esports
Du ‘NuckleDu’ Dang was the American hero of the 2016 Capcom Cup. After opting out of the 2017 edition, he’s now back in action – and reveals his inspiration for jumping back into the game.
Du ‘NuckleDu’ Dang made waves after taking the 2016 Capcom Cup in an all-American Grand Finals. Facing off against Chun-Li legend Ricki Ortiz, Du pulled off a significant 3-1 victory to end Street Fighter V’s very first competitive season with a bang.
However, Du mysteriously opted out of the 2017 Cup for unspecified reasons, leaving his pre-qualified spot to Ortiz in a surprising turn of events. Following Saul ‘MenaRD’ Mena’s victory at the 2017 Cup, Du decided to jump back into the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour – and he’s told us why.
Back in black
Du has placed highly throughout the 2018 season, taking two Ranking events, one Online event, and even making Top 8 at multiple Premier tournaments within the Pro Tour. Du now sits at ninth place in the CPT’s Global rankings under his new sponsor, GHOST Gaming, despite his major break during the 2017 season.
The pro admitted that he was inspired to dive back into the CPT after watching MenaRD’s thrilling victory at Capcom Cup 2017, which saw him throw down with SFV master Hajime ‘Tokido’ Taniguchi in a nail-biting Grand Finals set, which you can see above. He claimed that watching the competition as a spectator shed new light on his journey as a professional player, and is working toward improving his skills even further in the face of what he deems an “unfulfilling” 2018 season – in spite of his relatively high rank in the Tour.
“Watching my good pal Mena win was really inspiring,” Du says of his absence. “Watching Capcom Cup as a spectator gave me new perspective. My 2018 year was very unfulfilling. I didn't win as many tournaments as I did in previous years, so it can get discouraging, but I'm constantly trying to work on my confidence in my play and in myself in general.”
A three-year journey in SFV
While Du took the 2016 Cup in a sweeping victory over Ricki Ortiz, as you can see above, times have since changed, with Street Fighter V seeing major balance patches, new characters, and even new game mechanics. Since Du’s championship win, he feels that the game’s meta has shifted significantly, now forcing players to make calculated decisions as opposed to ‘winging it’ during its initial inception.
“Season 1 was still developing, so you could kinda just wing it when it came to logical decision making and strategies,” Du explains. “This year, there are certain things where it makes sense to choose a specific option, like taking a grab versus any other option.”
While Du is known for using a variety of top-tier fighters, he feels that one of his mains, R. Mika, has been significantly nerfed since his win in 2016. While he claims that he will continue to use the grappler for the 2018 Cup, he likewise teased an appearance of World President G in his roster – as well as a secret, unidentified character.
“Mika was nerfed hard, and is significantly different from Season 1,” Du continues. “This Capcom Cup, I will use Guile, Cammy, Mika, G, and a secret character I've been working on – if the opportunity arises. I use these characters because they cover the whole cast and player spread.”
Who will emerge the champion?
With Capcom Cup 2018 looming over the horizon, Du is already preparing for the competition – and even has a major prediction as to who will take the open-entry, last-chance qualifier on December 14. With a slew of high-profile names in the mix, Du has his sights set on Street Fighter pro Bruce ‘Gamerbee’ Hsiang, as well as Red Bull Conquest LCQ winner Chris ‘CJ Truth’ Jayson.
“I think Gamerbee and ZJZ from Taiwan have the best chance of winning the LCQ,” Du predicted. “I think the dark horse of the Capcom Cup is CJ Truth.”
CJ Truth shocked audiences after taking the Red Bull NA Regional Finals LCQ against Tokido in an intense Grand Finals set, beating out one of Street Fighter’s most hallowed champs with his skillful use of Cammy White. Hot on the tail of his victory, Du’s prediction about Truth could very well hold true in the coming days.
Fighting for the future
Although Du cited his 2018 season as being less than he expected, he has bright hopes for his future in competitive Street Fighter. He claims that after travelling and competing internationally, he has a reinvigorated verve for high-level competition, and wants to go even further as a player.
“I can only hope that I continue to progress in and out of the game,” Du explains. “I want to keep playing at top level because that's my favorite aspect of competitive esports. For 2019, I plan on training out of an office or gaming house. After visiting Japan and seeing their work ethic, it just shed some light on how lazy I've been.”
With both Du and MenaRD attending the Cup as former champions, this year’s competition promises to bring the best of Street Fighter V’s top prowess. The Top 32 bracket has since been finalized, and the qualified players are now gearing up to throw down in the year’s final, major tournament. Who will come out on top? What can fans expect for the next season of SFV? Only time will tell, and the clock’s ticking quickly forward toward a thrilling conclusion.
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