MenaRD, the SF6 Evo Japan 2025 Champion: “The journey has been a tough one”

Street Fighter 6

News

Unlike some other fighting titles, Street Fighter 6 (SF6) has been sticking to a stable gameplay paradigm for quite a while. We enter the new esports season with this close-to-perfect build.

The last really big adjustment to the game mechanics arrived to Street Fighter 6 around a year ago. We got Recover Drive Reversal. Since then, new characters joined the game, and meta changes shook the balance — but not too drastically.

In general, it’s the same game as it was after the release. For competitive purposes, this is a good thing, as players have had more than enough time to elaborate clever approaches and coin tricky combos. In this regard, Evo Japan 2025 features an absolutely amazing SF6 competition!

This stability is about to change. Capcom promises a huge update around the addition of Elena to the Street Fighter 6 playable roster. Some basic universal mechanics should become richer or just different.

The fighting games community (FGC) is thrilled to witness the amazing SF6 esports show at Evo Japan 2025. It’s a chance to enjoy the game in its perfection, powered by the best players from all over the world.

Guides

7 things not to miss at Evo Japan 2025: Event guide

It’s a massive celebration of the fighting games esports! The top players are here, and the World Tours kick off a new season. Evo Japan 2025 has even more to offer.

Eugene Bozhenko

SF6 stream: Evo Japan 2025

In a way, Street Fighter 6 is the main title at Evo Japan 2025. This tournament concluded the fighting games esports event. The SF6 stream is right afterTEKKEN 8.

Tournament results

The stakes at this tournament are super high. The Capcom Pro Tour 2025 starts here, and Evo Japan 2025 is a Premier-tier qualifier. The winner advances directly to Capcom Cup 12. The rest of the top players earn significant portions of standing points.

Moreover, this event is a qualifier for the Street Fighter 6 Esports World Cup 2025. Two top placements guarantee an invite to the finals event.

The top 8 matchups and results are in the table below. Similarly toSF6 Evo Japan 2024, MenaRD is in the upper brackets — is this a start of the back-to-back victory?

History repeated itself at Evo Japan 2025 — with some changes compared to the SF6 tournament from last year. MenaRD did not play Luke this time, but he took Zangief in the winners final. That character swap did not work for the guy, so MenaRD returned to his usual Blanka. He electrified everyone with the wild dude!

The opponents for MenaRD were somewhat different. TheCapcom Cup 11Champion, Kakeru, did not reach the top 8. But Ryukichi managed to make it to the grand final and play vs MenaRD twice. The matches were really competitive, but the Bull did not miss on such an opportunity.

“One more. The journey has been a tough one, but I am certain the toughest challenge is about to come now. Thank you God for the opportunity.”

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SF6 Capcom Cup 12 and Esports World Cup 2025 qualifiers

MenaRD and Ryukichi qualified for the Street Fighter 6 Esports World Cup 2025. The SF6 Evo Japan winner, MenaRD, advances to the Capcom Cup 12.

Xiaohai: “I’m thrilled to have won the FATAL FURY EVO Japan championship”

It’s a special event for the entire fighting games community (FGC). FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves has the first big tournament. True competition starts here!

Elena joins Street Fighter 6

Capcom has already revealed most information about the next DLC character. Elena joins Street Fighter 6 on June 5, alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 version release. The gameplay trailer explains what Elena is capable of.

The only thing that remains is the official character guide. Usually, these videos drop close to the release date.

Opinion

The best items of the SF6 Elena Fighting Pass: Your avatar returns back in time

To greet Elena in the playable roster, you can unlock many cosmetics from the Street Fighter 3 era. The girl should be comfortable around her old friends.

The Capcom Pro Tour 2025 leaderboard

The official Street Fighter 6 esports circuit features a few Premier-tier qualifiers, and Evo Japan 2025 starts this series. In addition to the tournament winners, the top 6 players from the global leaderboard advance to the Capcom Cup 12.

Street Fighter 6 Tier List: Who to main in SF6 [Elena and Sagat added]

The best SF6 characters give players the most powerful tools to win fighting matches. If you like a fighter, check out how strong they are in the current Street Fighter 6 meta.

The Capcom Pro Tour 2025 esports series has a busy schedule, and the next SF6 Premier qualifier is at Combo Breaker 2025: from May 23 to May 25.

For allStreet Fighter 6 news and updates, stick around onesports.gg.