9-year-old Dragon Ball FighterZ player Tsuyoshi, who goes by the tag 2YoC, made waves this year at EVO 2019. The young player went 3-0 through the Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament's first round, coming out of pools undefeated and at the head of the winner's bracket. With over 1,200 registered players in the Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament, 2YoC's victories placed him among the top 256 players in the world. Coincidentally, his father Wasa also won all of his matches in the tournament's first round.
2YoC has drawn a growing following due to his potential as a fighting game player and dedication. He's a recognized face at the Fighting Tuesday tournaments in Tokyo, Japan, where he often battles some of the strongest Dragon Ball FighterZ players in the world. At just 9 years old, 2YoC is at the cusp of attaining the next level. Even GO1, the favorite to win this year's EVO Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament, went out of his way to encourage 2YoC on Twitter following his Friday performance. "I'm happy to be here in my uniform!" was 2YoC's reply.
Unfortunately for 2YoC, the second round of the Dragon Ball FighterZ tournament proved to be a beast of a different nature. In his first match of Saturday, 2YoC lost to Ho-Chan, knocking him into the loser's bracket. In his second match, 2YoC came up short against well-known player Kuba. And like that, 2YoC was knocked out of his first EVO tournament. His father suffered a similar fate. As Wasa would go on to say on Twitter, the "height of the wall" in round 2 was too tall.
This isn't the end for 2YoC, however. In a post to Twitter, he posted a self-defeated photo of himself in the infamous Death of Yamacho pose, followed by a determined statement. "I want to practice more and come to EVO again." The first half of Friday for 2YoC was filled with glory and adrenaline, the second with defeat and disappointment. But odds are the 9-year-old and his father are back in the EVO 2019 audience cheering today, envisioning themselves on-stage at EVO 2020.
Based on his final matches, 2YoC placed within the top 192 Dragon Ball FighterZ players in the tournament. EVO 2019 being the largest fighting game event in the world, placing in the top 200 players in the world is a stunning achievement. For a 9-year-old gamer to find such success at what could be his first international tournament is incredibly rare.