Coming out of the gate Justin used Rufus and Daigo of course Ryu. They ended up going 2 and 2 right out of the gate but soo the momentum began to shift. Daigo took two games straight, making it 4-2. Justin then switched to Balrog; the character that he was so successful with at EVO, it did not make a difference this time. Daigo pounded him 4 straight making it 8-2. Justin then made another surprise switch to C. Viper, that again made no difference as he was quickly dispatched giving Daigo a 10-2 victory. However the story does not end there.

As to be expected Daigo and Justin met in the Winner’s Finals of the actual SFIV tournament at Seasons Beatings(250 entrants). However Justin decided NOT to play Daigo with Rufus, Balrog, or C. Viper. Instead he opted to what some were saying is a “cowardly” move by picking the console character Fei Long. Incase you don’t know in Japan, no one plays on console at all. So even if Daigo wanted to get console experience he can’t so he has no experience with any console only characters. Justin went straight at Daigo hitting him with every gimmick and set up he knew, using Daigo’s lack of the character knowledge and his own amazing footies to their fullest. Justin took the set in Winner’s finals 3-1. Daigo was visibly shaken according to those there and apparently someone got up in his face after the lose causing a bit of a ruckus.

Daigo then met Long Island Joe(ILOVEU Joe) in losers and lost the first match. It seemed like he was still shaken from his lose to Justin in winners finals. However all of a sudden Daigo seemed to snap back. He powered back and beat Joe 3-1 and went on the meet Justin in Grand Finals. In Grand Finals again Justin went straight for Fei Long but something seemed different this time. According to the announcers Daigo seemed much calmer in Grand Finals then he had been in Winner’s and he began to trade games with Justin’s Fei. They traded to 2-2 then Daigo had a miracle comeback in to make it 3-2 and took the first set of Grand Finals 4-2. Soon Daigo had completely figured out Justin’s Fei Long. The second set saw Daigo get off to a huge lead and Justin was never able to get the momentum back in his favor. Daig took the second set 4 to 1 and took home a large chunk of change.

Words really can’t described how amazing Daigo played in the Grand Finals. That is what compelled me to write this. You could clearly see Daigo slowly taking every gimmick and little hole Justin gave him and learning it. Slowly whittling down Justin’s arsenal of attacks to nothing but pokes and throws. Once Justin did one set up he could never use it again, it was instantly downloaded and remembered. It was beautiful and it was what helps separate Daigo from the rest of the world. He can adapts so fast and he has the experience to do so. Remember Daigo plays SFIV probably more than anyone so it’s not like it’s all natural born talent. The man has put in his time and payed his dues for years and years. Now he’s clearly the #1 SFIV player in the world after he beat Mago 23-7 in a FT30 and what he did at Season’s Beatings. Incredible stuff.

Apparently the videos will be up to watch/download at http://frame-advantage.com/ I heavily suggest you all check out the Grand Finals and Winners Finals even if you are not THAT into Street Fighter, it’s worth a look.