The Japanese fighting game community is up in arms after the Kemonomichi Legends LIVE match, and not because Daigo Umehara lost. Evo took control of the broadcast, and many felt the production level was disrespectful.

Now, many are accusing Evo of not understanding the magnitude of the historic match and of trying way too hard to create moments rather than letting them happen naturally. It’s an unfortunate end to one of the most important matches in Street Fighter history.

And if you ask me, I believe Evo has lost touch with the fighting game community.

Daigo and Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II faced off in a first-to-10 on April 29th after the latter respectfully asked Daigo, a long-time legend, if he’d be up for it.

“It would be the greatest honor of my career if I had the opportunity to fight you in a first-to-10,” MenaRD wrote on X to the legend last year. “Since I was young, I have dedicated myself to preparation, and I wonder how far we could take it if we decided to focus on a single set between us for months.”

The FGC has been anticipating it ever since. Due to the timing and branding of the event, I mistakenly said it was put on by Evo. However, I was wrong. It was a “kemonomichi” event that Evo later asked to be part of, offering to run the broadcast. As it turns out, Evo’s involvement was the issue.

This was an event that the FGC took very, very seriously. Especially in Japan, where it took place. Daigo is 45 years old, a veteran of the Street Fighter scene who is often considered the GOAT. He is referred to as “The Beast.” The event was translated as “Beast Path,” a duel to the death rather than a match. That’s because there’s no rematch. This is it. It’s as if the loser is dead.

When MenaRD won 6-10, he reacted with utmost respect for the legend. The FGC praised MenaRD’s skills and respect, while claiming Daigo is still the best there ever was. It was a very wholesome and inspiring moment for the fighting game community. Daigo even said he had been considering retirement if he had lost to MenaRD, but the match reignited his passion for the game.

However, once the emotions died down, the FGC realized they hated the production of the showmatch. It took nearly an hour for the match to begin, the translation work was sloppy, and Evo used American talent rather than Japanese talent. This led to a lot of cultural discrepancies, like the global audience not hearing some of the weighted and impactful quotes from Daigo ahead of the match, and American talent not appearing to take the match seriously. When they asked the crowd to clap if they believed Daigo would win, Japanese fans found this very disrespectful.

“The Beast’s Path was an event that Ume-san took time to organize, focusing on humans in a way that had never been done before, featuring combinations with deep-seated rivalries and backstories that were crucial,” Street Fighter pro Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi expressed on X. “It wasn’t just about feeling frustrated over a loss — it stirred up emotions so intense, like something you truly couldn’t forgive, that words alone felt too provocative to even try capturing it.”

Explained one fan: “Victory in the Beast Path holds more weight for Mena and Daigo than any title. There are no rematch opportunities, and those who lose the Beast Path can never participate again. The Beast Path is not an exhibition; it is a match where defeat means death. You can see just how off-base a performance asking something like ‘Which one do you want to die?’ would be.”

Said another: “Does the phrase ‘a deadly serious duel with swords’ get the point across? The loser dies. When you want to feel that raw, stinging tension and seriousness between each other, do you really need words? It’s not specific — it’s everything. Even pre-fight interviews are totally unnecessary to begin with. Because it’s a fight to the death. You don’t need any hyped-up stuff like ‘Here we goooo!’ either. It’s not a match — it’s a fight to the death.”

Someone simply stated: “I’ll never forget how you used the Beast Path as a tool for making money and then discarded it.”

Evo is being accused of failing to understand the impact of this momentous and serious event. But it also felt like Evo hijacked the event to make it into a spectacle. And this is something that’s been a concern as of late.

Evo used to be just one event in Las Vegas. The expansion last year was already met with some concern, with Arslan Ash claiming it would reduce the event’s prestige. When Saudi Arabia’s RTS took over and announced a massive circuit, the FGC became even more skeptical. That’s because the FGC is not trying to be mainstream. It’s not trying to be huge.

The FGC is obsessed with authenticity. Grind. Passion. Grassroots. They don’t want content creator show matches, even if it means bringing in more viewership and money. They don’t want all this over-the-top hype, branding, and sponsorship stuff. Some of the best FGC events are for Super Smash Bros., where the pop-offs are wild, the rivalries are heated, the pros are doing money matches with fans, and there are players taking bets on Grand Finals. It’s mayhem. It’s raw. It’s real.

Evo feels like a corporate version of what the FGC actually is. The streamers, the expansion… It feels like Evo wants to be bigger than it is. It seems like it’s forcing hype rather than letting authentic moments unfold.

Said one tweet: “I think Evo is trying too hard to create another Moment 37. S***’s not organic anymore, and all the forced hype cheapens it. I miss when s*** happened, and we reacted, not making some noise for a prospect of an idea of some s*** farmed for a response.”

Real s***.

Moment 37 was when Daigo and Justin Wong had a legendary Street Fighter finals at Evo 2004. With only one sliver of health left, Daigo parried 15 consecutive hits of Chun-Li’s super attack perfectly. He avoided death. He won.

That wasn’t planned. That wasn’t scripted. Nobody was on stage telling the crowd to cheer. This is what happens when legends are backed up against the wall. This is what happens when the fighting game community is left alone to be itself. Crazy. Intense. Determined.

Recently, Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Goichi “Go1” Kishida put on a short choreographed fight on stage to commemorate their final time fighting in Dragon Ball FighterZ. It was wholesome and left the crowd in tears. It meant a lot to fans of the small fighting game. Two legends. The best part? It was unexpected. SonicFox and Go1 planned it together. No hype. No screaming. No production. They just wanted to do it.

While we need events like Evo – with multiple titles competing together – to keep esports hype alive, we need the old Evo. The old Major League Gaming. Not any of this new stuff. Fighting games are not League of Legends or Call of Duty. We don’t want players strutting on stage with smoke around them. We don’t want the commentators egging us on to clap. Just let the fighting game pros and community be themselves.

That’s when the true magic happens. It can’t be fabricated or re-enacted or forced. You have to understand the fighting game community to let these things naturally unfold. To see how special the FGC is.

And I don’t think Evo understands that anymore.