"Evo Moment #37," also known as the "Daigo Parry," is a part of a Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike semifinal match that took place at the Evolution Championship Series 2004 (Evo 2004). The match was between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. During the match, Umehara made a surprising comeback by blocking 15 hits in a row from Wong's "Super Art" move while having only one health point left. Umehara then won the match, but he later lost the Grand Final to Kenji "KO" Obata. Evo Moment #37 is known as the most famous moment in competitive video gaming and had a big impact on the fighting game community.
Background
The Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike finals of Evo 2004 happened at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona on August 1. Daigo "The Beast" Umehara and Justin Wong were two of the top Street Fighter players at that time. They had never competed against each other before this event. However, people believed they had a rivalry because they had different styles of playing games. At this Evo, Street Fighter was the only game played on traditional arcade cabinets, while all other games were played on home gaming systems. Umehara and Wong faced each other in the loser's finals of the tournament. During this match, Umehara chose to use the character Ken, and Wong selected Chun-Li.
The moment
In the final round of match one, after each player had won a round, Umehara started weakly because Wong was playing carefully, slowly reducing Umehara's health. Rolling Stone described Wong's play style as the opposite of Umehara's aggressive style and noted that video of the match showed Wong's defensive strategy was effective in causing Umehara stress. Match commentator and Capcom employee Seth Killian said, "This is rare footage of Daigo actually angry… Justin's defensive style is now close to defeating Daigo." Umehara's character, Ken, had only one unit of health left. With 26 seconds remaining, Wong had the chance to end the match by letting time run out, but he wanted to finish the match quickly.
At this point, any special attack that connected would defeat Umehara's character, even if blocked, because special attacks cause small damage. To win the round, Wong tried to hit Umehara's Ken with Chun-Li's Super Art II move, called Hoyokusen ("Phoenix Wing Fan"), which can hit multiple times. Instead of avoiding the attack, Umehara used "Parry," a risky technique that lets the defender block an attack without losing health, but requires moving toward the opponent at the exact moment the attack hits, within six frames (0.1 seconds at 60 frames per second) of the attack animation. Umehara had to predict when Wong would start the Super Art Move, parrying before the move began, and repeating the precise timing for all 14 remaining hits. Umehara succeeded and then countered a final kick from Chun-Li in mid-air before launching a 12-hit combo, ending with Ken's Super Art III move, Shippu Jinraikyaku ("Hurricane Swift Thunder Leg"), to win the match.
GamePro and Eurogamer noted that the crowd's excited reaction, including cheers and shouts, made the moment more dramatic as Umehara blocked Wong's moves and reversed the game's outcome. Umehara later lost the Grand Final to Kenji "KO" Obata, who played as Yun.
Spread
Ben Cureton, one of the tournament organizers and the main ring announcer, was asked to make a highlight video of the "Daigo Parry" after the tournament ended. Cureton posted the video online with the title "Evo Moment #37," using a random two-digit number to label the highlight. In the book Evo Moment #37, Glenn Cravens wrote that:
A recording of the match that had not been noticed before was found in 2019 by Mark "MarkMan" Julio, an Evo business developer and Tekken brand and community advisor. Julio discovered the tape among a pile of old recordings and discs. The video was filmed by Ace R. from a different angle and shows different reactions from the crowd. MarkMan shared this video on YouTube in April 2019.
Legacy
Evo Moment #37 is often called the most famous moment in competitive video gaming history. It became widely known as one of the most watched events in the gaming world, with comparisons to famous sports moments like Babe Ruth's called shot and the Miracle on Ice.
In an interview with John Guerrero of EventHubs, Justin Wong said he believed this moment may have helped keep the fighting game community active during a time when it was losing interest. In his 2016 autobiography, Daigo Umehara described the match in detail and explained that he left the fighting game community for a short time afterward.
The online version of the game Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition includes a challenge where players must perform the Daigo Parry. A humorous version of Evo Moment #37 appeared in the 2012 anime adaptation of Acchi Kocchi. In 2014, Umehara and Wong had a rematch to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Evo Moment #37. During the match, Wong tried to defeat Umehara with Chun-Li's special move, but Umehara parried it again. Although Umehara blocked the move, Wong still had enough energy to win the round. That same year, Glenn Cravens published a book titled EVO Moment 37.
By 2016, Evo Moment #37 had been viewed more than 30 million times, making it one of the most watched tournament highlights ever. In a 2016 match, British player Ryan Hart performed the Daigo Parry without looking at the screen.
In 2018, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate included Ken as a playable character, with his Final Smash move, Shippu Jinraikyaku. In his introduction trailer, Ken parried an attack from Little Mac of Punch-Out!! before using his Final Smash, referencing the famous moment.
In 2024, 20 years after Evo Moment #37, a 3rd Strike tournament was planned for EVO. To promote the event, a short skit featuring Wong and Umehara was made. In the skit, Wong called Umehara from a Chipotle restaurant and asked if he wanted extra guacamole. Umehara replied that he could "handle something with a little more kick." A clip of the original moment was shown, followed by Wong hanging up and leaving the restaurant. During the tournament, a match between "Hayao" as Hugo and Franklin "FrankieBFG" Nunez as Ken ended with Hayao, nearly defeated, midair-parrying Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku and dodging Ken's Shippuu Jinraikyaku with Hugo's dropkick. Hayao then won the match. This moment was praised by commentators and nicknamed "Evo Moment #38."