This match, though not even the semi-finals, let alone the finals, had the entire audience—and even the other competing players—glued to the screen. They watched Ryu cower in a corner while Chan Ka-Kui relentlessly poured on the damage.
He has to be beaten. He has to be beaten! Someone has to win against this Chan Ka-Kui!
If he wasn't taken down, everyone would just ban Chan Ka-Kui in future matches, which would be like nerfing the entire game.
However, after the stunning display in the previous round, Chan Ka-Kui's side had also raised their guard. The moment Mai Yaozu showed signs of closing in, they would immediately retreat. If Mai Yaozu tried to back off, they would continue their sneak attacks.
Two minutes had passed, with only one minute left in the match. In terms of health, Chan Ka-Kui clearly held the advantage.
No matter how you looked at it, if the fight continued like this, Chan Ka-Kui's side would be declared the winner even if the match ended on a health-count victory.
Such an outcome was unacceptable to everyone.
Sweat began to bead on Mai Yaozu's forehead again, trickling into his eyes and making it hard to see. He could only squint with one eye, staring at the screen while muttering curses under his breath.
Off-screen, an Asian spectator suddenly shouted.
"Beat him up! Beat him up!"
Mai Yaozu didn't dare look up. He stared intently at the screen, his mind racing as he tried to calculate his odds of winning.
Another voice started chanting in English:
"Knockout! Knockout! Knockout!"
Chan Ka-Kui, the player, was momentarily stunned and couldn't help but glance up. Mai Yaozu seized this opportunity, lunging forward with a direct throw that slammed his opponent to the ground. He then raised his hands for a fierce assault.
"Tatakae! Tatakae! Izu mo tatakae!"
"Knockout!"
"Fucking kill him!"
"Fucking kill him!"
Mai Yaozu kept his head down, not daring to look away, his eyes glued to the screen as he unleashed his attacks.
Mid kick, mid kick, mid punch, mid punch, heavy kick, Hadoken—
The Filipino Maid seized the chance, executing a backroll to dodge the attack. She let out a sigh of relief, a smirk spreading across her face.
A Hadoken? With that slow flight speed, how is he ever going to hit anyone?
Mai Yaozu ignored her. He mashed the joystick, charging forward with a burst of power, canceling his recovery frames into a Shoryuken that sent her flying. As he landed, he charged a heavy punch, sending Chan Ka-Kui sprawling.
The character on the screen flew in several circles before finally landing. The Filipino maid kept tapping the joystick backward, trying to turtle up against the edge of the screen, just as Mai Yaozu had done earlier. But right then, a Hadoken—a projectile—streaked across the screen and grazed Chan Ka-Kui.
The game registered the hit, automatically switching the backward movement to a block, which froze the character in place for a split second.
That was all the opening Mai Yaozu needed. He lunged forward, grabbed Chan Ka-Kui, and initiated a throw.
The Filipino maid slammed the joystick in the opposite direction, but she was a fraction of a second too late. The moment she saw her character get lifted into the air, she knew she'd failed the throw tech.
Chan Ka-Kui was tossed skyward. As the character slammed back down to the ground, her heart seemed to plummet into the abyss.
His health bar emptied completely, and a massive line of text flashed across the screen:
YOU LOSE!
Only after the word WINNER had pulsed and glowed for a long moment did Mai Yaozu finally snap back to his senses. He gasped for air, his chest heaving, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand to see clearly.
"Fuck your mother!" Mai Yaozu brought the microphone to his lips, cursing without restraint. "You useless piece of shit! You can't even beat me with Chan Ka-Kui, and you can't even throw a tantrum better than anyone else. You have no right to play a masterpiece like Street Fighter!"
The Filipino maid sat stunned for a moment before hurriedly grabbing her own microphone.
"I'm reporting this! I'm reporting him for verbally abusing me! He's making personal attacks!"
The host simply shook his head slowly and brought the microphone to his lips.
"Report denied. I hereby declare the winner of this match to be—Yanzu!"
Mai Yaozu leaned closer to the microphone.
"Yaozu."
In the end, Mai Yaozu failed to make it to the finals.
He didn't even make it to the semi-finals.
Because in the semi-finals, he had faced that kid named Umehara. They fought a thrilling match, and although he lost, he had his fill of the fight.
Finally, at the awards ceremony, the top three players were awarded prizes of one million yen, 500,000 yen, and 200,000 yen, respectively. The awards were presented by Jackie Chan, and the top three even took photos with him.
Mai Yaozu only learned from the people around him that the young man was actually Kobayashi Tetsu, the president of Atlas—the boss of the company that made Street Fighter.
Like the others, Mai Yaozu sat in the player's section and clapped. Seeing that he wasn't on the podium with the top three, he felt a twinge of regret and envy, but deep down, he was also profoundly satisfied.
At least he had given it his all.
As the awards ceremony concluded and the three winners were descending from the stage, Mai Yaozu suddenly saw the young man, Kobayashi Tetsu, walk up with a microphone.
And the moment he spoke, it was in two languages.
"Everyone, may I have your attention, please. I am Kobayashi Tetsu, President of Atlas. It is a great honor to witness the exceptional skill of all the players in this tournament—fighting game geniuses from all over the world. Your exploration of and contributions to gaming technique will be remembered forever. Some of you are from America, some from Europe—France, Germany, Italy—but the majority are from Asia, from Japan, from Tokyo."
"The top three spots in this competition were won by Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, after discussions with the Esports Tournament Organizing Committee, we have decided to present a special award—and a special punishment."
Mai Yaozu suddenly felt his throat go dry and tight.
Kobayashi Tetsu raised his hand and pointed. Everyone's gaze followed his finger.
"Joseph Lin, a player from the Philippines. I will remember you for what you did in today's competition, and the entire world of players will remember you. On behalf of all the organizers of this Esports Tournament and every fighting game enthusiast here today, I announce that you are permanently disqualified. I will not allow you to participate in any Atlas-sponsored or Atlas-affiliated competition from this day forward."
Mai Yaozu saw the Filipino maid's face instantly contort with anger. She tried to speak, but her voice was drowned out by the booming sound from the microphone.
"And now," Kobayashi Tetsu announced, "we would like to present a special award to a very special player."
"Mai Yaozu."
Kobayashi Tetsu gestured for him to come forward.
Mai Yaozu hesitated, but the crowd around him had already started to applaud. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and walked to the front of the arena, stepping into the spotlight.
"Congratulations," Kobayashi Tetsu said. "A hug?"
Mai Yaozu nodded, and Kobayashi Tetsu pulled him into an embrace, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"I'm sorry, we ran out of time to customize a special trophy, and we can't break the rules to give you a cash prize. But I saw you bought a Mega Drive console backstage. Take it home for free. It's on the house—you've earned it."
Kobayashi Tetsu then let go of Mai Yaozu and picked up the microphone again.
"As this fighting tournament comes to a successful close, I also have a special announcement for everyone!"
After Kobayashi Tetsu spoke into the microphone, several people pushed a flatbed cart onto the stage, placing a large object covered in a red cloth upon it.
Everyone could see that the object was huge.
Perhaps it was an arcade cabinet.
"Street Fighter II has been completed! Street Fighter II will feature more characters, more detailed storylines, cooler special effects and moves, and of course, more professional gameplay. This time, you won't be able to just hide in the corner of the screen."
Kobayashi Tetsu joked, then pointed at Mai Yaozu.
"Yanzu, do you want to come up and try it out? Do you want to be the first player in the world to experience Street Fighter II in front of all the Street Fighter players?"
Mai Yaozu muttered under his breath, but in the end, he still didn't correct him.
That—
His name was Yaozu.
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