Evo co-founder Seth Killian returns to Evo to interview another phenomenally talented fighting game player. This year, he has a conversation with six-time Evo Champion SonicFox about being true to themselves, what drives them to win, and the importance of doing good for others.

One of the most valuable things SonicFox says you need to be a successful player is a rival. Having someone to drive you to be the best you can will keep you aiming higher. SonicFox references their rivalry with GO1, which gives them friendship while being open to challenging one another.

SonicFox says that years of practice in front of a crowd helps ease the pressure when competing on a global stage. SonicFox played violin in concerts for years. While they understand time isn’t anyone’s favorite answer for how to improve, it is an essential piece of the puzzle. 

Once SonicFox loses their first game in a tournament, they feel a stronger sense of freedom in their play. Losing to an opponent gives them a new goal to strive towards. If there’s someone better out there, SonicFox wants to grow and surpass them.

SonicFox hopes to use empathy and good deeds to leave a lasting positive impact on people. They hope that when people are around them, they see them as a friend and someone who will be there no matter what.

Killian says SonicFox has a superpower he calls “Level 3 Tracking.” At Final Kombat this year, the thing Killian remembered the most about the match was that SonicFox tracked what people were doing and anticipated what they weren’t doing. This allowed them to maintain complete control of the match and take a 3:0 victory.

SonicFox said they owed their intuition to their older brother, who used to be a top-level Dead or Alive 5 player. SonicFox learned how to anticipate what could come next through their time playing together. While they are competing, SonicFox will look at the health and timer and think of what it would take for them to lose. SonicFox will throw meta out the window and mash to counteract those potential strategies, making it more difficult for their opponent to guess what they will do next.

Killian asked SonicFox what they had to master about themselves. They said they should take control of their routine and not fall into depressive habits. They know they have friends and family who are there for them to help them through whatever they are experiencing.

To close, Killian asked what respect means to SonicFox. To them, it means showing empathy towards people. If people learned to love each other, the world would be a better place.