Street Fighter League Japan Day 12 Recap

The final day of the first stage came with a lot of expectation and we weren't disappointed. With Team Hiroshima iXA down, there were still some futures to be resolved especially regarding the winners of last season, Good 8 Squad who have to win their match to qualify for the second stage. 

The matches set up for today were as follows:

• DetonatioN FocusMe vs. Cyclops Athlete Gaming

• Saishunkan Sol Kumamoto vs. FAV Gaming

• Shinobism Gaming vs. Good 8 Squad

DetonatioN FocusMe vs. Cyclops Athlete Gaming

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The first match was a delight thanks to how much was on the line. If DetonatioN FocusMe could win significantly, they would have a chance of qualification. This was improbable at the beginning when FocusMe lost their first 3 games. But a incredible run of wins really saw them start to climb up the table.

John Takeuchi was the first to come up. He had been in a spiral having had to use Jamie early on in the game and he was unable to get wins with the character. The release of Rashid coincided with an upturn in form and with more time with the character, he seems back to his best. Up against Kazunoko's Cammy, he was facing a daunting task. He won the first game, but then was pegged back by Kazunoko. In the decisive third game, he was able to clutch it and win. 

Things looked good and Nauman, who was next, was a game up against Go1. But, Go1 was not about to let his team lose 40-0, so he fought back and Nauman's heart was broken as he lost. This put everything on Fuudo who has been a bit hit and miss, but he is also without a doubt the most dangerous player on the team. The former Evo winner was against Fenritti who is the top ranked JP on CFN and that meant it was an arduous set. 

But, Fuudo is not an Evo winner for nothing and was phenomenal with his Dee Jay. He won the set 3-1 and took the match for his team. With 30 points on the board, DetonatioN FocusMe now had 140 points in total which put them above Nagoya Oja Body Star and Hiroshima Team iXA. But, they would have to wait for the match featuring Good 8 Squad to know their fate. 

Saishunkan Sol Kumamoto vs. FAV Gaming

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The second match was a fight for top spot. With 170 points, FAV Gaming would have to win 40-0 to take top spot from Gyogun who are on 205 points. However, Sainshunkan Sol Kumamoto on 195 points only needed 10 to be level with Gyogun. 

They sent out Sasamo first against Sako and while Sasamo was confident and played really well, the veteran and Japanese fighting game god got the win and put his team 10 points ahead. The next set featured Tokido and Nemo. Tokido's season has been impeccable with only one defeat all season. However, that defeat was to a JP and he was up against one of the best in the world. Tokido's fears were confirmed as Nemo got the win. 

The anchor was between two young stars in Shuto and Ryusei. Modern Marisa was out to play again, but Ryusei was more than up to the task. The JP man waited till the very end of the set to whip out JP's command grab and used it to win 3-1. This gave FAV Gaming 30 points and 200 points in total. 

Shinobism Gaming vs. Good 8 Squad

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The final match of the day was between Shinobism and Good 8Squad and was the one everyone was waiting for after DetonatioN FocusMe. Good 8 Squad won Street Fighter League Japan and also the World Championship with a stacked team of Pugera, Kawano, Gachikun, and Dogura. With Dogura now with Cyclops Athlete Gaming, he was replaced by Tachikawa. This great loss along with some poor form from Kawano and Gachikun meant that Good 8 Squad find themselves needing 20 points to make it into the second stage. 

The first set was between Pugera and Johnny. This seemed bad for Johnny as Manon is not particularly great against Dee Jay. But, Johnny mentioned that he has a good record against G8S and this turned out to be true as Johnny won the set. 

Next was Kawano whose form has not been great. He was up against Yamaguchi who was the winner of the 2nd World Warrior event and he got defeated pretty badly. 

This meant that everything was on the shoulder on the anchor spot. Gachikun stepped up which was a little surprising as Tachikawa has been the highest point scorer. On top of that, Gachikun has lost ton every Ken he has faced in the league, so against Fujimura who is insane with Ken, it was never going to be easy. 

But, Gachikun IS a Capcom Cup champion and was in great form for the first game which he won. But Fujimura fought back getting two games to leave Gachikun fighting for his team's tournament life. After a brief respite, Gachikun was back and with smart use of his level 2 super and keeping Fujimura in the corner, he was able to level the set. He then won the first round of the final game, but Fujimira leveled again, leading to a final game, final round. Gachikun was trapped in the corner, and Fujimura looked like he would keep him there, but Gachikun burst out and dealt some significant damage, but at the last moment, he threw out a spinning mixer which whiffed, it left Fujimura with a clear punish which finished the set and gave Shinobism the win.

This meant that G8S are out and will not be in the second stage. It also means that DetonatioN FocusMe will live to fight another day. 

The second stage of Street Fighter League Japan will begin on the 10th of October, 2023.