If you love fighting games almost as much as you love getting your butt thoroughly kicked, boy howdy have we got some good news for you: Echo Fox's Justin Wong will be shaking hands and throwing down with the public this Sunday, April 22, in New York City. The event is free, but you will need to register for a ticket.
The swirl of celebrity around champions is one of the strangest aspects of modern esports, but coming out to events to meet the world's best players can still be a lot of fun. Attending the event at Adorama will give you a chance to get your hands on the newest gaming gear from ASUS Republic of Gamers. You'll be able to chat with Justin about esports and his journey to professional gaming, and you'll be able to face off against him to see just how long you can last in a game of Street Fighter V.
Before you decide to pick a fight with Justin, here's some important context: Justin has won the EVO Marvel vs. Capcom tournament seven times and has more than a hundred top-four finishes at major Street Fighter V tournaments. No big deal, but he's ranked third in the world in global Street Fighter V standings. Feel free to challenge him to a friendly competition, but maybe don't bet any money on it? Just a suggestion.
Justin is also famous for being on the wrong side of that one Street Fighter clip everyone in the world has seen, a comeback so fabulously smooth that even Justin called it "the coolest thing ever." Lesser folk might hate to be reminded of an infamous loss, but Justin is classier than that. If seeing that video sparked your fighting-game fandom, be sure to let him know.
Anyway, while you're out at Adorama this Sunday, you can enter to win a ROG Strix GL503 Hero Edition gaming laptop. Adorama tends to have a lot of good hardware and desktop options on sale, but the ROG Strix GL503 is fancy enough to catch your eye. This is one sleek machine, standing at less than an inch tall—and yet it uses the GeForce GTX 1050 GPU to great effect, making it VR-ready while weighing in at just a shade over five pounds. We've enjoyed our time with other ROG Strix GL series laptops, so we can be sure this is a prize worth your trouble.
To sum up: meet Justin, play a few rounds of Street Fighter, check out some new hardware, and try your luck at walking home with a new laptop. Sounds like a pretty good day all around. Make some room in your schedule on Sunday, April 22, from 12-4pm at the Adorama at 42 West 18th Street, New York. Don't forget to register for your ticket. We'll see you Sunday.
