Man, you didn’t even need to be glued to the Fatal Fury finals at Evo 2025 to catch Kazuyuki “KojiKOG” Koji stealing the show. Seriously, the guy’s onstage antics were something else—like, straight-up theater. Internet went wild over it. I’m talking memes flying all over South Town. But, you know, there was this whole Greek tragedy vibe to KojiKOG’s performance that I can’t shake off.
So, KojiKOG got knocked out by Goichi “GO1” Kishida, who ended up winning the whole shebang. Imagine it: KojiKOG on Billy and GO1 on Kain. Both S-tier fighters in the current meta since, what, February? But things went south for KojiKOG real fast. Stuck in GO1’s combos like a nightmare you can’t wake up from. First round? Total loss. Second round, though, had some sparks. Almost had GO1 down to a tiny sliver of health twice. Twice! Yet, couldn’t seal the deal.
The whole thing wrapped up in under five minutes, but man, KojiKOG’s despairing cry seemed like it lasted forever. A full minute of sheer agony. Meanwhile, GO1’s just chillin’, laughing it off. People at home? They were busy turning it into internet gold. It captured something, like that gut punch we all know too well, when you give your all and it’s still not enough.
Anyway, yeah. Remember, this ain’t KojiKOG’s first dramatic rodeo. Camera loves him, and fans eat it up. He and GO1 got history, too, like back at Evo 2015 during some side tournament for Aquapazza. Yep, KojiKOG lost that one as well and did this whole leg-cut-off routine. This time, though, stakes were sky-high—big bucks and glory. GO1 walked away with an extra $10,000. Not bad, huh? Plus, he’s got a sweet shot at the $2.5 million prize pool at the SNK World Championship coming up. Gotta love that irony, right? Powered by some Saudi fund with a questionable track record.
KojiKOG even posted a clip himself, basically saying he got his leg ‘cut off’ again after ten years. Classic. The fighting game world loves a good pop-off after a win, but KojiKOG, he’s turning losing into an art form. I don’t know about you, but I’m already looking forward to his next epic loss.
