One of the FGC’s biggest fears came true at Evo Vegas 2026: Ludwig’s comment shines light on grassroots, authenticity, and artificial hype

Evo Vegas happened just this week, and while the tournament was a great success with lots of announcements benefiting the fighting game community, it also highlighted a growing pain point for the scene. Let’s start with a positive! Evo intends to support locals around the world, essentially cultivating a stronger fighting game esports scene.

This is something I’ve mentioned in my piece, “The FGC must transition out of grassroots if it wants to survive,” but there I was talking about Capcom and other developers providing the budget. With Evo handling that aspect, I think the FGC will slowly start to grow.

Now, for the negative, a somewhat cringeworthy moment happened during the tournament that divided the FGC and might even spell the beginning of the FGC’s nightmare. Yup, I’m talking about the popular streamer Ludwig Ahgren’s infamous “I like Street Fighter, but I also like viewers” moment.

Before I start, let’s get a few things out of the way. Yes, Ludwig’s decision to hide his actual character pick in the Ludwig vs Tyler1 Street Fighter 6 event is an FGC move. He’s been in the community for quite some time now, being a Super Smash Bros. Melee player. However, this doesn’t excuse his behavior at an event meant to celebrate fighting games.

The situation is perfectly encapsulated in this short clip retweeted by Adel “Big Bird” Anouche:

In the video, Ludwig just convincingly won the showmatch and then said, “I like Street Fighter, but I also like viewers.” This is the statement that divided the FGC, with some finding it humorous while others found it offensive.

To give a little bit of context, Ludwig is talking about viewership in fighting games. It’s no secret that fighting games don’t have the audience that other genres, such as first-person shooters and battle royale games, have. Some people are defending this statement, asking, “If it’s true, then what’s the problem?”

However, Big Bird put it perfectly in a reply to one of those comments:

He’s very much correct that there is a time and place for everything. It’s all about respect. He’s literally in what some people consider the “Cathedral of Fighting Games.” It’s already a known truth, and he doesn’t need to put it on blast. It’s also just a touchy subject overall. Victor “Punk” Woodley, a top Street Fighter 6 player, also agreed with Big Bird on this subject.

But I think what people are missing is the fact that this came from a showmatch that not a lot of people in the FGC are really interested in. In fact, there was backlash regarding the event itself. Some people were calling it cringe and unnecessary for big streamers to infiltrate the FGC. There’s a world where this showmatch didn’t happen, and we wouldn’t be talking about Ludwig’s controversial statement.

However, I believe that showmatch events like this between big streamers aren’t automatically cringe.

Let’s face it, what Ludwig did throughout Evo week and the days leading up to it was cringe. There was a massive campaign to get as many people as possible to register for Rivals of Aether 2, a game he is personally involved in, to inflate its numbers and get the players to have the grand finals on the big stage. It’s all laid out in our “Ludwig buying Rivals of Aether II’s registration numbers adds to the manufactured and forced hype of Evo this year” piece.

The effect of this artificial inflation was not surprising. In just the first day of the event, a bunch of people who wanted to play other games or just have a good time disqualified themselves from the bracket. This isn’t a good look for Ludwig nor for Rivals of Aether.

Sure, the game still had its time to shine in the main stage, but Evo needs to penalize people for purposely disqualifying themselves after receiving Ludwig’s tickets for the event. In a way, Ludwig essentially paid these people just to inflate the numbers in his game.

However, as this controversy unfolds, people seem to forget that something very similar to the showmatch happened a couple of years ago. Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada and Lily “Lilypichu” Ki had a showmatch where Lilypichu won, and it was lauded as a great event.

The main reason is that she just showed up, played her games, and made it clear that she’s not just posing as a member of the FGC to gather an audience from an untapped market. It also helps that she didn’t pull anything similar to Ludwig’s Rivals of Aether stunt.

Another showmatch that features many content creators not really part of the FGC is the Sajam Slam, and every single one of those has been a massive success. Japan also regularly hosts events like this for Street Fighter 6, and the country accepts it as normal.

So, what exactly is going on here?

I’m not going to claim that I know all the answers to this complicated situation. There’s a real possibility that this particular showmatch was arranged to increase viewership and revenue. It’s true that the FGC doesn’t really rake in a lot of money and that most tournaments actually operate at a deficit. But with Evo owned by RTS, a company tied to the Saudi Arabian government, there’s pressure within the company to generate returns.

One way they can do that is, of course, by inviting high-profile people who are adjacent to or have experience with fighting games and having them fight in front of people. However, I think this particular showmatch didn’t achieve its goal, and it’s because of Ludwig’s shenanigans. Funnily enough, Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, a person known for his outbursts and over-the-top reactions, wasn’t the main attraction of the whole thing.

I get that businesses want a return on their investment, but this is exactly the nightmare the FGC feared. This particular showmatch was forced and artificial. It’s similar to how the Daigo vs MenaRD first-to-ten exhibition match was handled, but it’s not about two legends of the FGC this time (so it’s even worse). It’s just two dudes who have nothing to do with the community, and it felt like they just invited themselves to the cookout.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous article, the FGC can be a traditional esports event without being fake or artificial. Games such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and VALORANT have unique personalities and raw moments that prove things can still feel natural at a high-production event.

This showmatch could’ve been more interesting if it followed a team format. Tyler1’s team vs Ludwig’s team. There would be five people in each team, and every game loss would mean a change in players.

It’s unfortunate that the event not only felt forced but also like a last-minute addition. The FGC as an esports scene still has a lot to learn, and I hope that tournament/event organizers also learn alongside it.