Punk, Big Bird Among Pros Critical of Street Fighter 6's Yasmine

A couple of days have now passed since the Season 4 balance patch for Street Fighter 6 was released alongside the first DLC character of the season, Yasmine.

The first Filipino fighter in Street Fighter was initially expected to be a rushdown monster with several mix-up options to pressure opponents. However, the first impressions from pro players and the wider community have started to emerge, and the early consensus appears to be that Yasmine is somewhat underwhelming.

There was already some dissatisfaction surrounding the Season 4 character lineup, with some players disappointed that it featured no returning fighters. Instead, the season includes three original characters and one guest character.

The most prominent criticism came from Punk, who spent some time playing Yasmine and was left thoroughly underwhelmed. He said:

"Yasmine is imo the worst and most boring DLC character SF6 has dropped so far. Feels like they just forgot half the stuff to complete the character and just made her halfway."

Punk's comments are particularly noteworthy because he used Yasmine during the latest Tampa Never Sleeps weekly tournament, where he finished in second place. That gave him plenty of time to explore the character. Other pros echoed his opinion, with Big Bird stating that Yasmine felt linear and lacked layers or depth.

Shine, a Kimberly player who had previously expressed plenty of excitement for Yasmine, also posted that it was disappointing given how much he had been looking forward to the character.

Across the wider community, opinions appear to be more divided. Some players enjoy her design and game plan, while others feel she simply isn't that fun to play.

It is still very early, as Yasmine has only been available for a few days and players have not had enough time to fully explore her potential. The situation is somewhat reminiscent of Mai, whom Punk initially predicted would be a mid-tier character before it became clear she was one of the strongest characters in the game.

For now, only time will tell how Yasmine ultimately fits into the Street Fighter 6 roster. In the meantime, players can also look forward to the remaining Season 4 characters, including Arjun, who is scheduled to arrive in fall 2026.