The Story of Tokido

[Music] legends are not born there are a few people who could truly claim to be legends and even fewer who can live up to the meaning of the word very close he hit a button he's so genius the time he's in a talk about a punk a Grand Finals of evil Toki doe is perhaps the most decorated fighting game player in history with top eight placements in over a dozen different games over his career he is one of the greatest players the fighting game community has ever seen a focused Aikido is probably one of the scariest people that you can actually imagine if you're in a competitive field and yet when you think of fighting games specifically Street Fighter Tokyo isn't the first person who comes to mind and that kind of like mentality changed to be known from like plays the cheapest characters to just wants to improve himself to be the best is like that's a huge change in how he is like a person not just the competitor right Tokyo has spent most of his career in Daigo shadow he's dedicated his life to perfecting his craft all in his quest to become something many believe he already is I want to be President this is his story [Applause] fighting game is something so great [Music] Hajime Tokyo Taniguchi was born on July 7th 1985 in Kanazawa Japan named by his grandfather Hajime means both to begin and first and some would argue that his destiny was always to be number one but it took him some time to get there Tokyo wasn't much of a gamer early on but after moving and switching schools he found himself without many friends oh I just have to pray myself so I just go back oh damn pray not only fighting game I pray Street Fighter the first fighting game he picked up with Street Fighter 2 which he often played at home by himself but twice a year he'd get to play competitively while he visited his cousin in Okinawa in school I don't have friend battle in my mother's hometown I have a friend cousin under his a very good fighting game TRAI so the I we play fighting game each other and I didn't winged taquitos cousin was older and better at the fighting games they played but by the time they were playing Virtua Fighter 2 torpedo finally got the upper hand I practiced a lot so I'm confident so the Xavier later I challenged him again then I beat him just a little bit so at the time I am I did it beating his cousin gave torpedo a taste of the rush he spent the rest of his life chasing and the concept of constant self-improvement in pursuit of victory became core to his identity the man we now know as Tokyo has been going by that name ever since middle school back then he would play King of Fighters in arcades and quickly became known for using a cheesy tactic my senpai call me oh you are very betrayer you just do jump kick and the so fireball your name is Toki door oh okay I accept it I'm Toki though even though it may have pissed off his friends Tokyo strategy worked and became his approach to all fighting games he played everything and made sure to pick the true stuff he/she just would pick whatever was the most effective thing and win like in super turbo when he played super driver he just used Vega he just did the the heel ball the wall dive tactics when we played hyper Street Fighter 2 which is the version that let you play every single version of every character he just played see II bison in that game he didn't care so he just did whatever it took to win he played the most you know oppressive strategy possible and so you know he was dirty taquito and it was wonderful a few years later after suffering a devastating loss Tokyo heard a rumor about an American fighting game tournament but there was one problem he wasn't sure if his father would let him travel to the United States I asked my father because I don't have money so I need parents money so I asked father other time I didn't sink my father let me join but my father's said oh you want to go to us to join some some video game tournament okay I pay for you I'm very surprised my father is for me it's very hard to say he's the affiliate on the streak taquito traveled with the Japanese contingent and despite being just 17 got his first taste at international success taquito showed America how to properly play EURion and third strike and defeated fighting game legend Onuki in Capcom vs. SNK 2 on the main stage it was his first Evo victory and it wouldn't be his last taquitos career victory span an enormous number of games over the years he's picked up top 8 placements in 14 different titles but taquitos first Evo victory didn't kick off his fighting game career so much as it put it on pause at 17 Tokyo still had a few years before University but after coming home from Evo he started to apply to Tokyo University one of the most prestigious schools in Japan Tokyo still played fighting games during his studies and returned to Evo in 2005 2007 and 2008 even winning Super Street Fighter 2 turbo at Evo of 7 but back home Tokyo focused on his studies I didn't very fighting Gabe I study a lot it wasn't the Tokyo didn't have time to play fighting games it's that he loved pursuing his studies at least he did until it was time for his master's degree I didn't go to a cage at the time because of my study is very hard and it was so fun but my score for entrance examination for Master degree is bad very bad then I have to change I can estou Kido grew tired of the academic lifestyle a new opportunity presented itself Street Fighter 4 released in Japanese arcades in 2008 and by 2009 was reviving the North American fgc on consoles as well the players Tokyo had competed with in high school were coming back and when he dropped out of his master's program in 2010 topito came back to Tokyo was a few years late - Street Fighter 4 but when he did show up he wanted to make a splash and quickly found himself drawn to street fighters enigmatic villain picking a street fighter main is often a practical choice but for some players their chosen character transcends tiers and serves as a reflection of themselves mechanically Akuma is a low health high damage character that demands perfection at the highest level narrative Lee he's a character that's found ultimate power and now seeks an opponent who can truly challenge him in reality he and taquito were a perfect match you miserable when you pick a kuma you're making a statement you're telling your opponent that you can play perfectly that you can destroy and okeydoke lays a kuma for those very reasons he demands perfection from his character from his opponents and from himself it's character concept he has roll house but he has everything else that mean if I must have him he's a best character for me but the road to perfection is paved with defeat something Tokyo knows all too well [Music] [Applause] Tokyo found adapting to Street Fighter 4 difficult at first at first I don't think he is good because I couldn't beat anyone but little by little all this character good at least not bad they're all good all this talk but he quickly found his footing [Music] when it came to Street Fighter Tokyo was too often the bridesmaid and never the bride he was a fixture in the top eight but winning it all was a rare occurrence Street Fighter 4 was defined by small periods of dominance from a handful of players but Tokyo never had the consecutive major victories to establish his dynasty there were incredible victories to be sure you don't take that but he had his slip-ups too and he was just not even moving that fish completely annihilated by the Beast Wow they called actually there's actually drowning about that and of course they were the times he was so close to tasting victory and felt just short but while Tokyo was grinding out Street Fighter 4 he was juggling more games than any other top player Tokyo holds titles in Soul Calibur critical edge Tekken King of Fighters if you'll take sit down there was too much momentum going on there Street Fighter cross Tekken and that's it Aikido is gonna take it over it Jason Dead or Alive persona 4 arena that's gonna hurt that might be the end of it and there it is Tekken Tag Tournament CBS 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and so Kido is your Marvel vs. Capcom 3 grand champion of cgo 2011 not to mention his dozens of victories in main series Street Fighter games and that's it ladies and gentlemen great games I actually really enjoyed watching that yeah I gotta tell you it's been a long time since I watched third strike that was really nice Tokita was a multi game athlete with a penchant for the dramatic he liked putting on a show for the fans and quickly developed a reputation as the murderface so Kido gets up and walks off [Applause] the murderface nickname came from the comically serious face he put on when he sat down to play but the name eventually came to be associated with his incredible hilarious Popoff's and he's up in front of the screen that is unprecedented he's upped the ante and Kay Brad's like that just happened getting murderface is an incredible thing o inspiring and unbelievably tilting all at once but behind the scenes taquito was struggling sure he was having fun but he felt there was something missing something he'd give up his reputation to get taquito worked a few part-time jobs to pay the bills after University but he was all to support the one thing he truly cared about fighting games and after dominating CEO Street Fighter and MVC events in 2011 Toki toe is signed by Mad Catz which led him solely focus on his passion but the sponsorship meant more than just going to tournaments he was now on the same team as fighting game legend Daigo Umehara it was proof that Tokyo could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the greatest fighting game player of all time Toki dough and Daigo had clashed plenty of times before but seeing them on the same team was something special a head of Mad Catz unveiled Japan in 2013 Daigo Tokyo were practicing behind the scenes Daigo was slated to face off against infiltration then considered the best player in the world and in order to beat his Akuma Daigo needed to practice against the best Akuma player he could find and so he turned to Toki dough the day before Moscow sunbathed he asked me okay let's let's practice then he did he destroy me it was a most shocked experience for me oh it's same human kind but of his another level Daigo went on to demolish infiltration in one of the most one-sided first attend matches either player had ever participated in [Applause] but Tokita was left wondering what the point was sure he was a jack-of-all-trades a veritable fighting game savant who was good at any fighting game he touched but even when the pressure was off he couldn't beat the best he was good not great not a master and certainly not a legend so I I had to change my mind I have to be the best at least I want to be the best or I couldn't survive in the fighting game community then I I completely change my mind I stopped praying any other fighting game then I stick to pray only one game Street Fighter 4 to kill threw himself into his new life and other fighting games faded away I change a lot even in my yes lifestyle yes a lot of things not just in in the game and my name is you know Hajime Hajime is one yes my grandfather's made me become number one Street Fighter was everything now and he would give his life to it in a way that no other player could match f-80c floyd for the fireball Stalin is Tokyo right now topitos Ultra Street Fighter 4 career was about consistency for over a year he only missed top eight seven times winds were still infrequent but he was grinding facing every tournament with a new sense of purpose and through it all he still found the time to be the over-the-top personality the fans fell in love with I know every corner man he gets second phrase and I know Larry you want to be champion I'm for takedo pushed and pushed beating some of the game's top talent and even made top eight at Evo in 2015 the first time since his heart breaking 2nd place finish in 2013 just a series of unfortunate events therefore Caggiano foe and lucky for Tokyo that he didn't press a button right there at the end it seemed like he might have taquito couldn't make it past momochi and gamer B but when those two went on to play in the tournament grand finals Tokyo remained the honorable competitor when momochi stick broke mid set it was the murderface who offered up his equipment to get the tournament back on track the steepest mountain taken down once again the tournament point from momochi he has to win these two rounds oh no no no James no James not like this not like this Tokyo finally broke through at Canada Cup 2015 the grueling 10 game grand final set against Fudo has gone down in history as one of the greatest Street Fighter 4 sets of all time what is it so light so light and he backed off and then he still got like oh eight seconds all we got super Tokyo forgot he had it okay I like that runs loot over there Oh long enough no Rumple out of it these two players are pulling out every trick every move that these characters have Fudo fighting all the way rain how they run out of gas although it is he did the work of reversal the pull up that meanie focus focus I've been doing so much working again kudos saves that wake up teepee in the situation for the last game and go get a stay away he didn't want to stay away he wanted to go in here good enough here comes fruit oh he's gonna get a ton of damage off of this he's gonna get a tongue up down the top of it here we go down when he come in what's the mix of powder and he wanted it but Sookie don't block trying to push Oh between these two competitors as you can see the relief on Sookie toes face you can see how much heart that he put into this massless turnin here but that momentum didn't carry through to Capcom Cup which opido the launch of Street Fighter 5 marked a turning point for competitive fighting games the game was built from the ground up with eSports in mind with a pro - were ready to go day one which meant toe Kido wasted no time getting to work the murder face spent the entire first half of the year in top three but there was always one player just ahead of him the Capcom Cup Tokyo met infiltration in a string of grand finals and only managed to topple him once but when he did it was magical oh he's got the head this kinda stuff is Oh Peter what's it this is gonna be enough to kill he can't kill maybe not quite Tokyo and it doesn't it doesn't people might be kept up with a perfect Tokyo has done it he has done it he's qualified here at CEO with a perfect and you can see the elation on his face but fortunately for taquito that early momentum all but petered out by Capcom cub so Kido China build up that meter for the critical art uh no actually he spends what of it any mister cut overhead one more he got it oh boy but he didn't go all the way in all right there's a huge opportunity looking at AIDS a beside himself he has taken it victory had escaped him once again Tokita played all of Street Fighter 5 season 1 with Ryu but Akuma season 2 launch was the beginning of a new age the era of takedo it was interesting when Akuma came out I think everybody was a little like we're not sure how good the character has been a good bad like where he is until this and in Tokyo he like famously told his manager he's like trust Tokyo after proving that Akuma was far from the weak character some thought he would be Takeda was signed by echo fox alongside a who's who of fighting game free agents that's it again two for two on the demons is that it here that you YouTube monsters get ready to get to Tokyo BAM nine demon compilation while Tokyo was establishing himself as the Akuma player to watch there was a new contender for best in the world Punk and up-and-coming North American player was blowing through tournaments and quickly became a favorite to win the biggest tournament of the Year Evo Punky's by the best player I are the very surprised if he was not in top eight all signs pointed to Punk becoming the first na Street Fighter champion in more than a decade and after he defeated Tokyo early in the tournament his ascendance seemed all but certain that's it he should be able to confirm into the critical art book is gonna take it over tokino and advance over onto the winter side top 8 but taquito bounced back because of it Tokyo is gonna take it over key dough what a run from this guy the only men to beat him all weekend is waiting in that Grand Finals of evolution he found himself staring down Punk'd in the grand finals he just ate the Thai kick and the beautiful side switch there from Tokyo there he has the opportunity to go either direction is that Oh could it be a stunning very close he hit up but he's so genius the time he's in a talk about a bunk a grand finals of evil he finds a hit fungus for sure Ted landed into it he's been shot the Beavers let us save himself chip becomes a concern if he can get another like true small hit Tokyo Tokyo has any trigger oh here he comes except throat a keno has set up to the Luthor's back and essentially this useful kiddo the momentum is massive looking miserable here for causing so much trouble is so this is is where the mental attitude comes into play I've never seen a moon like this he's just not prepared he's unsettled by Tokyo if the nerves are getting to him the stakes here at evolution that confirm again the back throw he is marching all over of Tokyo in this game is his they'll be amazing positioning you know he's gonna have to set up here left or right you got again oh my god is that enough he is dead okie-doke gets another round he's got the trigger he finds a hand he'll kill [Applause] even now it's difficult to explain just how badly toki doe defeated pond he took the ascendant rookie and brought him back down to first he took his competitive spirit and beat it into the ground crushing him in front of the biggest crowd fighting games has to offer but instead of gloating tokyo finished the tournament with a message of love for the fgc the community that had brought him all this way that inspired the change in his life that carried him to victory congratulations you know you came all the way from Japan is there anybody at home or is there anybody that you want to give a shout out to that's one thing I want to say hiking game it's something so great it's a difficult in a word at the time I have a long story because I I lost a lot I lost two Daigo I lost the hamachi and then I stuck long time I changed my style but to at first it's doesn't didn't work with over little I improve myself if I do good effort the team control yes that I want to say that that's why I say a fighting game it's great taquitos definition of being the best is very different from most people's it'll mean how to avoid it in a bottle they're gonna do it by you so I'll still get just 101 of what was already mother's in there we'd skip tonight well hold an orthography no homo Solomon would I know no cannot be in the law aqua nice tie that's why Tokyo challenged I go to a first to ten as part of die goes from oh no michi show matches series he basically went to die go score he was like he isn't known to be the best in the long sense again it's really good opponents so for me to be better than him I needed to win championships I need to study hard I need to be like a face of the community and I need to be better than him at like what he's the best right and more importantly a win would allow him to finally call himself the best in the world like Tokyo did to Punk Daigo crushed Tokyo spirit [Applause] [Music] taquito didn't shrug off the soul-crushing loss he learned from it and used it to fuel his competitive spirit [Applause] Pepito appeared in 11 grand finals during the 2018 season and won six of them he amassed more CPT points in one season than anyone ever has and through it all he's kept on grinding go through the B reversal knocks him down [Applause] [Music] Tokita wasn't beside himself when he lost two men rd or even when he came second to problem x at evo 2018 because toki doe demands perfection and when his opponents come at him perfectly he will never be upset if he is evil I lost to him but how to say I didn't upset it so much oh you are good you are better and here congratulation just I might my feeling with your conversation he will just a man more from himself many would say the taquito is already a legend he's shown mastery in dozens of games and absolutely dominated Street Fighter 5 he's played fighting games longer than most of his opponents have been alive and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon but he still isn't satisfied would beating Daigo making the best would winning Evo Capcom Cup and everything else make him the best toki doe doesn't think so victory alone won't cement his legacy takedo wants more I want to be the president [Applause] thanks for watching if you want more great content just like this be sure to hit the subscribe button [Music]

Channel: theScore esports

Views: 309,722

Keywords: eSports, gaming, theScoreesports, thescore, street fighter, fgc, tokido, daigo, evo moment 37, fighting games, akuma, capcom, evo, punk, japan, echo fox, mad catz, murderface, soul calibur, james chen, documentary, ryu, sfv, sfv highlights, kennyS, Faker, #StreetFighter, champion, rick fox, tokido highlights, tokido top plays, xbox, playstation, fight, 谷口 一, ときど, プロゲーマー, daigo umehara, ストリートファイターV, スト, ストV, 梅原 大吾, ウメハラ, ウメ, ウメさん, grand finals, street fighter 5, tekken 7, story of

Id: EY1EDYluZ58

Length: 32min 5sec (1925 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 19 2019