16-Year-Old Alex Player LikeTheSea Joins IBUSHIGIN

The youth arms race for Street Fighter 6 talent is well and truly underway in Japan.

One of the trends that is becoming more prevalent is the signing of younger players to teams that are also establishing youth divisions to create a pipeline of talent for the team.

The latest is a young player called ‘LikeTheSea’, who has now been announced as the latest addition to Fukushima-based team IBUSHIGIN.

‘LikeTheSea’ is a 16-year-old Alex player who is yet to make waves in the mainstream Street Fighter 6 scene, but has already made enough of an impression to catch the attention of IBUSHIGIN. He did climb to become the number one-ranked Alex in the world during the last MR phase, which is incredible at his age.

They made the announcement on social media with a video that showed LikeTheSea re-enacting several poses from Alex in SF6 as he was unveiled.

In recent times, teams such as REJECT, Crazy Raccoon, and others have signed youngsters to bolster their ranks. We’ve seen players like Hinao already graduate from the youth team into the main roster for REJECT, and there is hope that players like this could also use the same pathway to win a spot in Street Fighter League Japan. Alongside this, these players will also have opportunities to perform on the local and international scene, make a name for themselves, and earn a living.