It’s not that often that the gaming community gets a bona fide story about a mysterious stranger who wanders in off the street, blows everyone away and then disappears into the night before anyone can so much as catch their name. But that’s precisely what happened at Wednesday Night Fights, a weeklyStreet Fighter 5tournament broadcast on Twitchby Level Up Live.
Wednesday Night Fights has been running for over a decade, originating in South California before transitioning to an online model once the pandemic hit last year. Over that time they’ve run tournaments showcasing all kinds of different fighting games includingKing of Fighters,Skullgirlsand, of course, the various entries in theStreet Fighterseries. Many big names in theStreet Fighter 5scene have flocked to the tournament to prove their worth, but no-one was expecting this week’s upset caused by a new and unknown competitor going by the name of SFVRyuPlayerLol.
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As their name suggested, SFVRyuPlayerLol played as Ryu, making short work of everyone who stood in their way and winning six matches in a row before landing in the grand final against regular Christopher “ChrisCCH” Hancock. In a stunning display, the mysterious newcomer sailed to a 3-0 win against ChrisCCH’s Sakura, placing first and earning the prize of around $100.
SFVRyuPlayerLol seemingly had no interest in claiming their winnings, though. In thetournament Discord serverafter their remarkable display, they told the organizers, “Donate mine to the homeless.” When the team, understandably confused, wanted to double-check their request to give away the prize, they went on: “Yes, to the homeless or whoever needs it. Goodnight.” And with that, they disappeared into the aether as mysteriously as they had arrived.
Speculation has since erupted about the identity of the enigmatic player. Spectators in the Twitch chat variously chimed in with suspicions that they weresecretly Fortnite streamer Ninjaor even Wednesday Night Fights organizer Alex Valle, a skilled Ryu main himself. But when asked by Kotaku whether he was behind the anonymous account, Valle denied the claim: “A mysterious Ryu player signed up, kicked ass, and told me to donate the first-place prize. That is all I know.” ChrisCCH, SFVRyuPlayerLol’s unlucky competitor in the final, was the one who shared the Discord exchange and perhaps had the right of it when he jokingly commented on Twitter, “I’m pretty sure this dude is literally Ryu.”
For now, this mysterious fighting game enthusiast remains unidentified, and may well stay that way. The connected Capcom Fighters Network account looks very quiet and the username hasn’t surfaced inany otherStreet Fighter 5tournamentsyet. Perhaps SFVRyuPlayerLol will turn up again when theStreet Fightercommunity least expects it, or perhaps they’ve hung up their gi for good, secure in the knowledge of a job well done and a fight well fought. Only time will tell.
