One of the most nerve-wracking moments of this year's EVO, an annual fighting game championship, came not from counterattacks, blocks or hadoukens, but a technical glitch. The dramatic final round between Yusuke Momochi and Bruce "GamerBee" Hsiang could probably best be described as "an advertisement for MadCatz meets the plot of Rocky."
While Momochi had long been considered a top-tier contender (he is the 2014 Capcom Cup champion, after all), it was GamerBee who won the hearts of the crowd by winning match after match against players thought to be above him, marching to the top of the loser's bracket and on to the Grand Finals. In the final match, the crowd chanted his name, despite Momochi taking the first round. And that, about 1:50 into the video below, is when it all went pear-shaped.
Early in the second round, Momochi's Razer fight stick malfunctioned. EVO rules allowed GamerBee to take the round, which he did. Time passed and the air was thick with tension and frazzled nerves. Peripheral manufacturer MadCatz stepped in to save the day with their fight stick a move that Razer handled with grace. The MadCatz stick did not break, and Momochi went on to win the tournament. Despite his efforts, the underdog … er, underbee … did not win the title.
But then, neither did Rocky in the first movie.
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