The NYU Game Center is excited to announce our fourth annual Spring Fighter event, with special guests Daigo ‘The Beast’ Umehara and Seth Killian, on Saturday, April 13th.

Continuing the NYU Game Center’s mission to support the New York game scene and expose our students to the most interesting and vital portions of the game industry, this year’s Spring Fighter is an even more elaborate event than in the past. First, a tournament featuring three games, Street Fighter 4 AE, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom, and Street Fighter x Tekken, will begin at 10am and go until 6pm. Then, at 7pm the Game Center will present a conversation between legends, with Seth Killian sitting down and talking to Daigo Umehara about his life in and outside the Street Fighter scene.

While the tournament is only for those who want to test their skills in the heat of battle, the evening event with Daigo Umehara and Seth Killian is open to anyone curious and fighting games and life of an e-sports legend.

Registration for the tournament and the talk will open on April 8th.

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Photo by Kara Leung

Photo by Kara Leung

Daigo Umehara is widely considered to be the most dominant fighting game player in the world. He is best known for his aggressive play and nearly psychic ability to predict and counter his opponent’s next move. This power not only paralyzes world-class opponents, but has also led to many unforgettable comebacks from the brink of defeat, made world famous at the EVO 2004 World Finals, which was chosen as the most memorable moment in the entire pro-gaming history by Kotaku.com.  Daigo lives and practices in Tokyo, Japan, but travels all around the world to face new challengers. His many victories in nearly two decades of his career and bloodthirsty style have earned him the nickname “The Beast.”

In 2009 he became Japan’s first professional gamer by signing with Mad Catz Inc., a leading US video game peripheral maker. His success is not only limited to video games. In April 2012 he published his first autobiography, and it has been a best seller in both print and kindle version for many months on Amazon.  He also has his own clothing line, Beast apparel lines, and hosts various charity events, including Tohoku Earthquake disaster charity and Arcade Campaign, which is his own effort for saving dying arcade scene in Japan. He continues to lead the fighting game scene and to inspire many young fighters with his gameplay and moral leadership. Currently, he is working on his second book to be released in fall of 2013.