The Escapist Staff Street Fighter IV Throwdown

Over the next week – March 9th through March 13th – four members of The Escapist staff are going to clash heads in the game of champions: Street Fighter IV. We welcome The Escapist community to come pick their favorite competitor – everyone who chooses a fighter to support will earn a special Street Fighter IV badge, and if your fighter wins? Well, you’ll get an even more special Street Fighter IV badge!

Name: Tom “tendo” Endo
Character: Rufus
Controller: Hori EX2 Fighting Stick
Bio: Hailing from Columbus, Ohio Tom Endo discovered Street Fighter II after being banned from the underground marble playing circuit. The next ten years were a blur of quarter addiction, prize machines, Lil’ Homies and broken dreams. This tournament is Tom’s shot at redemption.
Why He’ll Win: Because when all you’ve got left in this life is a complete set of Lil’ Homies, there’s only one way you can go – Up! Everyone else sucks too.

Name: Logan “nilcypher” Westbrook
Character: Vega
Controller: Standard 360 Controller – Logan doesn’t need any special peripherals to kick ass!
Bio: The illegitimate son of a disgraced English Lord, Logan has secretly conquered the world no less seven times, but each time grew weary of leadership and gave it all back. His skill with Street Fighter is only surpassed by his incredible modesty.
Why He’ll Win: Logan has a stripped down fighting style that does not rely on fancy tricks to get the job done. Get the basics right and the rest is child’s play.

Name: Keane “Keane Ng” Ng
Character: Sagat, M. Bison
Controller: Hori EX2 Fighting Stick / SF4 Tournament Edition FightStick
Bio: Raised on the mean streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown district, Keane Ng has been fighting for survival his entire life. He lives on a diet of bamboo shoots and Red Bull, and enjoys giving back rubs.
Why He’ll Win: Logan’s a wuss, Endo’s a has-been and Funk? He’s Funk, that’s all I gotta say. I win by default.

Name: John “Can’t Fake the” Funk
Character: Sakura, Sagat
Controller: Hori EX2 Fighting Stick
Bio: Raised in New Jersey, John Funk’s formative years were spent dodging Mafia hitmen after his family’s ancestral fortune. The constant attempts on his life forged him into a lethal combat machine who will stop at nothing to triumph. He will bring the Funk – and by Funk, he means absolute subjugation.
Why He’ll Win: Home-field advantage! Repping the Escapist home offices, boy-ee!

The winner of this Escapist Royal Rumble will get fame, fortune, and eternal smack-talking rights. The loser will receive untold humiliation.

So plunk down your quarter, and let the showdown begin!

Update: Select your fighter here!