Kim Kwan-woo is posing for reporters in the common coverage area (mixed zone) after winning the gold medal in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) Street Fighter V final held at the Hangzhou Esports Center in China on the 28th. yunhap news
When I was young, the idols of the neighborhood kids were the arcade guys. When the character on the TV gave a shout of victory at the hand gestures of the older brothers who had piled up a large pile of coins, the children watching on tiptoe also screamed. This is a memory of that time that most people in their 40s share. And those memories came alive again in Hangzhou, China.
The arcade was transformed into a huge stadium, and the cathode ray tube was transformed into a large electronic display board. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the game and the presence of my older brother on the screen. Kim Kwan-woo, born in 1979, who was born in the year of the Sheep, has returned as the older brother who thrilled his children back in the day.
The stage was the Hangzhou Asian Games Street Fighter V final held at the Hangzhou e-Sports Center in China on the 28th. The headset on my head and the pads on my knees were awkward, but the fundamentals did not change. Peter Pan, a man in his 40s who had a memory that everyone had forgotten for a while, won 4-3 in a match against Taiwan’s Xiang Yu-lin, the same age, and sent the audience into a frenzy.
Kim Kwan-woo, who met with reporters after the awards ceremony, said, “At first, my goal was a medal, but I developed a desire to look higher. “I really never imagined winning a gold medal,” he said with a bright smile.
What made the finals so exciting that day was the different colors of the two people. While Kim Kwan-woo was an original character craftsman who only played Vega, his opponent showed off his versatility by alternately using Lucia and Luke. This difference was also what made Kim Kwan-woo struggle in the early stages of the game. Kim Kwan-woo won the first set first and then lost the second or third set.
However, Kim Kwan-woo quickly caught his opponent’s habits and spacing and raised the flag for a counterattack from the fourth set. He even achieved a perfect victory over his opponent in the 5th set. Although he was pushed to the last minute, dropping six sets, he won the gold medal by defeating his opponent Luke in seven sets.
Kim Kwan-woo, who recalled that time, said, “There are definitely more advantages to using multiple characters. However, it was more fun for me to deal with one character as a craftsman. “To be honest, I tried to play other characters, but it didn’t work out.”
Kim Kwan-woo’s gold medal is the oldest Korean athlete to win a gold medal in this competition and the first gold medal in e-sports. Although it is an e-sport with fewer age restrictions, it is even more surprising that he reached the top in his 40s, past his physical prime. In fact, in other e-sports sports, the early 20s are considered to be the prime age.
Coach Kang Seong-hoon said, “I thought a player’s skills would decline in his 40s, but he actually improved through effort. “As long as you have the will, Kim Kwan-woo’s era will continue,” he said. At the same time, he emphasized, “It was possible because people in their 30s and 40s who enjoy Street Fighter all over the country helped like ‘Won Ki-ok’ (a technique to collect the energy of the universe in one cartoon).”
Kim Kwan-woo said, “It’s true that people in their 40s don’t even bother to do anything,” and added, “But if you practice more, you can regain your old skills.” “We (people in our 40s) can win a gold medal like me,” he said.
Kim Kwan-woo’s victory, despite his age, brought back memories of fans who used to play Street Fighter at arcades with a single coin. In Korea, Street Fighter 2 became popular and became very popular, but now it remains as an old movie.
Kim Kwan-woo, who started with Street Fighter 1, hopes that his gold medal will lead to an influx of new fans. He said, “It is true that this game and other fighting games themselves are not friendly to first-time users,” and added, “The production company is also moving proactively in this area, so I hope you will give it a try. “I really recommend it,” he said.
2023-09-28 14:29:00
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