EVO 2024 showed exactly why it is regarded as the Super Bowl of competitive fighting games last weekend.
From Victor “Punk” Woodley capturing his first EVO title seven years after falling short in grand finals to the pure joy of Hayao providing one of the most ridiculous moments since the famous “Daigo Parry” on its 20th anniversary in “Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike” to Shamar “Nitro” Hinds crowdsurfing after his “Guilty Gear Strive” grand finals victory, EVO 2024 was one for the ages.
But one pro made EVO history Saturday afternoon: an out gay nonbinary furry named Dominique “SonicFox” McLean.
Already counted among the lineage of fighting games esports greats, SonicFox claimed their seventh EVO championship by winning the inaugural “Mortal Kombat 1” tournament at the event, moving them ahead of legendary “Street Fighter” pro Daigo “The Beast” Umehara for the second-most EVO championships in the event’s near-30-year history.
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SonicFox went a perfect 10-0 during the tournament, defeating fellow Final Kombat 2024 entrants Javier “MKJavierMK” Rodriguez and Pedro “Zeeus” Ribeiro to secure their spot in grand finals.
There they would face their most recent rival in the “Mortal Kombat” scene, Nicolas Martinez. The battle effectively represented a rubber match in “Mortal Kombat 1” grand finals play between the veteran and the recent sensation from Chile. Nicolas shocked SonicFox by defeating them in grand finals at Combo Breaker in May only for SonicFox to retool and dispatch Nicolas in grand finals at Final Kombat 2024 last month.
After utilizing Homelander and Sindel to reach grand finals, SonicFox deployed their Johnny Cage to combat Nicolas’ Johnny Cage, harkening back to the same character selections at Final Kombat 2024. The pair traded victories until SonicFox gave Nicolas no quarter in the fifth and deciding round.
SonicFox weathered Nicolas’ onslaught only to coldly walk him down during the final fight and wipe out his health bar before jumping up to celebrate with the thousands in attendance. The win puts SonicFox two EVO titles away from tying fellow fighting games icon Justin Wong for the most EVO titles ever.
SonicFox now holds EVO championships in six different games from four different franchises, the most being “Mortal Kombat” (4), and their first win at EVO since claiming the “Skullgirls” title in 2022.
More important than an EVO title win is SonicFox’s continued use of their platform to inspire, empower and advocate for LGBTQ populations. That was again on their mind following their championship performance Saturday.
“I do this for the queers. I do this for the furries. I do this for the minorities. I’m telling them that this can be you,” they said in the post-tournament press conference. “Just apply yourself, be yourself and you can overcome anything whatever life throws at you. We are here together. I do this for you guys.”
