Hundreds of players around the world competed in the Capcom Pro Tour this year, but only 32 players have qualified to take part in the season’s amazing finale at Capcom Cup 2015! Many of the world’s best players will be competing for a chance to win part of the $250,000 prize pool and the chance to be crowned Capcom Cup 2015 champion!
Here is an illustration of the incredible level of competition at this year’s Capcom Cup. Every Evolution (EVO) Champion for the last six years, since Street Fighter 4 made it’s EVO debut, have earned a qualifying spot at Capcom Cup 2015!
- 2009-2010 – MCZ|Daigo Umehara
- 2011 – RZR|Fuudo
- 2012 – RZR|Infiltration
- 2013 – RZR|Xian
- 2014 – MD|Luffy
- 2015 – EG|Momochi
Capcom Cup 2015 will be an event to remember, so be sure to come back here to watch the event live on December 6th. Here is a rundown of all 32 players who will be taking part at Capcom Cup 2015!
EG|Momochi – Yusuke Momochi (Japan)
Character(s): Ken, Juri, Evil Ryu
Qualification: Capcom Cup 2014
Ranking Points: 1,374
Bio: As the Capcom Cup 2014 Champion, EG|Momochi earned his qualification to Capcom Cup 2015 before the season even started. He didn’t rest on his laurels, however, as he placed well in several events and took 1st place at Evolution 2015! Momochi is a calm and calculating player with a tremendous capacity to adapt and counter the gameplan of his opponents.
Infiltration – Seonwoo Lee (Korea)
Character(s): Decapre, Chun-Li, Ryu, Elena, Akuma, Hakan, Abel, and pretty much any other character in the cast.
Qualification: Stunfest 2015
Ranking Points: 1,076
Bio: Infiltration is a former Evolution Champion, having won it in 2012. He has put in a lot of work this Capcom Pro Tour season, competing in many tournaments around the world and taking 1st place in many of them. He is without a doubt one of the elite of the elite, and what makes him stand out among all of his peers is the sheer number of characters he can play at a high level, giving him the most options to use a character that can counter the one used by his opponent. He will be a matchup nightmare for whomever he faces.
RB|Bonchan – Masato Takahashi (Japan)
Character(s): Sagat
Qualification: SoCal Regionals 2015
Ranking Points: 896
Bio: 2015 has been a tremendous year for RB|Bonchan. He has competed in and taken top 16 in a lot of Capcom Pro Tour events this year, and that hard work was rewarded with a sponsorship with Red Bull eSports. More recently he qualified for Capcom Cup by winning SoCal Regionals 2015. He followed that up the next week by winning another Premier Tournament, Ultra Hyakkishu Cup 2015 in Japan. Bonchan is another character loyalist, taking his Sagat to new levels. He has fantastic spacing and really knows when to go on offense with high damage combos or to back off a bit and throw a barrage of Tiger Shots.
RZR|Xian – Kun Xian Ho (Singapore)
Character(s): Gen, Poison
Qualification: Final Round 18
Ranking Points: 798
Bio: RZR|Xian narrowly missed winning Capcom Cup 2014, only losing to EG|Momochi in a thrilling Grand Finals. This year he earned his qualification early, winning the very first Premier Tournament of the 2015 season at Final Round 18. Xian is one of the rare top players who uses Gen as his main character, and he is arguably the best Gen player in the world right now. His ability to seamlessly switch Gen’s stances while attacking and retreating to keep opponents guessing makes him a dangerous opponent. He also uses Poison as a secondary character in certain matchup situations. He is also a former Evolution Champion, having won it in 2013.
AVM|GamerBee – Bruce Hsiang (Taiwan)
Character(s): Adon, Elena
Qualification: Evolution 2015
Ranking Points: 740
Bio: AVM|GamerBee is arguably the world’s best Adon players, with an ability to make split-second reads and make clutch plays. In recent years he started playing Elena as well, which helps tremendously when playing an opponent using a character that is a bad matchup for Adon.
MCZ|Tokido – Hajime Taniguchi (Japan)
Character(s): Akuma
Qualification: South East Asia Major (SEAM) 2015
Ranking Points: 700
Bio: Like his teammate Daigo Umehara, MCZ|Tokido is one of what are known in the fighting game community as one of the original 5 Japanese gods of Street Fighter. Before Street Fighter 4, Tokido was a Street Fighter III: Third Strike player of legendary skill and renown. Like many of his Japanese counterparts, Tokido honed his skills in the ultra-competitive arcades. His main character, Akuma, plays to his strengths. He is also playfully known as “Murder Face” because of the look of absolute seriousness on his face when he is playing.
RZR|Fuudo – Keita Ai (Japan)
Character(s): Fei Long
Qualification: KO Fighting Game Festival 2015
Ranking Points: 610
Bio: RZR|Fuudo is widely known as being one of the best Fei Long players in the world, perhaps sharing company with MCZ|Mago. He is a former Evolution Champion having won it in 2011. Last year he made it into the Capcom Cup by a pretty narrow margin, earning a spot by winning the very last qualifying event for the season, Dreamhack Winter 2014. This year he played in a lot of events, and made top 16 most times and narrowly missing top 16 on most of the others. He is a patient Fei Long player that waits for an opening, lunges in and inflicts massive damage while pushing his opponent all the way into the corner. He will be a fierce competitor at the Capcom Cup and will be one to watch.
MCZ|Mago – Kenryo Hayashi (Japan)
Character(s): Fei Long, Sagat, Yang
Quaification: Hypespotting 4
Ranking Points: 556
Bio: MCZ|Mago is one of the fighting game legends from Japanese arcades. Otherwise known as Mago “2DGOD”, he was known for being one of the world’s best Sagat players early on in Street Fighter 4 but switched to playing Fei Long a few years ago. In the last year or so he has added Yang to his roster, displaying his usual level of mastery for the character and using him exclusively in some events. He is a master of execution and reading opponents and will be a tough match for anyone who has to play against him.
MCZ|Daigo Umehara – Daigo Umehara (Japan)
Character(s): Evil Ryu, Ryu
Qualification: NorCal Regionals 2015
Ranking Points: 546
Bio: MCZ|Daigo Umehara, otherwise known as “The Beast”, is one of the most decorated players in Street Fighter history. He holds a Guinness World Record for being the most successful player in major tournaments for Street Fighter. He is one of the 5 original Japanese gods of Street Fighter and has been a top player going back to the Street Fighter 2 series. He has won several Evolution Championship titles including 2009 and 2010 for Street Fighter 4. In the early years of Street Fighter 4 he played Ryu, but in recent years has switched to Evil Ryu. He has every quality you could think of in a professional fighting game player. He’s calm regardless of the pressure, can read and adapt to opponents quickly, has tremendous execution and in a scramble he is likely to make that clutch play that makes the difference between victory and defeat.
Kazunoko – Ryota Inoue (Japan)
Character(s): Yun
Qualification: CEO 2015
Ranking Points: 512
Bio: Kazunoko has had an absolutely amazing year this Capcom Pro Tour season and has placed top 16 in a number of events, including a 1st place finish at CEO 2015 that earned him his Capcom Cup spot and a narrow 2nd place finish at SoCal Regionals 2015. He is without a doubt one of the world’s best Yun players. His execution, ability to strike high damage combos, and knack for making clutch plays makes him an incredibly tough player to beat.
Nemo – Naoki Nemoto (Japan)
Character(s): Rolento, Yang, Decapre, Chun-Li
Qualification: Hyakkishu Cup 2015
Ranking Points: 416
Bio: Nemo has one of the most smothering offenses in the game. He only temporarily backs off for short periods, to regain meter or to look for an opening, and then he leaps back into action with mix-ups to open his opponent up and then big combos to inflict damage. In this way he tends to want to take control of the match, making opponents react to him and not giving them time to think. He can play several characters at a very high level, but he has been using Rolento as his primary in recent years.
YBK|Dashio – Hiroshi Arai (Japan)
Character(s): Seth
Qualification: Mad Catz Tokyo Game Show 2015
Ranking Points: 258
Bio: Nobody saw YBK|Dashio coming at Mad Catz Tokyo Game Show 2015. His Seth is a bit unorthodox, which may leave opponents guessing as to what he’s going to do next. As any top Seth player needs to be, Dashio excels at mix-ups and inflicting high damage combos on his opponents with his high execution skills while being smart enough to know when to back off to avoid taking damage to his own low-health character.
Keoma – Keoma Moutsatsos Pacheco (Brazil)
Character(s): Abel
Qualification: Capcom Pro Tour Brazil
Ranking Points: 256
Bio: Keoma is one of the top players from Brazil, and his Abel is something to be feared by those who are matched up against him in the Capcom Cup. He has the patience, mix-ups and mind-games to get Abel into a position to strike, and then to use Abel’s ability to inflict high damage once he does so. He defeated Japanese top player Haitani in the Grand Finals of Capcom Pro Tour Brazil to earn his spot.
RZR|RB – Arubi Kao (Taiwan)
Character(s): Rolento, Guy, Hugo
Qualification: Milan Games Week 2015
Ranking Points: 71
Bio: RZR|RB had a pretty quiet Capcom Pro Tour season this year until he, and two of his team-mates RZR|Fuudo and RZR|Xian, swept the top 3 at Milan Games Week 2015 Premier Tournament. His Rolento is dangerous and unpredictable, and he will make a formidable opponent at Capcom Cup.
MD|Luffy – Olivier Hay (France)
Character(s): Rose
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 724
Bio: MD|Luffy has been considered one of the best players in Europe for several years, and this season he has put that on display. He has won most of the European events this Capcom Pro Tour season, so much so that spectators have started calling him Europe’s Gatekeeper. Luffy is a character specialist, which is becoming more and more rare among top players, as he uses Rose almost exclusively. He has a great ability to control the match to his favor, by standing back and using Soul Absorb against projectile users to gain meter and then go on the attack, or to use Rose’s mobility to hit and run. He is a former Evolution champion with a win in 2014.
RB|Snake Eyez – Darryl Lewis (USA)
Character(s): Zangief, Evil Ryu
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 440
Bio: RB|Snake Eyez is the second player, along with RB|Bonchan, to earn himself a sponsorship with Red Bull eSports this year and it’s no surprise. Snake Eyez has one of the best Zangiefs in the world, and has the ability to get victories even when facing some of Zangief’s worst matchups. He’s a very calm and patient player, sometimes taking a lot of damage as he closes in with an opponent inch by inch to get that one chance to inflict incredible damage in a few mix-ups. He has in the last year or so started playing Evil Ryu to help with some of his worst matchups, which will only make him more dangerous as a player.
Qanba Douyu|Xiao Hai – Zhuojun Zeng (China)
Character(s): Evil Ryu, Cammy
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 360
Bio: Qanba Douyu|Xiao Hai competed in a lot of events this Capcom Pro Tour season, and he placed top 8 in most of them. He seemed to have MCZ|Daigo Umehara’s number this year as well, beating him twice in Evil Ryu mirror matches. It’s obvious that Xiao Hai is putting in the work at all levels, and that hard work paid off with his earning a Capcom Cup spot. He has the ability to cause huge damage with Evil Ryu’s combos and has demonstrated that he can remain cool under pressure and make clutch plays. He has a very quiet demeanor but don’t let that fool you.
EG|Justin Wong – Justin Wong (USA)
Character(s): Rufus
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 310
Bio: EG|Justin Wong has a long and storied career in the fighting game community with many games and has been considered the top Street Fighter player in the USA for much of that career. There are a lot of attributes that make Justin such a good player. He has great execution and an ability to read opponents, knowing just the right time to go for that clutch reversal. He also never gives up, and is known for his ability to make incredible comebacks. Justin is an incredible player and will be one to watch out for during Capcom Cup 2015.
/r/Kappa|Poongko – Lee Chung Gon (Korea)
Character(s): Seth
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 308
Bio: /r/Kappa|Poongko has been one of the best Seth players in the world for years. As a top Seth player, he excels at mix-ups and inflicting huge combos on his opponents while at the same time keeping his own low-health character out of danger. As a Seth player, a good defense is a good offense. He has a lot of showmanship as well, sometimes tossing off his shirt during a set. When this happens, he has earned a nickname “Angry Poongko”. He is also sometimes nicknamed “the Machine” for his mix-ups and combos.
Itabashi Zangief (Itazan) – Hiromiki Kumada (Japan)
Character(s): Zangief, T-Hawk
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 296
Bio: Itabashi Zangief, sometimes called Itazan for short, is one of the best Zangief players in the world. Itazan is mostly a character loyalist, playing Zangief almost exclusively, although he has played as T-Hawk on occasion. As a Zangief specialist, he is remarkably patient and during bad matchups sometimes has to gain ground little by little just to get that one chance to inflict big damage. He is an incredible player with numerous top 16 finishes this Capcom Pro Tour season.
MF|Tonpy – Takenori Shimomura (Japan)
Character(s): C.Viper
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 280
Bio: MF|Tonpy doesn’t have much of a tournament record before 2015 but this year he came out strong for the Capcom Pro Tour. This year he took 1st place in Winter Clash and Manila Cup and top 16 in a number of other events. He’s a great C.Viper player with an aggressive style and good mix-ups. This year he has established a great track record for himself and now he will get a chance to earn the ultimate prize at Capcom Cup 2015.
Liquid|NuckleDu – Du Dang (USA)
Character(s): Guile, Decapre, Akuma
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 268
Bio: Liquid|NuckleDu is one of the best Guile players in the world, probably sharing that distinction with YOMI|Dieminion. He’s a very clinical player and uses Guile both for defensive zoning and for offensive pressure to great effect. He also is a very strong player with Decapre and Akuma, which helps him a lot with some of Guile’s bad matchups. He is one of USA’s best players this year and has everything it takes as a player to win Capcom Cup.
WFX|801Strider – Gustavo Romero (USA)
Character(s): Abel
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 238
Bio: WFX|801Strider has had an amazing Capcom Pro Tour season in 2015, taking top 8 in the majority of the events he has played in this year. He is a character loyalist and has played Abel all year, and his Abel is always exciting to watch! 801Strider can read and adapt to opponents quickly, has amazing footsies and mix-ups, and can make clutch plays to turn defeat into victory.
YOMI|Dieminion – Kevin Landon (USA)
Character(s): Guile, Juri
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 236
Bio: YOMI|Dieminion is one of the best Guile players in the world, arguably sharing that honor only with Liquid|NuckleDu. The main thing that sets Dieminion apart is that he’s a character loyalist, choosing to play Guile almost exclusively, having only used Juri in one Capcom Pro Tour event. He plays Guile regardless of the matchup and he brings an aggressive style to the character that is all his own. He seems to be at home regardless of position, even when backed up in the corner. He will be incredibly exciting to watch as he makes a run for a Capcom Cup win!
Dark Jiewa – Xijie Zeng (China)
Character(s): Ken
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 207
Bio: China’s Dark Jiewa has had a great year in the Capcom Pro Tour and he started it by taking 1st place in one of year’s first events, Abuget Cup 2015. He has taken top 8 or 16 in many events this year. His Ken is very unpredictable and dangerous, as he is not afraid to go for that reversal Dragon Punch after a knockdown. He’s not afraid to take chances and that makes him an exciting player to watch and a big problem for anybody who he faces.
CCG|HumanBomb – Jonny Lai Cheng (Hong Kong)
Character(s): Sakura
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 203
Bio: CCG|HumanBomb has had a great year in the Capcom Pro Tour and has had high placements in multiple events. He is a character loyalist and it shows, as he uses Sakura’s good mobility and ability to inflict big combos to get wins. His spacing and execution are also top notch.
YBK|Shiro (Shirou) – Sanshiro Nagai (Japan)
Character(s): Abel
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 182
Bio: YBK|Shiro has been a longtime top Abel player. In recent interviews, WFX|801Strider credited him with being an inspiration to play Abel himself. Sometimes referred to affectionately as “Uncle Shiro”, he has been a longtime player at Japanese arcades. It is only in the last year or two that he has been regularly appearing in top 16 results at tournaments.
KIG|Problem X – Benjamin Simon (UK)
Character(s): C.Viper, Seth
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 178
Bio: If there was a player who has put in the work to get into Capcom Cup this year, it’s KIG|Problem X. He has taken part in a ton of events this year, both in Europe and abroad, and has finished somewhere within top 8 in most. His primary characters are C.Viper and Seth and uses them both to great effect. He also has used Zangief, Ryu, Yun, Sagat, Guile, M.Bison, and Cammy in the last year. He is a versatile player and will be a problem for whomever he faces.
RZR|Gackt – Ghim Kee Eng (Singapore)
Character(s): Fei Long, Ryu, Sagat, Evil Ryu
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 160
Bio: RZR|Gackt has been a top player in Asia for years. He hasn’t been active in the Capcom Pro Tour early in the season but finished strong with a 3rd place finish at FV Cup 2015 and 2nd place finishes at Saigon Cup 2015, Ze Fighting Game Championship, and CPTA Last Chance Qualifier 2015. His primary character is Fei Long but he has several secondary characters to help with matchups and he isn’t afraid to use them.
Valmaster – Valentin Petit (France)
Character(s): Chun-Li, Elena
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 148
Bio: If MD|Luffy is considered the top player out of Europe, Valmaster is arguably right on his heels. He has been very active in tournaments this year, taking part in many events both within the Capcom Pro Tour as well as others. He has played his long-time main character, Chun-Li, almost exclusively this year but he has been known to use Elena in the past. Chun-Li is a character with a lot of great buttons, and Valmaster has excellent footsies.
Misse – Kentaro Nakamura (Japan)
Character(s): Makoto
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 144
Bio: Misse is one of the best Makoto players in the world, and as such is a crowd favorite for tournament spectators. He hasn’t been really active in events until sometime last year, but was very active this year. He took 1st place in Taiwan Fighting Game Major 2015. Like any master Makoto player, Misse has exceptional spacing, uses his character to inflict high damage punishes, and has good mix-ups.
Qanba Douyu|Dakou – Haojun Su (China)
Character(s): Ken, Ryu, Cammy
Qualification: Ranking Points
Ranking Points: 140
Bio: Qanba Douyu|Dakou made it to Capcom Cup in the very last spot through a fortunate series of breaks at Dreamhack Winter! Don’t hold that against him, though, as he has played consistently well at many events this year. He earned enough Ranking Points to qualify for Capcom Cup and that speaks volumes. He plays a fierce Ken but also has also used Cammy and Ryu at some events this year.