Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

The Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution finals really started to heat up toward Game 3, with Eric "Shoutime" Chung's Sarah poking and prodding for an opening in Jimmy "Maddy" Byun's Akira game. Shoutime would walk away from that Match and eventually go through Kurita, Raoh, and Ryan Hart on the way to the grand finale. Ironically, the only "predictable" element in these finals was the unpredictability of Itabashi's Shun Di, who quickly became a crowd favorite and ended up dominating the competition.

Finals Video

Game 2 Match 1: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Ryan Hart (Kage)

Footage from Evo2K4 finals

If you ever doubted Shun Di's strength in the hands of an experienced player, this video should change your mind. Ryan Hart, who was gunning for at least one of several 3D Evolution championships and who was playing one of the stronger Akiras at this year's event, simply couldn't stop Itabashi's fierce drunken style.

1st: Itabashi
2nd: Eric "Shoutime" Chung
3rd: Kurita
4th: Ryan Hart
5th: Raoh
5th: Adam Yuki
7th: Che "Cappo" Dunkley
7th: Jimmy "Maddy" Byun

Finals Breakdown

All games were the best two out of three Matches, except for the grand finale, which was three out of five. Each Match was set for the best two out of three rounds.

Game 1

Match 1: Kurita (Vanessa) vs. Raoh (Lau) Winner: Kurita

Match 2: Kurita (Vanessa) vs. Raoh (Lau) Winner: Raoh

Match 3: Kurita (Vanessa) vs. Raoh (Lau) Winner: Kurita

Game 2

Match 1: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Ryan Hart (Kage) Winner: Itabashi

Match 2: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Ryan Hart (Akira) Winner: Itabashi

Game 3

Match 1: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Jimmy "Maddy" Byun (Akira) Winner: Jimmy "Maddy" Byun

Match 2: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Jimmy "Maddy" Byun (Akira) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Match 3: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Jimmy "Maddy" Byun (Akira) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Game 4

Match 1: Adam Yuki (Jeffrey) vs. Che "Cappo" Dunkley (Pai) Winner: Adam Yuki

Match 2: Adam Yuki (Jeffrey) vs. Che "Cappo" Dunkley (Pai) Winner: Che "Cappo" Dunkley

Match 3: Adam Yuki (Jeffrey) vs. Che "Cappo" Dunkley (Pai) Winner: Adam Yuki

Game 5

Match 1: Kurita (Vanessa) vs. Itabashi (Shun Di) Winner: Itabashi

Match 2: Kurita (Vanessa) vs. Itabashi (Shun Di) Winner: Itabashi

Game 6

Match 1: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Raoh (Lau) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Match 2: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Raoh (Lau) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Game 7

Match 1: Ryan Hart (Kage) vs. Adam Yuki (Jeffrey) Winner: Ryan Hart

Match 2: Ryan Hart (Kage) vs. Adam Yuki (Jeffrey) Winner: Ryan Hart

Game 8

Match 1: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Ryan Hart (Kage) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Match 2: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Ryan Hart (Kage) Winner: Ryan Hart

Match 3: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Ryan Hart (Kage) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Game 9

Match 1: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Kurita (Vanessa) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Match 2: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Kurita (Vanessa) Winner: Kurita

Match 3: Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) vs. Kurita (Vanessa) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Grand Finale

Match 1: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) Winner: Eric "Shoutime" Chung

Match 2: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) Winner: Itabashi

Match 3: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) Winner: Itabashi

Match 4: Itabashi (Shun Di) vs. Eric "Shoutime" Chung (Sarah) Winner: Itabashi