Why Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike Continues to Create Legendary EVO Moments

As a long-time fan of Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, I eagerly anticipated the EVO 2024 tournament. EVO, the premier fighting game event, never fails to deliver thrilling moments, and this year was no exception. While I often worry about repetitive character choices dominating the top spots, this tournament had a surprising and unforgettable highlight.

It was as hype as I was hoping, but often when I watch 3rd Strike tournaments, I worry that the top 8 (or top 6, in this case) just turn into Yuns and Chuns with the occasional Ken. And while that sort of happened here, something much more special occurred. Hayao, one of the most animated and skilled players in top 6, was on the verge of losing a round that would give FrankieBFG a chance to stay alive in the bracket. Then came one of the most clutch parry sequences followed by evading one of the best supers in the game with one of the worst buttons in the game. If you’re reading this and somehow haven’t seen this, then check it out right here:

Evo Moment 38 from Evo 2024

Of course, it’s unofficially called that, but it seems to be generally accepted as such. By now, we all know of the now infamous EVO Moment 37, but perhaps this has earned that prestigious title of “EVO moment.” Or has it? What even is an EVO moment, and why does 3rd Strike seem to be the only game capable of making them? Surely there are more hype or iconic moments that have happened. One that sticks out to me was that premature pop-off at EVO 2015 where Woshige lost his Guilty Gear Xrd set because he got swept up in the hype of that admittedly amazing round. Or how about Tokido beating Punk in 2017 after Punk’s absolute domination of the scene up until that point? There are plenty of other moments, but they aren’t called “EVO moments.”

If I had to guess what makes an EVO moment, then it’s when something that seems impossible becomes possible. As cheesy as that sounds, just look at the famous Daigo vs. Wong set. Had Daigo not pulled off that sequence of parries and followed up with that punish, he would have lost. The moment was so iconic that at this moment, I’d say 90% of 3rd Strike players can recreate a similar moment through sheer practice. The precise timing it takes to punish, the mental awareness to do that exact punish (it’s not as easy as it looks), it all makes for a moment so iconic that Justin is still haunted by it to this day.

So now we have Hayao. One touch would have killed him, and it’s Hugo vs. Ken: a miserable matchup on paper. There’s so much tension and pressure as you wait for that last hit to land, and Frankie goes for what should be a sure way to close the round. But Hayao was ready. EX Air Tatsu? Parried and landed with a punish. Then, avoided the super with “a worthless button.” The sequence was tense, it had me shouting, and it was easily my favorite moment of EVO 2024. The tension, the stakes, the gameplay—it all plays a part in making the moment happen. So much so, I don’t think this would have garnered the same attention if this happened in pools.

We can agree that 3rd Strike, as well as many other fighting games, produce incredibly hype moments. In pools or on the stage, there’s no shortage of cool moments. But there’s something about rooting for a person or a character and investing in them in the final fights of the tournament, watching their matches with extra attention, and seeing who’ll move on and who will lose. That seems to be where the real hype is born: knowing that these 6 climbed out of pools as the 6 best players, and you know that from here, you’re about to see some real shit.

We’re almost two weeks out from that moment, and the community is still losing their minds over this. The fan art, the videos of people trying to recreate it, and the uptick of players show just how much this moment meant to the FGC at large. Finding players on Fightcade was never really hard, but there are plenty more people who are clearly new and wanted to test the waters. Kudos to them! I just hope they stick with it, especially if their only points of reference to Street Fighter are either 5 or 6. Though Capcom is already doing god’s work with the Marvel Collection…I’m just saying…an updated Online Edition for those who don’t have PCs would be pretty great…with crossplay…and all those cool features from the first game. For now, let’s hope the EVOs ahead can bring just a fraction of that hype as they travel the world. I think it’s safe to say that 3rd Strike may be a staple now. At least I hope so. You can’t go wrong with some good 3rd Strike.