Though several big names in Street Fighter were at Capcom Cup 11, one of the most exciting competitors was 15 year old Blaz, someone who was able to take down some of the very best SF6 players in the world despite some of them being close to triple his age.
Considering that many of the best Street Fighter players of all time are still competing and are now in their 30s (or even 40s if you’re Daigo), breaking into the scene as a new player is exceptionally difficult and very intimidating.
Blaz, meanwhile, dominated a literal EVO winner in AngryBird, taking the Losers Semifinal match against him in 3-0 fashion. He did the same to Leshar, another Street Fighter legend, in the Loser’s Final.
And, though the Chilean prodigy wasn’t able to beat Kakeru in the Grand Finals, he has cemented himself as the man leading the next generation of Street Fighter pros.
Blaz takes home $100k after tense Grand Final
The Capcom Cup has the biggest Grand Prize in all of fighting games, putting $1 million up for grabs. And, with the second place prize being only $100k, the Grand Finals match was a $900k money match. Less than 15 minutes of gameplay determined who walked away almost a million dollars richer.
While Capcom’s prizing structure for the event has been a point of controversy in the community, even amongst pros like MenaRD, there’s no doubt that it makes for a hype Grand Final.
And, though Blaz didn’t win, he kept the competition. If he read Kakeru’s throw and broke it in the above clip, there’s a very good chance this match went to a 5th round.
Kakeru is also known as the ‘Perfect Parry Prince’, with his incredibly oppressive and poke heavy playstyle making him very hard to beat. Taking him down is a war of attrition, finding just the right opening in JP’s offense to swing the match in your favor.
And, though Blaz came closer than anyone else, he wasn’t able to beat Kakeru.
Despite this loss, Blaz’s story cements him as one of the best rookies in esports, especially considering the wall of legacy talent he had to bulldoze through to make it to finals.
As a player, the young phenom is known partially because of how involved his father is in his training, with the two of them VoD reviewing and working together to make him a better player. Considering he’s going back to Chile $100k richer, that effort has paid off.
Meanwhile, Kakeru’s win makes him the highest earning fighting game player of all time, with his total lifetime winnings amounting to almost $1.5 million dollars.
