Daigo Umehara (Japanese: 梅原 大吾, Hepburn: Umehara Daigo; born May 19, 1981) is a Japanese esports player and writer who competes professionally in fighting video games. He plays a type of fighting game called 2D arcade games, mostly made by a company named Capcom. In the West, he is known as "Daigo" or "The Beast," and in Japan, he is called "Umehara" (written in katakana instead of kanji) or "Ume." Daigo is one of the most famous Street Fighter players in the world and is often considered the greatest. His long career is rare in competitive video games. He currently holds a world record in the Guinness World Records for being "the most successful player in major Street Fighter tournaments" and has won the Evo Championship Series six times.
Before signing a sponsorship deal with Mad Catz, Japanese media often referred to Daigo as "the god of 2D fighting games" (2D格闘ゲームの神, 2D Kakutō Gēmu no Kami).
Early career
Daigo started visiting an arcade and playing fighting games when he was about 10 years old, during his elementary school years. Street Fighter II and Fatal Fury: King of Fighters had recently been released, and these were his first two fighting games. Street Fighter II often had long lines of older players, so he began learning Fatal Fury first. After some time and because he could only stay at the game center for a short period, Daigo started challenging other players in Street Fighter II (Champion Edition) to get a chance to play, even though he felt shy and had to ask for permission. This was when he realized he preferred competing with others.
Around the time he was 13 years old, in middle school, Daigo changed his main game to Vampire Hunter because he believed he was more skilled in that game than in Street Fighter II. He became well-known in Vampire Hunter by setting a record of 286 wins in one session before he had to leave because the Akihabara Sega (now Club Sega) game center closed for the day. Umehara entered his first tournament by competing in GAMEST Cup's national Vampire Hunter tournament in 1995, where he lost in the block's finals. His first tournament victory came in his second competition, the GAMEST Cup's national Vampire Savior tournament in 1997, where he defeated Ōnuki (now Nuki) in the finals.
In 1998, at age 17, Daigo took part in Capcom's official Street Fighter Zero 3 national tournament and reached the finals, which were held on a stage at the Tokyo Game Show 1998: Autumn on October 11. After winning the tournament by defeating Ōnuki 3–1, Daigo, as the champion, faced Alex Valle, the winner of the U.S. national Street Fighter Alpha 3 tournament. The international "Grand Championship" took place in San Francisco, California, on November 8. This was Daigo's first trip to the United States and his first overseas tournament. The match was best of three games, with five rounds each. Daigo came from behind to win 2–1. Both events were shown in a 50-minute TV report in Japan.
In September 2001, Daigo's popularity led to the publication of a mini-autobiography titled VERSUS (known as "Umehon" or "Ume Book" by fans). The book has six chapters that describe the games he plays, along with stories about his competitions, experiences, and analysis of his opponents.
In November 2000, four months after the B4 Street Fighter championships, top-ranked players from the event traveled to Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, for an exhibition. American players competed in four games (Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2) to face Japan's best players in those games. Umehara only entered the 3rd Strike exhibition, but he defeated all his opponents, ending each round with Ken's fierce Shoryuken. These events were filmed for the documentary Bang the Machine.
In 2003, Daigo won the Super Street Fighter II Turbo tournament at the first Super Battle Opera (Tougeki) and also won the same game at the Evolution Championship Series when he joined the event for the first time that year. This made him the first player to win both events in the same year for the same game. Umehara also competed at Evolution 2004 and Absolution 2004 on April 18 in England, where he won in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
Daigo has taken part in many tournaments, joining at least one each year since 1997, except for a short break in 2008.
Play style
Throughout his career, Daigo Umehara's main character has been Ryu. His play style focuses on keeping opponents at a specific distance, even though he is also good at close combat. After a balance patch in Street Fighter V in December 2016, which made Ryu weaker to balance the game, Daigo switched to Guile, a charge character. Daigo said, "I don't mind playing a very strong character. I don't need to pick a very strong character, but I want to have a character that can fight against the strongest ones. It is boring if you go to a tournament and know you might face a tough match." After considering two characters, Urien and Guile, he chose Guile. However, he tried Ryu again in Topanga League 6 and Final Round 20. His disappointing results—finishing last and 33rd—led him to stop using Ryu. Since then, he has continued to play with Guile, even after a new balance patch in 2017 that slightly improved Ryu's abilities.
Evolution 2004
Even though they had never played against each other before, Umehara was believed to have a rivalry with American player Justin Wong because of their different styles of playing games. The two met in the loser's finals of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike tournament at Evo 2004. Umehara used the character Ken and was down to his last bit of health. Any special attack from Wong's Chun-Li, even if blocked, could defeat Ken. Wong tried to use Chun-Li's "Super Art" move, which forced Umehara to parry 15 attacks quickly. Umehara successfully parried all 15 attacks. He then blocked a final kick from Chun-Li in mid-air and used a combo move to win the match. Although Umehara lost the grand finals to Kenji Obata, the clip of him parrying Wong's multihit attack became very influential. It has been compared to famous sports moments like Babe Ruth's called shot and the Miracle on Ice. At one time, it was the most-watched competitive gaming clip ever. Many players in the fighting game community have called it "the most important fighting game moment of all time."
Street Fighter IVera
In July 2008, Umehara left retirement and began competing again. He focused on the new game Street Fighter IV. A Japanese arcade magazine called Arcadia included a DVD with "Umehara Concept Matches" in its January 2009 issue, which was released on November 29, 2008. The DVD showed exhibition matches between Umehara and six top Japanese players, including Inoue, Itabashi Zangief, Fuudo, Nemo, and Mago. The magazine also included a statement: "The God has returned" in Umehara's player introduction.
On March 5, Umehara appeared on a TV show called Gamer's Koshien as the "god of the fighting games world." He competed with four other top Japanese players and celebrities in a Street Fighter IV round-robin tournament.
On April 18, Umehara attended the GameStop Street Fighter IV National Tournament 2009 in San Francisco, California. He was invited by Capcom and defeated players Iyo, Poongko, and Justin Wong to win the tournament. As a prize, he received a free trip to Evolution 2009 in Las Vegas.
Umehara began writing a column in Arcadia titled Umehara Column: Michi, starting with the August issue.
Thanks to his win at the GameStop tournament, Umehara entered the Evolution 2009 Street Fighter IV competition as a seeded player in the semi-finals on July 18. On the third and final day of the event, Umehara defeated Justin Wong, placing him in the Losers Bracket. He advanced to the grand finals, where he faced Wong again. The match lasted until the final game, and Umehara won the competition.
The September 2009 issue of Arcadia included a DVD with "Umehara's Concept Matches," which followed a previous DVD released in late 2008.
On August 7, Umehara participated in an all-night tournament called GODSGARDEN.
On October 10, Umehara played in Street Fighter IV exhibition matches in Taiwan. The matches were broadcast live on Famitsu's web channel.
Umehara returned to the United States to join a tournament called Season's Beatings, held October 16–18 in Columbus, Ohio. He won competitions for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Street Fighter IV Singles.
In November 2009, Umehara told Simon Parkin in an interview that he felt he was at his peak as a gamer. He explained, "My reactions are probably the same as when I was younger, but I no longer feel upset when I am in difficult situations. I have mastered nervousness and tension. I can quickly tell opponents apart and group them based on their personality and weaknesses. I think I might be at the peak of my career as a fighting gamer."
On November 26, Umehara and five other top Japanese Street Fighter IV players joined a Nico Nico live internet show to discuss the second GODSGARDEN tournament. The show also included an exhibition match between Umehara and Mago.
Instead of participating in GODSGARDEN #2 on March 6, Umehara traveled to France to join Street Fighter IV tournaments at the World Game Cup event, which took place March 3–7. He placed second in singles and first in 2-on-2 matches.
On April 4, Umehara and two teammates participated in an official Street Fighter IV National Tournament and qualified for the top 14. His team was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
On April 23, Umehara attended Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV "Fight Club" launch party in Los Angeles, United States. He played various characters, including Hakan, Guy, and Dee Jay, against a dozen challengers. The event ended with a 3-out-of-5 match between Umehara and Justin Wong, which ended in a double-K.O. draw, leaving Umehara undefeated for the night. It was also announced that Umehara had signed a sponsorship deal with Mad Catz and would compete under their name in future tournaments.
A limited edition of Super Street Fighter IV from the e-CAPCOM store included a special DVD featuring two tournaments between Japan's eight top players: Umehara, Tokido, Iyo, Shirou, Kin Devu, Momochi, Tokidoki Nukings, and Itabashi Zangief. A technical guide published by Enterbrain on April 28 included a DVD with exhibition matches of new characters played by seven top Japanese players: Umehara, Tokido, Kin Devu, Iyo, Momochi, Itabashi Zangief, and Shirou.
On May 9, Umehara appeared on the NHK Sunday night program MAG-NET in a feature about Street Fighter.
On May 15, Nico Nico Live hosted a Super Street Fighter IV online competition where players on Xbox Live could fight Japan's three top players: Umehara, Mago, and Tokido. The event also included offline matches and a short discussion segment.
On May 29–30, Umehara traveled to Australia for the first time to compete in Evolution Asia Pacific's Super Street Fighter IV tournament in Sydney. He won the tournament, losing only one game. As the grand prize, he earned a paid flight to Evolution 2010 in Las Vegas, where he would start as a seeded player.
On June 4, Umehara joined the 106th Xbox Live Park online event hosted by Microsoft Japan with Famitsu's editorial department. During the two-hour event, Xbox Live Gold members could chat with Umehara and compete in Super Street Fighter IV online matches.
After placing second in Nagoya Street Battle 15 on July 4, Umehara joined Evolution 2010 on July 9–11. He faced over 1,700 players from around the world in the Super Street Fighter IV tournament. He won without dropping into the Losers Bracket. The live stream of the event reached a peak of about 48,00
Street Fighter Vera
The January issue of the Japanese Harvard Business Review included a twelve-page interview with Umehara. The interview was titled, "感情を制するものはゲームを制す" ("Kanjou wo seisuru mono wa game wo seisu"|"He who controls his emotions controls the game.")
In February 2016, Daigo lost a Street Fighter V demonstration match to American rapper and music producer Lupe Fiasco. The event was organized by former Mad Catz executive Mark Julio and shown online to more than 75,000 people. Some people noticed that Daigo’s timing seemed slow, and he missed chances to win during the match. On April 26, 2016, Daigo gave a talk in Osaka, Japan, with Mizuho bank and medical professor Yoshiki Ishikawa.
In May 2016, Daigo appeared in the Street Fighter documentary, "格闘ゲームに生きる" (Kakuto geemu ni ikiru | Living the Game), which aired on WOWOW. Later that month, the documentary was shown at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, under the name "Living the Game."
On June 1, 2016, Japanese publisher Shogakukan released a book titled "悩みどころと逃げどころ" (Nayamidokoro to Nigedokoro), which included a written discussion between Umehara and popular Japanese blogger Chikirin.
In July 2016, an official English version of Umehara’s first book, The Will to Keep Winning, was sold to Evo attendees as a special event item. The book was only sold at fighting game events worldwide for the rest of 2016.
On September 14, 2016, Umehara announced two new World Records recognized by Guinness World Records: "Most views for a competitive fighting game match" (for his famous match against Justin Wong from Evo 2004) and "Highest all-time rank in Ultra Street Fighter IV." Umehara received official recognition for the records during a ceremony at Tokyo Game Show.
On November 30, 2016, Umehara announced a new sponsorship deal with HyperX, a gaming headset maker.
On December 1, 2016, Red Bull and director Nick McDonald released an eleven-minute documentary about Daigo Umehara titled, "Mind of a Beast." In the film, Umehara discussed the challenges of being a professional gamer and explained the difference between the public image of "Umehara" and the real person, Daigo Umehara.
On January 19, 2017, Daigo gave a two-hour lecture titled "1日ひとつだけ、強くなる" ("Ichinichi hitotsu dake, tsuyoku naru"|"Getting Stronger Everyday") at the Keio University Marunouchi City Campus. The lecture was attended by a full audience.
On March 1, 2017, Umehara announced a new sponsorship with Japanese game developer Cygames, along with fellow pro fighters Darryl "Snake Eyez" Lewis and Eduardo "PR Balrog" Perez. The three athletes were called "Cygames Beast" and wore matching T-shirts with a new logo. From March to May 2017, Umehara competed in the ELEAGUE Street Fighter Invitational, where he played only as Guile. He started in Group B with Snake Eyez and PR Balrog, advanced to the Playoffs, and finished 8th overall.
On May 27–28, Umehara competed in Red Bull Kumite in Paris, France, and placed 4th.
On June 27, Umehara appeared in the Red Bull France-produced documentary, "The Art of Street Fighting," alongside pro gamers Xiao Hai, Gamerbee, Tokido, and Luffy.
On July 14–16, Umehara competed in EVO 2017. He won all his matches in Round 1 but lost to Haitani in Round 2 and was eliminated in the Semi-Finals by longtime rival Justin Wong.
On July 14, Daigo launched the "Beast" apparel brand with Nsurgo. The brand is represented by Daigo and fellow Cygames-sponsored gamers Snake Eyez and PR Balrog.
A notable match happened early in the year when Daigo faced his longtime rival, Tokido, in a first-to-ten bout at the Kemonomichi II exhibition. Tokido, who was the defending EVO champion, wanted to prove he could beat Daigo in a long match. Daigo, who had been less active in competition, was confident. On March 10, the two players competed, and Daigo won the match 10–5, leaving Tokido upset.
On July 22, Umehara won the VSFighting Premier Event in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Later in November, Daigo returned to the Red Bull Kumite invitational tournament, placing 3rd behind Problem X and champion Fujimura.
In the Capcom Cup tournament for the year, Daigo finished in 25th place.
In 2019, Umehara began his competitive year with a 33rd-place finish at Final Round. Later that month, he had better results at the NorCal Regionals, where he reached the top 8.
At the next major tournament, The Mixup, Daigo advanced to the Grand Finals, where he faced Victor Woodley, known as Punk, who was dominating the Capcom Pro Tour. In a close match, Punk won in the final round. Despite this, Daigo’s performance earned him a 4th-place ranking in the CPT standings for the year.
Daigo continued his success with a 5th/6th-place finish at the CPT Premier tournament in Orlando, where he was eliminated by Fujimura.
On October 27, Daigo placed 7th/8th at the CPT Premier tournament in Birmingham, where he was eliminated by Jonathan "JB" Bautista.
Although Daigo did not win any major tournaments, his consistent presence at international CPT events earned him a spot at the 2019 Capcom Cup finals. There, he was eliminated by Tokido with a score of 3–2 in the second round, resulting in a tied 17th–24th place finish to end the 2019 Street Fighter V season.
In December, Daigo participated in another Red Bull Kumite in Nagoya, Japan. The tournament had a strong field of players, including Tokido, Problem X, Punk, and others. Daigo finished 13th, tied with Bonchan, Gachikun, and Haku.
Manga
"Umehara FIGHTING GAMERS!" is a manga that tells the story of Umehara's early life as a player in the Street Fighter arcade game scene. It includes appearances by well-known players from Japan's fighting game community. The series is an important title for its publisher, Kadokawa Shoten, who are promoting it heavily. They plan to publish the series in their Young Ace UP magazine, which is for older teen readers.
The manga is drawn by Kengoro Nishide and written by Saitaru Orika and Maki Tomoi. Daigo Umehara helped guide the project as an editorial supervisor.
On July 14, 2017, the English version of the manga, called "Daigo the Beast: Umehara Fighting Gamers," was released. Volume 1 includes the first two volumes of the original Japanese series. Udon Entertainment translated and published the book. It was sold first to people attending EVO, a gaming event, and will be available to the public in December 2017.