Updated on December 15, 7:00 a.m. (GMT+8): Added photos.
The competitive Street Fighter scene has continued to grow and develop, from the grassroots events hosted by the Fighting Game Community, into the major events held at the world’s biggest stadiums by esports companies.
We’ve seen the game evolve into different versions and variations, but one constant always remained the same. Street Fighter always delivered on hype matches throughout the years.
Out of all the epic events that have happened throughout the years, here are the top 10 matches that we remembered the most. Let’s relive these masterpieces from previous years.
- Justin Wong experiences the iconic ‘Evo Moment 37’ again 18 years later
- Fans can’t stop making fun of Ken
Top 10 matches in Street Fighter history
10. Daigo Umehara versus Justin Wong at Capcom Fight Club 2010
To celebrate the launch of Super Street Fighter IV, Capcom organized a best-of-five exhibition match between two FGC legends: Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara.
Despite being an exhibition match, it was obvious from the start that both players were taking the match seriously.
With the score tied 2-2, the match eventually came down to the very last round, and ended in one of the most improbable finishes of all time. You have to see it for yourself to believe it:
9. Infiltration versus PR Balrog at Evo 2013
Evo 2013 was stacked with talent from around the world. But it was this Losers semifinals match between Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee and Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez that will go down as one of the best matches in history.
Infiltration took the first game of the set, but PR Balrog quickly won the next four rounds in a row, taking a 2-1 advantage and putting himself just one game away from advancing to the Losers Final.
However, against all the odds and with his back against the wall, Infiltration then decided to swap to Hakan, a character that most pros considered to be in the bottom tier of the game.
Amazingly, the risky character switch worked, and Infiltration won the next two games, advancing to the Losers Finals.
8. Pepeday versus Poongko at Canada Cup 2014
The Ultimate Street Fighter IV grand final match at the 2014 Canada Cup between Lee “Poongko” Chung Gon and Yudia “Pepeday” Furushima saw two of the era’s most technical and offense-oriented players competing at the highest level of the game.
Both players picked their signature mains right from the start, with Poongko on Seth, and Pepeday on El Fuerte.
Poongko dominated early on, taking a 3-0 sweep in the first to reset the bracket.
Poongko kept the pressure on and looked unstoppable in the second set, taking a quick 2-0 lead. With five games in a row under his belt, Poongko looked to end the match, but Pepeday would not go down without a fight.
Facing tournament point, Pepeday would put together three of the most impressive games of Street Fighter ever seen, highlighted by incredible reads, amazing comebacks, and clutch moment after clutch moment.
7. Snake Eyez versus Xian at Evo 2014
In a Top 32 match at Evo 2014, Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis and Kun “Xian” Ho put on a masterclass of defense, spacial control, neutral game, and life lead management.
The match came down to the very last round where Xian attempted to win the game by taking the life-lead advantage and running out the clock. He threw out his Ultra, but there was just enough time for Snake Eyez to throw out an ex-Green Hand to win the match.
6. Fuudo versus Tokido at Canada Cup 2015
Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi and Keita “Fuudo” Ai fought one of the most grueling games of Ultra Street Fighter IV at the Canada Cup 2015 Grand Finals.
The entire tournament came down to the very last round of the second set. Tokido started by building up a significant life lead to start the round, but after a missed Dragon Punch, Fuudo had the opportunity to comeback. However, it was not to be, and Tokido managed to seal the victory with a simple chip fireball.
5. Daigo Umehara versus Infiltration at Capcom Cup 2015
While Ryota “Kazunoko” Inoue eventually won the Capcom Cup 2015, it was this winner’s quarterfinal match between Daigo Umehara and Seonwoo “Infiltration” Lee that would go down in history.
With Daigo leading 2-1, Infiltration shifted his offense into a higher gear and was on the verge of forcing the match into a final game. However, Daigo was able to pull off one of the greatest zero-pixel comebacks of all time when he finally opened up Infiltration.
4. Infiltration versus Fuudo at Evo 2016
2016 was the year Street Fighter V launched, and the hype for the new game reached its apex at Evo 2016, where a record 5,107 competitors entered the tournament.
In the end, two of Street Fighter’s most storied veterans met in the grand final as Infiltration took on Fuudo.
Infiltration dominated early, taking a double perfect in game two, and then closing out the first set to reset the bracket. He went on a tear in the second set, racking up five straight rounds to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Fuudo refused to go down without a fight and clutched out the next three rounds, but Infiltration rallied back and showed off his incredible understanding of the game, blocking Fuudo’s “unblockable” setups, to close out the tournament.
3. MenaRD versus Tokido at Capcom Cup 2017
The grand finals of the Capcom Cup 2017 was a David versus Goliath matchup as an underdog from the Dominican Republic, Saul Leonardo “MenaRD” Mena II, faced Tokido, one of the Japanese Gods of Street Fighter.
Tokido took control early, easily winning the first two games.
However, facing elimination MenaRD managed to find his footing and won the next three games to reset the bracket.
Tokido was able to take the first game of the second set, but MenaRD was again able to fight back, winning the next three games in a row to win the tournament.
2. Gachikun versus Itabashi Zangief Capcom Cup 2018
Two fan favorites met in the Capcom Cup 2018 grand final as Hiromiki “Itabashi Zangief” Kumada took on Tsunehiro “Gachikun” Kanamori.
Itabashi looked dominant early on, and easily took the first set 3-0 to reset the bracket.
But after taking a short break to recompose himself, Gachikun found his footing in the second set, winning the first two games. Itabashi managed to fight back, and tied up the score at 2-2, but Gachikun was able to clutch out the final two rounds to win the tournament.
1. iDom versus Punk Capcom Cup 2019
One of the most unbelievable upsets of the past decade occurred just last month as Derek “iDom” Ruffin, an unsponsored self-supported player, upset Victor “Punk” Woodley, the number one ranked player in the world, in the Capcom Cup Grand Finals.
Punk looked firmly in control early won, taking a 2-0 lead. But iDom somehow dug deep and managed to take the next three games to reset the bracket.
iDom kept the pressure up, and won the first two games of the second set, finding himself improbably at tournament point. But after Punk won game three, iDom made the crazy decision to swap off his main, Laura, to Poison, the newly-released DLC character that most considered mid-tier at best.
The switch worked though, and iDom completed the upset in the very next game, becoming the first-ever unsponsored Capcom Cup champion.
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