Abdullatif Alhmili, better known as Latif, is a Saudi Arabian

electronic sports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

player. Primarily a ''

Guilty Gear ''Guilty Gear'' is a series of fighting games by Arc System Works, created and designed by artist Daisuke Ishiwatari. Guilty Gear (first video game), The first game was published in 1998, and has spawned several sequels. It has also adapted to o ...

'' and ''

King of Fighters ''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of ''The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was initially developed for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware and received yearly installme ...

'' player, Latif competed in the ''

Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom. It was the first original main entry in the series since '' Street Fighter III'' in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years. Designed for the Taito Type X2 arcade hardware, ...

'' tournament at

EVO 2011 The 2011 Evolution Championship Series (commonly referred to as Evo 2011 or EVO 2011) was a fighting game event held in the Rio Las Vegas on July 6–8. The event featured a major tournament for five fighting games, including ''Super Street Fighte ...

, coming out of nowhere to claim second place. Latif is known for his skill with ''Street Fighter'' character

Crimson Viper is a 2008 fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom. It was the first original main entry in the series since ''Street Fighter III'' in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years. Designed for the Taito Type X2 Arcade video game, a ...

Career

Latif grew up in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

playing games such as ''Guilty Gear'' using a

gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Some common additions to the standar ...

. He moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in 2007 at the age of 17 in order to study

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

for a year, before moving to

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

to attend

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

. Here he found an arcade hall where he managed to beat other players easily despite it being his first time playing with an

arcade stick An arcade controller is a collective set of input devices designed primarily for use in an arcade cabinet. A typical control set consists of a joystick and a number of push-buttons. Less common setups include devices such as trackballs or steering ...

. Latif became more involved with the local fighting game community over time and by 2008, he competed in Final Round 11 despite his parents' disapproval and won the "Guilty Gear Accent Core" tournament. With his parents' approval after his initial success Latif competed at Super Battle Opera in 2009. Latif didn't like the gameplay of ''

'' when the game was released in 2009, preferring the speed-oriented play style of game franchises like ''Guilty Gear'' and ''

''. Latif took a hiatus from competing in fighting games, but while watching EVO 2010, he saw Dashio and Uryo play with

and became invested in practicing the character. In an interview with ''

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

'', Latif stated that "''in 2011, I remember playing eight to nine hours a day. Wake up. Eat. Play, play and play. Sleep. I was still in school so I did this training routine during summers.''" Latif made a splash in the ''Street Fighter'' scene at Evolution Championship 2011 when, as an

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

, he beat

Daigo Umehara is a Japanese esports player and author who competes competitively at Fighting game, fighting video games. He specializes in 2D arcade game, arcade fighting games, mainly those released by Capcom. Known as "Daigo" or "The Beast" in the West and ...

and Poongko to claim second place in the tournament. Playing with Crimson Viper, Latif faced off against

Fuudo , better known as , is a Japanese electronic sports player specializing in the ''Street Fighter'' series. Fuudo entered the fighting game scene in 2005 playing ''Virtua Fighter 4''. Fuudo has won various fighting game tournaments, including the ...

Fei Long is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the fourth game in the ''Street Fighter II'' sub-series of ''Street Fighter'' games, following ''Street Fighter II Turbo'' (1992). It refines and balances the existin ...

in the finale, but lost all three matches. In 2012, Latif joined

Razer Inc. Razer Inc. is an American-Singaporean multinational corporation and technology company that makes, develops, and sells consumer electronics, financial services, and gaming hardware. The brand was founded in 1998, then refounded in 2005 by Mi ...

's "Razer Academy" project, which was designed to provide an interactive and in-depth learning experience for esports fans. Since the 2011 Evolution Championships, Latif has been able to get into the top 16 twice. He wasn't able to qualify for the 2015 Capcom Cup after losing against Fuudo again in the KO Fighting Game Festival in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Latif left Team Razer in late 2013 and remained a free agent until his break in 2015. In July 2021, Latif announced his return to competition with

Guilty Gear Strive (stylized as GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-) is a 2021 fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment in the ''Guilty Gear'' series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlaySta ...

Acknowledgements

Christian Davis of ''Device Magazine'' stated that Latif is known for his "insane" skill at playing with the character

Tournament results

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus

* 1st -

EVO 2009 The 2009 Evolution Championship Series (commonly referred to as Evo 2009 or EVO 2009) was a fighting game event held in Rio Las Vegas on July 17–19. The event featured major tournaments for various fighting games, including '' Super Street F ...

Street Fighter IV

* 2nd -

* 13th - EVO 2015

References

{{Fighting game community Living people Saudi Arabian esports players Fighting game players Northern Arizona University alumni Saudi Arabian emigrants to the United States People from Austin, Texas People from Flagstaff, Arizona Jubail Team Razer players Street Fighter players Year of birth missing (living people)