LAS VEGAS — At the 2018 Evolution Championship Series, Dominique “SonicFox” McLean cemented himself once more as the best in the world in a new title, taking home the first Dragon Ball FighterZ in front of a packed crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday night.
Including side events, he has now won five Evo titles, and four of them in separate games. Standing in front of the swarm of onlookers in his blue fox costume to represent his “fursona,” SonicFox felt at ease all night, rolling through his wave of challenges in a succession of dominant victories. In an winners-bracket match with rival Goichi “GO1” Kishida of Japan, he prevailed, showcasing the separation he has already made between himself and the rest of the competition in DBZ.
Through all the noise and theatrics on the main stage with new faces introducing themselves to the hundreds of thousands watching on Twitch, the one known quantity, the constant, was the skill and natural prowess of SonicFox. The world of competitive video games has incredible prowess across any game, but even then, there is no question: SonicFox — a sly grin on his face with his fox head resting next to him as he plays — is a one-of-a-kind talent. His ceiling is unknown, nor how many games at which he can excel.
After being known as the “NetherRealm God” for his championships in Mortal Kombat and Injustice, the consensus was that his limitation was being strong in games created by a company that catered to his strengths. Then, after getting the same top results in a game like Skullgirls, a departure from his norm, that limit became limitless.