"I'm gay, black, a furry - pretty much everything a Republican hates - and the best esports player of the year, I guess."

see deal Mortal Kombat X - PlayStation 4 $19.99 on Gamestop

SonicFox Accepts Best Esports Champion at The Game Awards 4 IMAGES

Loading

mortal kombat 11 reveal trailer stills 17 IMAGES



im gay also the best dbfz player on this fucking planet dont forget it.



— FOX | SonicFox @ TGA (@SonicFox5000) August 6, 2018

With an acceptance speech like that, it's no surprise that people might be wondering who Dominique "SonicFox" McLean is. The short answer is that the winner of Best Esports Player at the 2018 Game Awards is an absolute fighting game machine. The four-time EVO champion has destroyed his competition in games like Injustice: God's Among Us, Mortal Kombat X One of the most notable things about SonicFox, compared to other esports champions, is his ability to not only flex into other games but to dominate in them. He also has a tendency to play large character pools or even stick to those often considered weaker like his Joker choice for Injustice 2. At only 20 years old, he's one of the most successful players of all time, and is commonly believed to currently be the highest-paid fighting game esports champ around.SonicFox commenced his fighting game world domination mission back when he was only 13 and competed in his first Mortal Kombat tournament. Things really kicked off a few years later in 2015, where he took out the ESL Mortal Kombat X Pro League Season 1 finals and then the Evolution Championship series. The prize money for first place in both those competitions alone added up to over $90,000 USD.This trend continued in his competitions when he won the Injustice Pro League series the following year. Only this time, he also donated $10,000 of his winnings to his friend and fellow esports competitor Curtis "Rewind McCall" who came in second place. This wasn't some kind of flex or show of power from SonicFox, the donation was to support Rewind's family and his father who was suffering from stage 3 cancer.“I don’t do this for the money,” SonicFox told Kotaku after the win. “[Rewind] is one of my good friends, one of my training partners, and I’m so very happy to have shared the stage with him.”His success across NetherRealm games made sense to most fans. He was undeniably crazy good at a mechanical level, but both these games came from the same studio and it was clear they played to SonicFox's strengths.These thoughts were soon silenced when he began to excel in Skullgirls, and eventually became the most successful Skullgirls player of all time. For added effect, he proceeded to kick butt in Dragon Ball FighterZ and has shown some incredible skill in Dead or Alive and other fighting games. Essentially, it's wise not to question if there is a skill set this man can't adapt to, because he seems determined to prove you wrong."The greatest part is I'm not even in my prime yet," SonicFox has told ESPN "So I still have [a lot of time] ahead of me."But there's also a lot more to SonicFox than his esports success. He's told Kotaku he was a furry before he even started on the fighting game scene and dreamed of one day owning the fursuit his winnings have now allowed him to buy.He's openly gay and has championed for better LGBTQ representation, and preaches being unapologetically true to oneself.After defeating 2,575 other entrants to win the world title at the Dragon Ball FighterZ Evolution Championship Series back in August, he took a moment to send out a tweet reading "im gay also the best dbfz player on this f---ing planet dont forget it.""The more fame that I have, the more I realize, why should I care what people think about me when I can just be me?" SonicFox also told ESPN after that victory. "That's how I made my brand: You should just always be yourself and there will always be people who will like you."As he said during his 2018 Game Awards acceptance speech, in full fursona attire, he's always enjoyed playing games competitively and mostly got into the scene to make new friends and bonds within the fighting game community. All reports seem to indicate that the nervous, caring, excitable, positive guy you see on stage is exactly who you'd meet in real life - only he'd absolutely destroy you in pretty much any fighting game you choose.

Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Facebook Twitter , and Twitch.