sol]
• Evolution 2006 - 2nd [Sol] with teammates RF [Faust] and Kindevu [Eddie]

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

• Evolution 2003 - 2nd [Ken SA3]
• Absolution 2004 - 1st [Ken SA3]
• Evolution 2004 - 2nd [Ken SA3]
• The 2nd a-cho Cup (2004) - 2nd [Ken SA3] with teammates K.O [Yun SA3] and Onanism [Urien SA3]
• Super Battle Opera 3 (2005) - 1st [Ken SA3] with teammate Ohnuki [Chun Li SA2]
• Cooperation Cup 4 (2005) - 1st with teammates Deshi KFG, Hayao, Boss, and Raoh
• Seasons Beatings IV (2009) - 4th [Ken SA3]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo

• Super Battle Opera (2003) - 1st [Ryu] with teammates Kurahashi [Guile] and Yng.Bro.Chun [Chun-Li]
• Evolution 2003 - 1st [Ryu]
• Absolution 2004 - 1st [Ryu, Balrog, O.Sagat, Zangief]
• Evolution 2004 - 1st [Ryu, Balrog, O.Sagat]
• X-Mania 7 - 2nd [Ryu] with teammates Yaya [Sagat] and Aniken [Ken]

Hyper Street Fighter II

• Evolution 2006 - 5th [ST Ryu]

Street Fighter Alpha 3

• Street Fighter Zero 3 National Championship 1998 - 1st [V-Akuma]
• Street Fighter Zero 3 World Championship 1998 - 1st [V-Akuma]
• Absolution 2004 - 3rd [X/A/V-Ryu]
• The 2nd a-cho Cup (2004) - 2nd [V-Ryu] with teammates D44 [V-Akuma] and West Coast Dhalsim [A-Dhalsim]

Capcom Fighting Jam

• Super Battle Opera 3 (2005) - 2nd [Urien/Guile] with teammate Dan [Ryu/Karin]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix

• Seasons Beatings IV Singles (2009) - 1st [Ryu]

Street Fighter IV

• Evolution 2009 - 1st [Ryu]
• Gods Garden (2009) - 3rd [Ryu]
• Shiozawa Cup (2009) - 1st [Ryu] with teammates Iyo [Dhalsim], Nyan [Ryu], Misse [Akuma], and Bonchan [Sagat] (Team Neko Punch)
• Seasons Beatings IV Singles (2009) - 1st [Ryu]
• Seasons Beatings IV 3v3 (2009) - 3rd [Ryu] with teammates Larry [Zangief] and Moses [Rufus] (Team "Daigo Company")
• World Game Cup Singles (2010) - 2nd [Ryu]
• World Game Cup 2v2 (2010) - 1st [Ryu] with teammate Eita [Akuma]

Vampire Savior

• GAMEST Cup 1997 - 1st [Jedah]

Gameplay footage

These videos document some key moments in Daigo's career:

• SFA3 World Championship 8 Nov. 1998 - Valle vs. Daigo (part 3)
• EVO 2004 SFIII: 3rd Strike Grand Final - Ken [Daigo] vs Chun Li [Justin Wong] (aka EVO 2004 Moment #37: The Beast Is Unleashed)
• SBO3 2005 3rd Strike Grand Finals - Ohnuki/Daigo vs Kokujin/KO
• EVO 2009 SF4 Grand Final - Daigo vs Justin Wong (part 4)

Most of Daigo's Street Fighter IV matches can be viewed on his SF4 video matches Official Website.

See also

• Street Fighter
• Electronic Sports

Notes

1. ^ YouTube (2005-12-28). "Street Fighter - Justin vs Daigo". YouTube, LLC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS5peqApgUA. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
2. ^ he never actually lost, he just stopped playing when the arcade was about to close. Also, at 255 wins the game’s counter reset to zero.
3. ^ Moreno, Javier (2002-07-31). "The Road to Evolution 2002 - A SF Community History Primer from 1995 (according to Javi)". Shoryuken. http://shoryuken.com/features/e020731.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
4. ^ IGN Staff (1998-10-14). "Are You a Real Street Fighter?". IGN Entertainment, Inc. http://psx.ign.com/articles/065/065287p1.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
5. ^ GameSpot (2004). "Spotlight on the Evolution 2K4 Fighting Game Tournament". CBS Interactive Inc. http://www.gamespot.com/features/6103845/p-3.html. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
6. ^ Peter Kang (executive producer); Gene Na (executive producer); Richard Lowe (producer); Tamara Katepoo (director); Daigo Umehara, et al. (subject). (2002). Bang the Machine. [Documentary]. California, USA: JabStrongFierce. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312423/. "A documentary of an exhibition tournament in Japan showing the difference between American and Japanese gaming cultures." 
7. ^ cast members have stated that the Bang The Machine documentary may never be officially released, because material was destroyed during the events of September 11, 2001.
8. ^ the character's vitality is indicated by a horizontal bar graph composed of columns of pixels. The player loses the game when his or her character's vitality is depleted.
9. ^ "chip" means to deal fatal damage to a blocking opponent.
10. ^ 鳳翼扇, lit. "Phoenix flaps his wings" or "Phoenix wing-fan", Chun-Li's super art #2 in 3rd Strike, which is 2 sets of extremely fast kicks into a kick that juggles the opponent
11. ^ 疾風迅雷脚, lit. "lightning-fast hurricane kicks" or "hurricane thunderclap leg", Ken's super art #3 in Street Fighter III, which is a series of kicks that lifts and then pushes the opponent away
12. ^ Livingston, Tim (2008-08-19). "EVO 2K8: Fighting Games Personified". Advanced Media, Inc. http://www.sportsjoystick.com/article.php?artid=47. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
13. ^ Spitalieri, Mike (2007-03-22). "The 9 biggest moments in pro gaming (page 3 of 3)". IDG Entertainment. http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/107258/the-9-biggest-moments-in-pro-gaming-page-3-of-3/. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
14. ^ McCarthy, Dave (2006-08-31). "The best of YouTube Article - Page 2". Eurogamer Network Ltd. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=67122&page=2. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
15. ^ INH CO.,LTD (2007). "株式会社アイエヌエイチ > X-MANIAとは？ (brief descripton of the X-MANIA series of tournaments)" (in Japanese). INH CO.,LTD. http://www.inhgroup.com/item/xmania7/xmania.php. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
16. ^ Play-Asia.com (2007-03-22). "X-Mania 7 -The Big Time- [3 DVD]". Play-Asia.com. http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-7x-49-en-70-1urs.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
17. ^ INH CO.,LTD (2007). "株式会社アイエヌエイチ > X-MANIA7 (samples from the DVD about X-MANIA 7)" (in Japanese). INH CO.,LTD. http://www.inhgroup.com/item/xmania7/. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
18. ^ Shoryuken (2008-12-01). "Umehara Kumite Special". Shoryuken. http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?p=5801555. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
19. ^ ^{a b} Oichi (2009-05-31). "Arcadia July - Umehara Six Page Interview". Oichi. http://www.versuscity.net/2009/05/30/arcadia-july-umehara-six-page-interview/. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
20. ^ "ストⅣ世界大会　ジャスティン×ウメハラ【高画質】". 2009-04-21. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm6811104. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
21. ^ "ストⅣ世界大会　伊予×ウメハラ【高画質】". 2009-04-21. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm6810156. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
22. ^ Arcadia Editorial Department (2009-05-30). "月刊アルカディア7月号". Enterbrain. http://www.arcadiamagazine.com/cgi-bin/product_view.cgi?id=203. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
23. ^ Arcadia Editorial Department (2009-06-10). "月刊アルカディア8月号から『ウメハラコラム・道』の連載開始!!". Enterbrain. http://arcadiamagazine.com/cgi-bin/news_view.cgi?id=50. Retrieved 2009-07-14. 
24. ^ Evo2009 (2009-07-16). "Evo2009 SFIV: Semi-Finals Winners Bracket". Evo2009. http://evo2k.com/live/brackets/sf4/semis/. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
25. ^ Terry Ng (2009-07-20). "Daigo Wins Evo 2009 Street Fighter IV Championship Title — Defeats Justin Wong". Terry Ng. http://www.kineda.com/daigo-wins-evo-2009-street-fighter-iv-championship-title-defeats-justin-wong/. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
26. ^ srkdotcom (2009-07-20). "Evo 2009 Live Broadcast". srkdotcom. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/evochampionship. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
27. ^ The release date is July 30.
28. ^ Arcadia Editorial Department (2009-07-20). "ウメハラコンセプトマッチ第二章". Enterbrain. http://www.arcadiamagazine.com/cgi-bin/news_view.cgi?id=64. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
29. ^ "ウメハラ　ストⅣ対戦収録風景". Niconico. 2009-07-23. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm7715024. Retrieved 2009-07-23. 
30. ^ ^{a b} All details of the players are in Players page of GODSGARDEN website. The rank is calculated by data collected from arcade player card
31. ^ "ConceptMatches Vol.2". LordAborigineSF4. 2009-08-02. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=92DBC763C7354C5D. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
32. ^ The event began 4 P.M. and the finals ended around 4 A.M..
33. ^ "GODSGARDEN". GODSGARDEN. 2009-08-08. http://godsgarden.jp/. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
34. ^ "Tokyo Game Night". hanatyan128. 2009-08-07. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Tokyo-Game-Night. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
35. ^ "Taiwan Media Interviewed Daigo Umehara". SF33TW. 2009-10-12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK6RG-Gs0Do. Retrieved 2009-10-20. 
36. ^ "台湾『ストリートファイターIV』大会の生中継が緊急決定！". Enterbrain. 2009-10-09. http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1228328_1124.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
37. ^ "Seasons Beatings IV live broadcast from Ohio". Get Your Tournament. 2009-10-16. http://www.gytnews.com/?p=1231. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
38. ^ "Seasons Beatings IV". skisonic. 2009-10-16. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/seasonsbeatings4. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
39. ^ "Seasons Beatings IV live now, with early results". Event Hubs. 2009-10-18. http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2009/oct/16/seasons-beatings-iv-all-weekend-wong-vs-daigo-rematch/. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
40. ^ "Seasons Beatings IV". FrameAdvantageDotCom. 2009-10-18. http://www.youtube.com/user/FrameAdvantageDotCom. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
41. ^ "とりあえず生中（二杯目）【木​曜日】～アニメ・ゲーム～". Niconico Douga. 2009-11-26. http://live.nicovideo.jp/gate/lv6859041. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
42. ^ "ウメマゴ 2009-11-26". Giantshands. 2009-11-26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTYhYMPR0yM. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
43. ^ "イベント情報". GODSGARDEN. http://godsgarden.jp/pc/modules/contents/index.php?content_id=10. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 
44. ^ "WorldGameCup". WorldGameCup. 2010-03-10. http://www.worldgamecup.com. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 
45. ^ "World Game Cup 2010 results and videos". Event Hubs. 2010-03-03. http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2010/mar/07/world-game-cup-2010-results-and-videos/. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 
46. ^ "More SF4 WGC videos of the Masters Finals". Event Hubs. 2010-03-03. http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2010/mar/09/more-sf4-wgc-videos-masters-finals/. Retrieved 2010-03-16.