Olivia Richman is a seasoned esports journalist who has worked with Inven Global, Esports Illustrated, Esports.gg, and more. As an editor and writer at Esports Insider, she loves telling unique esports stories, especially within the FGC. When not working and gaming, Olivia loves collecting Kirby plush, eating sushi, and driving her cars at the track.
Image Credit: Ray Codera / Esports Insider Riot’s 2v2 fighter 2XKO had the spotlight at Evo Vegas 2026 as one of the games on the Main Stage thanks to its impressive number of competitors. Out of those 1,080 fighters, Jo’siah “Hikari” Miller came out on top.
The Top 8 for 2XKO was stacked. Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Lenwood “Inzem” Arnold hadn’t dropped a single game all weekend, nor had the twins, Toshi and Haru . Steve “Supernoon” Carbajal and Bleed were also hungry for the win. But nobody could slow Hikari down.
After the win, a journalist asked him if there was ever a moment he didn’t think he’d win Evo Vegas 2026. His answer? “No.”
"Winning alot of Evos, my 4th Evo now, motivates me to win every event." #Evo2026 2XKO Champion, @HikariNYC , on what fuel's his legendary work ethic in the Evo Champions Interviews Presented by @ATT pic.twitter.com/E0n7x4UDTs
Hikari was a man of few words after his Evo win. But that seems to be how he usually is. Focused. Purposeful. Unbothered. Throughout the Top 8, Hikari appeared calm and patient, waiting for opportunities to jump in.
His Losers run was incredible. If I were SonicFox and Inzem waiting in the Winners Finals for Hikari, I’d be afraid. He was unstoppable. He faltered over Teemo here and there, but even that wasn’t really making him falter.
“When they’re in the lead, they slow down the game. It can be very difficult,” he stated. “But Teemo is very easy to overcome. Teemo has low HP and other weaknesses.”
And that’s the thing. Fighting games are all mental. I spoke with Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II earlier this weekend about his seemingly positive outlook . A really big part of his consistency in Street Fighter 6 is his ability to leave the saltiness in the game and stay focused, motivated, and unemotional.
Hikari clearly has this ability. Nothing was really tripping him up. Nothing was bothering him. His only concern throughout the Top 8 was the twins, since they’d knocked him from the Winners’ side. But he easily beat them, an outcome I didn’t really expect, and then continued to plow through everybody.
He told reporters it was his mindset that allowed him to change up his playstyles throughout Losers. He was able to adjust his strategy for each opponent. Again, unbothered.
Image Credit: Ray Codera / Esports Insider Once he reached SonicFox and Inzem, he had to beat the duo twice. Once to reset, once more to be crowned Evo champion.
Is it harder to deal with a duo? Do they have an advantage? Again’ You guessed it. Hikari was ready for that. It wasn’t really a concern.
“I definitely watch their VODs and habits,” Hikari said of his preparation for taking down duos. “They’re two different people, so two different mindsets. It’s really difficult.” On top of that, Hikari had been training at the gym, spending time outside, and practicing with his training partners: SonicFox and Inzem.
It worked. I admittedly felt that SonicFox and…