MenaRD Reaches Topanga Championship 7 Finals in Debut Appearance

With the conclusion of the Topanga Championship 7 Advanced Stage, the first six players for the tournament's final stage have now been decided, with one last qualification spot to be determined in a tiebreaker next week.

This year's Topanga Championship saw players progress through open qualifiers, the Beginning Stage, and the Advanced Stage before reaching the finals.

The final stage will feature seven players competing in a round-robin format, with all matches played as first-to-seven (FT7).

So far, Shuto, Ryukichi, MenaRD, Hibiki, Shigematsu, and Fuudo have all secured their places in the final stage. The seventh and final spot will be decided in a tiebreaker between the fourth-place finishers from each Advanced Stage group, Higuchi and Mizuha.

MenaRD made his Topanga Championship debut this year and advanced through the Beginning Stage with a record of four wins and four losses. He followed that up with a 6-2 record in the Advanced Stage, finishing second in his group behind Shuto to qualify for the finals.

MenaRD has stated from the outset that his goal is to defeat Fuudo in a long set, and he will now get that opportunity in the final stage. Fuudo has had the upper hand in the matchup so far, defeating MenaRD twice, with both victories coming at Capcom Cup.

MenaRD's only Street Fighter 6 victory over Fuudo came at a Capcom Pro Tour event in France in 2023, shortly after the game's release, when the competitive meta was still in its infancy.

The final stage will begin on August 21 and take place offline over two days.

If MenaRD goes on to win the tournament, he would become the first non-Japanese player to win the Topanga Championship title.