FLY|Punk put on a display of Street Fighter excellence when he took home the gold this year at Evo 2024, but the grind never stops and winning the big dance in Las Vegas only makes the target on your back that much bigger.
Punk participated in Yipes’ Can Opener tournament this week, and he and his Cammy made it all the way to grand finals as one might expect. Their opposition, however, was the mighty SB|NuckleDu, who not only styled on Punk in dominant fashion, but did so while using his own character.
The highest point in Du’s already illustrious career has to be his 2016 Capcom Cup win, and after some time away from competitive gaming to be a family man we haven’t quite seen Du reach the same heights here in Street Fighter 6.
You will recall, however, that NuckleDu is known for taunting his opponents in the middle of the action. This kind of play has led to as much controversy as it has entertainment, and it seems Du is still very much willing to go in on opponents’ psychological health bars.
Grand finals began with Punk in the winners side, Du on the losers side, and both participants using Cammy. Du took the first set cleanly with a three game sweep to reset the bracket, and the momentum just carried on from there.
After another two games and one round, Punk found himself on his back foot and with his last chance. He tested his foe’s reactions with a sudden Drive Impact, but Du proved that he’s still under 30 and reacted for the crumble.
Playing with his food before finishing it, Du proceeded to use all the rest of his resources with a launcher combo into 5 Drive Rush cancel jabs before delivering the coup de grâce level three Super. Punk, understandably, left the match before the animation finished playing out.
YOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/BMxrVGASwi
— HiFight(ハイファイト) (@HiFightTH) August 1, 2024