The road to Runback City was paved with Minnesota roots and in this edition of Cultural Combos: On-Location, we caught up with Rick \"TheHadou\" Thiher; Event Director of Combo Breaker and General Manager of the Evolution Championship Series (EVO).
Before he was placed at the helm of some of the biggest live events in the FGC, Rick's background in marketing and design took him to some interesting places in like bass fishing tournaments, and managing partnerships at live-streaming powerhouse, Twitch.
We took a moment after CB 2026 was officially a wrap to talk shop about his journey in event operations, fighting games, and how design-focused thinking has allowed event merchandise to transcend beyond simple keepsakes to full-fledged collections and branded apparel. Beyond the brass tacks of doing business, there's a responsibility to the community at-large and honoring the rituals and understandings that are passed down; as the culture. The culture is reflected and seen in the fashions, the language, memes (plenty) and discourse surrounding and during the shows; beyond what happens on stream, but in the post-bracket lobby hangouts, or at the KBBQ grills.
This was one of our most-requested guests and was originally planned for CB 2025's Decade of Dedication, but there's the old adage of better late than never. Please enjoy our conversation with the man of Midwest dreams, behind the madness of two of the FGC's biggest shows.
For more than simply tournament announcements and calls to pre-register (please and thanks), keep up with Rick on socials for insights into music, travel, design and more:
Credits:
Audio Mixing and Post-Production: Jeremiah \"JP\" Robinson (@jpnomula)
Special Thanks:
Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center
Combo Breaker, LLC