Trash Talk #10 - Punk

Uncut Patreon version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-punk-knew-he-120798427 

Punk has been a dominant force in the world of fighting games for years, but in no domain is he more feared than that of competitive Street Fighter. He made history in 2024 by becoming the first American player to win a main-stage Street Fighter EVO title in over a decade. But before the Evo win, before the countless accolades, and before being the #1 ranked player in the world, twice, Punk was just Victor Woodley, playing fighting games for fun with his older brothers, and hanging out in Xbox live chat parties and playing with soon-to-be staples of the USA Street Fighter competitive scene.

With the release of Street Fighter V, Punk knew he was prepared to take on the world.

The world, on the other hand, was not ready for Punk. 2017 marked the beginning of one of the most dominant eras in the history of competitive Street Fighter. Punk, seemingly out of nowhere, was toppling the idols of the scene and winning back–to-back major tournaments. Leading up to and throughout Evo 2017, he seemed near unstoppable, going almost undefeated all the way to the winners side of grand finals. However, his opponent, the legendary Tokido, made Punk look human once more, taking the title, and preventing Punk from winning Evo in his first attempt at bat.

Punk would go on to be the definition of consistency in competitive Street Fighter, ending the 2017 and 2019 seasons as the #1 ranked player in the world, head and shoulders above the field in terms of CPT points. However, after a 2nd place finish at the Capcom Cup finals in 2019, the central narrative around Punk had formed: Could the most consistent player in the world get the job done and secure an Evo or Capcom Cup title?

Heading into the Street Fighter 6 era, Punk proved again that his skill in fighting games was not tied to any specific title, patch, or iteration, with near unparalleled consistency across all major offline showings, but fell just shy of securing any grand slam titles.

This was set to change at Evo 2024, with Street Fighter 6’s second showing. Punk breezed through winners, and in a parallel to his 2017 run, defeated Tokido to secure his top 8 winners side appearance. Continuing his momentum into the finals day, he found himself on the winners side of grand finals of Evo once again, 7 years later after his initial showing. And just like that same day 7 years ago, Punk, after being seemingly unstoppable all weekend, lost the first set 3 to 0. But this time, the story would end differently.

In this episode of Trash Talk, Punk discusses his origins in fighting games, his rise to the top of the world of competitive Street Fighter, and securing the Evo win that had eluded him for so long. Please enjoy.