Nicholas Choo is a really talented fighting game player. So much so that he has a few benefactors who are making sure he competes in the best available overseas tournaments. Previously he was at EVO Japan 2018 and he recently won the Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament at Indonesia’s premiere fighting game tourney Abuget Cup earlier this July.

Check out his kick-ass winning plays here:

Naturally, we had a short chat with the Singaporean top player about his personal FGC experiences.

On His First EVO Experience In EVO Japan

I was crowdfunded by the folks from Versus City. We had all sorts of backers even from the Overwatch and Super Smash Bros community. I was very grateful they gave me the chance to compete in Japan. Xian gave me a place to stay at Nogata. It was a very convenient place since it’s only a few stops away.

Despite the pre-planning, I had to scramble and find where my pools were taking place at. Getting to the tournament venue was a pain too; I got lost and was almost late.

It was the first time I participated in such a big tournament with a huge pedigree; the place was literally packed with people. I’d say you have to be 30 minutes early to the tournament and settle down. Playing in the arcade and playing on a console is a significant difference.

What He Learned During His Time There

Aside from the differences in timing for an arcade fighting game, you can hear your opponent’s buttons presses and see their reactions when you play on the console. These little things can change the outcome of a match.

Japanese people play very differently from others. They establish a game plan from the very start and work towards it. It took me a while for me to adapt to the way they play.

On His Most Challenging Opponent In The Next EVO

The player I’m most impressed with is Kazunoko by far. I think I’m severely behind most of the top players from Japan and America, at least in Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s hard to find time to play these days and the dwindling player base in Singapore does not help. I’ll still try my best though.

His One Big Advice To The Southeast Asian Fighting Game Community

I’ll really have to say that you must not get discouraged and give up. Since we are living in Southeast Asia we have a much smaller player base so we are hugely disadvantaged in matchups.

We fight the same people all the time and because of this, we do not have a variety of people to fight against. Only when we travel overseas are we able to fight people different from the norm. Luckily with netplay this has been improved.