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After his recent car accident, fighting game player Du "NuckleDu" Dang has announced his retirement from competitive gaming via Twitter.
Who is Du “NuckleDu” Dang?
NuckleDu made a name for himself in the Gulf Coast Florida fighting game scene back in the early 2010s where he developed an aggressive and highly competent play style out of Tampa Florida. After winning Combo Breaker and put up a top 8 Finish at the Evolution Championship Series back in 2015, NuckleDu became a name to look out for in the Fighting Game Community. With the release of Street Fighter V, Du rapidly rose to the top and in 2016 he took first place in the prestigious Capcom Cup.
The road to fame
Overnight Du became the player to analyze to learn how to play Street Fighter V, with many players pointing out how Du optimized running two characters with different playstyles to force his opponent’s to mix up their game. Commentators also noted Du’s ability to maintain a solid calm under even the most high stress situations. NuckleDu would take many more prestigious first place finishes in the years after, but began to seemingly lose interest a couple of years ago.
Du has carried a lot of weight on his shoulders in the fighting game community in the four years since Capcom Cup 2016. For a long time, Du was considered the favorite American player to represent the American fighting game community in the big international tournaments. Even for someone like Du, that was a lot of pressure to put him under, but he still managed to have one of the best and most identifiable play styles in the Fighting Game Community.
Du’s sudden retirement from the Fighting Game competitive scene
It is uncertain what ultimately made Du decide to retire from his competitive career. Recently Du had become a father to a beautiful baby girl. Hopefully this retirement will give him some time to spend with her as their family grows together.
It will be a long time before another player can compare to Du in his prime, but I suspect he will be happy however he decides to use his time.
