“To be able to compete against them and end up with this result — I couldn’t be happier. Thank you so much.”
The winner of the SNK World Championship 2023 Grand Final (SWC 2023 Grand Final) is Laggia! Here's how Laggia reached the very top!
Laggia wins SNK World Championship 2023
After a weekend of duking it out against the best of the best, Laggia took home the lion's share of the $175,000 prize pool and made King of Fighters XV (KOF XV) history! Laggia was among the top 32 players who fought on both days of the SWC 2023 Grand Final between March 16 and 17.
To reach the top, Laggia first bested Fkang and Koopadjt in the pool of 32 players. This earned him a spot among the top 16 competitors. Next, Laggia battled Ruben "PAKO" Partida and won 2-1, advancing him to the top 8.
Despite losing to M' 0-2 and getting kicked into the elimination bracket there, Laggia climbed his way back up after going 2-1 against E.T, sweeping Score 2-0, and defeating Xiaohai 3-0. When it came down to the Grand Final Reset, Laggia faced M' once again. This time, however, he won 3-2!
"We're on the world stage here, this is the World Championship for King of Fighters XV, we have awesome players — not just in this final match, but the top 3, everyone as well — Xiaohai, we've got M' as well," Laggia said after the match. "To be able to compete against them and end up with this result — I couldn't be happier. Thank you so much."
SWC 2023 welcomes everyone to the FGC
The final KOF XV showdown happened in person at the AVALON Hollywood venue in Los Angeles, CA. Even prior to Laggia's victory on March 17, fans, supporters, and guests alike cheered for every competitor who arrived to duke it out against others on the stage. Attendees and players traveled from across the globe to cheer fellow fighting game community (FGC) members on. Cosplayers were also on the scene to celebrate KOF XV.
Additionally, on March 15, the SWC 2023 Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) tournament took place. This advanced players PAKO and Score to the SWC 2023 Grand Final — both of these players later fought Laggia. While PAKO arrived from Mexico, Score flew in from Japan.
On social media, Score talked about traveling all the way to America, noting his surprise because he never thought he would be able to make it this far and have so much fun.
The SWC 2023 LCQ and Grand Final are now over, but SNK fans can look forward to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which promises to welcome players both old and new into the FGC! The new Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer premiered right after Laggia's victory.
That's all for now, but be sure to stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!