One in every of Europe’s biggest fighting game tournaments, the Ultimate Fighting Arena (UFA), wrapped up on November 13. The three-day event in France was populated by big-name competitors like Goichi “GO1″ Kishida and Victor “Punk” Woodley, nevertheless it was teenage mad lad EndingWalker who ended up making waves by not only taking first in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, but rushing offstage immediately after. It looked hilariously disrespectful, but EndingWalker said he was just “overwhelmed” by all of it.
EndingWalker is a fresh face to the competitive fighting game scene, having only been competing since around January 2021. Within the nearly two years since he hit the circuit, EndingWalker has participated in copious online Street Fighter V tournaments, typically placing in the highest 10—if not outright winningas the relatively unpopular character Ed, a B-to-C-tier fighter known for his hit-and-run combat style. The UFA Street Fighter V tourney, only his second “offline” event, is his latest and most distinguished win to this point. Having pummeled folks like Punk and five-time Capcom Cup qualifier Amjad “AngryBird” Alshalabi, he’s clearly a dangerous latest competitor.
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Fighting game news site EventHubs reported EndingWalker won each match set he played in, losing just one round to Dhalsim primary Nathan “Mister Crimson” Massol. After tearing through the competition, Walker found himself facing Chun-Li player and Street Fighter coach Valentin “Valmaster” Petit.
Major footsies ensued, with each competitor gauging the opposite’s combat style before getting in. EndingWalker gave Valmaster little or no room to breathe, continually stunning him and punishing his whiffed moves. It was brutal to observe. But what was most devastating concerning the match-up was the way in which he exited after winning the tourney.
My dude straight-up said, “I’m out,” and just…Walker-ed off the stage, casually bypassing his first-place trophy. The gang went wild for the victory, sure, but what sent me were the commentators, who couldn’t imagine what they only saw.
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“Stay on the stage, young man,” one in every of the commentators yelled. “He just walked off,” the opposite said before concluding that the mad lad was “amazing.”
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Walker eventually did return to the UFA stage to say his trophy, later tweeting that he was “a bit overwhelmed in the long run, which is why I left kinda quickly after winning.” He thanked everyone for the congratulations, said he had “an ideal time,” and mentioned this tournament was his second-ever offline event. The child’s got a vivid future within the FGC if he keeps this up.
Kotaku reached out to EndingWalker for comment.
