Capcom Cup IX Day 3 Recap: We Have Our Top 16!

A pulsating 3-day Street Fighter fest is now at a conclusion, and we have our top 16 players. The final day of the group stages saw a lot of cheers, fears, and maybe even a few tears. However, we now have 16 of the very best players in the world poised to face off for some life-changing money in the finals of Capcom Cup.

Check out the final standings below. 

Group A Qualifiers

On day 2, Group A was looking finely poised as Takamura was on top with three wins, with iDom right behind with three wins and two defeats. But, knowing how tough Capcom Cup has been so far, it would have been silly to assume that things would stay the same. But, they sort of did as Takamura carried on his good form from day 2 to win both his matches against Veggey and Oil King to claim top spot with five straight wins. 

iDom would be the man to join Takamura as he defeated Veggey to advance. The match was an interesting one as we learned that Veggey had been practicing for iDom and was confident in his ability to beat the reigning Capcom Cup champion. His strategy was to play it slow and fight Poison from afar. He got in using his Bull Horn and pokes. But, this suited iDom as well, and he was happy to play keep-out with Poison's whip. In the very first round, Veggey was close to winning, but his plan unraveled, and iDom took the victory in both games.

Group B Qualifiers

Kawano suffered a surprising loss on day 2 to Younghou, which prompted talk that perhaps the Evo champion might find things difficult and that Younghou could make a big claim to fame. But it was not to be as Kawano dispelled the demons of day 2 and won his only game of the day which was against Doomsnake. Younghou for his part couldn't replicate his form and was downed by Justakid and Phenom who happily took second place.

Group C Qualifiers

Punk did not make it out.

One of the greatest Street Fighter V players ever, Punk came into the tournament as one of the favorites, but events just did not go his way. He was already on slim pickings entering day 3 and he needed two wins (preferably 2-0) to have a chance. So, when he came up against JabhiM, he hoped he would close it out. He won the first game, but JabhiM switched to Karin and once again showed why he is the best player in South Africa. He took a game from Punk, and while Punk would win the set, the damage had been done. JabhiM left without a single win, but he had made every single player he came up against bleed. 

Punk had one final chance to qualify, but he would have to beat Valmaster 2-0 which is a tough ask. He started well enough and took the first game. The camera cut to him briefly and it was clear that the multiple tournament winner was nervous. He needed a second win. But, Valmaster did not make it to UFA 2022 finals for kicks. Valmaster's ability to adjust has always been one of his biggest strengths and adjust he did. Punk tried, but Valmaster took the second game, effectively dashing Punk's hopes of qualification. At this point, the crestfallen Punk didn't even really give it his all in the third match as he was resigned to his fate. Sensing weakness, Valmaster capitalized and won the set joining the irrepressible VXBao in Top 16.

Group D Qualifiers

Endingwalker is definitely a prodigy, but if there is anything that Day 3 taught us, it is that he is also a clutch player. Facing Ren on Day 2, Endingwalker struggled with the South African's Ibuki but was able to clutch it out. He was required to do so again on Day 3 as Juninho-RAS pulled out his Ryu and gave Endingwalker the fight of his life. Unable to deal with Ryu's fireball game and strong fundamentals, it did look like Endingwalker would falter. But, he reorganized his strategy, and in a very tense final match, he got the win and consigned Juninho-RAS to defeat. 

Meanwhile, M.Lizard also had to show some steel while facing Bravery's Cammy. He was able to prevail, but not without some suffering. But at the end, he too joined Endingwalker in Top 16.

Group E Qualifiers

Group E was emotional mostly because of the young Kalmal09. The other Ed of the tournament had been very impressive and had caught the eye because he played using a keyboard. He had two important games on Day 3 one against VegaPatch and the other against NL. His match against VegaPatch was tense, but he showed great resilience to win, and one look at his face showed how much the win meant to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't win against NL and was therefore forced to watch VegaPatch against ROF, hoping the Spaniard would drop even a single match to put him in pole position to qualify. Unfortunately, it ended in heartbreak as VegaPatch won 2-0, and as the camera cut to a distraught Kalmal09, one got the feeling that this would sting for a bit. 

NL's record was not perfect, however, and he suffered a rather surprising defeat to Magnegro. But it didn't matter, and he's on winners' side of Top 16. 

Group F Qualifiers

Angrybird showed why he is easily the best Ken player in the world right now as he defeated Mister Crimson and ChrisCCH to cement his place in top spot and maintain his 100% record. The second spot was between Mister Crimson and ChrisCCH, but the former won his other match of the day, meaning that Chris had to bow out of the tournament.

Group G Qualifiers

Group G ended with heartbreak.

Before the LCQ, anyone who had a look at the groups would have singled out Momochi and Big Bird would be the two who qualified from their group. But this was before we met Zhen. The Chinese prodigy has been a revelation ever since he started kicking butt and taking names at the LCQ. Coming into the group, he defeated everyone, including Big Bird. To complete his clean sweep, he only needed to defeat Momochi. Momochi also really needed to win Zhen to give himself a bigger chance of emerging from the group. The stage was set, and Momochi started well. He took the first round, but as we have seen time and time again, Zhen has a knack of downloading opponents and coming back stronger. This was again the case, and while Momochi was able to win a game, Zhen won the set.

This was great news for Big Bird, who only needed to win against Mortsy and Mono to qualify, no mean feat, but certainly doable. Big Bird also had another advantage in that he only had to prepare for one match-up, F.A.N.G. Big Bird won against Mortsy, not without difficulty, but the problem was Mono. Big Bird decided on using Ken, and it worked a fair bit against Mortsy. Mono has so far had a Capcom Cup to forget, but with a chance at redemption, played the game of his life. Big Bird, also unwilling to give up, gave it his all. The game came down to the final game, final round, and final pixel. In a tense scramble, Mono was able to get the last hit and win the set. 

This ended Big Bird's dream, and he was clearly distraught. It is hoped that he bounces back from this in Street Fighter 6. 

Group H Qualifiers

The final group more or less went as it was expected. After defeating Samurai, Pugera only needed to defeat JimmY to make it out of the group behind Mena. He did that while Mena defeated Samurai in the Luke mirror to make it out of the group undefeated. 

With all the games finished, we can now look forward to top 16, which will take place on the 19th of February, 2023. Who do you think will win it? We have some tantalizing games ahead of us and we cannot wait to see how it unfolds.