"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, even though he had only one unit of health left. Umehara won the match, but later lost the Grand Final to Kenji "KO" Obata. Evo Moment #37 has been called the most iconic moment in competitive video gaming and had a strong influence 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 played against each other before this event. However, people believed they had a rivalry because of their different ways of playing the game. At this Evo, Street Fighter was the only game played on old-style arcade machines, while all other games were played on home consoles. Umehara and Wong faced each other in the final match for the person who lost the tournament. Umehara chose to play as Ken, and Wong selected Chun-Li as his character.
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 strategy as the opposite of Umehara's aggressive style and noted that video showed Wong's defensive play was effective in frustrating Umehara. Capcom employee Seth Killian commented that this rare footage showed Umehara becoming angry, as Wong's defensive style was close to defeating him. Umehara's character, Ken, had only one unit of health left. With 26 seconds remaining, Wong could have run out the clock, but he wanted to end the match quickly.
At this point, any special attack that connected would defeat Umehara's character, even if blocked, because special attacks cause minor 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 strike multiple times. Instead of avoiding the attack, Umehara used "Parry," a risky technique that allows the defender to block without losing health. This requires moving toward the opponent at the exact moment a hit lands, 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. He succeeded, then countered Chun-Li's final mid-air kick with 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, added to the intensity of the moment as Umehara parried Wong's moves and turned the game around. 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 shared 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. The recording was discovered among a pile of old tapes and discs. Ace R. filmed this video from a different angle, and it includes unique live reactions from the crowd. MarkMan shared this video on YouTube in April 2019.
Legacy
Evo Moment #37 is often considered the most famous and unforgettable moment in the history of competitive video gaming. It became widely known as one of the most watched events in gaming history, 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 Evo Moment #37 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 mentioned that he temporarily left the fighting game community after the event.
The online version of 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 using Chun-Li's special move, but Umehara parried it again. Wong still had enough energy to win the round. That same year, Glenn Cravens wrote a self-published book titled EVO Moment 37.
By 2016, Evo Moment #37 had been viewed over 30 million times, making it one of the most-watched tournament highlights in history. In 2016, British Street Fighter player Ryan Hart performed the Daigo Parry during a match without looking at the television screen.
In 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ken is a playable character with the Shippu Jinraikyaku as one of his Final Smashes. In his reveal trailer, Ken parries an attack from Punch-Out!!’s Little Mac before using his Final Smash, referencing the famous moment.
In 2024, 20 years after Evo Moment #37, a 3rd Strike tournament was confirmed for that year’s EVO. To promote the event, a short skit featuring Wong and Umehara was made. In the skit, Wong asks Umehara over the phone if he wants extra guacamole on his Chipotle order, and Umehara says he can "handle something with a little more kick." A clip of the original moment plays, followed by an unamused Wong hanging up and leaving the restaurant. During the 3rd Strike 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 using Hugo’s dropkick to dodge Ken’s Shippuu Jinraikyaku. Hayao then won the match, and the moment was called "Evo Moment #38" by some commentators.