Reno rolls with the punches

You could be forgiven for doubting 24-year-old Sebastian Musumeci, with his self-described “tall, slim, feminine frame,” is the city’s number one street fighter. Yet he is not throwing punches in Hamilton’s mean streets, but in the digital world of Street Fighter V, the latest version of the 1987 classic arcade game.

SFV was one of many fighting video games played by competitive gamers from around the country at Waikato Arena Rampage (WAR), a tournament hosted by Hamilton’s fighting game community at the end of April, where Sebastian had his sights set on the SFV grand champion title.

His first foray into the world of fighting games was via Tekken 3 many years before, battling it out on-screen with one of his several younger brothers. But it was not until around a decade later, when SFV was released for PlayStation and PC in 2016, that he next picked up the controller.

These days, Sebastian is well-known in the New Zealand SFV scene by his gamer alias, Reno, a name his Italian grandparents call him, after the middle name he shares with his grandfather. And while his surname gives away that Italian heritage, having grown up here in Hamilton, he says he is “the most fraudulent Italian you’ll ever meet”.

Reno has made a name for himself as one of the top 10 players in the country, placing fifth in last year’s RedBull Kumite New Zealand Qualifier and coming close to representing New Zealand in Paris at one of the most prestigious invitational Street Fighter events in the world.

Despite missing out, he was “stoked” to be a part of such a high profile event. He had already scored himself a sponsorship deal, which helped pay his way to some tournaments, including the Qualifier. While that partnership ended (on good terms) in March, Reno is happy to be an independent player again.

That said, he is open to “[seeing] if there’s any fisherman trying to catch this fish, know what I’m saying?”

As a beginner player, Reno was “scared out of [his] mind” about putting himself out there against more experienced players.

Understandably. Veteran Street Fighter player and WAR tournament organiser Dan Rikihana remembers when Reno turned up: “This long-haired, scraggly, skinny thing, and he used to get bodied”—a gaming term Dan defines as when “you’re bad at the game and you keep getting a hiding”.

Like Reno, Dan also got into the scene after growing up playing fighting games with his brothers. He’s watched over the years as Reno has put in “hours and hours and hours” of effort to improve, and eventually pass him in the local SFV ranks. Despite being overtaken, he’s proud of Reno’s accomplishments, because he understands the work it takes to achieve that level of skill—especially when “the majority of the world won’t recognise” or understand it.

While Dan sang high praise, Reno himself is modest. At WAR, he listed the other fighting games he plays—“Tekken: very badly, [and] Mortal Kombat: badly, but not as badly”.

When he is not playing fighting games, he plays the blues guitar and sings. But for him, making music is more about expressing emotion than the technical skill which is key in gaming.

“I know every musician says this, but I really am an awful musician.”

Although he’s been dabbling in music for a long time, he’s reluctant to join a band,  for the same reason as he is drawn to one-on-one fighting games: “No one is relying on me and I’m not relying on anyone else, it’s just purely my ability to support myself.”

But, despite the solo nature of the games, the community itself is tight-knit, with players helping behind the scenes, making friends, and supporting each other all over the country.

On day two of WAR, Reno was eliminated from SFV in ninth place, but he quickly grabbed the opportunity to get involved in the streaming and video production side of the tournament. Over the online stream for Top 8 came a “shout out to Reno” from commentator Lennox, “for working hard in the background running the streams, making sure everybody’s having fun”.

Ultimately, getting better is Reno’s goal. To his surprise, the end of WAR saw him take out third place in Mortal Kombat. He plans to win first place, which so far “has always eluded [me ]” in a major New Zealand tournament, and hopes to move into a more semi-professional scene. He’s just returned from a tournament in Melbourne, and this year has another overseas trip in store, to Las Vegas for “the Superbowl of fighting games”.

“I’m heading out there … seeing what the competition is like at the highest level. [It’s] scary, but it’s exciting.”