In a surprising upset,MortalKombat 11EVO champion Dominique “SonicFox” McLeanwas defeated in the DreamHack Montreal 2019 championship match by an up-and-coming rookie, Jarrad “Ninjakilla_212” Gooden. Yet, it wasn’t a simple fluke or even a close match, as Ninjakilla beat Sonicfox with a 3-0 victory.
Ninjakilla has only been a part of theMortal Kombat 11competitive scene for a few months, only recently making his debut. While Gooden has mostly made a name for himself in online matches, his competitive performances have turned a lot of heads.
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During the tournament, Sonicfox was knocked into the losers bracket early, but per his fashion, McLean swept the losers bracket to earn his place in the finals. Gooden, on the other hand, made his way through the normal bracket, taking out many favored competitors to make it to the finals. Since McLean was from the losers bracket, he would have to win two sets in order to take the championship, but he didn’t get the chance. Gooden swept the finals with a 3-0 victory with Liu Kang, shutting out McLean’sD’vorahand Jax and winning the tournament. McLean, being the good sport he always is, sent out the following message:
McLean originally knocked Gooden out of the competition in CEO 2019, leaving the rookie in fourth place. But despite Gooden’s mostly online experience, the rookie is making big waves in the tournaments he participates in.
One thing that makes fighting game tournaments so fun to watch is that upsets like this can happen at any time. Gooden making a name for himself and coming from seemingly nowhere is a great underdog story, and McLean being both a fantastic player and a supportive member of the community makes this story even better. McLean also offered similar praise when he lost theDragonBall FighterZfinals at EVO 2019, congratulating Goichi “GO1” Kishia as the victor became emotional.
But, where will Ninjakilla go from here? It remains to be seen asMortal Kombat 11tournaments continue, but this rookie has officially earned everyone’s attention.
Mortal Kombat 11is available now for PS4, PC, Switch, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version currently in development.
