Xiaohai

Zeng Zhuojun, better known as Xiaohai or Xiao Hai depending on Pinyin conversion, or 小孩曾卓君 (); born April 26, 1989) is an esports player and DouYu gaming streamer from China competing in the fighting game genre. He is widely considered one of the greatest fighting game players of all time, winning total prize money worth around 500,000.00-600,000.00 USD, with half of the wins coming from only one tournament win in Street Fighter 6, which set an esports record. This includes being deemed by acclamation, as the greatest or most successful player in The King of Fighters (KOF) in history. He is one of the few players who have won the Evolution Championship Series four times in the main tourney, and once at the side event in Evo Japan 2025 for the official SNK-sponsored Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. He also won at the 2007 Super Battle Opera for The King of Fighters '98.

Early life

Zeng was born on April 26, 1989 in the province of Guangdong, China and grew up in the city of Guangzhou. He took an interest in fighting games at the early age of 6 after a visit to the Guangzhou arcades with his father, and started to seriously compete after that. He won his first tournament in Hangzhou at the age of 10 playing The King of Fighters, then won another tournament in Guangzhou at the age of 12. By age 18, he joined the Super Battle Opera tournament in Japan, which was his first major international tournament, and won in his debut for The King of Fighters '98.

Professional career

After winning the Super Battle Opera, Xiaohai began competing in tournaments in the United States and around the world. He won his first EVO tournament in 2014 at the age of 25 for The King of Fighters XIII, which he has called his favorite game. He gradually emerged as a notable player in Street Fighter since Street Fighter IV and was labeled as one of its best bets for winning major tournaments by ESPN.

After his fourth EVO championship victory in ''KOF'' and simultaneous ninth place finish in ''Street Fighter 6'' at the Evo 2023, Xiao Hai completely narrowed down his focus into Street Fighter 6 in preparation for the first major Street Fighter World Cup for the title in 2024. There, he convincingly beat Dual Kevin and Zhen in the First Phase, then eliminated Problem X and NoahTheProdigy from competition before moving into the Final Phase. At the final phase, he beat Hikaru in a nail-biter set to advance the tournament finals, where he won against the Japanese player Kawano.

After Xiaohai won the top prize at the inaugural Street Fighter World Cup, which featured the second highest prize money in history, he became only the second millionaire esports player in the Street Fighter franchise after fellow Chinese player Uma won 1 million USD in the same year at the Capcom Cup.

Honors

Xiaohai was inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame in China.

Public image

Xiaohai won tournaments at a young age against older competitors, hence the player ID "Xiaohai" was adopted, which means "child" in Chinese. Xiaohai is well known for competing in tournaments with only one hand, his left hand, on the arcade controller. He is known for his neutral game, and for opening the door to more Asian competitors in fighting games. Gamer Justin Wong has gone on to say that his biggest one-sided defeat was in a match in The King of Fighters XV against Xiaohai in 2025. Xiaohai mainly plays on the QANBA-sponsored controller for his tournaments.

He is widely considered the greatest player of all time in The King of Fighters, and one of the greaatest and successful fighting game players in different games like Street Fighter.

Personal life

Xiaohai maintains his residency in Shanghai, China.

References

External links

小孩曾卓君 - Bilibili Account of Xiǎo Hái Céng Zhuó Jūn
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1989 births

{{Fighting game community, state=expanded
Chinese esports players
People from Guangdong
People from Guangzhou
People from Shanghai
Fighting game players
The King of Fighters players
Fatal Fury players
Street Fighter players