Post
The single most famous moment in fighting game history, where Daigo Umehara parried 15 consecutive hits at EVO 2004.
At EVO 2004, Daigo Umehara was playing Ken against Justin Wong's Chun-Li in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. With a pixel of health left, any chip damage would kill him. Justin activated Chun-Li's Super Art, a 15-hit combo that deals chip damage even when blocked. Daigo's only option was to parry every single hit, which requires frame-perfect forward inputs timed to each strike. He nailed all 15 parries, counter-attacked, and won the round. The crowd lost its mind.
Example
This happened in the losers bracket of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournament at EVO 2004 in Las Vegas. The crowd reaction became one of the earliest viral gaming videos, often called 'Moment #37,' and it cemented Daigo 'The Beast' Umehara as a living legend in the FGC.
Why it matters
The Daigo Parry proved that esports could create genuine, breathtaking spectator moments on par with traditional sports. It showed the world that competitive gaming had real drama and superhuman skill, and it remains the clip people show when explaining why fighting games matter.
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