Interview with Oil King at Evo 2025: “I keep going. I will come back. Always. People cheer for me, support me. It means a lot.”

Every year, Evo brings together the best in the fighting game community (FGC), and Evo Las Vegas 2025 continues this tradition. In fact, according to Li-Wei "Oil King" Lin in his interview with esports.gg, Evo just gets better and better over time. We caught up with Oil King to talk about the event itself, Street Fighter 6, and the power of a supportive community. He also shared some inspirational words for those who love fighting games but may have not taken the first step toward competing yet.

In his interview with esports.gg, Oil King revealed that Evo Las Vegas 2025 feels even more energized than past years. He noticed a bigger turnout from Japanese players and said social media showed growing interest across the community. In addition to recognizing familiar faces, he loves seeing new players who chose this Evo as their single, major international event of the year.

"I think everybody is excited to fight because it's now Street Fighter 6 Season 3," Oil King added. "I will say, not only pro players -- almost every player knows how to play the game now. So the competition level has become very, very high. So there's not someone I want to play. I just want myself to keep going. My goal is to get into the final day, you know? Just the top 8 is my first goal."

Leading up to Evo Las Vegas 2025, Oil King practiced about 10 hours a day. He followed a steady routine where he woke up, ate, trained, and rested. He also split his practice into blocks and reviewed VODs. In terms of who he trained with, it was mostly those within Taiwan's FGC.

He also shared that while he thought about the latest patch, his adjustments leading up to this weekend were not because of the patch itself. Rather, he shifted his playstyle from an aggressive one to a more stable and careful approach. He said that less risky plays may help him achieve better results.

Last year, Oil King shared that his resting face made him seem intimidating even though he's actually quite friendly. Since then, more fans have started to approach him. He told esports.gg that he's been changing his expression whenever someone makes eye contact with him at Evo Las Vegas 2025.

"I don't have that problem anymore!" he laughed. "Now, if I walk around the venue, if somebody makes eye contact, I will change my face because I think, 'Oh! He might want to get a picture with me.'"

Oil King also recalled a recent event in Shanghai where he took over 100 photos in a single day. Then, in Tokyo, the line to meet him lasted for about 3 hours. He told us that his favorite pose is the thumbs-up one.

When we asked about what this level of support from around the world means to him, he said that it's what keeps him going. He plays not just for himself, but also for his family, team, and supporters.

"This means a lot because I do it for myself, for my family, for my team, and for all the fans who always support me," Oil King said. "So I'm always really grateful to have so many fans from the whole world. It means a lot every time I play. You know, it's hard to not always win. So no matter if I win, no matter if I lose, I will post on social media. And I keep going. I will come back. Always. People cheer for me, support me. It means a lot. They make me want to keep going, keep improving myself, keep doing this job."

As for parting words, Oil King encouraged the FGC back.

"If you like to play fighting games, no matter if you want to become a pro player or it's just your hobby, never give up. Never, never be upset. You know, playing fighting games, it's easy to be upset. I know that. Enjoy it. Enjoy the fighting games again and never give up. And you will never know what will happen in the future."

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news, interviews, and updates from across the FGC!