Hello World Warriors!
Although there were two different Capcom Pro Tour Ranking Tournaments in two very different parts of the world this past weekend, there was one constant that was shared between both events: insane competition!
Jeju Island, Korea, played home to one of the fiercest events in which the strongest players in Asia met for the chance at winning the first ever Café ID Global Tournament. Top Street Fighter players in the region such as Zhuojun “Xiao Hai” Zeng, Bruce “Gamerbee” Hsiang, Keita “Fuudo” Ai, Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi, and Kenryo “Mago” Hayashi, amongst other all battled it out for 1st place, but it was ultimately Mago who left with top honors. This tournament was filled with many high level matches and surprising results; particularly the ninth place finish of 2012 Capcom Cup Champion Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee.
The second, yet equally impressive event that happened during the same weekend was the 3rd annual Hypespotting tournament which took place in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Although the usual suspects from the U.K. scene such as FRXVII Champion Ryan “Prodigal Son” Heart and Femi “F-word” Ade made it into the final rounds of the tournament, it was Valentin “Valmaster” Petit and Dominic “OverMostHeads” Capuvanno who stole the show with their placings of 1st and 3rd respectively. As this was the first time Valmaster has played in an event outside of France, and the first time OverMostHeads has entered a live event, a round of applause goes out to them and their amazing performance.
Eight New Events
Keeping up the hype of the tour season, we are happy to announce the inclusion of 8 more events around the world into the official ranking point system:
-
Northwest Majors
- May 3-4
- Seattle, WA, USA
-
Hypemania 2014
- May 3-4
- Culiacan Sinaloa, Mexico
-
Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 10
- May 23-25
- Chicago, IL, USA
-
Dreamhack Summer
- Jun 14-17
- Jönköping, Sweden
-
Dreamhack Valencia
- Jul 17-20
- Valencia, Spain
-
Shadowloo Showdown V
- Aug 29-31
- Melbourne, Australia
-
Dreamhack Stockholm
- Sep 26-27
- Stockholm, Sweden
-
Red Fight District III
- Oct 11-12
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
These events will be classified as official Ranking Tournaments for the CPT, and the top 16 competitors at each event will receive Tier 2 ranking points. It’s our goal to provide as many opportunities as possible to the various Street Fighter communities around the world to qualify for the year-end Capcom Cup, so expect more ranking events to be announced in the near future!
On the standings front of the tour, there has been quite a shuffle in the rankings as the results of more events start to come in. The season has is still young however so expect many more changes before the year is up.
This Weeks’ Top 7
1. Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart – 320 Points
Ryan cemented his spot at the Capcom Cup with his win at Final Round, but also pulls ahead in the rankings with a strong performance at Hypespotting this past weekend. Will anyone be able to dethrone the current king?
2. Kenneth “K-Brad” Bradley – 130 Points
While not playing in any of the tournament action this past weekend, K-Brad’s results at SCR and FR were good enough to keep him tied for 2nd place. This won’t last for long though as the rest of the field is starting to catch up.
2. Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee – 130 Points
A disappointing performance at the Café ID Global Tournament in his home country must have stung for Infiltration, but look for this past EVO champ to bounce back quickly at his next event. He debuted his pocket Chun-Li on the big stage at SCR. Will we see more of that in the coming months?
4. Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez – 129 Points
Eduardo also had a quiet weekend on the CPT front, but his consistent play as of late have many people considering him to be the best player in the US right now. Look for him to make a big splash at the next big event.
5. Kenryo “Mago” Hayashi – 128 Points
Mago went through a gauntlet of top players to claim 1st place at the Café ID Global Tournament, defeating his Mad Catz teammate, Tokido, in the process. A big tournament win was a long time coming for Mago, so it will be interesting to see what his new found confidence does for his track record moving forward.
5. Valentin “Valmaster” Petit – 128 Points
Relatively unknown on the global competitive scene, Valmaster used Chun-Li to soundly defeat Ryan Hart at Hypespotting this past weekend. If he continues that level of play throughout the year you can be sure a lot more people will start to know his name. Definitely a player to look out for.
7. Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi – 64 Points
The “Murderface” was unable to close out the Café ID Global Tournament against his teammate, Mago, but he still gained a good amount of ranking points for his efforts. Expect him to rise quickly in the standings as he travels around the world for events.