Echo Fox is making a big move into competitive fighting.

Street Fighter V pros Justin Wong, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi, Yusuke Momochi, and Yuko “ChocoBlanka” Momochi, Mortal Kombat X players Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Brad “Scar” Vaughn, Super Smash Bros. Wii U player Leonardo “MKLeo” Lopez Perez, and former Evil Geniuses FGC manager Antonio Javier have all signed on to Echo Fox, the organization has revealed exclusively to Yahoo Esports.

“From day one, our goal has always been to build the premier esports organization in the world, setting the new standard for professionalism, team achievement and player development and wellness. Today’s announcement demonstrates our willingness to think big, think global and execute a strategic battle plan,” Echo Fox founder Rick Fox told Yahoo Esports in a statement.

The seven players bring a wealth of experience to Echo Fox, including multiple Evo victories across the Street Fighter, Marvel Versus, and Mortal Kombat series, Capcom Cup and MKX Pro League wins, and titles in a multitude of other championships across a variety of fighting games.

“Everyone is bringing something to the table here in terms of experience, in terms of their insights into strategy for the different games,” Echo Fox CEO Jace Hall told Yahoo Esports. “When you’re surrounded by other champions, it really helps you step your game and feel like you’re part of something bigger and contributing at that level.”





Wong, Momochi, and ChocoBlanka were previously signed to Evil Geniuses. Wong is known as one of the Gods of Marvel, dominating the Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 scene for a lengthy amount of time. He has numerous Evo championships in Marvel 2 and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. He’s also enjoyed great success in the Street Fighter series over the years, having recently won a record seven events during the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour.

Speaking with Yahoo Esports, Wong cited a desire for change with the move to Echo Fox. He is even considering leaving his full-time job at Nvidia in order to focus on professional gaming full time.

“I’m actually thinking about it. I’m not going to lie. I’ve been really close to making that decision because of how much support I’m getting from Echo Fox and the potential future of fighting games and esports,” Wong said.

Momochi was one of the most dominant players in Ultra Street Fighter IV, winning Capcom Cup 2014 and Evo 2015. His success carried over into Street Fighter V when he qualified for Capcom Cup 2016 by winning CPT Premier Event Stunfest 2016. He was also the runner-up in numerous high-profile tournaments, including the ESL One Brooklyn Beatdown and CPT Premier Event SEAM 2016.

Earlier this year, ChocoBlanka and Momochi started up a training program in Japan called Shinobism, which is dedicated to training new competitive Street Fighter players. The two veterans even brought their Shinobism students to Evo 2016.

Like Wong, ChocoBlanka and Momochi also sought change in their careers and wanted to take on some new challenges.

“Echo Fox not only values our results and achievements, but also our activities such as Shinobism, training a new generation, and hosting events. After considering our future, we decided to move to Echo Fox,” the two told Yahoo Esports in a joint statement.

Newly signed Echo Fox Street Fighter V player, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi (Yahoo Esports) More

Tokido has been a free agent for most of 2016 after his long-time team, Mad Catz, got out of FGC esports. He has a storied history of multi-game championships, but is best known for his Akuma play in Street Fighter IV and for being the top Ryu in Street Fighter V.

Tokido faced off against Razer’s Lee “Infiltration” Seon-woo numerous times early in 2016 before finally beating him at CEO 2016 to qualify for his third Capcom Cup. Tokido beat Momochi in Singapore at SEAM 2016 to claim his second Premier Event win of the year.

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