CEO 2023 was a great way to kick off the new era of fighting games.
Community Effort Orlando, otherwise known as CEO, took place last weekend.
A lot of excitement was swirling around the event as it’s the first major tournament to feature Street Fighter 6. The hype was palpable, even if you were just watching the live stream, so we’ve picked the four most hype moments that went down in CEO 2023.
The Stage
It has been a longstanding CEO tradition to hold the top eight of their major title games in their very own wrestling ring.
Whether you’re a wrestling fan or not, you can’t deny that there’s something about the squared circle that elicits a buzz of excitement. There’s really no better way to hype up both the crowd and the competitors, especially when every match could be your last.
The Walk-ins
Of course, you can’t have a wrestling ring without the accompanying walk-ins. The walk-ins are always the highlight of CEO especially when competitors can be as creative as they want.
Funny, weird, or menacing, these walk-ins really do highlight the personalities of these players.
Def Jam: Fight for NY
Back in the distant time of the early 2000s, there existed a series of games called Def Jam.
The premise was simple: get as many of these famous hip-hop artists in an action-wrestling game and watch them beat each other up.
Def Jam: Fight for NY maintains a cult following in America and it’s easy to see why. Nowhere else will you see Snoop Dogg and Ice-T duplexing each other to death. Such a game is impossible in modern times and it’s nice to see small communities like this still have a spot in major fighting game events.
Street Fighter 6 Top 8
The main event of CEO 2023. With over 1,000 entrants, it was a long road to the top eight and even then it was a surprise. With a mixture of new and familiar faces, upsets, and clutch plays, Street Fighter 6 couldn’t have asked for a better major event showing.
Banner photo credit: Chadd via flickr.
Related Stories:
Here’s A Look At This Pro Player’s Early SF6 Tier List
The Best Moments From Combo Breaker 2023
5 Street Fighter Pros To Watch Out For in The Capcom Pro Tour