Standout Street Fighter V player Du “NuckleDu” Dang has reportedly been involved in a serious car accident.
Fellow competitive fighting game player Kevin “Dual Kevin” Barrios, who also lives with NuckleDu, revealed the news on Twitter:
Nuckledu just got into a really bad car crash. keep him in your prayers please.. I hate this year.
— Kevin Barrios (@Dual_Kevin) July 2, 2020
As of this writing, it is currently unclear what condition the former member of Team Liquid and Echo Fox is in. Shortly before Dual Kevin announced the unfortunate turn of events, NuckleDu had discussed his grief over the death of streamer and World of Warcraft pro Byron “Reckful” Berstein. Reckful died just hours before NuckleDu’s accident, and the death was reportedly by suicide.
Immediately after the news, a long list of top fighting game players sent their well-wishes, including Justin Wong, Ricki Ortiz, and Victor “Punk” Woodley.
Punk in particular discussed how he had spoken with NuckleDu less than a day prior:
I was literally talking to Du before I went to sleep yesterday I hope he is okay this sucks.
— PG Punk (@PunkDaGod) July 2, 2020
NuckleDu rose to prominence within the fighting game community in the early 2010s as one of the best players of Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter x Tekken. He built a strong reputation for his aggressive play as Guile. He continued to be a force in the Street Fighter franchise of games in the years that followed, hitting his best stride in Street Fighter V. The greatest achievement in his pro career came in 2016 when he won the Capcom Cup by defeating Ricki Ortiz. The victory made NuckleDu the first American Street Fighter champion at the Capcom Cup.
He most recently competed in the North America East Capcom Pro Tour 2020 Online event, placing ninth.
Though the initial news of NuckleDu being involved in a car accident is frightening for friends and fans alike, he has an established track record of emerging from rough situations to compete again. In 2015, he was involved in a serious car accident while in the backseat of a Lyft. He triumphantly returned to action shortly thereafter and won Combo Breaker 2015. Fans will be hoping to see another such triumph from NuckleDu following this latest incident.
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