Latif and Hotashi Set for $1000 Money Match

Two of the biggest names in Guilty Gear -STRIVE-, Hotashi, and Latif, look set to participate in a juicy $1000 money match. Hotashi, who was the winner of NA Evo in 2021 and who is considered one of the best players in the world, is looking to test his mettle against recent Arcrevo EMEA winner and an absolutely dominant force in Latif. 

This all started when Punk (of course) witnessing the absolute chaos that Latif had wrought in the EMEA Arcrevo, asked who in the NA would be willing to take on Latif. Hotashi, full of regional pride, decided to take on the challenge. 

Hotashi's response was seen as brave by many and Latif himself commented stating his willingness to challenge Hotashi in a money match. Soon after, Hotashi, who to his credit, showed absolutely no fear, suggested that they both face off against each other at this year's Evo in a ft15 to which Latif agreed. 

There is clearly a lot of respect between the two players with Hotashi making no bones about how powerful Latif is and promising to practice his best for the match. Latif was equally gracious stating that he would be bringing his very best to the table and hoping his opponent does the same.

Right off the bat, it is important to note that Latif has an advantage as Nagoriyuki, who Hotashi uses, isn't great against Zato. It will be interesting to see how Hotashi tries to surmount this challenge or whether he'll pick up a new character who is better equipped to deal with Latif's Zato.

We'll keep you posted on how things develop, but we can certainly look forward to an exciting match.