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Fuudo
Fuudo at EVO 2012
Current team
Team Mildom Beast
Game Street Fighter V
Personal information
NameKeita Ai
Born (1985-11-07) November 7, 1985 (age 38)
Chiba Prefecture, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Career information
Games
Playing career2005–present
Team history
2012–2018Team Razer
2018–presentMildom Beast
Career highlights and awards

Keita Ai ( Japanese: 阿井 慶太), better known as Fuudo (ふ〜ど), is a Japanese electronic sports player specializing in the Street Fighter series. Fuudo entered the fighting game scene in 2005 playing Virtua Fighter 4. Fuudo has won various fighting game tournaments, including the World Cyber Games and Evolution Championship Series. Fuudo has been described by multiple journalists as the world's best R. Mika player.

Career

Fuudo first appeared on the larger fighting game scene at the Virtua Fighter 4 tournament at the 2005 World Cyber Games. [1] Fuudo came first place in Virtua Fighter 4 at Super Battle Opera that same year, and first took gold at the World Cyber Games in 2009 before permanently switching to Street Fighter IV. [2]

Fuudo entered the Super Street Fighter IV tournament at the 2011 Evolution Championship without much attention, but according to Red Bull's Pete Dreyer, "rampaged through the competition, displaying incredibly solid fundamentals and perfect execution," beating players such as Xian and Poongko. [2] Fuudo defeated Latif's Crimson Viper in the finale in only three matches, making him the overall winner of the tournament. [3]

In April 2012, Fuudo and colleague fighting game player Itazan accepted a sponsorship deal with American company Razer Inc. in order to design and create an arcade fighting stick peripheral and to compete for Team Razer from that point onward. According to Fuudo, he accepted the deal in order to be able to travel to more tournaments and meet more international players. Robert Krakoff, president of Razer USA, stated that he brought the two veteran players in because the fighting game scene was booming in the United States at the time and described the input of Fuudo and Itazan for the "Razer Arcade Stick" as "priceless". [1] [4]

Fuudo has not won any major tournaments since reaching first place at Topanga League 2 in 2012, though has reached high placings at tournaments such as DreamHack and Stunfest. [2] [5] Having hit ninth place at Tokyo Game Show 2015, Fuudo almost ran out of chances to qualify for the 2015 Capcom Cup, though he qualified when he reached second place at the 2015 KO Fighting Game Festival by beating Latif's Crimson Viper again, though he lost to Xian in the finale. [6] [7]

During the Street Fighter V finale at Evolution Championship 2016, Fuudo lost against Infiltration, making second place. Playing R. Mika against Infiltration's Nash, Fuudo was able to win against him and send him to the loser's bracket in the first round of the top 8. The two met each other again in the grand final, in which Infiltration managed to counter all of Fuudo's techniques. [8] [9]

Personal life

Fuudo is married to the gravure idol and tarento Yuka Kuramochi. [10] He has one child, a son named Minato. [11]

Notable tournament placings

Fuudo at the Evo 2011 award ceremony
Year Tournament Game Place Character Citations
2005 Japan Tougeki – Super Battle Opera 2005 Virtua Fighter 4 1st Lion Rafale [2]
2009 China World Cyber Games 2009 Virtua Fighter 4 1st Lion Rafale [2]
2011 United States EVO 2011 Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 1st Fei Long [2] [3]
2012 United States EVO 2012 Virtua Fighter 5 1st Shun [12]
2014 United States Capcom Cup 2014 Ultra Street Fighter IV 7th Fei Long [13]
2016 United States DreamHack Summer 2016 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika [14] [15]
2016 France Stunfest 2016 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika
2016 China G-League Street Fighter V 4th R. Mika [5] [16]
2016 United States EVO 2016 Street Fighter V 2nd R. Mika [8] [9]
2018 United States EVO 2018 Street Fighter V 3rd R. Mika [17]
2022 Japan Topanga Championship 4 2022 Street Fighter V: Champion Edition 1st Poison, R. Mika, Birdie [18]

Acknowledgements

Fuudo has been described as the best R. Mika player in the world by ESPN's Tyler Erzberger and Timothy Lee, the latter stating that "his defensive and smothering style is perfect for large tournaments because he forces his opponent in a corner where they have no choice but to make mistakes." [14] [16] Chelsea Stark of Mashable similarly stated that, during his performance at Evo 2016, "Fuudo's play took Mika to her extreme, as she relentlessly chased down opponents and pummeled them in a corner round after round." [8] Red Bull's Pete Dreyer estimated in February 2016 that Fuudo had earned $55,110.09 USD worth of prize money throughout his career, putting him among the highest earning Street Fighter players. [2]

References

  1. ^ a b Webb, Benjamin (2012-04-24). "Razer Team Up With Fuudo And Itazan". Capsule Computers.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Dreyer, Pete (2016-02-15). "The 10 highest-earning Street Fighter IV pros ever". Red Bull.
  3. ^ a b Davis, Christian (2011-08-01). "Fuudo Wins Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Championship at EVO 2K11". Device Magazine.
  4. ^ "Razerが日本の格闘ゲーマーとプロ契約 Team Razerにふ～ど選手と板橋ザンギエフ選手が参加". Famitsu. 2012-04-24.
  5. ^ a b Jurek, Steven (2016-06-22). "Three things to watch for at G-League". The Daily Dot.
  6. ^ Martin, Michael (2015-09-25). "Team Razer Secures Victory in Kuwait Premier Event". Red Bull.
  7. ^ Martin, Michael (2015-12-02). "The Road to Capcom Cup: Day Three". Red Bull.
  8. ^ a b c Stark, Chelsea (2016-07-18). "Upsets and close wins make Evo's Street Fighter V finale mesmerizing". Mashable.
  9. ^ a b "The Winner's Circle of Evo 2016". Red Bull. 2016-07-23.
  10. ^ "グラドルの倉持由香、プロゲーマーと結婚 交際期間約10年でゴールイン「毎日楽しく笑って」". Oricon (in Japanese). 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  11. ^ "倉持由香が第1子男児出産を報告「名前は『湊』と名付ける予定です」". Oricon (in Japanese). 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  12. ^ "Fuudo of Team Razer Takes First in Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown at the EVO 2012 World Championships". Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  13. ^ Jurek, Steven (2015-12-04). "The biggest Street Fighter event of the year starts Sunday, and here's what you need to know". The Daily Dot.
  14. ^ a b Erzberger, Tyler (2016-07-17). "Street Fighter V top eight preview". ESPN.
  15. ^ Walker, Ian (2015-06-22). "Phenom Takes on Japan and Wins at DreamHack Summer". Red Bull.
  16. ^ a b Lee, Timothy (2016-07-15). "The Evo Street Fighter V primer". ESPN.
  17. ^ Taylor, Nicholas (2018-08-05). "EVO 2018 results". Eventhubs.
  18. ^ Taylor, Nicholas (2022-06-19). "Topanga Championship 4 results". Eventhubs.
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