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Street Fighter star Daigo Umehara was beaten three games to two by Superstar rapper Lupe Fiasco in a Mad Catz Street Fighter V showmatch last night.
The rapper, who is known to be a big fan of fighting games and games in general, pulled off the upset to a worldwide Twitch audience at the event to celelbrate the launch of SFV this week.
Despite a close set, with matches pushing out to the full three rounds and both opponents matching each other for wins to the final game, Lupe defeated the Japanese heavyweight on home turf.
Such a defeat is hard to believe for many, given Daigo’s reputation as the "2D fighting game god" in his home region, and such iconic moments as his Evo 2004 win using a difficult series of frame-perfect parries.
There is some consternation among the community as to whether the widely-regarded greatest player of all time was "sandbagging", or taking it easy on his celebrity opponent, but the point seems moot given the promotional nature of the competition.
When questioned of whether he wishes to continue his pro-beating career at this year’s Evo Championship, Mr. Fiasco said: "I’m retiring. I’ll take the win and run, I know when to get out."
