Daigo Umehara, one of the best Street Fighter players in the world, has donated $60,000 in prize money earned at the recent Capcom Pro-Tour Finals to the New York University Game Center program, to be used as a scholarship fund.
"I worked hard everyday. I grew a lot. I had so much fun in the process over the year. I felt fulfilled. Being content, I came to the finals. I was thinking that if I had had won any prizes, I would want to give it back to the community, which has supported me all these times. Not only was I able to win the prize, I was able to play my game and express myself. I had great matches, and I had a great fun," Umehara wrote in an email published by fighting game site Shoryuken, regarding his decision.
Umehara placed second at the competition.
The funds will become part of the Evo scholarship, which got its start thanks to the organizers of the fighting game tournament by the same name.
"In addition to the life-changing possibility on an individual level, we believe the Evo Scholarship will foster the long-term health of competitive games as a whole. By enabling individuals from within the community to be leading the charge, competitive games will continue to evolve and become an even richer field of games," said NYU Game Center in a statement.
Those interested in applying for the scholarship can do so here.