- 2nd place at StunFest (defeated Momochi and Tokido; lost to Momochi twice in Grand Finals)
- 2nd place at Dreamhack Summer (defeated Luffy and Tokido; lost to Phenom in Grand Finals)
- 4th place at G-League (defeated Itabashi Zangief; lost to GO1)
- 7th place at TWFighter Major 2016 (no notable victories; lost to Tokido)

Very dangerous Mika player from Japan. Though he's never won a CPT major, he's come very close a grand total of three times. I hate his guts, mostly because he stole an Evo championship from Saudi Arabian player Latif back in 2011 with his extremely lame Fei Long play. Now that he plays Mika, he's shifted from being just a lame and boring player to an absolute evil scumfuck player. He must lose at all costs--I don't care who it takes to beat him.

The reason I hate Mika isn't just because of her design--her playstyle is based around a "vortex" where she corners you, and whatever she does next on your wakeup is up in the air--it's a 50/50 mixup that is very difficult to escape. If you guess right, you escape--but if you guess wrong, you take massive damage. I just don't consider that a very "legitimate" playstyle in a competitive game. It's almost like sheer luck rather than skill. So yeah, fuck Fuudo. I don't have any respect for him as a player, and I want him to lose--preferably as early as possible.

- 5th place at Tokyo Button Mashers (defeated Haitani; lost to Daigo)

A literally-who Chun player from Japan. I know Japan is quite fond of Chun-Li in Street Fighter V, so this guy may just represent a little bit of that runoff. I can't say too much about him, since he's only ever made one placing at a CPT major, and Japanese players tend not to make too much noise outside of their own country. As a result, I don't know what to expect from him at all. Since he's fighting Fuudo, I would love for him to take him out early, because Chun-Li is a tough matchup for Mika. Beyond that, though, I don't expect MOV to make it very far.

- 2nd place at Tokyo Button Mashers (defeated Haitani, Nemo, and Daigo; lost to Kazunoko in Grand Finals)

Another Japanese player I've never heard of. He plays Nash and almost won a major, but seems to have trouble with the Cammy matchup. Luckily for him, there are no Cammy players in Top 8 for Evo this year. Still, based solely on the fact that I haven't ever heard of this guy other than vague whispers in the Street Fighter IV era, I don't expec this guy to make it very far, but maybe I'll be surprised. He is in Winner's Bracket, after all. Still--can he take on the monster that is Infiltration in a Nash mirror match? I highly doubt it.

- 1st place at Final Round (defeated Nando, Mago, and Tokido)
- 1st place at NorCal Regionals (defeated Nuckledu and Tokido--twice)
- 2nd place at Community Effort Orlando (defeated Tokido and Momochi; lost to Tokido twice in Grand Finals)

At one point, this man was the definitive best player in the world at Street Fighter V. After CEO, however, things aren't so clear, in that people seem to be adapting somewhat to his signature playstyle. Nonetheless, Infiltration is currently my pick for Evo champion right now. I don't necessarily want him to win, but I think it's reasonable to suspect that he will. Looking at the circumstances: 1. His perpetual rival, Tokido, was eliminated before he could reach Top 8 this year. 2. He's in Winner's Bracket against a potentially lesser Nash player. 3. Tokido is pretty much the only person in the world to go toe-to-toe with him in a CPT major.

If he won, it would be the most well-deserved win ever--this guy's one of the hardest working men in the FGC, and though he's already taken a number of Evo championships under his belt, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he'll be adding another trophy to his collection this year.

- 1st place at Thaiger Uppercut (defeated GO1 twice and a literally-who in Grand Finals)
- 5th place at TWFighter Major 2016 (defeated Poongko; lost to Kazunoko)
- 5th place at StunFest (no notable victories; lost to Xian)
- 5th place at G-League (no notable victories; lost to GO1)

This Japanese Ken player has choked in almost every major Top 8 he's ever been in. His one tournament win, Thaiger Uppercut, was somewhat impressive in that he beat perhaps the strongest Chun-Li player in the world right now--GO1--twice in both of the times they fought. His Grand Finals victory is marred by the fact that his opponent wasn't a very strong player to begin with--so I feel like he just got lucky, and his victory was a bit of a fluke.

I have little respect for Ken players--the only ones I like are Chris Tatarian and Julio Fuentes. The rest of them, I usually dislike--though not as intensely as I hate Mika players. Eita may end up defeating LI Joe, but he'll choke after that. He'll probably end up being destroyed by GO1.

- 9th place at Combo Breaker

...How the hell did this guy make it in Top 8!? If you don't know LI Joe, he's basically the Dan of the FGC. He has no notable CPT placements. He's a great personality, but he's not what you'd normally consider a "good" player. He's just a fun guy who likes to play video games. He's the guy who almost received a sponsorship from fucking Brazzers, for fuck's sake--but here he is in the Top 8 qualifiers for Evolution 2016. I'm having flashbacks to when Mike Ross did the same thing back in 2010.

Whether we like it or not, LI Joe is the sole American player on stage tonight. He plays Nash. How good is he with Nash?... Well, good enough to make it to Top 8, I guess. I hate to say it--I wouldn't want to throw my fellow countrymen under the bus--but I don't think he'll stand a chance against Eita. Maybe he'll surprise me, and this will be the most hype Evo ever, but as of now, I expect him to lose... badly.

- 3rd place at G-League
- 3rd place at Thaiger Uppercut
- 5th place at Tokyo Button Mashers
- 7th place at Final Round
- 9th place at Community Effort Orlando
- 9th place at StunFest
- 9th place at TWFighter Major 2016

As I mentioned earlier, I think Goichi is the strongest Chun-Li player in the world right now. I'm too lazy to list all the players he's beaten, but the sheer number of his placements is more striking to me. It's not quite as impressive as Justin Wong's repertoire--but Justin Wong is no longer in the tournament.

Between MOV and GO1, I think Goichi is easily the better Chun. He has more results, stronger results, has beaten better players, and all-around, he appears to have a much stronger grasp of the character than MOV does right now. I expect him to do well--maybe even win the whole tournament. He's easily my second pick if Infiltration ends up losing somehow--but I think that's a bit of a longshot. We'll have to see what happens, of course.

Hopefully he's gained some knowledge of the Vega matchup...

- 4th place at Tokyo Button Mashers (defeated MOV and GO1; lost to Daigo)

This guy was a scumfuck Rolento player during his Street Fighter IV career. Now he plays Vega, and what's scary about him is that he has a lot of experience fighting high-level Chun-Li players like MOV and GO1--the latter of whom he's taking on first during this Top 8.

Perhaps Goichi has learned from his loss to him at Tokyo Button Mashers, but Vega is kind of a rare character to fight--at least in America. Maybe he's more popular in Japan. I'm predisposed to dislike Nemo just because he stole what could've easily been an Evo championship for my favorite Street Fighter player, PR Balrog, in 2015. Admittedly,  he is an amazing player--and he's my third pick for Evo champion if both Infiltration and GO1 lose.