Game | Fighting games Ultra Street Fighter IV Street Fighter V Street Fighter 6 |
---|---|
Founded | 2013 |
Founder | Capcom |
Country | United States |
Most recent champion(s) | Wang "UMA" Yuan-hao |
Qualification | Capcom Pro Tour |
Official website | capcomcup |
The Capcom Cup is an annual fighting game tournament specifically focused on the Street Fighter series. The event's first incarnation was in 2013 which featured Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition version 2012, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 , and Street Fighter X Tekken version 2013 as the three main games each with 8 qualifiers. [1] In 2014, Capcom Cup was an Ultra Street Fighter IV exclusive tournament with 16 qualifiers. The 2015 Capcom Cup was doubled to a 32-man format and was later increased to a 48-man format beginning with Capcom Cup IX in 2022–23. The series of qualifying events for the tournament are known as the Capcom Pro Tour and include many of the largest, most prestigious pre-existing fighting game tournaments such as Evolution Championship Series and DreamHack.
In 2013, Capcom started the Capcom Cup right after EVO 2013, with Ho "Xian" Kun Xian receiving a special invitation. [2] Capcom released qualifier dates to determine the seven remaining qualifiers. [3] Capcom created a poll to decide which players would make it into the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, with Nemo, Justin Wong, KaneBlueRiver, IFC Yipes, Abegen, NYChrisG, Filipino Champ, and MarlinPie being voted in. [4] For their Street Fighter X Tekken tournament, Capcom also gave special invites to Infiltration, Justin Wong, Alex Valle, and NuckleDu. The other four players were determined by two respective PlayStation Network and Xbox Live tournaments. [5]
Capcom Cup 2013 was hosted at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, California on December 14, 2013. There was some controversy regarding the EVO 2013 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 champion Job "Flocker" Figueroa being cut from the player lineup. In response, Capcom set up a First-To-Five exhibition match between EVO Champ Flocker, and the Capcom Cup 2013 champion. The victor of the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, NYChrisG faced off against Flocker and defeated him. There was also two exhibition matches for an early build of Ultra Street Fighter IV; the first being Eduardo "PR Balrog" Perez-Frangie against Alex Valle, and the second being Infiltration vs. Filipino Champ. [6]
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012 | |||||
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Place | Player | Alias | Character(s) | Qualification | |
1st | Naoto Sako | HORI|Sako | Evil Ryu | Treta Aftermath | |
2nd | Kun Xian Ho | DM.MCZ|Xian | Gen | Special Invite for winning EVO 2013 | |
3rd | Keita Ai | RZR|Fuudo | Fei Long | Capcom Cup Asia Finals | |
4th | Tatsuya Haitani | Haitani | Makoto | Tokyo Game Show 2013 | |
5th | Hajime Taniguchi | MCZ|Tokido | Akuma | Shadowloo Showdown 2013 | |
5th | Ghim Kee Eng | DM.MCZ|Gackt | Fei Long | Capcom Cup Asia Finals | |
7th | Christopher Gonzalez | AGE|NYChrisG | Sakura | The Fall Classic 2013 | |
7th | Alioune Camara | BCN-esports|Alioune | Cammy | Play Expo 2013 |
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Player | Alias | Character(s) | ||
1st | Christopher Gonzalez | AGE|NYChrisG | Morrigan/Doctor Doom/Vergil | ||
2nd | Michael Mendoza | EMP|IFC Yipes | Spencer/Vergil/Hawkeye, Dante/Vergil/Magneto, Wesker/Dante/Spencer | ||
3rd | Ryan Ramirez | coL|Filipino Champ | Magneto/Doctor Doom/Phoenix, Magneto/Dormammu/Doctor Doom | ||
4th | Naoki Nemoto | BE|Nemo | Nova/Doctor Strange/Spencer | ||
5th | Justin Wong | EG|Justin Wong | Wolverine/Storm/Akuma, Wolverine/Spencer/Frank West | ||
5th | Genki Abe | BE|Abegen | Tron/Thor/She-Hulk | ||
7th | Kyohei Lehr | BT|MarlinPie | C. Viper/Doctor Doom/Amaterasu | ||
7th | Nicolás González | BE|KaneBlueRiver | Hulk/Haggar/Sentinel |
Street Fighter X Tekken v2013 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Player | Alias | Character(s) | Qualification | |
1st | Seon-Woo Lee | Infiltration | Jin/Alisa | Special Invite | |
2nd | Dexter James | EMP|Tampa Bison | M. Bison/Rolento | Online Qualifier | |
3rd | Justin Wong | EG|Justin Wong | Hwoarang/Chun-Li | Special Invite | |
4th | Alex Valle | LU|Alex Valle | Yoshimitsu/Lars | Special Invite | |
5th | Du Dang | DSC.EMP|NuckleDu | Guile/Zangief | Special Invite | |
5th | Alexander Ramos | KS|Ramos | Vega/Cammy | Online Qualifier | |
7th | Garrett Palmer | THEZOMBIEDRIVER | Hwoarang/Nina | Online Qualifier | |
7th | Sareth Sok | KS.CORN|Sethlolol | Law/Kuma | Online Qualifier |
In 2014, Twitch and Capcom partnered up to create an Ultra Street Fighter IV circuit known as the Capcom Pro Tour. [7] Ten players would automatically qualify into the tournament and the other six would garner points. The Capcom Pro Tour featured a point system divided into four tiers. Tier 3 consists of six Online Tournaments, which are the lowest earning tournaments in the circuit. Tier 2 is for Ranking Tournaments, which are international tournaments that are mainly composed of players in a certain region. Tier 1 consists of nine Premier Tournaments. A player would automatically qualify upon winning the tournament or being the highest player who hasn't qualified. Evolution Tier consists of the Evolution Championship Series, which grants the player four times the points of a Premier Tournament and also gives the winner an automatic spot in the Capcom Cup. Capcom has removed Tier 3 (Online Tournaments) from the 2015 Capcom Pro Tour circuit. [8]
Capcom Cup 2014 was the conclusion of the Capcom Pro Tour in 2014. Capcom Cup 2014 was held at The Warfield in San Francisco, California on December 13, 2014. One notable appearance in the Capcom Cup was a Brazilian player named Eric "ChuChu" Moreira Silva, who qualified by garnering majority of his points from the online tournaments. [9] Another notable moment was Momochi's dominant performance; taking a set off of Snake Eyez, losing a set to Ryan Hart, then completely dominated everyone in the tournament. [10] There were also two exhibition matches for the Ultra Street Fighter IV Omega Mode, a mode which changes how every character plays. The main exhibition was Alex Valle vs. Ryan "Filipino Champ" Ramirez, and the secondary exhibition was Kelvin Jeon going up against Hooman "Hoodaman" Ghahremani. [11] Capcom also showed the first ever match of their upcoming game Street Fighter V with Twitch's Mike Ross using Ryu going up against Capcom's Peter "Combofiend" Rosas using Chun-Li. [12]
Capcom Cup 2015 was announced by Yoshinori Ono at Capcom Cup 2014. The tournament will use the same ruleset as the previous year. Capcom Pro Tour 2015 has a total pot bonus of $500,000 thanks to a partnership between Sony Computer Entertainment and Capcom. [13] The tournament has also been doubled from 16 qualifiers to 32. One of the spots was reserved for 2014's Capcom Cup champion, Yusuke Momochi. [14] In May, Capcom announced a new rule for the Capcom Pro Tour Premier events, stating that if the Top 4 players in a Capcom Pro Tour premier event have all qualified, Capcom will remove the automatic qualifying spot and add a new qualifying slot to the CPT Leaderboards. [15]
Capcom Cup 2015 was held December 6 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, coinciding with the PlayStation Experience conference. [16]
Capcom Cup 2016 is to be held in December 2016. 32 players will qualify for the tournament by winning one of the eleven Capcom Pro Tour Global Premier Events, Evo 2016, one of the four regional events, or by scoring high on the Points Leaderboards. Street Fighter V was released shortly before the start of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour and has replaced Ultra Street Fighter IV during this season.
Capcom Cup 2016 was held over December 2 and 3 of that year. The top 32 to top 8 portion of the tournament was held on December 2 at the esports Arena in Santa Ana, California, while the top 8 portion was held on December 3 at that year's PlayStation Experience at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The tournament was eventually won by NuckleDu, defeating Ricki Ortiz in the finale.
Capcom moved away from auto-qualification spots in Capcom Pro Tour 2017. This was done to simplify the Pro Tour, as confusion arose around the Global and Regional Leaderboards throughout the 2016 season. Capcom's Neidel "Haunts" Crisan also noted in November 2016 that CPT 2017 may host fewer events than the 2016 season. [17]
Saúl Antonio Mena "MenaRD" from the Dominican Republic, with only 17 years old, won the Capcom Cup 2017. He won 3-1 to Tokido from Japan. In his road to confront Tokido, he beat famous pro-player as Daigo The Beast, Nemo, Itazan and the previous Capcom Cup winner Xian. [18]
Capcom Cup 2018 was held in the Esports Arena in Las Vegas on December 14–16. The tournament began with a "Last Chance Qualifier" event, which filled the final spot of the 32-person Capcom Cup bracket. [19] The tournament's first prize was set to $250,000 USD. Capcom Cup 2018 was won by Kanamori "Gachikun" Tsunehiro, defeating Hiromiki "Itabashi Zangief" Kumada in the grand finals. No. 1 seed and Evo 2017 champion Taniguchi "Tokido" Hajime dropped out early during the tournament, alongside various other high-seeded players. [20]
Capcom Cup 2019 was held at The Novo in Los Angeles, California from December 13–15, 2019. Similar to the 2018 edition, the event began with a Last Chance Qualifier before going into tournament proper. The tournament was won by Derek "iDom" Ruffin after defeating Victor "Punk" Woodley in the grand finals. [21]
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a suspension to all offline events for the Capcom Pro Tours of 2020 and 2021. [22] All events during both seasons were held online and their respective Capcom Cups were cancelled and replaced by an online Season Final tournament in both seasons.
After over three years, the Capcom Cup made its return with Capcom Cup IX, the culmination of the Capcom Pro Tour 2022. The tournament took place at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles from February 14–19, 2023. The first prize for this tournament was decreased to $120,000. The tournament was won by Saul Leonardo "MenaRD" Mena II. [23]
The Capcom Cup X, much like IX, was held at Avalon Hollywood from February 21–25, 2024 as the culmination of the Capcom Pro Tour 2023. It was the first edition to be played in Street Fighter 6 and featured a prize pool worth over $2,000,000. It was preceded by the Last Chance Qualifier to fill in the final spot of the 48-person bracket. Capcom Cup X was won by Wang "UMA" Yuan-hao, who won the first prize of $1,000,000, the largest ever for a fighting game tournament. [24] [25]
Capcom Cup 11 will be held sometime in 2025 and will take place at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. The first prize is set to remain at $1,000,000. [26]
Daigo Umehara is a Japanese esports player and author who competes competitively at fighting video games. He specializes in 2D arcade fighting games, mainly those released by Capcom. Known as "Daigo" or "The Beast" in the West and "Umehara" or "Ume" in Japan, Daigo is one of the world's most famous Street Fighter players and is often considered its greatest. His longevity is seen as an incredibly rare thing in the world of competitive video games. He currently holds a world record of "the most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter" in the Guinness World Records and is a six time Evo Championship Series winner.
The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an American annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with Super Battle Opera, contestants travel from all over the world to participate, most notably from Japan. The first Evolution was originally held as a Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 2 tournament called the Battle by the Bay. It changed its name to Evo in 2002. Every successive tournament has seen an increase of attendees. It has been held at various venues across the Las Vegas Valley since 2005. As of 2021, the event is jointly owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment and the Endeavor esports venture RTS.
The fighting game community, often abbreviated to FGC, is a collective of video gamers who play fighting games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros., Tekken, Soulcalibur, Dead or Alive, Virtua Fighter and many others. The fighting game community started out small in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s referred to as the grassroots era, but it has grown to a larger scale in the 2010s, with many tournaments being held around the world. This is predominantly due to the rise of esports, online gaming, and digitized viewing habits on live streaming sites such as Twitch.
Christopher Gonzalez, also known as NYChrisG, is an American competitive gamer, specializing in fighting games. He is considered one of the top Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 players. He is also the EVO 2016 champion for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Lee Seon-woo, known as Infiltration, is a professional esports player from Seoul, South Korea, specializing in fighting games. Lee is a six-time Evolution Championship Series (EVO) champion; winning Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition v2012 in 2012, Street Fighter X Tekken in 2012 and 2013, Street Fighter V in 2016 and 2018 and Samurai Shodown in 2019.
Alex Valle, also known as CaliPower and Mr. Street Fighter, is a Peruvian-American fighting game tournament organizer and a retired professional fighting game player. Valle is mainly a Ryu specialist and is considered one of the most influential people within the fighting game community.
Yusuke Momochi, better known as Momochi, is a Japanese professional fighting game player, particularly of ones in the Street Fighter series by Capcom. Momochi won the Capcom Cup 2014 championship, as well as winning the EVO 2015 title for Ultra Street Fighter IV.
The Capcom Pro Tour is a series of international fighting game tournaments sponsored by video game developer Capcom. The Pro Tour culminates in the annual Capcom Cup, a single-day tournament held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Du Dang, more commonly known by his nickname NuckleDu, is an American fighting game player known for playing Guile and Decapre in Ultra Street Fighter IV, Guile and Zangief in Street Fighter X Tekken, and Guile and Rainbow Mika in Street Fighter V. NuckleDu was ranked as the 13th best player in Ultra Street Fighter IV by EventHubs, and was ranked at #19 in the previous year and #32 in 2013. In Street Fighter V, he was undeniably the most successful player in the latter half of Season 1.
Capcom Cup 2016 was a Street Fighter V video game tournament that was held in December 2016. 32 players qualified for the tournament by winning one of the eleven Capcom Pro Tour Global Premier Events, Evo 2016, one of the four regional events, and/or by scoring high on the game's leaderboards. Street Fighter V was released shortly before the start of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour, replacing Ultra Street Fighter IV from the previous season.
The Japan Cup was a Street Fighter V tournament held at the 2016 Tokyo Game Show On September 17, 2016. As a Premier Event of the Capcom Pro Tour, the winner of the event automatically qualified for the 2016 Capcom Cup. The tournament was won by GamerBee, who defeated Poongko in the finale.
Hajime Taniguchi, better known as Tokido, is a Japanese fighting game player who plays the King of Fighters and Street Fighter franchises. He is known for playing multiple fighting games on a competitive level in addition to Street Fighter, including Tekken, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and BlazBlue. Tokido is a three-time EVO champion, having won Capcom vs. SNK 2 in 2002 as well as winning Super Street Fighter II Turbo in 2007 and Street Fighter V ten years later. Tokido has had 28 Evolution top 8 finishes, having EVO medals in 12 different games across more than 20 years.
Canada Cup 2016 was a fighting game event that took place in Toronto, Canada, on October 28–30. The seventh incarnation of the Canada Cup hosted 14 tournaments: games that were played at the event ranged from Street Fighter II Turbo to The King of Fighters XIV. The Street Fighter V tournament held at Canada Cup 2016 was the last Premier Event of the 2016 Capcom Pro Tour: its champion NuckleDu automatically qualified to compete in the 2016 Capcom Cup.
The Canada Cup is an annual Canadian fighting game event founded and organized by Lap Chi Duong. The event was launched as the Calgary Cup in 2009 and was initially held in Calgary, Alberta, but the tournament moved to Toronto, Ontario shortly after, returning to Calgary every few years. The Canada Cup is a major Street Fighter tournament, generally being the final event in the annual Capcom Pro Tour.
The 2017 Capcom Pro Tour was the fourth edition of the Capcom Pro Tour, an annual season of Street Fighter V tournaments that are officially sponsored by Capcom. The 2017 Capcom Pro Tour followed several months after the "Season 2" update of Street Fighter V and started off with Final Round 20 on March 10. Much like the 2016 season, this season featured fifteen Premier Events, a few dozen smaller tournaments, several online tournaments, and the Evolution Championship. In these tournaments, competitors gained points needed to qualify for the 2017 Capcom Cup, which was held in December.
The 2017 Evolution Championship Series was a fighting game event held in Las Vegas on July 14–16 that was part of the long-running Evolution Championship Series. The event offered tournaments for various fighting games, such as Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Injustice 2. Over 10,000 people registered for the event with Tekken 7 receiving double the number of players from the previous year.
Capcom Cup 2017 was a Street Fighter V video game tournament that was held in December 2017. 32 players qualified for the tournament by scoring high on the game's leaderboards during the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour. The tournament spanned three days during the PlayStation Experience weekend, and took place in the Anaheim Hilton Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center. The first day of the tournament featured a Last Chance qualifier, which was won by newcomer Naoki "Nemo" Nemoto. The finals were won by Dominican newcomer Saul Leonardo Mena "MenaRD" Segundo, who defeated Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi in the final match.
Ryan Joseph Hart, also known as Prodigal Son, Tsuujin, Robotnik, The Terminator and NeriahSensei, is a British professional fighting game player. He specialises in 2D and 3D fighter games released by Capcom, Bandai Namco, Sega, Midway, NetherRealm Studios and SNK. Ryan holds numerous National, European and World titles and has won the Evolution Championships twice. Hart also holds four world records within the Guinness World Record's for most international Street Fighter competition wins, most well-travelled fighting game champion, the longest winning streak on Street Fighter IV, and the most consecutive opponents on Street Fighter V. While Hart is predominantly known for his professional gaming career, he is also a commentator, tournament organiser, author, presenter, event host, model, translator and content creator.
The 2018 Capcom Pro Tour is the fifth edition of the Capcom Pro Tour, an annual season of Street Fighter V tournaments that are officially sponsored by Capcom. The 2018 Capcom Pro Tour followed several months after the release of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition and started off with Final Round 21 on March 16. Similarly to the 2017 season, this season featured seventeen Premier Events, a few dozen smaller tournaments, several online tournaments, and the Evolution Championship. In these tournaments, competitors gained points needed to qualify for the 2018 Capcom Cup, which was held in December.
Capcom Cup 2018 was a Street Fighter V tournament that was held in December 2018. 32 players qualified for the tournament by scoring high on the game's leaderboards during the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour. The tournament spanned three days from December 14–16, and took place in the Esports Arena in the Luxor Hotel & Casino. The first day of the tournament featured a Last Chance qualifier, which was won by newcomer ZJZ. The finals were won by newcomer Kanamori "Gachikun" Tsunehiro, who defeated Hiromiki "Itabashi Zangief" Kumada.