Singapore Offline CPT: 19-Year-Old A.K.I. Player Breaks out of Pools

The Singapore offline Capcom Pro Tour tournament is underway and with such a stacked tournament, it was always a given that we would witness a bloodbath as notable names are cast out of the running by fearsome opponents.

One of the other blessings of such a tournament is that we get to see names that we might not have been familiar with start to stake a claim. One of these players was Hikaru, a 19-year-old Japanese prodigy who is of the class of EndingWalker and Zhen who are part of a batch of a new generation of Street Fighter players. 

Another thing that sets Hikaru apart is his character, A.K.I. The new character hasn't proved to be a popular pick for most players, so while there was a lot of hype around her release due to her design and affiliation with F.A.N.G. she hasn't seen much representation at the top level. 

Hikaru is the number 1 A.K.I. in the world and is dedicated to the character. So impressive has he been that he has managed to get out of one of the toughest tournaments in the history of Street Fighter 6. Only one of his matches was shown on stream, but it was a great watch as he defeated one of the UAE's strongest players, NeeDLess. 

Hikaru's use of A.K.I. is really impressive and he showed this against NeeDLess, utilizing her anti-airs and pressure sequences really well. 

Hikaru had to defeat Plaster King (who later eliminated Mago), Zweii and finally NeeDLess and is now in top 64 on Winners'side waiting for whoever is going to join him. He will be back in action tomorrow to see if he can go even further in the tournament. 

So far, MenaRD, Daigo, and Tokido have made it out of pools and the top 64 looks like it will be a treat.