title: Sports-related curses

text: Mayo returned to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in 2012. Even with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Rome seeking divine intervention through Pope Benedict XVI the day before, the "Kafkaesque black farce" continued from where it had left off—with Donegal allowed bridge a 20-year gap between titles, helped in no small part by a nightmare opening quarter for Mayo as Michael Murphy—whose father is from Mayo—launched a rocket of a shot into the goal after three minutes. Then, in the eleventh minute, Colm McFadden seized the ball from the grasp of Kevin Keane and slid it into the net for a second Donegal goal. Mayo only got on the scoresheet after sixteen minutes and never led at any point during the match. They eventually lost with thirteen points to Donegal's two goals and eleven.


title: Sports-related curses

text: They qualified for the 2016 Final on 18 September 2016 where they faced Dublin the curse seemingly struck again when they scored two own goals in the opening half before drawing with Dublin in the last few minutes of the game. They faced Dublin again in a rematch on 1 October 2016 but lost by a point.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Mayo appeared again in the 2017 Final on 17 September 2017 and in the 2020 Final on 19 December 2020 where they faced Dublin in both finals. The curse continues to strike and Mayo lost both finals. In the 2021 Final Mayo lost to Tyrone, having missed a penalty and several goal chances.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Following the death of Fr Peter Quinn in January 2016 and Dr. Pádraig Carney in 2019 two living members of the 1951 All Ireland winning team remained: Paddy Prendergast and Mick Loftus. Mick Loftus was a sub but didn't play. Prendergast died in September 2021. At the time of his death, Mayo had reached 11 All-Ireland finals since 1951, and lost every one.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Biddy Early was a 19th-century healer from Feakle in County Clare. Her curse or prophecy was said variously to afflict two hurling teams which endured long droughts in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Clare (1914–1995) and/or Galway (1923–1980). The two counties played a famous semi-final in the 1932 Championship: Clare won, but lost the final to Kilkenny. After Clare's "curse" was broken in 1995, Billy Loughnane from Ennis wrote to "The Irish Times", denouncing the idea of a curse as preposterous, mainly because Early died in 1872 before the GAA was even founded.


title: Sports-related curses

text: A significant losing streak the Calgary Flames had during games played in Anaheim has come to be referred to as the "Honda Center Curse". After winning game 3 of the 2006 Western Conference Quarter Final at the then Arrowhead Pond on April 25, 2006, the Flames have gone on to lose an NHL record 29 consecutive away games at the Arrowhead Pond/Honda Center, including all 27 games played there under the arena's current name (the arena became Honda Center starting in the 2006–07 season ). Of these 29 losses, 2 came in the remaining games of the 2006 Western Conference Quarter Final, 3 came in the 2015 Western Conference Semi Final, and 2 came in the 2017 Western Conference Quarter Final. Furthermore, the Flames last regular season win in Anaheim came on January 19, 2004. The Flames losing streak at the then Arrowhead Pond/Honda Center has led some Ducks fans to taunt the Flames with chants of "You can't win here!".


title: Sports-related curses

text: On October 9, 2017, the Calgary Flames beat the Ducks 2–0, ending a NHL record 29 (25 in regular season) consecutive away game losing streak including the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the then Arrowhead Pond/Honda Center.


title: Sports-related curses

text: A curse allegedly placed on the Chicago Blackhawks in 1927 by head coach Pete Muldoon when he was fired, stating that they would never again finish in first place. The "curse" was first mentioned in print in 1943 by Toronto sportswriter Jim Coleman. They would not finish in first place in their division (1928–1937) or in the single-division NHL (after 1938) until 1967, the final season of the Original Six era, despite winning the Stanley Cup three times since Muldoon supposedly "cursed" the team. However, immediately after this, Coleman admitted that he had completely fabricated the "curse" to break a writer's block.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Having won the Stanley Cup in the 2011–12 season and the 2013-14 season, the Los Angeles Kings struggled in the following seasons. After the Kings has a poor start to the 2015-16 season, some fans began to blame a "curse" placed by a banner commemorating singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's record of sixteen sold-out concerts at the Crypto.com Arena, known as Staples Center at the time. In October 2019, the Kings began to cover the banner in home games. In December 2020, the banner was removed.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Curse of 1940 was a mythical explanation for the failure of the NHL's New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup since . The curse supposedly began after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1940, which was the same year the team's owners had paid off their mortgage for their home arena, Madison Square Garden, and the owners celebrated by burning the mortgage contract in the bowl of the Cup. It was broken when the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4–3 in .


title: Sports-related curses

text: Since winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, auto racing legend Mario Andretti was plagued with bad luck in his efforts to win the great race for a second time before his retirement in 1994. The misfortune at Indianapolis has notably extended to his sons Michael and Jeff, nephew John, as well as grandson Marco. It is also said to have affected, to an indirect extent, his twin brother Aldo, and former car owners Paul Newman and Carl Haas from Newman/Haas Racing.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Michael Andretti has won the race five times as an owner, but three times the respective driver subsequently defected to a rival team the following year.


title: Sports-related curses

text: A number of drivers have apparently poor luck when racing in their home grands prix, with notable examples being Rubens Barrichello and Charles Leclerc. Barrichello had qualified third or higher five times, including three pole positions during his 19 starts at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but out of these attempts, his best result was third in the 2004 running of the race, with the remainder of the attempts seeing either Barrichello dropping down the order or ending up retiring. Leclerc, meanwhile, has only finished his home grand prix Monaco Grand Prix once, with him retiring from all other starts in his home race including his entry in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017, and also failing to start from pole position in the 2021 running of the race.


title: Sports-related curses

text: A number of drivers and teams had also suffered misfortunes running a one-off livery in race weekends. At the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, David Coulthard's final F1 race ended in retirement in a first lap collision when his Red Bull was sporting a Wings for Life charity livery.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Jaguar Racing team ran a special one-off livery at the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix promoting the release of "Ocean's Twelve", with a $300,000 diamond mounted on each of the cars. The curse struck when driver Christian Klien crashed on the first lap resulting in the diamond lost and never recovered, while Mark Webber retired later with a gearbox failure.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Mercedes ran a special retro livery to celebrate 125 years in the sport at the 2019 German Grand Prix, but the curse took hold when Lewis Hamilton broke his front wing, spinning and ended up in ninth place having started from pole position while Valtteri Bottas crashed out.


title: Sports-related curses

text: NASCAR racetrack Talladega Superspeedway has been said to have been cursed by a Native American shaman; other stories claim that it was built on an Indian burial ground. The curse allegedly explains the high number of unusual occurrences, untimely deaths, and spectacular accidents that have plagued the track since its opening in 1969 (part of this alleged curse has a rational underpinning; Talladega is the largest racetrack in NASCAR, allowing for much faster and more dangerous racing). During the 1970s, on the eve before a race, roughly a dozen cars were sabotaged with gas tanks being filled with sugar or sand, and tires were slashed as well. Bobby Isaac, the 1970 Cup champion, parked his car mid race despite nothing being wrong with the car. When asked why, Isaac claimed a voice from above ordered him to park the car.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In the 1972 Air Canada Silver Broom curling tournament, Robert LaBonte, the skip of the American team, accidentally kicked the stone belonging to the Canadian team at the end of the match. This put the match into an extra end, and Canada won one more point to win the championship. Canada did not win another World Championship until 1980, and this was said that LaBonte put a "curse" on Canada.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Since the inception of the Coastal Challenge Cup Whanganui United Cricket Club have progressed to no less than four championship deciders and have ultimately failed to capture a title. Some link it to the pressure others link it to an inability to travel to Paraparaumu.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In May 2011, Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant tweeted an insult directed at cult rapper Lil B, a.k.a. "The BasedGod," in which Durant expressed incredulity at the idea that Lil B had become "relevant". In response, Lil B tweeted out the BasedGod's Curse, claiming that Durant would never win the NBA championship. The two men have exchanged further insults and basketball-related challenges on Twitter. In June 2012, Lil B claimed on Twitter that he had lifted the curse; however, in February 2014, during the NBA All-Star Game in which Durant was playing, Lil B resumed insulting Durant on Twitter, implying that the curse had returned. Lil B later released a diss song directed at Durant entitled "F KD". in 2016, the Thunder blew a 3–1 lead in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors. In the offseason, he left for the Warriors. On July 4, 2016, following that announcement, Lil B rescinded the curse again. In the 2017 NBA Finals, the Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to win the NBA championship, giving Durant his first ever title.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In the National Rugby League (NRL), the Canberra curse referred to the St. George Illawarra Dragons' constant inability to defeat the Canberra Raiders at their home ground, or anywhere else, between 2000 and 2014. The Raiders enjoyed an unusual dominance of the Dragons, winning matches between the pair on a regular basis regardless of which team enjoyed favouritism or home ground advantage. This curse came to an end in Round 23, 2014, with the Dragons winning 34–16; it was their first win over the Raiders in Canberra since 2000, overall since 2007, but just their second since 2001.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Masters Tournament held annually at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia begins with an informal par-3 competition. No winner of this has ever gone on to win the main tournament the same year. Eleven golfers have won both the contest and the Masters, with two of them winning the Masters later in the career after winning the contest. Raymond Floyd came the closest to winning both in 1990, but he lost in a sudden-death playoff.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In snooker, the "Crucible Curse" refers to the fact that no first-time winner of the World Snooker Championship has successfully defended his title since the event was first held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977. Of the 18 first-time champions in this era, only two have even made the final the following year, and six were eliminated in their first match. The "curse" can even be seen in the pre-Crucible era—the three first-time champions between the start of the championship's "modern era" in 1969 and its move to the Crucible all lost in their respective semifinal matches the next year. All three players went on to win a championship at the Crucible, and all failed to retain their title after their first victory at that venue.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In cycle racing, the "curse of the rainbow jersey" is a popular term referring to the phenomenon where cyclists who have become World Champion (who wear the rainbow jersey during their reign as world champion) often suffer from bad luck the next year.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In 2020 and 2021, a phenomenon known as the "van Gerwen curse" was discussed in darts. In PDC Major events, anyone who knocked out top player Michael van Gerwen would subsequently lose in the next round. Players who fell to the curse in this way included Simon Whitlock (three times), Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton, Ian White and Glen Durrant. The curse was finally broken by Clayton, who beat van Gerwen in the 2021 Masters and went on to win the tournament.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Reports of an "Olympic curse" () were noted in French media in 2015 following the murder of Belarusian sprinter Yuliya Balykina and the deaths of French athletes Alexis Vastine and Camille Muffat in a helicopter crash during the reality show "Dropped". By April 2016, 18 of the 10,568 competitors had died but, based on mortality data for people of the competitors' average age of 26, this was actually lower than the expected death rate, which would have been seven competitors per year and a total by April 2016 of 28.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions were being held regarding the fate of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In March 2020, Japan's finance minister called the event the "cursed Olympics", noting the cancellation of the 1940 Summer Olympics and the 66-country boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The 2020 Olympics were delayed to 2021, with the possibility of cancellation if that deadline cannot be met. The Olympics went on in 2021 as planned breaking the curse.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Sportscaster Kenny Albert is known to some Chicago sports fans as "The Kiss of Death" to their teams. Many games involving the Bears and Blackhawks with Albert announcing have ended in losses for both teams. Examples include Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference Final between the Blackhawks and Kings, and many Chicago Bears' games with Albert announcing since 2004.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Prior to the 2021 World Series, Atlanta, Georgia had won only one "Big Four" league professional sports championship; the 1995 World Series.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The National Football League (NFL)'s Atlanta Falcons won their first division championship in 1980 and were favored against the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional playoff game. Despite trailing 24–10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys rallied to out-score the Falcons 20–3 in the quarter to defeat the Falcons 30–27. In 1998, the Falcons advanced to play in the club's first-ever Super Bowl game after upsetting the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game 30–27; however, the Falcons lost to John Elway (in his final game) and the Denver Broncos 34–19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. In 2010 and 2012 the Falcons held the number 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, but were upset by the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. The latter occurred in the NFC Championship Game, where the Falcons held a 17–0 lead. In Super Bowl LI, the Falcons' second-ever Super Bowl appearance, Atlanta jumped out to a 28–3 lead over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. However, the Falcons suffered by far the greatest collapse in Super Bowl history (25 points; the previous record was 10) and lost to the Patriots 34–28 in the first Super Bowl game to ever be decided in an overtime period. Their woes continue in the 2020 season by, historically, blowing back to back 15+ point leads as well as scoring an accidental touchdown with a minute left on the clock that gave Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions an opportunity to drive the field and score a go-back-ahead touchdown. A notable new addition to the curse is the trading of Atlanta Falcons star player Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans, who themselves have a fair share of sports curses.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Consistently fielding one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves won 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005, but won the World Series only once (1995). In the 1996 World Series, the Braves seemed poised to win their second straight championship after jumping out to a 2–0 series lead going home. However, the Braves lost 4 straight games to the New York Yankees, including a Game 4 in which they held a 6–0 lead at one point. The Braves have only played in one World Series since; in 1999, where they were swept in four games by the New York Yankees. Since then, the Braves have played in the NLCS only twice. Notable examples of the Atlanta sports curse as it pertains to the Braves include Lonnie Smith, Ed Sprague, Charlie Leibrandt (in back-to-back World Series), Jim Leyritz, Eric Gregg's wide strike zone, Brooks Conrad's errors, blowing an 8 1/2 game Wild Card lead in September 2011, the 2012 National League Wild Card Game, the 2019 National League Division Series, and blowing a 3–1 series lead in the 2020 NLCS. (Interesting to note is that the Braves were also ahead 2–0 earlier in the series, and at that time teams that went up 2–0 in a best-of-seven LCS had a series win–loss record (from 1985 to 2019) of 28–3.)


title: Sports-related curses

text: The National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks have not played in an NBA Finals since the club's move from St. Louis, Missouri in 1968. Their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals was against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, in which they were swept four games to zero despite being a 60-win team and the number one seed in the conference. The Hawks returned to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, only to have their star player, Trae Young, injured in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Due to this (among other factors), they would end up losing the series.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In addition, Atlanta has lost two National Hockey League (NHL) franchises to Canadian cities: the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary in 1980) and the Atlanta Thrashers (who moved to Winnipeg in 2011), either due to low attendance, poor ownership, or both. In both cases, the Atlanta team failed to so much as win a playoff round (the Thrashers never won a playoff game).


title: Sports-related curses

text: The 2017 Georgia Bulldogs college football team blew a 13-point lead at halftime in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship to Alabama and lost in overtime, 26–23, despite Alabama benching their starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts, at halftime in favor of Tua Tagovailoa. Later that year, in the 2018 SEC Championship Game, Georgia once again blew a 14-point lead to Alabama in the same venue as their National Championship loss and once again also losing to the backup quarterback (this time Hurts, who replaced an injured Tagovailoa).


title: Sports-related curses

text: Atlanta's Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, the Atlanta Dream, has also fallen victim to the city's curse. The Dream have reached the WNBA Finals on three occasions (2010, 2011, and 2013) but have been swept three games to zero each time.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Off the field, the curse has found its way towards athletes as well. Eugene Robinson, who played for the Falcons during the 1998 season, was arrested for soliciting a prostitute the night before Super Bowl XXXIII. Michael Vick's arrest for involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring came while he was still with the Falcons. Thabo Sefolosha, the Hawks' star defender in 2015, was arrested in New York City weeks before the beginning of the NBA playoffs and suffered a fractured tibia while being detained. In April 2021, the Braves were stripped of the 2021 MLB All-Star Game due to a recently passed bill in Georgia that resulted in alleged voter suppression.


title: Sports-related curses

text: However, the Major League Soccer (MLS)'s Atlanta United FC won the MLS Cup in just their second season, in 2018. Though the MLS is not considered to be one of the "Big Four" major sports leagues in North America, some believe the curse was broken with this victory.


title: Sports-related curses

text: In 2021, the Atlanta Braves, despite numerous injuries, inconsistent first-half performances, and Marcell Ozuna's off-the-field incident, won the 2021 World Series, putting a definitive end to the curse. Additionally, a few months later, the Georgia Bulldogs finally ended their 41-year title drought, further adding to the end of the curse.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Buffalo sports curse is an explanation for Buffalo's inability to win a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or an NBA championship. Those who believe in the Buffalo curse cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills for the 1990–1993 seasons (and the team's failure to qualify for the NFL playoffs from 2000 to 2017), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres ever to win the Stanley Cup (despite winning the Presidents' Trophy for most regular-season points in 2006–07; the Sabres have failed to win a playoff series since 2007, and has not appeared in the playoffs since 2011). The Bills, however, won two American Football League (AFL) titles (1964 and 1965), the latter occurring just months before an agreement was reached to merge the AFL and the National Football League (NFL) (Bills owner Ralph Wilson initiated the talks to merge the two leagues, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame). In spite of that, it has been argued that this was achieved when the AFL was in its infancy as an upstart league, garnering little, if any, national attention before merging with the established NFL, and that even if they are considered to be at par, since there would be no Super Bowl until after the 1966 season, the Bills could be no greater than co-champions. There have been conflicting suggestions on how the Bills would have fared against the Green Bay Packers or Cleveland Browns, much as there have been disputes over how well the San Diego Chargers would have played against the Bears in 1963, had the Super Bowl existed at that time.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Some writers and historians specifically attribute the Bills' lack of success to the location of their current stadium next to a family cemetery and very likely on the site of an old Wenro Indian village. There are others who link the Bills' 17-year playoff drought to the benching of quarterback Doug Flutie for the game now known as the Music City Miracle, which was also their last playoff game until 2017. One non-supernatural cause of the alleged curse was Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who cared more about running a profitable business than a winning team; Wilson was quoted in 1969 as explicitly "not" wanting to win championships because it would cause his players to demand more money.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The earliest reference to the curse traces to 1921, when the city's first NFL team, the Buffalo All-Americans, lost the NFL championship that year to what is now the Chicago Bears on a controversial tiebreaker. Other teams based in Buffalo, such as the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bisons, Buffalo Beauts and Western New York Flash, have all won championships in their respective leagues, and athletes from Buffalo (with the possible exception of heavyweight boxing contender Joe Mesi), when playing for teams outside of Buffalo, have not been affected and have won multiple championships.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Prior to 2016, Cleveland was particularly known for not winning a championship in any major sport since 1964, as well as repeatedly losing playoff games in heartbreaking fashion. Although the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship Game, the match occurred two seasons prior to the first Super Bowl and six before the AFL–NFL merger. More than fifty years after winning their last league title, the Browns remain one of only four teams yet to play in the NFL title game during the modern era. More recently, the Cleveland Indians lost the 1995, 1997, and 2016 World Series, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept in both the 2007 and 2018 NBA Finals. In 2004, ESPN.com ranked Cleveland "the most tortured sports city in America". In 2012, "Cleveland Scene" dubbed the city's sports struggles "The Curse of Chief Wahoo", a reference to continued use of the controversial logo. (Chief Wahoo was eventually retired in 2018, with the Indians renaming themselves the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.)


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Cleveland curse was "broken" when the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, thereby ending Cleveland's 52-year championship drought.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Drake curse is a sports curse attributed to rapper Drake. Endorsement from Drake, including wearing a team's or player's jersey, publicly declaring support for a team or attending a game has resulted in a loss or negative outcome for players and teams. Teams and athletes supposedly affected by the curse include Alabama football, Conor McGregor, the Toronto Raptors, Kentucky basketball, Juventus F.C., Serena Williams and Anthony Joshua. In 2019, after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers with a buzzer-beater from Kawhi Leonard, it was revealed Drake was wearing 76ers shorts in order to use the curse to his advantage.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Drake curse was briefly lifted on June 13, 2019, when the Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in game six of the 2019 NBA Finals to win the series 4-2 and claim their first NBA championship and the country's first championship since the 1993 World Series when the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the 4–2 series.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Phoenix Suns became the latest team to suffer the Drake Curse as of 2021 when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks (who broke the city's 50-year championship struggle) in 2021 NBA Finals, losing 4–2.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The curse was again broken in 2022 when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI after Drake had bet on the Rams to win the Super Bowl. However, the curse struck once again as Ferrari's Formula One driver Charles Leclerc, who was leading the race, retired from the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix due to engine problems after Drake placed a bet on Leclerc winning.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Marketing experts have highlighted the "curse of Gillette", given the mishaps that happen to sports stars which are associated with the brand, most notably Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry and David Beckham. One notable exception to the curse is the New England Patriots, who have played at Gillette Stadium since 2002 and have won six Super Bowls in that time frame.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Gold Coast is notorious for having teams perform poorly in the major Australian sports leagues and either fold, rebrand or relocate shortly after. Most of the city's sports teams have never reached the Grand Final of any major sports league in Australia, let alone win a premiership/championship. The Gold Coast is often referred to as "the graveyard" due to the number of professional sports teams that have folded in the city. The teams will often fall into trouble over poor on field performances, financial problems, ownership issues and/or under performing shortly after signing a marquee player. One of the city's two current professional teams fell dangerously close to suffering the same fate in 2015 as Australian media outlets reported they were trying desperately to avoid the curse.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Since the Minnesota Twins won the 1991 World Series, the four main sports teams based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area (Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Twins, and formerly the Minnesota North Stars) have been unable to win a championship, whether it's a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals, or World Series.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Minnesota Vikings have appeared in four Super Bowls but have yet to win any. They also played in six NFC Championship games since 1976, the year they lost Super Bowl XI to the Oakland Raiders and the last time they made the Super Bowl. However, they have been unable to win any. The closest the Vikings came to winning the NFC Championship game since that span is the and . In 2003, the Vikings missed the playoffs despite having a 6–0 with Nate Poole catching a game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Josh McCown to miss the playoffs. In 2016, the Vikings had a 5–0 start but were eliminated from the playoffs following a 38–25 loss to the Green Bay Packers. In 2017, the Vikings advanced to the NFC Championship following a game-winning play from wide receiver Stefon Diggs, but were blown out 38-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Since the Minnesota Timberwolves was established in 1989, they have yet to play in any NBA Finals or win it, with the closest being the 2003–04 season, making it the only season in which the Timberwolves won a playoff series. Following that season, they would fail to make the playoffs until the 2017–18 season. They would make the playoffs again during the 2021–22 season, but would lose in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies, including a blown 26-point lead in game 3 and a 10-point lead in game 6.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The "Curse of Billy Penn" was cited as a reason for Philadelphia sports teams' failure to win championships since the Philadelphia 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals. Some fans believe that the city's breaking of a gentlemen's agreement in 1987, that no building in Philadelphia be built higher than the statue of William Penn on the top of the spire of City Hall, put a curse on the city.


title: Sports-related curses

text: When the final beam in the construction of the Comcast Center, was raised on June 18, 2007, iron workers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of William Penn to the beam in an attempt to break the curse. The following year, the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series. Ten years later, when the even taller Comcast Technology Center was topped out, the iron workers on that skyscraper did the same thing and the Philadelphia Eagles would go on to win Super Bowl LII.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The city's sports teams have also lost in championship finals in years of presidential inaugurations, beginning with the 76ers' loss in the 1977 NBA Finals and includes the Phillies' loss in the 2009 World Series. During that span, each of the four city's teams have lost championships during such years twice.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The city of San Diego has never claimed a modern North American major league professional sports championship (Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, or NBA Finals). San Diego is currently home to Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres and was the home of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers from 1961 to 2016 (now located in Los Angeles). San Diego has never had a National Hockey League franchise (although they did have a team in the rival World Hockey Association in the 1970s). The city has previously hosted two teams from the National Basketball Association: the San Diego Rockets from 1967 to 1971 (now located in Houston, Texas), and the San Diego Clippers from 1978 to 1984 (now located in Los Angeles).


title: Sports-related curses

text: Since 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers won an NBA championship, San Diego became the city with the longest championship drought in North America with at least one major league franchise. San Diego's only championship was the 1963 AFL Championship, when the Chargers beat the Boston Patriots 51–10, before the AFL merged with the NFL to form the current National Football League.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Chargers would only appear and lose in three championship games since then. The Chargers were set to defend their 1963 AFL title in 1964 against the Buffalo Bills. However, a key play by Mike Stratton on Keith Lincoln would help the Bills win, 20–7. The next year, the Chargers played the Bills again in the championship game and were shut out 23–0. The quarterback for the Bills (and the game MVP) in both of those games was former Charger Jack Kemp (and incidentally, those two championships would also be Buffalo's last). In 1966, team owner and founder Barron Hilton was forced to sell off the team to appease the board of directors of Hilton Hotels. Since Hilton sold the team, the Chargers have only had one Super Bowl appearance, in 1994, when they lost 49–26 to the San Francisco 49ers, as San Francisco quarterback and eventual MVP Steve Young threw for a Super Bowl–record six touchdowns. Additionally, eight members of that 1994 Chargers team, including team captain Junior Seau, died before the age of 45. Since appearing in the Super Bowl, the Chargers have fielded some dominant teams that appeared to be Super Bowl-type teams, only to take an early playoff exit. In 2004, the Chargers finished 12-4 and hosted the New York Jets in the Wild Card Game, but they lost the game in overtime 20-17 despite rallying from a 17-7 fourth quarter deficit. In 2006, the Chargers finished a league-best 14-2 and clinched the 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs. They hosted the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Chargers leading 21–13, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw an interception to Marlin McCree, which likely would've clinched victory. However, he was stripped of the ball by Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown and the Patriots recovered and took over in Chargers territory. The Patriots were able to tie the score at 21 and ultimately won the game 24–21 on a late field goal. This has since gone down as one of the greatest "what-ifs" in Chargers history, going down as "what if Marlin McCree holds on to the ball?". In 2007, the Chargers finished 11-5 and won the AFC West once again, and this time were able to advance to the AFC Championship Game. Despite praise from the media for Philip Rivers playing through a torn ACL he had suffered the previous week in the Division Round win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Chargers fell to the 17-0 New England Patriots by a score of 21–12. Since their Super Bowl appearance in 1994, this remains the only time the Chargers have reached the AFC Championship Game since that time. In 2008, the Chargers became the first team in NFL history to start a season 4-8 and make the playoffs by winning their final 4 games, including a 52–21 victory in a win-and-in game over the Denver Broncos. After upsetting the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Game, the Chargers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the next round 35–24. In 2009, after a slow 2–3 start, the Chargers won their last 11 games to finish the season at 13-3 and finish as the AFC's number 2 seed. But in the divisional round against the New York Jets, the Chargers lost 17-14 which included 3 missed field goals by normally reliable kicker Nate Kaeding. After the string of 4 consecutive AFC West crowns from 2006 to 2009, the Chargers only made the playoffs once in their final 7 seasons in San Diego, in 2013 when they finished as the AFC's number 6 seed after having won 4 in a row after a 5–7 start. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card Round 27–10, but lost to the Denver Broncos in the next round 24–17.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Founded in 1969, the Padres are one of six Major League Baseball franchises that have never won the World Series. Of those teams, only the Texas Rangers (1961) have been in existence longer than San Diego. The Padres have twice advanced to the World Series, losing 4–1 to the Detroit Tigers in 1984 and being swept 4–0 by the New York Yankees in 1998. Aside from those 2 World Series appearances, the Padres have only made the playoffs 4 other times. In 1996, 2005, and 2006, they lost the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, in 2020, they beat the Cardinals in the Wild Card Series and moved on to the NLDS, where they were swept in 3 games by the rival and eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.


title: Sports-related curses

text: Players who appear on the cover of the "Sports Illustrated" magazine have tended to coincidentally suffer setbacks or injuries, or lose important games, shortly after appearing on the cover.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The state of Tennessee has had three professional sports teams since 2001 - the Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, and Tennessee Titans. None of them have won a professional sports championship and all have a history of failure in big moments.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Titans have been to only one Super Bowl since moving to Tennessee in 1997. In their lone Super Bowl appearance, the Titans were one yard away from tying the game but wide receiver Kevin Dyson was tackled one yard short of the endzone on the final play. Since then, the Titans have only appeared in two conference championship games (2002 and 2019), losing both in routs. In addition, every time they've been their conference's number-one seed for the playoffs (2000, 2008, and 2021), the Titans have lost their first playoff game.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Predators, who played their first season in 1998, have consistently made the playoffs (15 times since 2004) but have only appeared in one Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final (both in 2017). They lost the Stanley Cup Final in 6 games to the Pittsburgh Penguins mainly due to the Predators’ inability to play effectively on the road in that series. The team is also frequently eliminated from the playoffs at home, including in 2017. They are also 0–5 in the playoff series against the San Jose Sharks and Arizona Coyotes who both also have a history of failing in the postseason.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Grizzlies, after moving from Vancouver in 2001, have never won a conference finals game, only appearing in that series once (in 2013) and had to wait 21 years to win their first division title.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The Tennessee Volunteers football team was virtually irrelevant from 2008 to 2021 on a national level since firing former head coach Phillip Fulmer. In 2016, after starting 5-0 for the first time since their last national championship season, the Vols had a chance to play in the Sugar Bowl if they won their final regular season game, but instead lost that game to Vanderbilt. In 2022, after starting 8-0 and being ranked #1 in the College Football Playoff standings, the Volunteers lost in blow out losses to Georgia and South Carolina, ultimately ending any chance they had of making the 4-team playoff. In addition, their Heisman candidate quarterback Hendon Hooker tore his ACL in the loss to South Carolina.


title: Sports-related curses

text: The city of Washington, D.C. did not win a major professional sports championship for 26 years, between the Washington Redskins' Super Bowl XXVI victory in 1992 and the Washington Capitals' win in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. None of the major sports teams qualified to play in a conference or league championship game or series between 1998 and 2018, for a total of 70 combined seasons. This was the longest such streak in combined seasons of any city with at least one major sports team. Of cities with three or more major sports teams, D.C. had the second-longest title drought, and the longest time without an appearance in the conference finals. Between the Capitals' 1998 trip to the Eastern Conference Finals and the team's trip to the Eastern Conference Final in 2018, Washington, D.C. sports teams had appeared in 16 quarterfinal playoff rounds, losing all 16. Further, Washington sports teams held a 13-game losing streak in games with the chance to send the team to a Conference or League Championship. The drought ended on May 7, 2018, when the Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the semifinals to advance to the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Capitals would go on to defeat the Lightning four games to three in the Eastern Conference Final, and then defeated the Vegas Golden Knights four games to one in the Stanley Cup Final. To further confirm the end of the curse, the Washington Nationals won the franchise's first World Series in 2019 with all four of those wins in that series on the road - the first such occurrence among professional sport in North American championships.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Oluwatosin Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian-born, Ghana-based singer. He is a pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressions and patterns. Mr Eazi relocated to Kumasi, Ghana in 2008 and enrolled at KNUST, where he began booking artists to perform at college parties. He showed interest in music after recording a guest verse on "My Life", a song that gained traction and became a popular record at KNUST. Mr Eazi released his debut mixtape "About to Blow" in 2013. He gained an international audience following the release of the Efya-assisted single "Skin Tight". His second mixtape "Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos" was released in 2017.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Mr Eazi was born in Port Harcourt, the capital and largest city in Rivers State, Nigeria. He grew up in an entrepreneurial home. His mother owned a small business and his father is a pilot. The latter parent established his own private aviation consulting practice. While attending primary school in Lagos, Mr Eazi had a brief stint in the school's choir. During his upbringing, he listened to records his dad would play for the family while having breakfast. At age 16, Mr Eazi relocated to Ghana to further his educational endeavors, enrolling in the mechanical engineering program at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Mr Eazi started recording music during his time at KNUST. He contributed guest vocals to the track "My Life", a song that gained traction and became a popular record at KNUST. Prior to that, he established a party and promotion company called Swagger Entertainment. He used this platform to book shows and promote events on the campus of KNUST. When he was 23 years old, he returned to Nigeria and opened his own e-commerce platform. Mr Eazi told "The Guardian" newspaper he briefly worked for Schlumberger when he returned to Nigeria. He also told the aforementioned newspaper his business ventures included soft drinks import, gold mining, and food distribution. He told "Highsnobiety" he started about six business ventures. In 2014, Mr Eazi quit being a club promoter after an artist failed to show up for the largest party he attempted to throw. On 7 June 2022, he graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, USA.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Mr Eazi released his 13-track debut mixtape "About to Blow" in July 2013. It produced two singles: "Pipi Dance" and "Bankulize". The former was released in mid-2012, while the latter was released in 2013. Mr Eazi recorded the mixtape with producer Klu and released it within a week. "The Fader" magazine descrie mixtape as a "heavily dancehall-leaning SoundCloud playlist". Prior to releasing the mixtape, Mr Eazi worked with producers such as Magnom, Peeweezle, Nshona, Klumonsta, D'Tunes, and E-Kelly. Moreover, he was featured on Stay Jay's "Baby Lace" and Lousika's "Knockout". In 2014, Mr Eazi relocated to Nigeria. He was contacted by UK-based Ghanaian producer Juls, who got a hold of some of his recordings. Due to not being able to locate the audio files of his old recordings, Mr Eazi's attempt at working with Juls stalled for a long time. Mr Eazi eventually retrieved his audio files and sent them to Juls, who made a new beat and created the artwork for the mixtape's second single "Bankulize". The song features vocals from Ghanaian hiplife artist Pappy Kojo and was released in November 2014. The official remix of "Bankulize" features Burna Boy and was released in September 2016. Mr Eazi premiered the remix on Ebro Darden's Beats 1 radio show a month earlier.


title: Mr Eazi

text: In August 2015, Mr Eazi released the dancehall-influenced track "Skin Tight". It features guest vocals from Ghanaian singer Efya and was produced by DJ Juls. In an interview with "Complex" magazine, Mr Eazi described the song as a "fusion". He said he spoke Ghanaian pidgin on the delivery and used Nigerian melodies. In August 2016, Nigerian record producer Cobhams Asuquo released a rendition of the song. DJ Caise released a house remix of the song in September 2016, while Terry G collaborated with Mr Eazi to release a remix of the song. In April 2017, "Skin Tight" was featured in an ad for the vodka brand Ciroc.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Mr Eazi was featured on Eugy's 2016 hit single "Dance for Me". "The Guardian" newspaper included the song on its list of the 10 biggest African tracks of 2016. The music video for "Dance for Me" was directed by Vertex and Gabriella Kingsely. Robin Murray of "Clash" magazine described the song as a "salute to their joint Ghanaian heritage". On 17 June 2016, Mr Eazi released the R&B-inspired "Anointing", a song that features rap vocals from Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie. Mr Eazi first announced plans for the song in May 2016.


title: Mr Eazi

text: In February 2016, organizers of the Vodafone-sponsored Ghana Music Awards made a decision not to nominate Mr Eazi in any of its Ghanaian-only categories. According to George Quaye, a spokesperson for Charterhouse, Mr Eazi was disqualified because of his nationality. Quaye also stated that Mr Eazi was only eligible to compete in the African Artiste of the Year category. However, he failed to pick up a nomination in the aforementioned category because the organizers felt that he isn't as big as the other nominees. On 11 January 2017, Mr Eazi tweeted that Ghanaian music has a great influence over present-day Nigerian music. He received heavy backlash after posting the tweet and trended nationwide in both Ghana and Nigeria. On 12 January 2017, Mr Eazi apologized to Nigerians for the comments that he made.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Following his performance at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards, Wizkid announced that he signed Mr Eazi to his imprint Starboy Entertainment. However, Mr Eazi told Star FM Ghana in July 2017 that he is not officially signed to Starboy. He also told Star FM Ghana that he is only in business with the imprint. Mr Eazi's second mixtape, "Life Is Eazi, Vol. 1 – Accra To Lagos", was released on 10 February 2017. The mixtape was initially scheduled for release on 11 February 2017. It debuted at number 4 on the "Billboard" World Albums chart. The mixtape comprises 14 tracks, including three bonus tracks. Guest artists featured on the mixtape include Tekno, Olamide, Phyno, Mugeez, Medikal, DJ Cuppy, Falz, and Big Lean. Its production was handled by Maleek Berry, Masterkraft, Legendury Beatz, and Young John. Mr Eazi announced on Instagram that the mixtape sold 200,000 copies in pre-orders. While speaking to Julie Adenuga on her Beats 1 radio show, he said the mixtape is a tribute to the two cities that influenced the evolution of his sound.


title: Mr Eazi

text: The mixtape's lead single "Leg Over" was produced by E-Kelly and released on 2 December 2016. The music video for "Leg Over" features cameo appearances from comedian Eddie Kadi, Maleek Berry, and Wizkid. Mr Eazi told Lawrence Burney from Noisey.com that the song is about being taken advantage of in a relationship. He also said the song was leaked and wasn't meant to be a single. Upon its release in December 2016, "Leg Over" inspired numerous dance videos. Gabriel Myers Hansen, a critic and editor whose review was posted on the "Music In Africa" website, described the song as "gentle and minimalist". Hansen also said it is "freshened by delicate string and percussion placements reminiscent of highlife from decades ago". On 1 February 2017, Mr Eazi released "Tilapia" as the mixtape's second single. It features vocals from Ghanaian hip hop artist Medikal. On 1 March 2017, Mr Eazi released the Sesan-directed music video for "In The Morning". The song features vocals from Toronto rapper Big Lean. On 1 April 2017, Mr Eazi released the Teekay-directed music video for "Fight", a song that features additional vocals from DJ Cuppy. On 7 April 2017, Mr Eazi released the music video for "Business", a song that features vocals from Mugeez of R2Bees.


title: Mr Eazi

text: In January 2019, it was announced that Mr Eazi will be performing at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In August 2019, Mr Eazi launched emPawa Africa, a talent incubation initiative designed to nurture and support up-and-coming African artists. Thirty musicians would be enrolled in the first edition and would receive grant and mentorship to scale up their music career. The initiative is also supported by YouTube Music.


title: Mr Eazi

text: In January 2021, Ajibade announced his upcoming EP titled "Something Else", set for a 19 February release. On 10 June 2022, Eazi released "Legalize", through emPawa Africa.


title: Mr Eazi

text: Mr Eazi is known for pioneering Banku music, a sound "characterized by percolating rhythms and laid-back vocal delivered in Ghanaian Pidgin English". Mr Eazi's music largely fits into the category of Afrobeats, a contemporary West African pop genre that marries global pop, Dancehall, highlife, and hip-hop. Mr Eazi's music has been described as having an R&B-like quality reminiscent of artists such as Beres Hammond and Gregory Isaacs. Lawrence Burney from Noisey.com stated that Mr Eazi uses his deep voice to "give ballad-like qualities to dance-forward production".


title: Mr Eazi

text: Mr Eazi is known to be dating Temi Otedola, daughter of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola and sister to DJ Cuppy.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In the series' canon lore, Mai is a modern-world young female ninja and the granddaughter of the ninjutsu master Hanzo Shiranui, with the ability to create and control fire. She is a founding member of the King of Fighters Tournament's Women Fighters Team and is madly in love with the American fighter Andy Bogard, who she self-proclaimed her fiancé, though he is not interested in a romantic relationship. Yet, she still pursues him endlessly.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Largely due to her sex appeal, Mai has become one of the most popular, recognizable and celebrated female characters of the fighting game genre, especially in Japan, China, and some other East Asian countries, often being compared to Capcom's Chun-Li. She has also become SNK's primary sex symbol and mascot character featured in many merchandise products and representing the company in many crossover and spin-off titles, in addition to licensed appearances in numerous games by other companies, as well as becoming a trendy subject of cosplay and modeling.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: According to the SNK universe's early canon, Mai Shiranui was born on January 1, 1974, though the year was later omitted due to the sliding timescale of the games. She is a practitioner of her family's ancient Shiranui-ryū ninjutsu, the empty-handed art of "koppo-ken" and has also been taught additional close-combat techniques by her grandfather's friend judo master Jubei Yamada. Having been strictly disciplined by her grandfather from an early age, she has become a proud fighter who hates to lose.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Usually relaxed, enthusiastic, uninhibited and cheerful, Mai has a charismatic, flamboyant and flirtatious personality, as well as exhibitionistic tendencies. She has been madly in love with Andy Bogard, an American who studied the arts Shiranui ninjutsu with her grandfather Hanzo, since her and Andy's early teens. She is a friend of Joe Higashi and Andy's older brother, Terry Bogard. Regarding her standard education, Mai is a bookkeeper and secretary by profession. She deeply cares for her nation's and family's traditions, including battle outfits and ceremonial clothing, as well as having learned archery, calligraphy, koto playing, and performing the tea ceremony and the flower arrangement art. However, she is also fond of modern foreign things, such as American style casual fashion and heavy metal music (her favourite band being Pantera). As a girlfriend, she is gentle, kind and enjoying cooking (especially osechi dishes) and only occasionally losing her temper.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Her first name, "Mai", is the Japanese word for "dance" and her surname is the title of a Japanese optical phenomenon similar to will-o'-the-wisp, in reference to the character's pyrokinetic abilities. These powers enable her to cloak herself in fire; channel it through her clothes, weapons and anything she touches and cause explosions. She can change her clothes in an instant, as well as to temporarily stay airborne, float, glide and control her movements and change directions in mid-air, and is also a master of climbing and stealth. Her fighting style is to "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". Mai's weapons are her "Fire Butterfly Fans" that can be used in close quarters and as projectiles. She furthermore has a variety of hand-to-hand combat maneuvers, such as a diving attack ("Flying Squirrel Dance") and a rushing cartwheel kick followed by an elbow strike ("Deadly Ninja Bees").


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In most of the games, Mai's Japanese voice actress has been Akoya Sogi (dubbed by Sheryl Stanley in the English versions of "" series), until she was gradually replaced by Ami Koshimizu since the 2010s. Kotono Mitsuishi voiced Mai in the "Fatal Fury" anime films, with English dubbings provided by Sarah Sawatsky and Lisa Ann Beley, and Japanese voice actress and singer Megumi Hayashibara portrayed Mai in a series of drama CDs during the 1990s.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui became SNK's first female playable fighting game character upon her "Fatal Fury" series debut in 1992. SNK had originally conceived two different characters—a male ninja and a Japanese idol—for "Fatal Fury 2" prior to her creation. The ninja character's working name was just Ninja Master and he had been around 60% completed before being scrapped; his long scarf was turned into her "tails" and the female character's original name was already Mai. Further inspiration for Mai's appearance and attributes came from a number of sources. According to the Neo Geo publication "Neo Geo Freak", Mai's bust was modeled on Fumie Hosokawa and her buttocks on Ai Iijima, while her breast "jiggle" was inspired by the tales of kunoichi using their bodies for seduction and distraction. Designer of the fighting game "Battle Master: Kyuukyoku no Senshitachi" claims Mai's overall looks and costume might have been modeled after his game's character Ranmaru, as he had unsuccessfully pitched it for SNK to have it published for the Neo-Geo before Toshiba-EMI eventually released it for the SNES.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In SNK games, Mai represents a traditional ideal of a Japanese woman. In her profile, her measurements are – – ; she is tall, and weighs (later ). Her official character description in the games is listed as "The Gorgeous Ninja" or "Knock-out Ninja", and sometimes as "Red Ninja". "The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact" character Lien Neville conceptually began as a contrast to Mai Shiranui: while Mai represents a "sexy and beautiful kunoichi", Lien represents the "sexy Western femme fatale" and her outfits were purposely designed to be "tight and constricting" to contrast Mai's clothing, which is made to allow for easy and quick movements. Shinkiro, an illustrator who worked on "The King of Fighters", considered the character Leona Heidern with her "ice queen" persona as a complete opposite of Mai.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: As described by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, "the character wears a revealing outfit that accentuates her buttocks and displays large amounts of cleavage". Mai has been subjected to regional censorship in some games' export versions. In particular, her famed and influential breast-bounce animation was partially (idle pose) or entirely removed in several releases, including the international home version of "The King of Fighters '94", in the European version of "The King of Fighters '95" for the Sega Saturn, and in the U.S. versions of "Fatal Fury 2", "Fatal Fury Special", "The King of Fighters 2000", and "The King of Fighters 2002" and "KOF '95" can be restored through the use of special cheat codes. Her usually very large breasts are smaller in some games, such as "", and in some other media, especially in the live-action film.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai's appearance changes only slightly through most of the "Fatal Fury" and "King of Fighters" games. She has long hair (usually brown or red, but sometimes black) tied in a ponytail, with long bangs framing her face, and normally wears a sleeveless red uwagi with a decorative waistbandsometimes with long, decorative tails, and a loincloth with a red thong (replaced by shorts in some U.S. versions and more covering underwear in some European versions) around her crotch and rear. In "Fatal Fury 2", "Fatal Fury Special" (1993) and "The King of Fighters", Mai Shiranui wears a pair of soft-soled tabi. From "" to "Real Bout Fatal Fury" (both in 1995) she wears instep guards, exposing her heels and toes. In the former, she also wears a red vest and eye shadow. Mai's hairpin is her beloved grandmother's keepsake.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In "KOF: Maximum Impact" (2004), Mai has much shorter and darker hair, and ninja clothing resembling that of Kasumi in the "Dead or Alive" series. Shinkiro said that Mai was the most difficult character to draw as he "thought she was going to burst out of her costume". In "" (2006), one of Mai's color schemes matches Andy Bogard's and she has blonde hair. Another outfit of Mai's with long green hair, tiger-print clothing and a hairpin with horns resembles that of Lum from the manga and anime series "Urusei Yatsura" and is based on Cham Cham from SNK's "Samurai Shodown" series. The "Maximum Impact" series' producer, Falcoon, said that designing Mai's alternate look was "unforgivable" as he was uncertain of fan reaction to the changes. "" introduced an advanced character customization for Mai as well as the others in the game.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Gameplay-wise, Mai is known as a very quick and mobile fighter, however the tradeoff is she is dealing only limited damage with her attacks. She has been noted as the fastest yet physically weakest fighter in her first game, "Fatal Fury 2." In opinion of "Super Juegos", "despite her fragile appearance", Mai is one of the more effective contenders in "Fatal Fury Special". According to a "GamePro" guide to "Fatal Fury 3", "Mai's excellent speed and air superiority give her an advantage over some fighters, but her moves inflict little damage" and thus Mai players need to constantly keep on attacking their opponents in order to prevail. Furthermore, she might be easy to pick up play for new players, for example having been described as one of the easiest characters to master in "Real Bout Fatal Fury" by "Sega Saturn Magazine". In "Dead or Alive", Mai remains a speed type of character who is relatively easy to handle, and as such "Famitsu" recommended her as a good character for "DOA" beginners.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui has first starred in "Fatal Fury 2" where she goes to help Andy face the new host of The King of Fighters tournament, Wolfgang Krauser. She loses to Laurence Blood, who takes her captive to lure Andy. She also plays a supporting role in "" and "Real Bout Fatal Fury", gathering information to help in the fight against Geese Howardthe criminal who killed Andy and Terry's father, Jeff Bogard. The following games in the series, "Real Bout Fatal Fury Special" (1997) and "" (1998), do not contain a storyline. Mai was added to the roster of "" (1999), a 3D remake of "" which originally did not feature Mai.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: "The King of Fighters" series tournament features Mai as a regular character participating in the annual tournaments in the Women Fighters Team (also known as the Woman Fighters Team, the Fighting Gals Team, and the Gorgeous Team), which she founds in "The King of Fighters '94" after Andy refuses to let her enter and form a team with her. Initially, the team is composed of Mai, King and Yuri Sakazaki from the "Art of Fighting" series, with Mai aiming to help encourage King and her fellow team members and to prove to Andy the error of his ways. In "The King of Fighters '99", the teams were expanded to four members, and so Mai goes to the Fatal Fury Team composed of Terry, Andy and Joe, being finally able to join the tournament in the same team as Andy. In the following tournament in "The King of Fighters 2000", however, Mai is asked to step out to allow Blue Mary investigate a case. Denied again, she is angered by the request and joins the Women Fighters Team again and has remained a reoccurring member ever since. In the various team endings, she is often celebrating the team's victory at King's bar or fantasizing about Andy.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai eventually leaves the KOF tournament competitions in "The King of Fighters XI" (2005) to search for Andy who was absent in "The King of Fighters 2003" (she appears in "KOF XI" only as an unlockable character in the PS2 version). In "The King of Fighters XII", Mai is completely absent from the game itself (except a mention in Andy's profile) and appears only in the tie-in manga series, even as she has been was "teased" in a trailer and official website, and has been rumored to be added through DLC for the home version. In "The King of Fighters XIII", Mai returns to the series when she feels that the KOF tournament is not complete without her and so decides to enter it along with the other two original members of "KOF '94"s Women's Team. She is not upset at Andy while making her choice, content to enter a tournament with both her and him in it once more. Mai returns in "The King of Fighters XIV", in which the new character Banderas Hattori is obsessed with her but she is not interested. She is set to return in The "King of Fighters XV".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Outside the main "Fatal Fury" / "KOF" titles, Mai has appeared playable in every game in the "SNK vs. Capcom" series of crossover fighting games since 1999. She is also playable character in the portable console fighting games "SNK Gals' Fighters" (2000) and "NeoGeo Battle Coliseum" (2005), and in a number of SNK mobile fighting games such as "The King of Fighters" (2003), "Fatal Fury Mobile" and "Garou Densetsu vs Fighter's History Dynamite" (2007), "The King of Fighters-i" (2011), and "The King of Fighters D: DyDO Smile STAND" (2017). In I.O. Entertainment's free-to-play "Lost Saga", Mai is a premium character that was added in both female and male variations, originally in the Japanese version in 2012 and for the Chinese and Spanish-language versions in 2015. In 2016, Mai joined the cast of Koei Tecmo's fighting series "Dead or Alive" via DLC in "Dead or Alive 5 Last Round", but this DLC is no longer available as of September 11, 2019. In the fan service fighting game "", where she is dressed up as a cow in her default costume, Mai is fighting to be granted a wish to finally marry Andy. She returned to the "DOA" series as a DLC once more in "Dead or Alive 6".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai is featured as a playable character in the console shooter games "KOF Sky Stage" (2010) and "", and the quiz game "Quiz King of Fighters" (1995), also appearing in the 1999-2006 "SNK vs. Capcom" spin-off crossover card battle series "". In Bandai Namco's crossover tactical RPG "" (2011), Mai is a rival to "Street Fighter" character and fellow in-game playable Chun-Li.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: She is also one of the heroes in the Thailand-exclusive MOBA game "The King of Fighters Online". In a 2017 MMORPG "The King of Fighters: World" by Ledo Interactive, Mai is featured in person as a non-player and tutorial character, but the players will be able to use her Shiranui style for their own characters. She was to appear in never released and similarly titled MMO "The King of Fighters' World" from Shanda Interactive to lead the Ninja Team made of her, Andy, and Eiji Kisaragi.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: She features, usually as a playable character, in various non-fighting "KOF" mobile games either developed or licensed by SNK, including "KOF Gals Mahjong", "KOF: Battle de Paradise", "KOFM for Kakao", "Mini King of Fighters", "The Rhythm of Fighters", and "The King of Fighters M", among many others. Some of them are beat 'em up games, such as "The King of Fighters '97 OL" (2015) and "The King of Fighters: Destiny", or role-playing games, such as "The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Online" (a tactical RPG) and "The King of Fighters All Star" (an action RPG in which up to three various versions of Mai from different other games may appear at once.) She is also featured in augmented reality game "The King of Fighters Orochi Go".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Not-strictly "Fatal Fury"/"KOF" mobile games that have Mai among characters include "SNK Dream Battle", "SNK Beach Volley Gal's Attack", "SNK Gal's Open: Cutey Shot", "SNK Gals Island Dokidoki Puzzle Shock!" and its sequel, "Neo Geo Tennis Coliseum," "You Are the Hero!", and "Dai Shingeki RPG! Sister Quest". She is also featured in "Samurai Shodown Slash" (a beat 'em up crossover of "Samurai Shodown" and "The King of Fighters") and in "Metal Slug Defense" (a tower defense crossover of "KOF" and "Metal Slug"), as well as in "Beast Busters featuring KOF" (a mobile remake of SNK's rail shooter "Beast Busters", in a nurse outfit).


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In the 1998 visual novel game "The King of Fighters: Kyo", set in the "KOF" timeline between "The King of Fighters '96" and "The King of Fighters '97", Mai is a non-player character who provides the protagonist Kyo Kusanagi with information and help during his trials. Mai also makes cameo appearances on her "younger brother" and Andy's disciple Hokutomaru's stage in SNK fighting game "" (with Andy), as well as in character endings in fighting games "Samurai Shodown" and "Art of Fighting 2", and in the Neo Geo CD version of the "Samurai Shodown" series' role-playing video game "Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden". In the North American release of the original "Art of Fighting" it is implied that Eiji Kisaragi has feelings for her, but this does not occur in the original Japanese version. In the 2000s dating sim series "Days of Memories", Mai Shiranui retains her name and general design but is an otherwise unrelated character with a different role in each game (a rich maiden and protagonist's neighbor in "Boku to Kanojo no Atsui Natsu", an office lady by day and a masked ninja vigilante by night in "Koi wa Good Job!", a popular school beauty and the protagonist's classmate in "Kaze Maou Miyako de Tsukamaete!", and a school beauty with strange motives in "Sekai de Ichiban Atsui Fuyu".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui has been furthermore featured as a usually playable guest character in many various games in mostly Asian markets, such as China-only dance game "Dazzle Dance". To celebrate the 15th anniversary of "The King of Fighter" in 2009, Mai joined a Chinese MMORPG "Yuyan Online". She was added as a player character to a Korean multiplayer beat 'em up "Dungeon Fighter Online" in 2010, and also joined the character rosters of two more Korean video games: an action game "Mad Blade" (formerly "Bladecraft") and an endless runner "Kal Kal Kal All Together" in 2013. Mai was featured as an avatar replacement model to promote the Japanese MMORPG "Wizardry Online" in 2014.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai has been appearing making guest character appearances in especially many Asian games since 2014, when she was added to several Chinese games, including MOBAs "300 Heroes" and "The King of Soldier II", an action RPG "Ultimate Heroes", beat 'em ups "Fantasy Fighter" and "King of Fate", and an RTS "". She was also featured as a variant of character class Kunoichi in Korean MMORPG "Black Desert Online" to promote it in Japan. In 2016, Mai was licensed as a bonus character to the highest-grossing video game in the world: "Wangzhe Rongyao", roughly translated to English as "Honor of Kings", a mobile MOBA developed by TiMi Studio and Tencent, where she is a Mage class character, additionally starring in its official tie-in webcomic. She was further included in collaboration events in "Brave Frontier","" "Game of Dice", and "Samurai Kingdom".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In 2017, other collaboration events included a Mai avatar in an MMORPG "Mabinogi Heroes", as well as her various guest appearances in many mobile games, including "Boku to Dragon", "Clash of Kings", "Crash Fever", "Crusaders Quest", "GangRoad JOKER", "Grand Summoners", "Everybody's Marble", "If World", "Last Senkan", "Rival Arena VS", "Saishu Senkan: With Lovely Girls", "Tower of Saviors", "Valkyrie Connect", "Venus Eleven Vivid!", "World Cross Saga", and "Yamato Chronicle". By mid-2018, she has further appeared in more games such as "HIT" and "The Fellowship of The Dragon", also joining "Puzzle & Dragons" in celebration of the game's fifth anniversary, followed by "Dungeon Hunter Champions", "Knives Out-Tokyo Royale", "Phantasy Star Online 2", "Tokyo Prison", and more.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui is a protagonist in the 2009 American live-action film "The King of Fighters", which is loosely based on the games. She was played by Maggie Q, who performed her own stunts. Like the other series characters in the film, Mai bears little resemblance to her in-game incarnation, in that she is instead American and an undercover CIA operative and a girlfriend of Iori Yagami. In the film, Mai fights together with Iori and Kyo to defeat the villain Rugal Bernstein in an alternative dimension. In 2018, Mai appeared in Hong Kong gambler comedy film "Xiao Ao Du Jie".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai has made her first anime appearance in "" (1993), where she follows Andy on his search for Krauser in Germany. She is approached and later attacked by Laurence Blood, but Andy defeats him and rescues her. In "" (1994), Mai is present with Terry, Andy and Joe when a girl named Sulia gives them the quest to find the Armor of Mars and stop her brother Laocorn Gaudeamus. After the villain Hauer Blitzer fails to seduce Mai, he takes her prisoner after a fight, but she is again saved by Andy. Mai then defeats her rival Panni and participates in the final battle against her childhood best friend Laocorn, which ends with Laocorn dying to save her from the god of war, Mars.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai has only a minor role in the first episode of original net animation "" (2005), voiced by Akoya Sogi and Sheryl Stanley, wherein she and Athena Asamiya save Soiree Meira and a little girl from a collapsing building in USA. She is more prominent in YouTube computer-animated series "" (2017), voiced by Ami Koshimizu. In "KOF: Destiny", after beating up some lecherous punks in London, Mai joins up with Yuri and King, as the leader of their new Queens Team to "let men know that women are the ones who rule the world". She quarrels with Andy when Benimaru tries to use this to seduce her, and joins the King of Fighters tournament hoping to face Andy in the finals. Before that can happen, however, Mai and her teammates come under control of Rugal Bernstein's evil power, making them attack the Fatal Fury Team. Andy is forced to fight and defeat her, after which she comes back to her senses to witness the final fight between Rugal and Kyo.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai appears in "Dengeki G's Magazine" drama CD series "Fatal Fury", and in many manga, manhua and yonkoma comic books based on both the "Fatal Fury" and "King of Fighters" series, as well as adapting the SNK/Capcom crossover games. She is the main character in one of the "Queen's Gate" erotic gamebooks published in 2008 as part of the "Queen's Blade" series, in which she hopes she will be finally able to conquer Andy's heart if she proves herself the top female fighter of all time.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai's image was additionally licensed as a roulette character for pachislot machines. In 2003, SNK sued machine manufacturer Aruze for copyright infringement after Mai's and Terry Bogard's likenesses were used without permission for their pachinko game "Iregui". Mai is prominently featured in the "Universal Fighting System" collectible card game, and GungHo Games offered their users a Mai avatar skin. Reiko Chiba's single "Non Stop! One Way Love" includes the vocal track "Kachou Fuugetsu Otome Mai" (included in some SNK music compilations). In 2018, Chinese actor Xiong Ziqi released his single "KO" about Mai and Kyo.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: The character of Mai Shiranui was used extensively by SNK for the purpose of promoting their games, other products, and the company as a whole. She was featured in live-action television commercials for "Fatal Fury Special" and "Fatal Fury 2" in 1993. Multiple Mai "booth babe" models have been fixtures at Tokyo Game Show, noted for their popularity there, and at other events in Japan and elsewhere in East Asia. Asian celebrities, such as Korean idol Kyungri of Nine Muses and Chinese actress Li Bingbing, have appeared in costume as Mai to promote the games, and Mai's original voice actress Reiko Chiba too dressed up as Mai for an early official poster. Japanese actress and pinup model Sayuki Matsumoto was hired by SNK as an "image girl" to portray Mai for promotion of "The King of Fighters XIII"; Mai's other image models included Taiwanese actress Dou Hua Mei and Chinese model Ye Zi Xuan. Maggie Q's own promotional photo-shoot of Mai for the live-action movie showed her looking different than how she appeared in the film. Japanese adult actress Kirara Asuka portrayed Mai in a Taiwanese commercial for "The King of Fighters World".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: A 2005 fan-voted "Ultimate Mai Shiranui Cosplay Tournament" promotional event in Taiwan exhibited nearly a hundred women who dressed up as the character. One of SNK's attractions at the 2005 E3 was the signing of limited edition posters of Mai Shiranui by Falcoon. In 2009, Capcom teased UDON's "SF20" art book by showing Akira Yasuda's image of Chun-Li and Mai Shiranui "almost kissing and almost punching each other". Mai featured heavily in promotional materials for "The King of Fighters XIII", and an exclusive Mai Shiranui T-shirt given to all registered participants in the "KOFXIII" championship at the fighting game event EVO 2012. "The King of Fighters XIV" Premium Edition included a soundtrack with a Mai Shiranui illustrated case and the game's pre-order bonuses included a Mai PlayStation 4 theme. Mai was also announced to join the roster of the mobile action RPG "SNK All-Star" if the number of pre-registered users exceeds half million.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Scores of figures, statuettes and dolls have been made in her image. Such figures include those made by A-Label, Aizu Project, Alphamax, Daiki, Gantaku, Hobby Japan, Kinetiquettes, Max Factory, Volks, and SNK themselves. Some of them can be stripped topless, and an exclusive Volks figure was sold in an auction for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2009. Two action figures of Mai were made in the Cy Girls series, and her figurines were included in the and Nendroid series. Various other licensed Mai-themed merchandise include several official T-shirts, including one from a special edition of "SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy" and small items related to the game, and a Neo Geo joystick controller for PlayStation consoles decorated with Mai-related imagery. An entirely Mai-themed Neo-Geo shop opened in Tokyo's Akihabara for a limited time in 2019–2020.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui (and other "KOF" characters) became especially popular among the young people in Hong Kong during the late 1990s, when their character design impacted on local youth culture, including the so-called 'MK look' that "has penetrated Hong Kong street fashion, action figures and martial arts comics". The character of Mai has become highly popular in the cosplay community around the world, including an early work of Francesca Dani. 1UP.com described Mai as "everyone's favorite cosplay choice", "GamePro" noted her as being "notable for being the favoured costume choice for cosplay attention-floozies", and eldiario.es called her and Chun-Li "true icons of cosplay". Her popularity among Chinese cosplayers increased after Mai's addition to "Kings of Glory". Mai was a subject of cosplay by Yuuri Morishita, a Japanese booth companion turned a gravure idol, and many mainland Chinese and Taiwanese models, actresses and singers. The host of Chinese version of the TV show "Cybernet" between 2011 and 2012 was too dressed as Mai Shiranui. Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft noted in 2012: "In Asia—especially China and Taiwan—models keep popping [up] in non-gaming related events", arguing that rather than showing a following for the "King of Fighters" games, the character became popular because "the outfit is skimpy and revealing and has become a uniform of sorts". Singaporean pop-culture site "Lollipop" commented: "[The] Mai Shiranui outfit demands a special kind of physique, which is probably why it seems to be the go-to cosplay of models". In the West, British entertainer Cheryl Cole appeared in a Mai-inspired costume on her 2009 television special "Cheryl Cole's Night In". Mai has additionally been depicted in dōjinshi fan comics (often erotic) and other fan productions, as well as in unofficial Japanese adult films.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui's character notably pioneered the concept of breast physics in video games. Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez wrote "one of "Fatal Fury 2"'s biggest contributions to the medium was that it was the first game to introduce a character with breasts that moved on their own ... though "Fatal Fury" may not be a huge franchise nowadays, its legacy is very much alive: many top fighting games include a similar jiggle effect". French magazine "Hardcore Gamers" commented that by 2002 "Mai has become a leading figure in fighting games to the point that many fighting games characters feature characters looking oddly like her", such as Jam Kuradoberi in "Guilty Gear" and Kasumi in "Dead or Alive". The character Kali's look in the Korean game "Dragon Nest" was partially inspired by Mai, as was an alternative costume for Chun-Li "Super Street Fighter IV". The red kunoichi costume of Kasumi in the arcade version of "Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate" was created as an official homage to Mai (who herself later appeared in the "Last Round" edition of the game). Giovanni Simotti, designer of "Akane the Kunoichi", intended look of the titular character on the game's cover as "a small tribute to two of the most famous kunoichi from the history of the videogames – a mix of Mai Shiranui with a bit of Ibuki".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui's sex appeal escalated her popularity in Japan and worldwide, while the character herself is regarded as a female icon of SNK. "Play Time" claimed that "already a cult" of Mai had existed in Japan by 1994, two years after her debut. According to Kotaku's Ashcraft writing in 2010, "Mai is one of the most popular and recognisable fighting game characters. Her image has been recreated in countless figurines and endless fan art". Japanese arcade gaming magazine "Gamest" named her as one of the best characters for at least five consecutive years in its annual awards, placing her second in 1994, tenth in 1995, 21st in 1996, 28th in 1997, and 25th in 1998. It was similar in the Japanese Neo Geo magazine "Neo Geo Freak", where she was for example third in 1998; Mai had been also voted the most popular female Neo Geo character by the female readers of "Neo Geo Freak" in 1997. Mai was the most-illustrated character in a 2009 fan art contest held by SNK Playmore and art website Pixiv to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the "King of Fighters" series. Mai was declared the 11th top video game heroine from the 1990s by Japanese magazine "Famitsu" in 2015, and landed fourth in their and SNK's joint poll for the most popular Neo Geo character in 2018. She was also voted the second most sexy fighting game character in history in a 2018 Japanese poll.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: UGO Team commented in 2008, "the over-endowed, perpetually jiggling Mai has become not only a mascot for SNK's "King of Fighters" series, but also for the whole company. ... Mai is an unapologetic sex symbol ... While some decry Mai's ubiquitousness as pandering fan service, we're more than happy to pick up the yearly iterations of the "King of Fighters" franchise just to get fresh hands on this fetching fighter". Destructoid's editor-in-chief Dale North named "Terry and Andy Bogard, and the ever-bouncy Mai Shiranui" as the most popular of all characters from the "Fatal Fury" series, while China's Xinhua News Agency called Mai the most important female role in the history of SNK. In Brazil, "Megagames" retrospectively included her among the seven female characters who "dominated" the PlayStation 1 era in 2002 and "Nintendo World" rated her as the best female character in the GameCube fighting games in 2003, rating her a perfect 10/10. Kotaku's Luke Plunkett included her among the possible candidates for the title of the greatest video game character of all time in 2010, and "Pembroke Daily Observer" chose her among the 32 contenders for the title of "ultimate fighting game champion" in 2012. Similarly, in 2013, Spanish magazine "Games Tribune" described her as not only one of the most admired characters of SNK but also in the entire history of video games. Chilean publication "CerUno" ranked Mai as the sixth-most memorable heroine in their 2008 top-ten listing. In 2010, China's Mop.com included Mai on their list of ten strongest women in video games while Vietnamese website XãLuận.com included her among the five most famous heroines in gaming, and the Spanish edition of IGN ranked Mai as the eight top female video game character in 2012 and further described her as "one of the biggest legends of the '90s". Engadget's Colin Torretta opined ""The King of Fighters" games come heavily recommended ... if only for Mai Shiranui", and IGN Italy stated that they "all love" her. SNK's own "The King of Fighters XIV" premium artbook described her as "particularly popular with people overseas".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui has drawn comparisons to the fighting-game genre's other early female icon, "Street Fighter"s Chun-Li, with whom she shared the "Top Girls" entry in a 1994 ranking of fighting games by a Spanish magazine "Hobby Consolas". UGO Networks declared Mai the "Chun-Li of the SNK universe", and Ed Laurence of "Sinclair User" wrote in 1993 that she was able to "out-Chun Li Chun Li". Previewing "Capcom vs. SNK 2", GameSpot's Justin Speer wrote about its "beautiful and powerful females such as Chun-Li and Mai", and Rich Knight of "Complex" pitted the characters against each other in his 2011 "battle of the beauties" feature, stating: "Breasts or legs? Personally, we'll take 'em both". In "ScrewAttack"'s "Death Battle!" series the same year, Mai, dubbed "the queen of fighters", defeated Chun-Li due to her greater nimbleness and superior ranged attack abilities. Mai Shiranui is also popular in Korea, where she received 62% of votes to Chun-Li's 19% in a 2009 South Korean online poll held on White Day, in which fans voted for their "most wanted" female fighting-game character. According to Crunchyroll's Nate Ming in 2016, Mai has continued to represent "SNK, "Fatal Fury", and "KoF" in the same way that Chun-li [represents] "Street Fighter"". That same year, Aleksander Borszowski of Polish magazine "CD-Action" described Mai as the "second dame" of 2D fighting behind Chun-Li. Joystiq's Richard Mitchell stated: "There is one thing "Street Fighter" will never have, and that's Mai".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai has additionally drawn comparisons to other mainstream female game characters such as Lara Croft ("Tomb Raider") and Ivy Valentine ("Soulcalibur"), as well as to some others such as Sailor Mars ("Sailor Moon"). A 1997 article in "Game On! USA", highlighted Chun Li, Mai Shiranui, Michelle Chang ("Tekken") and Jill Valentine ("Resident Evil") as "video game characters who have marked the near absurd level of popularity of females in video games". Mexican publication "Chilango" grouped "Lara Croft/Chun Li/Mai Shiranui" together at the top of their list of "the women we have dreamed of in the nineties". Sara Sundman of "ScrewAttack Magazine" used Mai as an example of well-animated fan service breasts that move around realistically as she moves in games, unlike in some other cases such as that of "DOA's" Kasumi, and "GamePro" likened her with Taki from "Soulcalibur" as "a gravity-defying marvel of science and physicality". Kurt Katala of Hardcore Gaming 101 called the "Street Fighter"s Maki Genryusai a "sexy Mai Shiranui ripoff", despite Maki having debuted only in "Final Fight 2" in 1993. Comparisons between Mai and Maki have been made by other sources, including GameSpot, CNET, and IGN. Iroha from SNK's own "Samurai Shodown VI" was described as this game's "equivalent of Mai Shiranui" by Siliconera. Márcio Pacheco Alexsandro of Brazil's GameHall placed Mai at number one spot in his list of top female ninja characters in games, comparing her to "Mortal Kombat"s Kitana in regards of their shared use of fans as a weapon, and noting her as an equal of Chun-Li within the fighting genre. Mai has also appeared on several other lists of top ninja characters in video games, including by CrunchGear in 2008, "GamePro" in 2010, and Arcade Sushi in 2013. UGO listed her among the "hot ninja girls" in all entertainment, Gelo Gonzales from the Filipino edition of "FHM" included Mai among the nine "sexiest ninja babes in games", and "Complex" placed her at number one in its list of "hot female killers" in video games.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: In addition to her popularity with male fans, Mai has been a personal choice for some female gamers, such as Dawn Hughes of "The Lakeland Mirror", who favorited Mai due to her costumes and being "fast, agile, and sexy", and Seraphina Brennan of Joystiq, who wrote in 2009 that "throughout all of the countless MMOs that we've played, we've always asked ourselves one important question: "Where is Mai Shiranui and why can't I be her?"" SNK Playmore's decision to feature Mai only in an unplayable cameo in 2009's "The King of Fighters XII" was met with media criticism and a fan backlash sparking the meme phrase "no Mai, no buy". Shane Bettenhausen, director of business development for game publisher UTV Ignition Entertainment, likened the omission to Capcom leaving Chun-Li out of the original release of "Street Fighter III", while Destructoid's Jim Sterling compared it to "releasing "Street Fighter" without Ryu". GameSpot's Andrew Park noted "the conspicuous absence of SNK's iconic female ninja/geisha girl" and Siliconera opined that "SNK isn't going to make that mistake again" in omitting Mai from future releases. Adam Biessener of "Game Informer" said of Mai's return: "Sometimes fan service is all a franchise needs to stay relevant—and SNK Playmore is certainly delivering that".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Mai Shiranui was described as a "buxom fan-favorite" by Wired.com's Daniel Feit and the "KOF" "series' bosomy fan (service) favorite" by Michael McWhertor of Kotaku. Salehuddin Husin of "GameAxis Unwired" wrote in 2007: "Sex sells, and everyone knows it. Mai Shiranui from "Fatal Fury" first stumbled into this magical power when she captivated thousands of Ah Bengs the world over with the heaving bosoms during her matches". Mai was awarded the title of "Hottest Game Babe of 1994" by the staff of "Electronic Gaming Monthly", and was chosen as the "Hottest Videogame Babe" of the year for the Video Game Awards '95 by readers of German magazine "Mega Fun" after receiving over half of all votes. Previously, "Mega Fun" also called Mai "a favourite of the editors that could leave the likes of Cammy from "Super Street Fighter II" or Blaze from "Streets of Rage" downright pale with envy". A 1996 review of "Fatal Fury 3" in German magazine "Video Games" called her "the hottest babe in the universe" in English, and in 1998 they wrote she has still remained the prettiest "Fighting-Game-Babe" yet. American magazine "Gamers' Republic" gave Mai in "Capcom vs. SNK" the #3 "Game Babe o' the Year" award for 2000. In 2011, French website JeuxActu chose her as one of the game heroines they would like to repopulate the Earth, alongside Lara Croft and Bayonetta, and in 2012 Brazilian website Tribuna Hoje included her among the ten game heroines and villainesses they would like to come in flesh and blood. China's NetEase used her to as an example of a "sexy personality" in their 2011 article about the eight ingredients for an ultimately attractive female game character, and in 2014 "Chilango" described her as the very "sex symbol of video games".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Since her introduction, Mai has been featured in numerous lists of the sexiest female video game characters. Brazilian magazine "Ação Games" put her second on their list of "Top Girls" in 1997. In 2000, German magazine "Video Games" featured Mai in their "Console Pageant" article, rating her "VG Sexy Factor" at 95% as number one in Japanese games and tying her with Lara Croft. Bryan Johnson of GameSpy in 2003 ranked Mai the fourth-"top babe in games" in 2003: "With sexy babes being a part of fighting games, SNK set out to design a sexy fighting babe of their own. They probably went a little over the top". UGO Team placed Mai seventh on their list of top "girls of gaming" in 2008, as GameDaily's Robert Workman ranked her as the sixth "hottest game babe", while Johnny Firecloud of CraveOnline listed her fourth in his "hottest video game girl of all time" list in 2010. GameDaily also featured Mai in several "babe-of-the-week" galleries, including "Outrageous Boobs", "Asian Beauties", and the special "Mai Shiranui". In 2009, MSN declared Mai the fifth "hottest babe" in video games, and the staff of "Complex" included her in their list of the top ten "hottest video game girls". In 2011, UGO listed her among the 25 finest female characters from fighting games, and ranked her as the sixth top "videogame hottie". That same year, China's NetEase ranked her as number one top "eye candy" game character due to her beautiful face and body, skimpy outfits, sultry poses and jiggly movements, while China Radio International included her among seven most beautiful pair of legs in video games. Mai was ranked as the 19th and 18th "hottest" video game character Japan's GIGAZINE and by Larry Hester of "Complex", respectively, and placed seventh in a similar list by Kristie Bertucci of Gadget Review. She was spotlighted in the 2012 listings of ten "sexiest girls of games" by Polish web portal Onet.pl, twenty "hottest women in video game history" by MSN Malaysia, and ten sexiest game characters by Brazil's TecMundo, who noted her as one of the most "sympathetic" characters in fighting games. In 2013, João Vitor de Oliveira of Brazilian edition of "Official Xbox Magazine" ranked Mai as the number one sexiest woman in fighting games and expressed satisfaction that she was created instead of a male character as it had been originally planned for her fighting style. Mai placed second in the 2013 ranking of "most sexually charged" female characters in gaming history by Stuart W. Bedford of WhatCulture, and was given the first place in the 2014 list of sexiest female video game characters as compiled by GameHall's Portal PlayGame.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Adam Wears of Cracked.com described Mai as "a fighter with so little clothing covering a pair of breasts so meticulously animated that we suspect they're constantly huddling together for warmth". According to Sherilynn Macale of The Feed in 2011, "if there's one female fighter who really is just the Queen of the Bosom, it's Mai Shiranui from "King of Fighters". She "is" boobs". Including "SNK Vs. Capcom" among top five crossover games, 1UP.com's David Wolinsky wrote it "made for much more convenient ogling of Mai Shiranui's ample bosom regardless of a player's fighting-game allegiance". GameDaily discussed her in their 2007 article "Boobs Through the Years", stating that "when it comes to 2-D breasts, no character tops Mai Shiranui". In 2011, Ross Lincoln of GameFront ranked her bust as the fifth-best in gaming history, Rich Shivener of Joystick Division ranked her first in his list of "incredible chests" in video games, and NetEase's Game Channel placed her among top ten busty game heroines. In 2012, Mai's breasts placed first and second in similar lists by French edition of Tom's Games and by Drea Avellan of "Complex", respectively, while Zachary Miller of Nintendo World Report ranked Mai as his third-favourite "chesty heroine" on Nintendo systems, calling her "arguably the queen of gaming cleavage". Ranking Mai as the 23rd-most dominant fighting game character in 2012, "Complex" noted she is "mostly known for having the most ridiculous pair of baby feeders in gaming history. She still moves faster than the wind and puts up a good fight with those things". The magazine's Rich Knight commented: "Mai Shiranui is the queen mother of outlandish bouncing breasts. She was the first animated babe to really have them featured in a game and is still considered by many to be the female game character all bouncing breasts are judged off of". French "Retropolis" placed Mai and her "heavy artillery" third in a 2013 ranking of the sexiest fighting-game girls that was judged on their busts. ChinaByte stated in 2015: "If you want to count down the TOP10 busty action heroines, Mai Shiranui is certainly among the best".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Korean website GameMeca pointed out to Mai's "breathtaking" kunoichi costume as the main reason for her lasting popularity. Chinese edition of "FHM" placed her on the cover in 2008. In 2010, Mai topped machinima.com's list of "gaming's top cleavagey characters" and "PLAY" placed her third in its list of top "side-boobs" in games. Craig Skistimas of "ScrewAttack's Top 10" rated Mai's "Everyone-Pleaser" costume from the original "Fatal Fury" the second-"sexiest outfit" in 2011, and it placed third in a similar list by ZoominGames in 2012. Role-playing video game designer Brian Mitsoda imagined ""Continue?", a little joint on the Sunset Strip where the game development crowd goes to get away from the public" with "ninja bartenders passing along a mix of vodka and spree to the waitress in the Mai Shiranui outfit". MSN commented in 2009: "There is no denying the fact that most gamers know of Mai Shiranui ... The developers may have created a character that will upset every feminist out there, but the guys ain't complaining".


title: Mai Shiranui

text: However, some have commented negatively about the perceived sexualization of the character. Heavy.com described Mai as "notable for having one of the sluttiest costumes in video game history". In citing Mai and "Dead or Alive" characters Kasumi and Ayane as "the 'fan favourite' lady ninjas", Kotaku's Matthew S. Burns said: "Why are the costume designs for female ninja often so...fanservicey? A lot of [game] creators seem to feel that female ninja are ok to treat as sex objects". Chris Heyward of "SNES N-Force" commented in his 1994 review of "Fatal Fury 2": "Unfortunately ... Mai Shiranui's boobs are the only interest in this game. And it's not just me; everyone who had a go retorted, 'What a crap game...nice pair though'". Lyle Masaki of "NewNowNext" said in 2008: "Fighting games have a long history of sexualizing female characters (remember Mai Shiranui's 'Me Bouncy!' victory cry?), but the same doesn't happen as often with the male characters". Chris Jager of "PC World" remarked in 2010: "How she manages to stay upright with those things grafted to her chest—let alone engage in martial arts—is a mystery for the ages". Comic book artist Adam Warren drew a picture of his own character Emp cosplaying as Mai Shiranui; the drawing shows the character saying: "This goofy costume would be even more "potentially mortifying" that my own stupid supersuit!" and declaring her "sincerest sympathies" for Mai.


title: Mai Shiranui

text: Masahiro Sakurai, director of Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros." series, said that Mai Shiranui was not included in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" along with the other SNK characters, implying in his speech that the character's design was too suggestive to enter the game due to the rating board of Japan called CERO and how he wanted to maintain the rating on a lower scale instead of having to change the entire character.