Street Fighter is as popular as ever, and during a recent event for the franchise’s latest game Street Fighter V, the organizers recently held a special cosplay contest for Chun-Li cosplayers. The event was called the ” Miss Chun-Li ” contest but the twist was that the eventual winner was someone that was totally unexpected … or is it?!

Facing stiff competition from the likes of model and gamer, Kayo Satoh, gravure model, Yuka Kuramochi, and actress Mai Hino, cosplayer and body builder, Taichi Shimizu faced overwhelming odds to win the Miss CHun-Li contest, all while cosplaying as the dreaded “Red Cyclone” himself, Zangief!

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How could a guy, cosplaying a muscle-bound Russian grappler with a mohawk win a cosplay contest meant for women cosplaying a Chinese interpol agent?! The odds are just astronomical and he really pulled off a huge upset against two models and an actress.

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But all kidding aside, the contestants were given a chance to show what they’ve got on stage, however, it was clear who really had the audience’s heart… yeah, not the cute girls, but that muscular guy in red tights.

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And after everything was said and done, the winner was declared and the contest was won by your new Miss Chun-Li – ZANGIEF! Congratulations to Mr. Taichi Shimizu! Congratulations!

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Source: Kotaku