MenaRD explains why the Capcom Pro Tour needs to change to keep Street Fighter alive

Street Fighter 6 pro MenaRD gave us his thoughts on the current state of the Capcom Pro Tour, saying he believes it’s ultimately detrimental to the game’s competitive ecosystem.

The Capcom Pro Tour looks drastically different than it did back in the Street Fighter V days. With the release of Street Fighter 6 in 2023, it received a massive shakeup that prioritized online events and gave qualifying spots to Premier winners — a huge shift from its prior format.

Previously, the CPT awarded points to players based on their performance throughout the competitive season, prompting fighters to embrace their inner World Warrior to travel and compete in as many in-person events as possible. Players with the most points would earn a spot in Capcom Cup, plus the winner of a last-chance qualifier and the past year’s victor.

Now, players who win Offline Premier Events and Online World Warrior tournaments get a guaranteed position at Capcom Cup, placing more emphasis on individual winners rather than rewarding fighters who grind hard during the year but fail to take home a major victory.

While there’s pros and cons to both formats, there’s been an ongoing conversation within the community as to whether or not this newer style of competition is healthy for professional players trying to make a living and showcase their strength. We got the chance to ask MenaRD, a two-time Capcom Cup champion and 2024 EVO Japan winner, about the state of the CPT in an exclusive interview at EVO 2024.

While Mena admits that there are benefits to the current structure, he ultimately believes that the CPT, as it stands, isn’t optimal for competitive players. He wants a system that ensures the players who are truly the best get to the top, rather than them getting knocked out early in pools.

“It has good things and bad things,” he told us. “It’s really good for representation, because I’ve been on both sides. I was the up-and-coming player from an underrepresented region, wanting that chance, and I’ve also been the top player who wants the best format possible to demonstrate my skills. So, I feel like it’s good to have that representation and give the smaller regions a chance.”

However, for Mena, the downsides outweigh the benefits in many ways. Some of the biggest matchups on the CPT happen early on, leaving the world’s best pros knocked out early on due to seeding.

“I don’t hate it. I like it, but at the same time, I feel like there’s a lot of focus on it being entertaining and not really showcasing the best players in the world, and we suffered a lot from it last year. Even though we have the players that, on a global standpoint, have to prove themselves, and they’re getting a straight ticket to the Cup, then we also add the lottery factor.

“Like, there’s no seeding. It’s just random. Last year, I ended up fighting Caba, and then AngryBird, and then EndingWalker in the same pool. So, I don’t know… I feel like there’s got to be a little bit more seriousness and responsibility to the World Finals and it cannot only be entertainment.”

Mena is right; the 2024 CPT offers far more opportunities for players who aren’t able to travel outside of their respective regions and, as evidenced by last year’s Pro Tour, allows fighters who haven’t had a chance to make a splash in the scene to stand out in a big way and get their come-up. Additionally, this year’s CPT offers some additional spots in Capcom Cup for second-place players in its two Super Premier and Super World Warrior tournaments (however, this year won’t have a Last Chance Qualifier). While points matter to a degree in World Warrior tournaments, ultimately, to the victor go the spoils… or, in this case, a ticket to Capcom Cup.

But, to Mena, events like Red Bull Kumite are far better for the showmanship that the current Tour seems to prioritize, and believes that the CPT should be focused on true-blue competition.

On top of that, Mena worries that if the CPT doesn’t stabilize, the entire future of competitive Street Fighter is at risk, citing the Tour’s format as well as the stark division of the $1M 2023 Capcom Cup prize pool that caused quite a stir among the community.

“I feel like there’s a lot of events that are better for showing off, like Red Bull Kumite. That’s an event made to be a show. But this is the World Finals of the Capcom Pro Tour, so I feel like the format should definitely be more stable. But overall, I don’t hate it.

“It’s hard to get people to rally behind players, because they feel like it’s a privilege that you get to play Street Fighter for a living. But then, if those conditions are not stable, then we’re not going to be able to do it for very long. The way they divide the prize pool is also outrageous: One million for first place, then second place is like $75,000 points. That’s an issue.

“Then, you have the format of the tournament itself. Then, you have that the best players in the world might not make it. It’s all building to be unstable for the competitive players, and this can’t be happening. We need to talk about it, for sure. It’s not that it’s bad right now, but it can definitely be way better.”

Last year’s CPT only featured three Offline Premier events, something that surprised much of the fighting game community, given how important in-person tournaments are to keeping the scene alive and thriving.

This year, the Tour features a total of eight Offline Premiers, plus online World Warrior events, with the inclusion of Super Premiers and Super World Warrior tournaments. While this is a welcome shift from last year’s Tour, pro players like Mena are still hopeful that changes can be made to keep competition healthy and create a sustainable environment that keeps more full-time pros in the circuit.