Go for Pro – Capcom Cup 2015
To cap off the end of a nine month qualifying circuit, the Capcom Cup 2015 has yet again come and gone this past Monday! The Capcom Cup pits 32 of the world’s best Street Fighter 4 players against one another in a double elimination extravaganza!
The pros were going all in for their chance to win the grand prize of $125,000 and clearly weren’t hiding any new tech or strategies, but with a tournament this stacked it was nigh impossible to predict a winner, and surprise upsets seemed inevitable. Quite possibly the biggest upset was witnessing last year’s Capcom Cup winner and EVO 2015 winner, Momochi, fall short very early on after winning his first match of the day.
The Grand Finals saw Kazunoko’s Yun who was on point all day, versus Mr EVO Moment 37 himself – ‘The Beast’ – Daigo Umehara and his Evil Ryu. Up to this point Kazunoko appeared to be Daigo’s kryptonite, taking the first match with confidence and making their last 11 matches all in his favour.
However in a true sign of perseverance and professionalism, Daigo proved that his patience and masterful execution are among the best in the world taking it to a fifth match and securing the very first round. It was then however that Kazunoko showed why he’s the Master of arguably the best rush down Yun in the world and dispatched the final two rounds in dominating fashion and thus securing his well earnt 1st place title!
This will most likely be the last hurrah of Street Fighter 4 with Capcom announcing that next year’s Capcom Cup will be Street Fighter 5 and have a total prize pool of $500,000! It breaks my heart a little to say goodbye to a game that is sincerely close to my heart, but looking onwards and upwards, there are many great battles to witness in the coming future and that makes me extremely happy.
This is worth a watch, then a re-watch and after that, invite some friends around and watch it yet again, check it out here:
And just to leave everyone on an even better note, it has been reported that Daigo Umehara has donated his $60,000 winnings from the Capcom Cup to the EVO Scholarship. Yep, every cent, here’s a direct quote from the legend himself:
“I would like to donate all my prize winnings from the Capcom Pro-Tour Finals to the community. It’s simply because I would not have existed without community and I owe you. My “professional” gamer life has given me such invaluable experiences. I get to give all myself to fight against top players around the world and meet and engage with fans across the globe. I can express myself through my gameplay to the audience, the community. Just as you need an opponent in fighting game, the community is equally important to me.
My pro-gaming life started with SFIV. The CPT Finals were to conclude one chapter of my life. I worked hard everyday. I grew a lot. I had so much fun in the process over the year. I felt fulfilled. Being content, I came to the finals. I was thinking that if I had had won any prizes, I would want to give it back to the community, which has supported me all these times. Not only was I able to win the prize, I was able to play my game and express myself. I had great matches, and I had a great fun.
I sincerely hope the money I donate will help the community thrive further. The stronger the community grows, the further my career expands, doesn’t it? That is not so bad. At least, it would be a much wiser and prudent investment than an Ume-Shoryu?!
I cannot express my gratitude to the community. But I would like to say that I’m looking forward to seeing you next year again. Hope you all have happy holidays.”
Did we really need another reason to love this guy even more? Daigo continues to be an amazing figurehead for the FGC eSport scene. Bring on SFV!
KI World Cup
Yep, much like the Capcom Cup, Microsoft and Iron Galaxy don’t want us to forget that this amazing game exists! With a $30,000 prize pool, the KI World Cup will be head at San Antonio over two days – 31st of January – 1st of February.
There has also been an announcement that full details on Season 3 and PC Release will be given during this event, as well as a whole host of new changes to the game!
Full details can be seen here: http://www.ultraarcade.com/killerinstinctworldcup/
Adam Rorke
