Pro gamer Justin Wong gets Daigo’d to start the new year

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-01-04 18:48 JST)

Pro gamer Justin Wong recently uploaded a Street Fighter III: 3^rd Strike clip to Twitter where his opponent managed a come-from-behind victory. The video made waves as Justin’s opponent pulled off the “Daigo Parry” recreating the legendary EVO 2004 moment.

Justin Wong is a pro gamer based in the United States. He’s built a resume of excellence over his long 20-year history as a professional fighting game player, winning numerous tournaments in series like Marvel Vs. Capcom and Street Fighter.

In the video, Wong, who is playing as Chun-Li, unleashes the special move Houyoku Sen and is only a step away from defeating his opponent’s Ken who only has a sliver of health left. But the Ken player manages to parry the entire attack and follow it up with a counterattack to take the round.

The sequence was reminiscent of a certain renowned EVO 2004 comeback. The Street Fighter III: 3^rd Strike semi-finals match between Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara.

Wong selected Chun-Li and Daigo selected Ken. Wong used Chun-Li’s Houyoku Sen against Umehara’s Ken which only had a sliver of health left. If Umehara blocks normally, he’ll take chip damage and lose the match. In a move demanding precise inputs from Umehara, he managed to fully parry the multi-hit attack and take no damage, following up with a counterattack of his own. The scene became known as the Daigo Parry and is even known outside of the fighting game community.

In the new video, just before using the move, Wong says, “You ain’t Daigo.” But like Umehara, his opponent pulled off the parry and won the round. After being knocked out, Wong commented, “That’s not scripted, he Daigo’d me.” The legendary moment had been recreated.

The Daigo Parry actually happened again in 2014 in an exhibition match between Wong and Umehara, so barring any other times Wong may have been Daigo’d, this would be the first in 7 years and the third in total.

It’s an unfortunate way to start the new year, but to be in the same situation, with the same characters, and an opponent skilled enough to pull off the Daigo Parry is a rare occurrence. Hopefully this is a sign of exciting matches to come for Wong in 2022.