Trans fighting games pro Usagi makes EVO history at esports tournament
Usagi became the first competitor representing Spain to ever win an EVO championship at EVO France. The post Trans fighting games pro Usagi makes EVO history at esports tournament appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
EVO, the largest fighting games esports tournament in the world, continued its expansion with last month’s EVO France event in coastal getaway of Nice, and the competition played host to a historic first in EVO’s nearly 30-year history.
Out transgender athlete Lucy “Usagi” Aramburu became the first competitor from Spain to ever win an EVO tournament when she captured the EVO France Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising championship.
Usagi showed incredible consistency throughout the tournament, notching an undefeated record while only dropping three sets across her nine matches.
Her run through the winner’s bracket of the tournament’s Top 8 showcased her combination of counterattacks and mix-ups as she took down adversaries of all levels. Usagi took down Jeremy “Skyll” Bernard, the only French entrant to make the Top 8, in winners’ semifinals 3-1 before sweeping Dutch Granblue heavy hitter Alain “Space” Balemba to advance to grand finals.
There she met the tournament’s Cinderella story in the form of Italian upstart Pixi, who reached grand finals out of the losers’ bracket after defeating Space and three-time EVO champion Gamera. The two crowd favorites clashed in a battle pitting Pixi’s aggressive style against Usagi’s chess-like ability to read and punish opponents.
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Usagi ended Pixi’s run with a 3-0 sweep, weathering a last-ditch attempt by Pixi in the final round. She celebrated the win by hugging Pixi before turning to the Spanish contingent in the crowd that chanted her name throughout her Top 8 run.
“It’s been a long day, but I can’t begin to express how happy I am to be able to compete among such great people and even then still get the victory,” Usagi said. “It’s still crazy. I assume it will take time to settle into my mind. I still can’t believe I have done something like this, but I couldn’t be any more proud, so, I’ll try to repeat history, maybe.”
Usagi’s win is huge as the world of fighting games esports continues to grow more global, but it holds special significance considering recent developments within EVO itself.
EVO France was the first event held after news broke in September that EVO sponsor Qiddiya Gaming, an esports project owned and funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, acquired full ownership of EVO co-owner RTS. The purchase spawned concern from many queer and allied members of the fighting games community considering Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, specifically the criminalization of LGBTQ relationships and transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
The continued success of LGBTQ competitors at EVO events speaks to the staying power the community has within the fighting games world and a clear message that the queerest sector of the esports world isn’t backing down in the face of sportswashing.
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The post Trans fighting games pro Usagi makes EVO history at esports tournament appeared first on Outsports.
