Justin Wong, born on November 15, 1985, is sometimes called Jwong. He is an American professional fighting game player who lives in Canada. Wong has won more EVO tournament titles than any other player, with a total of nine. These include seven titles in Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes from 2001 to 2010, one title in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in 2009, and one title in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in 2014.
Career
Justin Wong was 15 years old when he traveled to B5 in 2001 and won the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament. At that time, Wong did not think his fighting game career was important. He later said, "I just wanted to play and play. The prizes were very small, and it was just myself breaking even." In 2002, he went to the Evolution Championship Series and successfully defended his Marvel vs. Capcom 2 title. He also placed ninth in the Capcom vs. SNK 2 tournament.
In the Evolution 2004 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike losers bracket final, Wong's character Chun-Li lost to Daigo Umehara's character Ken Masters. During the match, Daigo avoided all 15 hits from Chun-Li's super art II. This was a difficult feat because each avoidance had to happen within about 1/6th of a second before the attack hit. Daigo then landed a maximum damage combo. This event became famous in a viral video called "Evo Moment #37."
In 2009, Wong participated in GameStop's Street Fighter IV US National Tournament and won. After the main tournament, special exhibition matches took place in San Francisco, California, on April 18. These matches included Iyo, who had recently won the Japanese National SFIV tournament; Poongko, who won the Korean SFIV National Tournament; Daigo Umehara, who was invited by Capcom; and Wong. Wong defeated Iyo and Poongko but lost to Umehara, who later won the tournament. Wong was given a special spot in the Evolution 2009 tournament in Las Vegas.
After footage of his matches in the GameStop competition was shared online, Wong gained more fame. By July 19, 2009, the video of his match against Umehara had received nearly 80,000 views on the Niconico video sharing site.
For winning the US GameStop tournament, Wong started his Street Fighter IV competition as a seeded player in the semi-finals on July 18, the second day of Evolution 2009. He beat four opponents and faced Daigo Umehara the next day. On the third and final day, Umehara defeated Wong and sent him to the Losers Bracket. Umehara then advanced to the grand finals and met Wong again. In the final match, Wong changed his character from Abel to Balrog (called M. Bison in Japan) to counter Umehara's character Ryu. The two fought until the last possible game, but Wong lost. Over 23,000 users watched the live stream of this match.
Wong joined a tournament called Seasons Beatings in Columbus, Ohio, from October 16–18. On the second day, he played Street Fighter IV 3 on 3 with two teammates and won first place. He also had an exhibition match against Daigo Umehara, which he lost by two games to ten. In the Street Fighter IV Singles competition, Wong chose to play Fei Long and won the Winners Bracket final against Umehara. Later, he lost to Umehara after Umehara returned from the Losers Bracket.
In June 2010, Wong left the competitive gaming group Empire Arcadia and joined the professional gaming organization Evil Geniuses with Martin "Marn" Phan. Ricki Ortiz later joined them as well.
Wong won the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament after coming out of the loser's bracket. He also placed just outside the top 8 in Super Street Fighter IV, losing to Bruce "Gamerbee" Hsiang.
Wong participated in the reality show WCG Ultimate Gamer. He reached the Gauntlet (a series of semi-final challenges) but was eliminated during the Forza Motorsport 3 driving challenge.
Wong won a tournament without losing a set until the grand finals. He used the character Kung Lao and defeated Floe's Ermac in the finals. He won the tournament and received the $10,000 first prize.
In 2015, it was announced that Wong would participate in the Red Bull Kumite 2016 Street Fighter V invitational tournament.
After the release of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, some players claimed they wanted to quit and get refunds after facing Wong online in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Wong responded to an article about him written by Dexerto.
Personal life
Justin and Jacqueline announced their engagement on July 28, 2018, and they have a daughter. Justin Wong attended Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers. He was often at the famous Chinatown Fair in Manhattan, where he played games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and sometimes Dance Dance Revolution. As of 2022, he lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.