Riot’s 2v2 fighter 2XKO had the spotlight at Evo Vegas 2026 as one of the games on the Main Stage thanks to its impressive number of competitors. Out of those 1,080 fighters, Jo’siah “Hikari” Miller came out on top.
The Top 8 for 2XKO was stacked. Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Lenwood “Inzem” Arnold hadn’t dropped a single game all weekend, nor had the twins, Toshi and Haru. Steve “Supernoon” Carbajal and Bleed were also hungry for the win. But nobody could slow Hikari down.
After the win, a journalist asked him if there was ever a moment he didn’t think he’d win Evo Vegas 2026. His answer? “No.”
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Hikari’s Unstoppable Evo Run and the Mindset That Got Him There
Hikari was a man of few words after his Evo win. But that seems to be how he usually is. Focused. Purposeful. Unbothered. Throughout the Top 8, Hikari appeared calm and patient, waiting for opportunities to jump in.
His Losers run was incredible. If I were SonicFox and Inzem waiting in the Winners Finals for Hikari, I’d be afraid. He was unstoppable. He faltered over Teemo here and there, but even that wasn’t really making him falter.
“When they’re in the lead, they slow down the game. It can be very difficult,” he stated. “But Teemo is very easy to overcome. Teemo has low HP and other weaknesses.”
And that’s the thing. Fighting games are all mental. I spoke with Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II earlier this weekend about his seemingly positive outlook. A really big part of his consistency in Street Fighter 6 is his ability to leave the saltiness in the game and stay focused, motivated, and unemotional.
Hikari clearly has this ability. Nothing was really tripping him up. Nothing was bothering him. His only concern throughout the Top 8 was the twins, since they’d knocked him from the Winners’ side. But he easily beat them, an outcome I didn’t really expect, and then continued to plow through everybody.
He told reporters it was his mindset that allowed him to change up his playstyles throughout Losers. He was able to adjust his strategy for each opponent. Again, unbothered.
Once he reached SonicFox and Inzem, he had to beat the duo twice. Once to reset, once more to be crowned Evo champion.
Is it harder to deal with a duo? Do they have an advantage? Again… You guessed it. Hikari was ready for that. It wasn’t really a concern.
“I definitely watch their VODs and habits,” Hikari said of his preparation for taking down duos. “They’re two different people, so two different mindsets. It’s really difficult.” On top of that, Hikari had been training at the gym, spending time outside, and practicing with his training partners: SonicFox and Inzem.
It worked. I admittedly felt that SonicFox and Inzem had the 2XKO tournament in the bag until I saw Hikari’s Losers run. And he continued that momentum into the Grand Finals, easily getting a bracket reset. Even when SonicFox switched characters, Hikari barely faltered. He quickly reacted to his opponents’ playstyles.
Of SonicFox and Inzem, Hikari admitted SonicFox is the most difficult to face. That’s no surprise. SonicFox is an eight-time Evo champion across multiple games. Any fighting game they touch, they seem to dominate. 2XKO has been no different.
But that’s not a threat to Hikari. It’s a goal.
“I want to be a large icon, like SonicFox,” he said to me.
He’s well on his way. He has multiple 2XKO championships and previously dominated in Dragon Ball FighterZ. If that doesn’t sound like SonicFox, I don’t know what does.
And for Hikari, Evo Vegas is still part of that journey to being an icon. There has been significant controversy over Evo’s decision to add more events after it was purchased by Saudi Arabia. Fewer people attended Evo Vegas this year because many didn’t feel the need to pay for the expensive flight and hotel in Las Vegas. Why do that when there will be an Evo closer to them anyway?
But it seems the top players still value Evo Vegas. Hikari said to ESI: “To me, Evo still has that prestige, that same feeling. It’s in Vegas. It’s the Super Bowl of fighting games. It didn’t lose any prestige.”
Next, Hikari will be heading to Evo France. Winning Evo Japan and Evo Vegas is not enough. Not if you want to be the next SonicFox. He said he will go back and fix the mistakes he made ahead of France. He won’t make them again. From the outside, what mistakes? Hikari seemed completely in control. Completely unstoppable.
Hikari believes that 2XKO has what it takes to be a bigger title in the FGC. And he believes he will be the biggest name in 2XKO. He already is.
The post “I want to be an icon like SonicFox”: Hikari wins 2XKO tourney at Evo Vegas 2026 appeared first on Esports Insider.