Some people are fans of Yukadon. But many other people are NOT fans of Yukadon. This article is for those in the latter group. And yes, I did completely steal this idea from Drew Magary. So sue me.
Your player
Youdeal | Yukadon
I would say that he makes LI Joe really happy, but I think that's just how happy LI Joe is all the time. Motherfucker's like a walking antidepressant.
Personal history
Last year, nobody knew who the fuck Yukadon was. Shoryuken described his year like so:
And when I say that he plays "high-level Street Fighter," I mean high-level. Remember that Japanese coaching program? The one where top professionals mentor younger, up-and-coming players? Yukadon is in that program - AS A TEACHER. That puts him alongside beasts like Fuudo, ItaZan, Kazunoko, and Haitani. So, yeah, this guy is no joke. He LOOKS innocent - he's got the pleasantly symmetrical face of a friendly customer-service robot - but, again, don't trust him. HE'S SNEAKY.
CPT season recap
As of this writing, Yukadon is in FOURTH FUCKING PLACE in the CPT standings, which is super-terrifying, because the first three places belong to the Evo winner, the most dominant player of the year, and fucking Haitani. Basically, Mister Flies-Under-The-Radar Yukadon is somehow managing to outpace almost all of the challengers to the throne.
But here's my question: when does he find the time to train? Based on his twitter account, all he does all day long is thank people. He went on a thanking spree in early October...
...and late August...
But how does he feel about Rashid?
Not great!
Why he's getting bodied at Capcom Cup
Yukadon has managed to go largely unnoticed in the States, that much is for certain. If he comes up against a lot of Americans in the bracket, he might blow them up. But there's no way for him to sneak up on the Japanese players: they've been fighting him for six years and they've got him scouted. Even if we fall for his sneaky, sneaky ways, his fellow countrymen won't be so gullible. Unless he can pull some Space Gem bullshit and tiptoe his way around every single Japanese player in the bracket, Yukadon is going down.
"But wait," you say
Strong tournament results? Check. Cheap-as-hell character? Check. Hails from east Asia? Check. So I guess we can't reject him out of hand. Let's talk it over in the comments.
Your player
Youdeal | Yukadon
I would say that he makes LI Joe really happy, but I think that's just how happy LI Joe is all the time. Motherfucker's like a walking antidepressant.
Personal history
Last year, nobody knew who the fuck Yukadon was. Shoryuken described his year like so:
"One of the first instances of Yukadon being paid attention to was Evolution 2016...But they got baited - HARD. Yukadon is not some overnight success story. He's been playing high-level Street Fighter since at least 2011, when he was a top C. Viper. So why hadn't we heard of him? Because he used to go by "Isesuto" and then changed his handle, the sneaky fuck. I mean, also, Americans are ignorant as all hell, but mostly it's because Yukadon is SO SNEAKY.
While that could spell out that Yukadon is fluke who made top 8 by the way of the luck of the bracket draw, don't let that become your focus. While the current best Nash in Japan could argued to be RB|Bonchan, Yukadon has still netted wins against the likes of Daigo, MOV, HM|Go1, and GGP|Kazunoko–all of them finalists at Capcom Cup."
And when I say that he plays "high-level Street Fighter," I mean high-level. Remember that Japanese coaching program? The one where top professionals mentor younger, up-and-coming players? Yukadon is in that program - AS A TEACHER. That puts him alongside beasts like Fuudo, ItaZan, Kazunoko, and Haitani. So, yeah, this guy is no joke. He LOOKS innocent - he's got the pleasantly symmetrical face of a friendly customer-service robot - but, again, don't trust him. HE'S SNEAKY.
CPT season recap
As of this writing, Yukadon is in FOURTH FUCKING PLACE in the CPT standings, which is super-terrifying, because the first three places belong to the Evo winner, the most dominant player of the year, and fucking Haitani. Basically, Mister Flies-Under-The-Radar Yukadon is somehow managing to outpace almost all of the challengers to the throne.
But here's my question: when does he find the time to train? Based on his twitter account, all he does all day long is thank people. He went on a thanking spree in early October...
...and before that, he was thankful in late September...thank you!— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) October 3, 2017
...and in mid-September...thank youπ— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) September 26, 2017
γγγγ¨γγγγγΎγ！— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) September 16, 2017
...and late August...
...and mid-August...γγγγ¨γγγγγΎγ、ηιγγΎγγπ— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) August 28, 2017
...and then I stopped looking, because what the fuck. Either this is the most polite man on the planet or he's trying to lull everybody into a false sense of security. Wanna know my guess? Here's a hint: SNEAKY MCSNEAKERTON.γδΈθ©±γ«γͺγγΎγγ、γγγγ¨γγγγγΎγγ！— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) August 20, 2017
But how does he feel about Rashid?
Not great!
Y'know what, though? This is 100% fair. Oil King, the Taiwanese Rashid main, hates Ibuki, and now it turns out that Yukadon, an Ibuki player, hates Rashid. I hope they meet in grand finals and just suffer the whole way through. Those cheap-ass characters deserve each other.γγεγ«γ¬γγγγπ’— YUKADON | YOUDEAL (@yukadon333) September 2, 2017
I hate Rashid...
Why he's getting bodied at Capcom Cup
Yukadon has managed to go largely unnoticed in the States, that much is for certain. If he comes up against a lot of Americans in the bracket, he might blow them up. But there's no way for him to sneak up on the Japanese players: they've been fighting him for six years and they've got him scouted. Even if we fall for his sneaky, sneaky ways, his fellow countrymen won't be so gullible. Unless he can pull some Space Gem bullshit and tiptoe his way around every single Japanese player in the bracket, Yukadon is going down.
"But wait," you say
Strong tournament results? Check. Cheap-as-hell character? Check. Hails from east Asia? Check. So I guess we can't reject him out of hand. Let's talk it over in the comments.
SNEAKY MCSNEAKERTON. lul.
ReplyDeleteAnother enjoyable writeup, nice work sir. I didn't know he's doing coaching in that mentor program, he must be an experienced veteran in the JFGC. I wonder how old is he? Looks quite young to me.
"I wonder how old is he? Looks quite young to me."
DeleteThat's what I'm saying! There's gotta be more to him than meets the eye. Dude knows how to keep his cards hidden.