When it comes to Alex Valle at EVO, anything can happen.
At EVO 2015, Valle famously dominated Bonchan with the low tier character Hugo in a very unfavorable matchup. While not consistently dominating like he did in his prime, that set showed that Valle (also known by his tag “CaliPower”) could still put in work on the biggest stage.
And at EVO 2018, he did it again against NuckleDu.
Alex Valle Vs. NuckleDu – EVO 2018
While players such as Daigo might still be winning major tournaments near the age for 40, Alex Valle has taken more of a community leadership role in recent years and isn’t as active when it comes to competing and training. As a result, when EVO 2018 rolled out, the expectations weren’t as high for the 40-year old SoCal veteran when he went up against one of Street Fighter V’s finest in NuckleDu.
That’s not to say Valle’s skill was lacking; he was still a formidable player with a top level understanding of neutral and footsies. But when he was set to go up against NuckleDu, the odds were not in his favor. NuckleDu was the 2016 Capcom Cup champion and had remained a top level threat all throughout Street Fighter V. Anyone following the scene would’ve bet on NuckleDu to win.
Of course, this is EVO, the largest fighting game stage the world has ever known. And with the best of 3 tournament sets, the odds of pulling off an incredible upset became even greater.
In a move that seemed similar to his pick of Hugo at EVO 2015, Valle chose to use Blanka against NuckleDu; an unusual pick due to Blanka’s middle to lower placement on the tier list. NuckleDu would pick Cammy, a notably strong character in Street Fighter V.
The match can be seen here:
NuckleDu would end up placing 97th overall at EVO 2018, while Alex Valle would place 33rd. While still several matches outside of making top 8, this set was proof that on any given day, Uncle Valle can compete with just about anybody.