The humble pop-off has marked many a victory, clutch combo, and pixel-health comeback in the fighting game community. Some players might run off stage, jump around, fly into the arms of friends, or throw a chair and turn their $565 prize money into a $3,000 light repair bill.
Very rarely, though, we get to see the anti-pop-off. The devastation of hours spent in the lab lost to an unbroken grab or a blocked move. Being a mere two jabs away from victory, only to have it ripped out of your hands by your opponent whiff punishing you. Most put on a stony, brave face, shake hands, and deal with the loss offstage. Most are not Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves player KojiKOG.
The Japanese fighting game pro has been going viral for having the crashout of all time on the main stage at EVO over the weekend, losing his winners semifinal game against fellow Japan pro GO1. It's a beautiful 40-second descent into madness as he clutches his head while writhing around in pain, while GO1 looks on in equal parts confusion and humour.
Well, I say crashout, but it's mostly a very playful (and dramatic) bit on KojiKOG's part who, as the commentators point out, is well-known for being a colourful character. For starters, this wasn't even the end of KojiKOG's Fatal Fury journey. Most fighting game tournaments run on a double elimination format, and his match against GO1 was on the winners' side. His loss put him into the losers quarter-final—which he would go on to lose against Korean player POONGKO—meaning he still hadn't actually been knocked out of the tournament yet.
It's also a callback an entire decade in the making: KojiKOG and GO1 faced off against each other during an Aquapazza: Aquaplus Dream Match tournament at EVO in 2015. After the former lost, he grasped at his head in pain while screaming (see where this is going?) which became known as the "leg cutting incident", since you would think KojiKOG was being put through some medieval torture device rather than suffering a loss in an incredibly niche anime fighter.
It's a fun recurring joke, one which I do have the feeling GO1 might have forgotten about for the first few seconds of KojiKOG's dramatic antics. He seems to clue in fairly quickly, though, with his final playful shrug to the camera going straight into my reactions folder for future meme fodder.
GO1 would go on to win the entire thing, securing $15,00 in prize money. KojiKOG came in fifth, netting himself $4,800 for the pleasure. He gave one final Munchesque pose during the awards ceremony while receiving his medal, before smiling and throwing up peace signs to the camera.
I'll admit that Fatal Fury was the Top 8 I was least excited for, but it ended up being one of my favourite brackets of the weekend. It's moments like this that remind me why I love fighting game tournaments so much, and honestly? I'm just glad to see an EVO clip making the rounds in even the most unlikely corners of the internet.
The FGC is chock full of these silly little recurring jokes and whimsical main stage behaviour—Tekken player Kkokkoma and his Hong Thai being one of my favourites—and the more people who get to see our weird and wonderful community, the better.
