Korean player Infiltration wins big at EVO’s largest Street Fighter tournament ever

Lee “Infiltration” Seon-Woo achieved what 5,100-players dreamed of in the Street Fighter V tournament at Evo 2016 on Sunday. In addition to winning the title of the largest ever fighting games tournament, he took home a first-place prize of over $50,000, the largest prize ever awarded at an open-entry fighting game event.

Street Fighter V’s EVO top eight session was aired live in its entirety on ESPN2 for the first time in the series’s history. Ratings for the broadcast, which was helmed by Seth Killian and Mike Ross, are not expected to be released until later this week.

Infiltration’s victory took place in the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, marking the first time that Evo’s finals outside of a hotel ballroom. The arena, which has hosted WWE and UFC events, also hosted the finals of Mortal Kombat XL, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, and Super Smash Bros. Melee earlier in the day.

Infiltration has now won four Evo championships, the most memorable of which was the Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition ver. 2012 title he won in 2012. He also claimed victories in Street Fighter X Tekken in both 2012 and 2013, with his 2012 win coming in a two-on-two format with then-teammate An “Laugh” Chang-Wan.

Infiltration defeated Razer teammate Ai “Fuudo” Keita in the grand final. Japan’s Fuudo had previously sent Infiltration to the losers’ bracket with a back-and-forth 3-2 victory in the winners’ final, so Infiltration needed to win two first-to-three sets to claim the title. The champion did just that, scoring a pair of 3-1 victories to win the coveted trophy.