Capcom’s Street Fighter seems to be the land of millionaires. First pro player Uma wins a million dollars at Capcom Cup earlier in the year, and now longtime professional fighting game player Xiaohai has won the Street Fighter 6 portion of the Esports World Cup, which makes him the second millionaire to come out of the Street Fighter scene. Which honestly, was borderline unthinkable just one year ago, but times are changing, for better (and for some, for worse).
As stated, Xiaohai is a longtime fighting game player, being a big name in Street Fighter as well as probably the most consistent top player in SNK’s King of Fighters scene. Some would even argue that he’s the greatest King of Fighters player of all time, and after his performance this weekend he can definitely throw his hat in to being one of the greatest Street Fighter players of all time.
Utilizing longtime top tier Ken as well as the most recent DLC character, M. Bison, Xiaohai tore through the Esports World Cup with Bison’s insane pressure game and eventually beating Kawano in the grand finals and celebrating with his wife.
Interestingly, Xiaohai has been the subject of one of the more apparent dramas in recent fighting game news, due to his rivalry with American player Punk. Punk and Xiaohai have been at odds for over a year now, possibly even longer. And while Punk did eventually win EVO last month, the biggest Street Fighter tournament of the year, Xiaohai winning EWC means that he won the most expensive Street Fighter tournament of the year, and arguably the most exclusive, so both men have bragging rights. Funnily enough, Punk and Xiaohai both played at both EVO and the Esports World Cup, and yet despite their collision course they somehow managed to avoid facing each other, which means that their rivalry hasn’t truly been settled until they actually play each other.
Regardless, congratulations to Xiaohai for winning one of the most stacked Street Fighter tournaments of the year, and for winning a lifechanging amount of money!