OK, let me clarify my position.
Daigo is a fantastic FG player. He’s one of the greatest. He’s still overrated quite often by many people.
Overrated? In what way that actually matters? Some people ascribe godlike qualities to him, but what’s different about that compared to basically any top competitor in any field who has fans?
IMO, when people say stuff like “Daigo is permanent”, it means that Daigo has made his mark in the FGC and you can never really take that away even if he never wins another tournament again. The same goes for guys like Nuki, Sako, Justin Wong, Tokido. Infiltration is a GREAT player, but he has yet to make a solid mark in the FGC. So far, he is just known for AE and SFxT.
Listen what Daigo says about Infiltration and also about his Gouki.
Its clear that Daigo struggles against Infiltrations Akuma. But are we really sure that Infiltration is better? The game comes down to matchups, and even though many agree that Ryu beats Akuma, perhaps Daigo isn’t used to Akuma’s that play like Infiltration does. If one looks at the w/l record of these two and determines that Infiltration is better, what do you think would happen if Daigo pulled out Yun the next time they meet? I’m sure this is on Infiltrations mind, and personally, I think Daigo would win in this scenario. I just don’t know why he won’t counter pick him.
The fact that Daigo refuses to pick Yun against Infiltration is a mystery to me. Regardless, their fight in the 25th final was awesome.
He doesn’t pick yun because he wants to make an exciting game for the fans and prefers the challenge with ryu I can only assume? Daigo himself says he was outplayed and he considers the matchup fair . Infiltration was just better. I think he is being far too humble there. I personally believe the ryu matchup with akuma is slightly in akuma’s favour . You can clearly see that daigo’s footsie game was put on hold by akuma’s sweep. Daigo can handle the vortex with his excellent blocking/reactions.The game was lost in the footsie battle imo. The winners finals that Daigo took 3-0 was through some unbelievably gutsy play which would be very tough to maintain and in the grand finals it showed. Daigo/ryu’s normal strategy was defeated by Infiltrations excellent play/akuma’s sweep & walkspeed.
Daigo is a superstar. Most people think Muhammad Ali was the greatest boxer of all time. He wasn’t even the best heavyweight of all time, much less the best pound-for-pound boxer.
But he was a star. He had charisma, people loved him. He got people involved in the sport. That’s why he is Ali. That’s why Daigo is Daigo.
Compare Daigo to Infiltration. Nobody cares. He went to Brazil and the guys were like “oh, there’s the world champion. He’s a very good player. That’s great.” , whereas wherever Daigo shows it’s like “Holy shit that’s Daigo Umehara.”
Daigo may not be the best, but Daigo is still Daigo. There are many great players out there, some as talented as Daigo, some perhaps more. But that’s all they really are: just a bunch of really good videogame players.
Daigo is a superstar. That’s just life man.
Wow this thread has been on fire the last couple of days. I looked at the top right corner and it said I have 63 notifications and I was like wtf!? Anyways, a lot of very interesting points have been shared here.
I’d honestly say I think Daigo and Infiltration are the two best players in the world right now, though I think Infiltration is just straight up slightly better. I think what separates them is Infiltration’s mental speed; it seems like he can process information slightly faster than Daigo. In a way it’s like he’s a step further than Daigo in many circumstances. If you watch video’s of Infiltration vs Daigo it’s clear that Infiltration wins the footsie battle. Is this due to Akuma’s footsies or is it Infiltration just being mentally faster? I think it’s probably his mental speed more than anything. Ryu has a great footsie game too remember. Of course that’s just my opinion, I may be wrong.
Someone mentioned that Infiltration’s Ryu also happens to be rather godlike. I checked out his match against Ricky Ortiz and once again this seems to confirm what I’m saying about his seemingly more advanced mental processing power. It’s just his speed, his ability to see something and then BOOM he’s in on you, and then he’s got 2 or 3 mixups already in mind, and he knows when to expect a reversal, he knows your meter levels, he’s just so FAST and always on top. Ricky Ortiz looked helpless. Daigo also has very fast mental processing power, but with Infiltration it’s like he’s on speed. I think this is what helps him to win footsie battles, and ultimately I think it’s the footsie war that determines the winner out of Ryu and Akuma.
If the Akuma experts on this forum mained Akuma would they get to 3000 PP…4000PP…5000PP…99999999999999999999999999999PP?
Sugar Ray Robinson is widely considered the best pound for pound boxer of all time. With heavyweights the general consensus is either Ali or Joe Louis as the greatest of all time.
Ali’s fame in addition to being the best boxer of his time (arguable best heavyweight all time), was due to his unparalleled ability at trash talking and showmanship plus charisma. Daigo’s fame is due to is long and storied career, Infiltration is a young gun…at the top now but relatively new to the scene. The longer infiltration succeeds the more famous he’ll become, simple as that.
Hi. If you’ve skipped all of the other posts in this thread, congratulations; you’ve made the correct decision.
TL;DR- SF4 games are different.
Justin Wong has been equally succesful and in several different games for just as long and his star power is negative a billion.
Daigo’s stardom is due to more than mere success at championships. He has star power, it’s that simple.
^What? J. Wong is widely considered one of if not the best player America has ever produced.
That’s exactly what I said. And he has nowhere near the level of worship Daigo has.
And then there are people who, when they say “Daigo is permanent,” think that he’s quite clearly the greatest FG player to ever walk this earth and think Infiltration is just abusing a “broken” character to beat him. I’m targeting those people, not anyone who thinks that Daigo has made his mark on the FGC. It was probably wrong of me to cite his lack of a recent big tournament win as proof that he wasn’t “eternal,” but the fact is that, as of right now, he is not the best SF4 player in the world, even though he’s definitely still up their, and trying to write off Infiltration because he plays a top tier character is plain silly.
If you want to say that Daigo has been hugely influential in the scene, then go ahead, because you’re absolutely right.
No one is really questioning his stardom, though.
this Daigo worship is one the sillier things to come out of the SF4 era
Daigo worship had been going on long before SFIV, however SF4 just rejuvenated it. Also…Daigo winning anything in any fighting game will be hyped to the max.
When did this happen? I cannot find it on youtube someone post a link! And also post a link to Filipino champ salty trash talking afterwards. I remember he kept saying Infiltration was a virgin on his stream.
That’s not why he doesent choose Yun… has to be something else… I don’t understand how some people say… well…
How is a sick ass offensive, genejin using, divekick doing, character like Yun boring to watch? Daigo red Yun vs. Infiltration Hooded Akuma sounds sick as f***…
At first everyone was sick of Yun, now they’re sick of Akuma…( not everyone Obviously) People just get tired of watching top tiers being played. I understand that… But no way in hell Yun and Akuma are boring… Dee Jay is boring…
Actually Floyd Mayweather Jr. is considered the best p4p of all time.