E-sports

Get to Know FChamp: The Biggest Heel in Fighting Games

By Ramon Domingo - July 05, 2023

Every hero needs a good villain and FChamp was more than happy to play that part.

In the world of fighting games personalities, there is no other figure who is more infamous than Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, or FChamp for short. This Filipino-American professional fighting games player is a legend in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and is the man that crowds love to hate.

He calls himself a “Marvel God” but that isn’t just empty boasting. He’s had multiple championships and top-eight finishes in major and minor tournaments for Marvel 3.

Beyond Marvel 3, he was also a top contender in the early years of Street Fighter 5. Even during Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s brief existence FChamp was regarded as one of the best to play that game. He’s truly skilled in every game he touches and he never fails to flaunt it to his opponents’ faces.

Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez or FChamp
FChamp’s “You’re Free!” moment during his first-to-15 show match against Nicolas “KBR” Gonzalez. FChamp would win the show match 15-10. (photo credit: Robert Paul)

That’s where FChamp’s infamy is centered around — the constant taunting he does on and off the game. His moments are well recorded, and despite the constant boos and jeers he gets from the crowds, he just can’t stop doing it.

To him, it’s all part of his “FChamp” persona.

But the man behind the mask is a lot more insightful and humble than most people realize. Just like in wrestling, someone has to draw the crowd’s ire and FChamp plays that character so well. Some would say a little too well, to the point that there’s real friction between him and other personalities. Whether or not that’s true, there’s no denying that his method is very effective in creating drama and hype in every match he plays.

KBR would get his revenge by beating FChamp in the grand finals of the actual tournament.

An Act Taken Too Far

While everyone loves the entertainment that a villain brings to the table, sometimes, an act can be taken too far, and FChamp’s persona had eventually gotten away from him.

In 2020, FChamp posted an insensitive Tweet during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. He later deleted the post and apologized, but the damage had already been done. Because of this, he was banned from multiple tournaments that year and received an indefinite ban from all Capcom-operated events.

FChamp has mellowed down quite a bit since then and has now transitioned into a full-time streamer. It remains to be seen if he’ll ever professionally compete again. But, one thing is certain: there will never be another villain in the fighting game community quite like FChamp.

Banner image from Stephanie Lindgren on Facebook.


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