24 prominent players are ready to treat the whole community to awesome fights
Capcom Pro Tour 2020 has a very special role - these events became an essential step to keeping Street Fighter esports alive in super difficult times of global pandemic. And of course, it’s a powerful entertainment for so many people who had a chance to regularly enjoy regional qualifiers throughout the year. It was planned to end CPT with the offline event Capcom Cup 2020, but alas, the same pandemic has forced the organizer to change their plans. On February 20-21, we’ll be able to enjoy the online Capcom Pro Tour 2020 Season Final.
And you know what? Let’s look on the bright side! Yep, we’ll not be able to see tough fights for the cup. But we will have beautiful Street Fighter from exceptional players who can feel a bit more relaxed and demonstrate spectacular style with potentially some risky tricks.
The Capcom Pro Tour 2020 Season Final will consist of 12 regional matches. 20 of the participants qualified for Capcom Cup 2020 and four have been invited. In this article, you’ll find info on all the matches.
We at DashFight contacted the players, so you have a unique chance to check out their comments on the upcoming event.
Oceania - Rumours vs Somniac
These guys had quite a fight at CPT Australia. Yuvin "Rumours" Manadeniya (Genuine Gaming) had a successful run in the Winners Brackets while Xavier "Somniac" Nardella (Dark Sided) made it to the Grand Final through the Losers Bracket. Rumours won the tournament only in the Grand Final Reset. Can Somniac change the outcome this time?
China - Jiewa vs VXBao
Xijie "Jiewa" Zeng (Invictus Gaming) was unstoppable at CPT China - all the opponents were defeated, including Yanxin "VXBao" Luo (ALUS) in the Grand Final.
VXBao says:
I think I am so lucky to participate in this event. I will try my best and show all my advanced skills to everyone. With the Capcom Cup canceled, this event is the best way to deal with a situation like this. I would enjoy it as a viewer. AngryBird vs BigBird is a super interesting match for me, I would like to know who is the strongest BIRD in the world. I always practice with Jiewa, so I feel no pressure for this matchup. As a fighting games player, you need confidence if you want to win. So I feel confident about winning this match. If I had a choice, I would also like to play against Xian. In fact. I’m looking forward to playing against him in a tournament. South America - Pikoro vs Lexe
Gonzalo "Pikoro" Buleje is the winner of CPT South America 1. At that event, he played against Alexandro "Lexe" Rodrigues (Shodown Gaming) and won to proceed to the Grand Final against Pupillo. Lexe was qualified to Capcom Cup 2020 later, at CPT South America 2.
Pikoro says:
The new event format influenced my preparation strategy a lot, since the gameplay changes when it is online and even worse when your rival is from a distant country. This hurts because you study footsies, setups, etc... But when you want to run your training, due to the netcode, it cannot be carried out according to what you had thought. This time it was my turn to play with 1 lag line, but that's what it is. I do not feel under pressure. I stopped competing against my South American brothers a long time ago, since my goal is for the LATAM scene to grow, and everyone knows that there is a level. Today my competition is the USA, Japan, and Europe. Lexe says:
Eu treinei com Bisons players aqui do Brasil, estou confiante na match up e espero ter uma boa conexão online com ele e conseguir desenvolver o que treinei, não sinto pressão porém levarei esse match muito a sério. Outra dupla que estou ansioso para assistir é o confronto entre Gachikun e Daigo. English translation:
I trained with Bison players here in Brazil, I am confident in the matchup, and I hope to have a good online connection with him and to be able to perform what I trained. I do not feel the pressure, but I will take this match very seriously. Another duo I'm looking forward to watching is the fight between Gachikun and Daigo. Europe - Luffy vs Phenom
The Street Fighter community voted to see Olivier "Luffy" Hay (GamersOrigin) playing at Capcom Cup 2020. Arman "Phenom" Hanjani (Nordavind) is the winner of CPT Europe & Middle East 1. He defeated AngryBird and Big Bird, who will also play at the Season Final.
Luffy says:
Yes, the new format definitely affected my preparation strategy, as I was training for my upcoming group, I had to play against different players and characters, in a round robin, then in a bracket. Then it changed into a single showmatch, so of course, it would put the motivation down a bit, as we were speaking about Capcom Cup, which is the pinnacle of the competition for any Street Fighter V player. Still, I would enjoy the event as a stream viewer. The showmatch cards are good and interesting to watch. I'm interested in seeing who is gonna win in the match Infexious vs Takamura. I do feel the pressure as we didn't have many tournaments this year, we don't play matches with stakes often nowadays. But I don't feel confident, Phenom can beat me as much as I can beat him. We also play online, and we know that Fighting Games are meant to play offline! If I had a chance to select my opponent? Oh easy one, I would choose Big Bird as it would give me a free win :) North America East - DR Mandrake vs CJ Truth
Yoryi "DR Mandrake" Bueno won CPT NA East 1. In the Winners Semi-Final, the player defeated iDom, the Capcom Cup 2019 champion. The Grand Final was against MetroM, who defeated CJ Truth in the Losers Quarter-Final. Chris "CJ Truth" Jayson demonstrated brilliant performance during Street Fighter League Pro-US - his team, Alpha 3 is the best.
North America West - Nephew vs Samurai
Alan "Nephew" Sun is also from the team Alpha 3 (with SJ Truth), and it’s a great experience to watch his SF League matches. Miky "Samurai" Chea (GamerFinger) is part of NASR, the second top team of Street Fighter League Season 3. In a tight fight against Alex Mayers, Samurai won CPT NA West 2. It was his chance after the loss to Nephew at CPT NA West 1.
Nephew says:
Since I was originally preparing for the four players in my Capcom Cup group and studying those matchups and players, I needed to shift that over to Samurai instead. It definitely did hurt my motivation; originally I would be fighting for the title of world champion, and here that's not on the table. Despite that, I'll still prepare as much as I possibly can. I would and still will enjoy the event as a stream viewer when watching the other matches. I always enjoy watching high-level, high-stakes matches, and in this case, players have had time to study their opponent, which should make the matches even more interesting. I feel pressure because there aren't many chances this year to really win something and show off how strong of a player I am. I am confident though in my play as I've been practicing well for this match and I've beaten him in high-stakes situations in the past. There's no one else I would have a playable connection with, but if hypothetically we could have the match offline, I would've wanted to play iDom. He's someone I've struggled with in the past, and I've only ever gotten one win on him in tournaments. Since he was in my group, I studied the matchup really hard and wanted to see if the strategy I came up with would've worked. Samurai says:
The new format made it a lot easier since the only person I had to study/prepare for was Nephew. I would and wouldn’t enjoy the event as a stream viewer. Yes, because we still get to see high-level matches. No, because we don't get to see multiple high-level matches. Still, I'm curious to see all other matches (especially the international competition). I don't really think about the pressure of the match against Nephew. I just think about focusing on my strategy and executing my game plan. Focusing on those things gives me confidence. If I had a chance to choose my opponent? To be honest, I would fight anyone (especially any international players). My family will probably be watching. Their support is always helpful (regardless if they watch or not). I'm lucky to have their support. Central America - Caba vs MenaRD
These guys also played in Street Fighter League Pro-US Season 3. Cristopher "Caba" Rodriguez (Bandits) was in the team Psycho Shinobi (with Xian and HotDog29). Saul Leonardo "MenaRD" Mena (Bandits) was in the team Dynamite (with Smug and GamerBee). Caba defeated MenaRD at CPT Central America 1 and became the champion of that event. MenaRD had a victory later, at CPT Central America 2 (and of course, this player is the champion of Capcom Cup 2017).
Europe and Middle East - AngryBird vs Big Bird
They are members of the same team NASR in Street Fighter League Pro-US, but still, they have quite a history of fighting against each other. Amjad "AngryBird" Alshalabi (NASR) is even an MVP of the whole League! Both of them were defeated by Phenom at CPT Europe & Middle East 1. AngryBird won the Winners Final against Adel "Big Bird" Anouche (NASR and Red Bull) at CPT Europe & Middle East 2 and then defeated Duwactik.
Asia South East - SKZ vs Xian
Niel "SKZ" Chong is the winner of CPT Asia South East 1. At that tournament, Kun Xian Ho (Razer) fell into the Losers Brackets after the initial pools and couldn’t make it to the Grand Final. He celebrated victory later, at CPT Asia South East 2. Recently, these players have a lot of opportunities to learn each other’s style - both played in Street Fighter League Pro-US. SKZ was in the team All-In (with iDom and 801Strider). The team of Xian was (Psycho Shinobi).
SKZ says:
I have always enjoyed watching high-level matches and would definitely enjoy being a viewer of CPT Season Final. The most interesting match for me is Daigo vs Gachikun. I do feel the pressure of the upcoming match against Xian. He has had more practice throughout the year in the mirror. As a Seth user myself, it requires good muscle memory to punish a lot of Seth's moves. Coupled with that, I have never beaten him in a tournament setting before. I wouldn't say I am at my most confident. However, I could have said the same compared to any of the other Capcom Cup participants. Having had too long a history with Xian in fighting games, he simply understands me too well.
I also would like to play against Daigo. It will be another check off my bucket list to play against the GOAT of fighting games in the biggest tournament every year. Europe West - Takamura vs Infexious
Houmaid "Takamura" Rabie won CPT Europe West 1 after defeating Problem-X and Hurricane. DC "Infexious" Coleman (Team Beast) left that tournament after losing in Losers Round 1 (Top 8). He got his victory at CPT Europe West 2.
Takamura says:
Yes, the new format affected my preparation strategy. I was preparing for my group and for the final bracket. Now I only have one opponent to focus on. I am happy that the event can still happen, despite the fact it is online. I will watch the whole exhibition because all matches look exciting. It's also one of the rare occasions to watch international performance since the beginning of the pandemic. I would say Phenom versus Luffy is the most interesting match for me. They know each other very well, and I'm curious to see how they prepared. Infexious is very good at reading and adapting to all situations. I hope my strategy will work against him. If I could choose, I would still play Infexious or would select Gachikun. They're both very strong and have a good playstyle. North America East - iDom vs Smug
Derek "iDom" Ruffin is the champion of Capcom Cup 2019, and instead of fighting for the next title, he will have a showmatch against Bryant "Smug" Huggins (Rise). Smug won CPT North America East 2. He defeated CJ Truth in the Winners Semi-Final and Shine in the Winners Final and Grand Final.
iDom says:
The changes to the tournament format did impact the way I practiced since I only had to play one person. I spent all my time just preparing for Smug. The match I am most interested in is Takamura vs Infexious, because we haven't seen Infexious play a lot due to Covid, and he has one of the best ways to play the game in my opinion. I want to also see if Takamura has a way to crack the machine's defense. If I could play anyone participating in this event besides my opponent, I would want to play Gachikun, because I think of all my time going to tournaments and traveling, I have never played him before, and I really like watching his Rashid. Asia East - Daigo vs Gachikun
Two Japanese titans will have another fight. Daigo Umehara (Team Beast, Red Bull) is an absolute legend, and watching his matches is pure fighting esports joy. Daigo won CPT East Asia 1 after defeating Tokido in the Winners Semi-Final, Verloren in the Winner Final, and Fuudo in the Grand Final. At that event, Tsunehiro "Gachikun" Kanamori (Red Bull) lost to Ryusei twice in the starting pools. Then, Gachikun won CPT East Asia 2 after defeating Tokido and Momochi in the Top 8 Brackets. Also, this player is a member of the team Nemo Aurora, and they won the Grand Final of Street Fighter League Pro-JP.
Watch matches of Capcom Pro Tour 2020 Season Final on the Capcom Fighter YouTube or Twitch Channels.
WOW! Capcom Pro Tour Season Final is going to be an amazing fighting esports show! What do you think? Which match is the most interesting personally for you? Please, let us know on DashFight Forum, Facebook, Twitter, or Discord!
T8
MK1
SF6
GBVSR
Project L
SSBU
T7
DBFZ
BH
GGST
SC6
SG2E
KI
MVS
KoFXV
MBTL
SF5
MK11
