Another weekend meant another outing for the bestStreet Fighter V: Arcade Editionplayers on the planet. This time around the main event was a 16-player tournament taking place at the Red Bull Kumite 2018 in Paris, France. The double elimination competition saw 14 of its players personally invited to battle it out for the top spot while two more were added from a ruthless “last chance” qualifier tournament.
Red Bull Kumite 2018 featured a lot of well-known names including Tokido, Daigo, Bonchan, Luffy, and Problem X. With HotDog29 who specializes in playing Ed and M. Bison topping to the qualifier round and Gachikun’s Rashid claiming the runner-up spot, the lineup was set for the final tournament.
From the opening match, Japan’s Fujimura secured a string of outstanding victories. Starting off strong, the Ibuki player swept through the early stages of the tournament defeating FChampRyan and Oil King without conceding a loss. From here, Fujimura found himself facing off again three Evo champions back to back.
First up wasSuper Street Fighter IV’sEvo 2014 Champion Luffy. The French fighter played a steady set with a calm and calculated game of footsies throughout. Starting off strong, Luffy claimed the first match. However, he soon found his R. Mika was shot down at every turn as Fujimura opened the second fight with a “Perfect” round. The remainder of the match-up became a grueling exercise in back and forth which led to Fujimura claiming a 2-1 victory.
Next in line was iconicStreet Fighterplayer Daigo “The Beast” Umehara. Playing his now signature Guile, Daigo is well known for both his patience and his aggression. However, these attributes were mirrored in Fujimura’s playstyle. The set saw some excellent plays from both sides, but the result stood as a clean victory for Fujiura as he pushed The Beast into losers with a solid 3-0.
Fujimura’s final opponent came in the form of 2018’sStreet Fighter V: Arcade EditionEvo champion Problem X. Conceding a loss at the beginning of the tournament, Britain’s Problem X had put on a strong show to regain his footing by defeating a number of opponents and claiming a spot in the grand final against Luffy.
The grand final was a long set brimming with high-level play and endurance. Problem X’s Abagail opened up with his trademark aggressive stance which quickly took the win in the first fight. Not letting the tournament slip through his fingers, Fujimura’s rush-down playstyle soon got the better of this year’s Evo champ as he quickly secured two wins back to back. In danger of being eliminated in this final stages of the tournament, Problem X switched to M. Bison. However, through a series of excellent reads and a high level of execution Fujimura defeated his opponent 3-1 to become the Red Bull Kumite 2018 champion.
you may check out the finals in the video below. The ever-popularStreet fighter V: Arcade Editionis available now on PlayStation 4 and PC havingrecently completed its third season. If you want to test your luck against the world’s best players at2019’s Evolution Championship Seriesyou can start your training by picking up acopy of the game on Amazon.
