NuckleDu

Du Dang (born May 12, 1996), more commonly known by his nickname NuckleDu, is an American fighting game player known for playing Guile and Decapre in Ultra Street Fighter IV, Guile and Zangief in Street Fighter X Tekken, and Guile and Rainbow Mika in Street Fighter V. NuckleDu was ranked as the 13th best player in Ultra Street Fighter IV by Eventhubs, who was ranked at #19 in the previous year and #32 in 2013. In Street Fighter V he was undeniably the most successful player in the later half of Season 1.[1]

NuckleDu
Du Dang
KnuckleDu at Evo 2016
Personal information
Born (1996-05-12) May 12, 1996
HometownTampa, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Career information
StatusRetired
LeagueCapcom Pro Tour
Evolution Championship Series
GamesStreet Fighter V
Street Fighter IV (series)
Street Fighter X Tekken
Career prize money$263,155.57
Career history
2019-2020Echo Fox
2018-2019Ghost Gaming
2015-2017Team Liquid
2014-2015Team Curse

Gaming career

NuckleDu is one of the best players in the United States, and has multiple major tournaments victories. In 2012 he qualified for the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Grand Finals through the New York City qualifier while netting 13th place being sponsored by Empire Arcadia at the time.[2] He was invited for 2013's Capcom Cup for the Street Fighter X Tekken event in which he received fifth place, being defeated by Justin Wong in Winners and Dexter "Tampa Bison" James in Losers.[3] In August 2014, NuckleDu announced his departure from Empire Arcadia following several other players during the few months.[4] A few months after his EMP departure, he would be signed by professional eSports company Team Curse.[5] NuckleDu would later qualify into 2014's Capcom Cup through the points leaderboards, being ranked at 6th out of the non-qualified players. He would proceed to get 9th place notably upsetting Darryl "Snake Eyez" Lewis in the process.[6]

In 2015, Team Curse merged into Team Liquid which resulted in NuckleDu being acquired by the latter.[7] NuckleDu notably won both Apex 2015 and Combo Breaker in dominant fashion, defeating Snake Eyez and Ricki Ortiz in their respective grand finals.[8][9] At EVO 2015, NuckleDu placed 7th out of ~2200 people in Ultra Street Fighter IV, bowing out to Bruce "GamerBee" Hsiang.[10] However, during the summer, there was some controversy regarding the EGL Dallas tournament, which NuckleDu won the Ultra Street Fighter IV tournament and was promised $5,000 in prize winnings. However EGL failed to pay him as well as other tournament winners, which resulted in the company going bankrupt.[11][12] NuckleDu was one of the 32 players in the 2015 Capcom Cup in which he placed 13th, also being the second highest placing American in the tournament. He qualified once again through points leaderboards.[13][14]

NuckleDu would later pick up Street Fighter V, notably taking 2nd at DreamHack Austin over Justin Wong. Alex Valle commented saying that players like NuckleDu need to have a superior neutral game in order to beat Wong.[15][16]

He made an impressive run through the most-prized tournament of 2016, Capcom Cup 2016, without losing a set and won the competition, landing the big prize of US$230,000 for the 1st place. He played a strong mix of Guile and R. Mika throughout the Pro Tour season, and his hard reads and feisty gameplay made him a fan favorite.

e-Sports Earnings[17] estimates that NuckleDu has earned a career total of US$303,020.43 from 48 tournaments.

NuckleDu left Team Liquid in December 2017.

On July 19, 2018, after going almost a year without a sponsor and started to jokingly giving himself the "sponsorship" tag "My Wallet" in tournaments, Ghost Gaming announced via a Tweet that they have signed on NuckleDu as their debut FGC player and that his first tournament underneath the sponsorship would be Defend the North 2018.

On January 1, 2019, NuckleDu announced on his Twitter that he was officially a free agent, then on February 13, 2019 he announced his signing to the team Echo Fox.

On July 6, 2020, NuckleDu announced on his Twitter his indefinite retirement after a devastating car crash left him injured.[18]

Playstyle

In Ultra Street Fighter IV, NuckleDu is known as a master of charge characters (holding one direction, releasing the other). His offensive playstyle with Guile is considered unorthodox and attracts viewers.[19] While playing as Decapre, he is known for having a tricky yet unpredictable playstyle which adds to his character selection.[20] NuckleDu is also known for his excessive taunting during matches in the form of Guile's shades, which players find offensive and have labelled him as a villain because of it.[21]

In Street Fighter V, NuckleDu's Nash is considered offensive usually beginning with fast-paced movement later turning into a slugfest, a playstyle he is familiar with when playing as the character.[22]

Personal life

NuckleDu has a pet dog named Tofu that he cares for and helps him avoid depression.[23] NuckleDu is of Vietnamese ancestry, and his family is from there.[24] In an interview with Chris Bahn of PVP Live, NuckleDu stated he has a fear of flying which is why he rarely travels outside of the United States, but desires to visit Australia and Vietnam.[25]

In 2017, NuckleDu donated his DreamHack Montreal 2017 winnings to the Hurricane Irma relief, in which the hurricane affected his home state of Florida.[26]

Tournament results
Tournament Results [27]
YearTournamentPlacementGame
2012Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Tournament Qualifier: New York City2ndStreet Fighter X Tekken
2012Northeast Championships 132ndSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2012Street Fighter 25 Anniversary Tournament Grand Finals13thStreet Fighter X Tekken
2013Final Round 165thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2013Civil War V7thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2013Civil War V2ndStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2013East Coast Throwdown V2ndStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2013Summer Jam VII3rdSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2013Summer Jam VII1stStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2013The Fall Classic 20134thStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2013Youmacon 20132ndSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2013Northeast Championships 147thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2013Northeast Championships 142ndStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2013Capcom Cup 20135thStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2014Defend the North 20144thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2014Apex 20145thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2014SoCal Regionals 20145thSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012
2014SoCal Regionals 20142ndStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2014NorCal Regionals 20141stStreet Fighter X Tekken v2013
2014Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 105thUltra Street Fighter IV
2014First Attack 20142ndUltra Street Fighter IV
2014Summer Jam 84thUltra Street Fighter IV
2014Game Underground Tournament Spectacular 32ndUltra Street Fighter IV
2014The Fall Classic 20144thUltra Street Fighter IV
2014Capcom Cup 20149thUltra Street Fighter IV
2014Hadocon VI1stUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Apex 20151stUltra Street Fighter IV
2015NorCal Regionals 20153rdUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Combo Breaker 20151stUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Evolution 20157thUltra Street Fighter IV
2015EGL Dallas 10K1stUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Absolute Battle 61stUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Defend the North 20153rdUltra Street Fighter IV
2015Capcom Cup 201513thUltra Street Fighter IV
2016Kumite in Tennessee 20161stUltra Street Fighter IV
2016Final Round 191stUltra Street Fighter IV
2016NorCal Regionals 20165thStreet Fighter V
2016NorCal Regionals 20163rdUltra Street Fighter IV
2016PAX Arena Street Fighter 5 Invitational1stStreet Fighter V
2016DreamHack Austin2ndStreet Fighter V
2016Combo Breaker 20164thStreet Fighter V
2016Combo Breaker 20161stUltra Street Fighter IV
2016CEO 20165thStreet Fighter V
2016SoCal Regionals 20165thStreet Fighter V
2016Canada Cup 20161stStreet Fighter V
2016CPT North America Regional Final1stStreet Fighter V
2016Capcom Cup 20161stStreet Fighter V
2017Combo Breaker 20171stStreet Fighter V

References and notes
  1. Grey, Jonathan. "EventHubs lists top 50 Ultra Street Fighter 4 players, #20 - #11". Eventhubs. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  2. USD. "Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Grand Finals Results". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  3. USD. "Capcom Cup 2013 Results". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  4. Rinaldi, Casey. "NuckleDu leaves Empire Arcadia". ReadyUpGaming. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  5. Chavez, Steven. "Team Curse Gaming launches Street Fighter eSports division, enlists Nuckle Du". Eventhubs. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  6. USD. "Capcom Cup 2014 Results". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  7. Lingle, Samuel. "Curse Gaming merges with Team Liquid". Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  8. Bumblebee. "APEX 2015 Recap: NuckleDu is a champion!". Team Liquid Pro. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  9. Martin, Michael. "NuckleDu Exorcises Demons at Combo Breaker 2015". Red Bull. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  10. Martin, Michael. "Momochi Wins Evo 2015". Red Bull. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  11. Martin, Michael. "NuckleDu Wins in Dallas, Snake Eyez Takes Fourth". Red Bull. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  12. "Epic! Gaming Lounge disappears from the scene along with $40K prize money". eSports Observer. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  13. Saed, Sherif. "Capcom Cup 2015 – Kazunoko wins, all the results". VG247. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  14. "Introduction to the Players of Capcom Cup 2015". Capcom Pro Tour. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  15. Lee, Timothy. "JWong ends DreamHack run in dominating fashion". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  16. "NuckleDu's Capcom Pro Tour Data". Capcom Pro Tour. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  17. "NuckleDu's esports earnings profile". Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  18. Unnikrishnan, Hrithik (July 12, 2020). "NuckleDu Officially Retires From Professional Esports". EssentiallySports. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  19. Guerrero, John. "Perfect Justin Wong in 18 seconds?! Throw on your shades and watch this NuckleDu Guile compilation". Eventhubs. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  20. "Capcom Cup 2015 Qualifier: NuckleDu Bio". Capcom Cup. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  21. Bahn, Chris. "Are NuckleDu's Taunts Offensive?". PVP Live. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  22. MEllis. "Infiltration's Street Fighter V Dominance Continues at NorCal Regionals 2016". Shoryuken. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  23. "Sorry to worry you guys". Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  24. Martin, Michael. "NuckleDu Had His Best Year Yet, Wants More in 2016". Red Bull. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  25. Bahn, Chris. "NuckleDu on XiaoHai: "I just wanted to remind him who he was playing against"". PVP Live. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  26. Lee, Timothy. "NuckleDu to donate DreamHack Montreal Street Fighter V winnings to Irma relief". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  27. http://www.maxoplata.net/player/399
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