One of Japan’s best claims the most prestigious Street Fighter trophy in the world on home soil.
Another year, another FGC millionaire is made as Japan’s Kakeru is crowned the Capcom Cup 11 champion and the strongest Street Fighter 6 player in the world.
Forty-eight of the best Street Fighter players from around the world arrived at the Ryogoku Kokugikan arena in Tokyo, Japan. It was then four days of intense action and crazy upsets to see who earned the right to move on.
Many of the tournament favorites fell by the wayside such as Victor “Punk” Woodley and Christopher “Caba” Rodriguez. However, there were some real shining lights in the group stage such as Derek Blaz. The Chilean Shoto master tore through his group, going undefeated in matches and attracting a lot of eyes.
Kakeru also excelled in the group stages, losing only one match to Evo Hall of Famer Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi. He and Blaz first faced each other in winners quarterfinals but it already seemed they were destined to fight over who would become Capcom Cup 11 champion. Kakeru would sweep Blaz 3-0 and he would continue that streak all the way to grand finals.
Meanwhile, Blaz would make a monstrous run through the losers’ bracket. He would take down killers such as Shuto Matsumoto and Evo champion Amjad “AngryBird” Al-Shalabi on his way to his revenge match against Kakeru.
Despite all the momentum Blaz gained, Kakeru played like a man hungry for that million dollars. It would be Kakeru who would claim the title of Capcom Cup 11 champion and the million-dollar grand prize.
A Good Day for Japan
Kakeru also wasn’t the only Japanese champion getting crowned last weekend. The day after Capcom Cup, Japan’s Good 8 Squad would triumph over America’s FlyQuest to claim the Street Fighter League World Championship.
It was a close grand finals until it wasn’t, with both teams taking two matches at 2-1. Match three however was a clean 3-0 sweep for Japan, proving that they’re still the top dogs when it comes to Street Fighter.
Banner photo from Kakeru.